Obispo Roberto

"For things to work, everyone is important, and only when we work together, can we achieve what is truly necessary to live, to live with hope."  - Obispo Roberto, of Chiclayo Diocese, speaking to his people, during Covid.     

We better know Obispo Roberto as our Pope Leo XIV.  Whether as Augustinian, priest, bishop or Pope,  he shows a true appreciation of the role of every person in Church, with recognition being given to each person's role.  This upholds the dignity of all, and not just that of an elite.  "We are Church"  becomes the cry.  It is the cry for the communion of all, within a diversity of roles and gifts being exercised, whatever they may be.  

This is revolutiomary stuff in a world where individualism reigns supreme and power is held in the hands of the mighty and the wealthy.  This is revolutionary stuff in our church with its professional hierarchy and and self-assured righteouness.  

Can we rather recognize that, in the midst of our weakness and fragility, lies our true strength?   This is the paradox of who we are, as followers of the poor and humble Christ.  This is reflected in the words of Pope Leo, when speaking at the Angelus, afer mass on the Solemnity of Ss. Peter and Paul.  

"What appears great and glorious to us today, was originally rejected and excluded because it ran counter to the thinking of this world.  Those who follow Jesus must tread the path of the Beatitudes, where poverty of spirit, meekness, mercy hunger and thirst for justice, and peace-making are often met with opposition and even persecution.  Yet God's glory shines forth in his friends and continues to shape them along the way, passing from conversion to conversion."  

Not to own and appreciate our weakness and fragility is to deny part of who we are and to place ourselves in a false position of power.  We may only truly grasp our power when we own our poverty.  Then we can listen, enter into dialogue and build bridges, key themes of the programme for building Church in the mould of Synodality.  

Let the poor and weak speak to us.  Let our poverty and weakness speak to us/.  It is thus we will find our true power and our true wealth.   

Shell-shocked

"It is to what you are that you reply "Amen", and by so replying, you express your assent.  What you hear, you see, is the Body of Christ, and you answer, "Amen".  So be a member of the Body of Christ, in order to make that "Amen" true.  (St Augustine of Hippo - Sermon 272)  

I share this in a world where, over recent times, I have been shell-shocked by stories of war and disaster.  The first was Friday 13th, when I heard the news of the Air India crash and then of Israel attacking Iran.  The next was this Sunday when news of the USA bombing Iran was released.  Given the world we live in, I nearly feel the need to justify my feeling of being shell-shocked, but why?

I would put forward two reasons.  One is misinformation in our world.  There is so much of it that we have to ask ourselves - What is fact?  I have to own my feelings,but I am best to first fact check that which gives rise to them, so that I own what is worth owning.  The other is the level of division in our world.  It is like we can no longer just express an opinion without ferar of possible attack.  All of this acts against the nature of being who we are.  

We are humanity together.  We stand in human solidarity.  Of course, that does not mean we all think the same or have to do so.  What is fact is our corporate identity, that all humanity is deeply interconnected, no matter what.  Sadly, what seems stronger today is our sense of alienation, due o the force of so much opposition in a world pulled apart by huge social and life issues and basic mistrust.  This serves to deny who we are.  

Who are we?  We are one people, many cultures and nations, under one God.  In a deeply religious sense, we name our corporate identity as being "We are the Body of Christ".  That is who we are and so we live who we are.  So we never feel inadequate, fearful, threatened or put down.  We simply be who we are, so stand up for life for all and make a difference for the better in our world. It is that pure and simple.      

Revolution - a lost concept

“We can endure anything from without, if we have peace within.

The obstacle to inner peace lies within.

Keep on doing what you know is useful. 

Keep the love of God before you. 

The love of God within cannot be overcome.”

                S Teresa of Avila  

"Revolution" is a word that has lost its meaning, for whenever you use that word, all people think of is Stalin or Mao Tse Tung and the death and destruction they caused.  This is to limit revolution to evil gain.  True revolution is about something much richer and deeper.  It is about what touches the human heart and causes real change for the good of humanity.  It is about rising up to build a world that is more just and more blessed by love.  

