Mersey Leven Catholic Parish
Assistant Priest: Fr Alexander Obiorah Mob: 0447 478 297; alexchuksobi@yahoo.co.uk
Postal Address: Parish Office:
(Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 10am - 3pm)
Secretary: Annie Davies / Anne Fisher
Pastoral Council Chair: Jenny Garnsey
Pastoral Council Chair: Jenny Garnsey
Parish Mass Times: mlcpmasstimes.blogspot.com.au
Weekly Homily Podcast: mikedelaney.podomatic.com
Parish Magazine: mlcathparishnewsletter.blogspot.com.au
Year of Mercy Blogspot: mlcpyom.blogspot.com.au
Our Parish Sacramental Life
Baptism: Parents are asked to contact the Parish Office to make arrangements for attending a Baptismal Preparation Session and booking a Baptism date.
Reconciliation, Confirmation and Eucharist: Are received following a Family–centred, Parish-based, School-supported Preparation Program.
Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults: prepares adults for reception into the Catholic community.
Marriage: arrangements are made by contacting one of our priests - couples attend a Pre-marriage Program
Anointing of the Sick: please contact one of our priests
Reconciliation: Ulverstone - Fridays (10am - 10:30am)
Devonport - Saturday (5:15pm– 5.45pm)
Penguin - Saturday (5:15pm - 5:45pm)
Care and Concern: If you are aware of anyone who is in need of assistance and has given permission to be contacted by Care and Concern, please phone the Parish Office.
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Weekday Masses 30th August – 2nd September,
2016
Tuesday: 9:30am
Penguin
Wednesday: No Mass Latrobe
Thursday: 12noon Devonport
Friday: 9:30am Ulverstone
12noon Devonport
Mass Times Next Weekend 3rd & 4th September, 2016
Saturday: 9:00am Ulverstone
Saturday Vigil: 6:00pm Penguin
Devonport (L.W.C)
Sunday Mass: 8:30am Port Sorell
9:00am Ulverstone
(L.W.C)
10:30am
Devonport
11:00am
Sheffield (L.W.C)
5:00pm Latrobe
Every
Friday 10am - 12noon, concluding with Stations of the Cross and Angelus
Devonport: Benediction with Adoration - first Friday of
each month.
Legion of Mary: Sacred Heart Church Community Room,
Ulverstone, Wednesdays, 11am
Christian Meditation:
Devonport, Emmaus House - Wednesdays 7pm.
Prayer Group:
Charismatic Renewal
Devonport, Emmaus House - Thursdays 7.00pm
Meetings, with Adoration and Benediction are held each
Second Thursday of the Month in OLOL Church, commencing at 7.00 pm
Ministry Rosters 3rd & 4th September, 2016
Devonport:
Readers: Vigil: A McIntyre, M Williams, C Kiely-Hoye
10:30am J Phillips, K Pearce, P Piccolo
M Gerrand, P Shelverton, M Kenny
10.30am: F Sly, E Petts, K Hull, S Arrowsmith
Cleaners 2nd September: M.W.C.
9th September: K Hull, F Stevens, M Chan
Piety Shop 3rd Sept: R Baker 4th Sept: K Hull
Flowers: M O’Brien-Evans
Ulverstone:
Reader: M McLaren Ministers of Communion: M Byrne, D Griffin, K Foster, R Locket
Cleaners: M
McKenzie, M Singh, N Pearce Flowers: M Byrne Hospitality:
R Clarke
Penguin:
Greeters: G Hills-Eade, B Eade Commentator: E Nickols Readers: M & D Hiscutt
Ministers of
Communion: J
Barker, T Clayton Liturgy: Pine Road Setting Up: A Landers
Care of Church: M Murray, E Nickols
Latrobe:
Reader: P Marlow Ministers of Communion: M Eden, M Kavic Procession: M Clarke
Port Sorell:
Readers: D Leaman, P Anderson Ministers of
Communion: T
Jeffries
Clean/Flow/Prepare: B Lee, A Holloway
Readings this Week: 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year C
First Reading: Ecclesiasticus 3:17-20, 28-29
Second Reading: Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24
Gospel: Luke 14:1, 7-14
PREGO REFLECTION:
I settle and become still in my place of prayer in the way
that suits me best.
When I am ready I read the Gospel slowly I ponder how Jesus carefully observed his important hosts.
Out of love for them he shared a story to help them find a balance in their lives that puts others first.
I bring to mind an image of Jesus full of compassion, wisdom and courage looking upon me, noticing the movements and moments of my life.
I allow time for Jesus to look upon me with love.
I let Jesus speak to me.
What story do I need to hear?
How does Jesus help me to put God at the centre of my life?
Do I rely too much on myself: seeking comfort in success and needing others to think well of me?
Or can I be open to being guided by others, placing my trust in God, taking risks to live as God calls me to live?