Pope Francis urged us to enter into the revolution of love and tenderness.  This is what the world needs now.  My good friend, our present Prior-General of the Order, urges us to engage in the revolution of the gospel.  Our now Pope Leo spoke of the same need for revolution, back in 2012, when presenting as Bishop Prevost, at an education seminar in Peru.  He said:

“From lots of little ordinary things done well, something extraordinary can emerge” 

The Christian message is revolutionary for a world continually engaging in conflict, anti-social behaviour and selfish pursuits.  Think of it!  God is the Trinity, the perfect model of mutual love, generating life and goodness.  The core of Christian belief impels us to be revolutionary, ever struggling and striving to be people of love, building a just world for all, acting against all forms of oppression, injustice and exploitation.  This is revolution in its purest form.  

My hero, St Teresa of Avila, got it.  The revolution begins within each of us.  As we grasp that peace within, so we can go out and live that peace and love that comes from a God with and within us.  We do so simply for the sake of God and humanity.  

Let her rip!

Living outside Australia for so long, I see how so many just do not get the Australian culture, nor our sense of humour.  Sometimes, I experience that my use of  Aussie humour is totally misconstrued, even causing people upset, where no harm is intended, for we are only using our humour to deal with life. 

So, "Let her rip!"  This is a a good Aussie line for 'let's get on with it; let's just do it'.  This seems appropriate for the season, for specifically yesterday, when the Church celebrated Pentecost.  

Pentecost is when the Holy Spirit let rip and empowered the Church.  This is not a 'one off'' nor a 'once for all' event, for the Spirit is ever empowering the Church.  The call of the Second Vatican Council was to open up the windows of the Church to the Spirit and allow for the New Pentecost.  This remains so true for our present time, as we are always in need of the power and the inspiration of the Spirit, in a broken world and a failing church.  

The language used is itself powerful, for we talk of the 'pouring out' of the Spirit.  The imagery struck up by this verb is one describing the tremendous power of the Spirit, in our world and in our lives, like a powerful river rushing forth.  When talking to Elliott, at mass yeaterday, about his own, recent Confirmation, I compared the pouring out of the Spirit to finding an eternal spring of ice-cream.  Huh?  Well, I am doing my best to speak with a 11 year old boy, in language he understansds.  Think about it.  

     

The Bottom Line

In tune with my last post, the truth is that this is a good life in a good world, all created by a good God.  So far, so good, but what when you feel dark and desperate, when you are at the bottom of the barrel?  What is the bottom line then?  Is life always so bright?   

As people of church, we can far too easily idealize hard truths and harsh realities, which remain difficult for the human individual to grasp and face.  We can be seen as being distant, theorizing in pursuit of asking the right questions and finding the answers to life.  But what about the tragic suffering of so many in our world, what about the simple drudgery faced by so many around us?

While watching a recent podcast, looking at the whole mess in Palestine and Israel, I was struck by two insightful lines made by one of the two, experienced and skillful presenters.  On approaching the topic, he spontaneously confessed - I feel inadequate.  On delving into the topic, he insightfully observed - It is not what you know that counts, but what you could have known.  

Together these led me into considering a hermeneutics of suspicion, which is so me, the one ever the critical thinker.  Yes, I feel inadequate - inadequate as a human being, a Christian, a religious, a priest - but that is is not the whole story and it does not stop there.  Experience has assured me that my Christian life ethos, based on being perfect, in control and successful, is deeply flawed.  So where do I turn?  Of course, I look not to what I know, but to what I do not know.  

I know so well that I do not have the answers to life.  So I pursue the questions of life, which are found in the poor, the vulnerable, the suffering, in the midst of my own inadequacies and fragility.  What should not be shows us what should be.  The tragedy, the absurdity, the destruction of life shows us the way.   And so, we are not distant when theologizing about a God in the midst of it all.  That is the bottom line.