I finish my prayer by asking God to help me make choices that put God at the centre of my life.
When I am ready I read the Gospel slowly I ponder how Jesus carefully observed his important hosts.
Out of love for them he shared a story to help them find a balance in their lives that puts others first.
I bring to mind an image of Jesus full of compassion, wisdom and courage looking upon me, noticing the movements and moments of my life.
I allow time for Jesus to look upon me with love.
I let Jesus speak to me.
What story do I need to hear?
How does Jesus help me to put God at the centre of my life?
Do I rely too much on myself: seeking comfort in success and needing others to think well of me?
Or can I be open to being guided by others, placing my trust in God, taking risks to live as God calls me to live?
I finish my prayer by asking God to help me make choices that put God at the centre of my life.
Readings Next Week: 23rd Sunday in
Ordinary Time – Year C
First Reading: Wisdom 9:13-18
Second Reading: Philemon 9-10.12-17
Gospel: Luke 14:25-33
Elaine Milic, Joan Singline, Connie
Fulton, Andrew Bartlett, Jack McLaren, Warren Milfull, Graeme Wilson, & ...
Let us pray for those who have died recently:
Fred Westerway, Margaret Sheehan, Nicolle Gillam-Barber, Ernest Pilcher, James Yates, Adrian Brennan, John Shuttleworth, Shirley Day, Nell Espie, Tod
Brett, Kevin Wells, Jean Bowden, David Rossiter, Henk de Kroon.
Let us pray for those whose anniversary occurs about this time: 24th
– 30th August
Joseph Hawkes, Michael Cassidy,
Jack Page, Robert Lee, Rita Stokes, Dulcie McCormack, Evelyn Rosendorf and Robert Sheehan. Also Santos,
Alejandro, Pelagio & Felomina Makiputin, Nicasio & Marciano Torbiso.
May they Rest in Peace
WEEKLY
RAMBLINGS:
This weekend we are celebrating the World Day of
Migrants and Refugees. The issues raised by this Sunday each year are ones that
won’t go away. Until we really, as a nation and a people, begin to look at each
person in our world as a child of God, irrespective of race, colour, gender,
creed or anything else we might use to describe someone, then we will forever
fail to be people God is calling us to be.
Pope Francis shows us by his compassion and love
that all are welcome. He invites refugee families to a meal, he kisses the feet
of women prisoners, he greets and hugs women who had been forced into
prostitution and who are now looking for a new life. This is the Gospel. This
is not about how we feel but about how we are to others. The document Migrants and Refugees Challenge us: the Response of the Gospel of Mercy
can be by simply googling 102nd World Day of Migrants or found
at http://www.acmro.catholic.org.au/resources/migrant-refugee-kit/booklet/668-migrant-and-refugee-kit-2016/file
Thanks to those who have responded to the plea for
billets for Friday 23rd & Saturday 24th September for
the ordination to the Diaconate of Paschal Okbon. I’m still waiting further
information about how many are needed for the Friday evening and what transport
arrangements might be needed and that will be available asap.
There was a great response last Sunday afternoon to
the Introduction to Parish Renewal and the Alpha Program as part of that
process. There will be further information next week regarding a follow-up
meeting.
Mersey Leven Parish Community welcome and congratulate ….
Elijah Larsen and Hunter George
who are both being baptised this
weekend.
MIGRANTS
AND REFUGEES SUNDAY 28th AUGUST, 2016:
This Sunday the Catholic Church in Australia will celebrate
Migrant and Refugee Sunday. Pope Francis, in keeping with the theme for the
Jubilee Year of Mercy, brings to the forefront the connection between the
issues that migrants and refugees face and the message from the Gospel of
Mercy.
Fundamentally Pope Francis wants the Jubilee Year of Mercy
to be about encountering God, the merciful Father, in ever-new ways. As such,
this Year of Mercy is providing us with an opportunity to ‘encounter’, to
connect with others, in particular those with whom we would not normally
associate. He has also been presenting to us, in different ways, how we ought
to be treating our brothers and sisters in Christ, in particular those least
among us.
There are important questions that we should be asking
ourselves. For example: how do we, as Catholics, respond to God’s mercy and
love? Are we open to Mercy in our lives? Is our relationship with the Heavenly
Father visible in the way we treat those around us, in particular the most
vulnerable.
Drawing on the theme of the Year of Mercy for his message
for Migrant and Refugee Sunday, Pope Francis draws our attention to the
treatment of refugees globally and in our local communities, challenging us by
asking whether our response towards migrants and refugees is grounded in mercy.
That is, the mercy which God has shown us first.
MT ST
VINCENT AUXILIARY:
Please come along, bring your spare
change and support the Mt St Vincent Auxiliary
“Cake & Craft Stall” at Mt St
Vincent on Thursday 1st September starting at 10am.
ST MARY’S CHURCH PENGUIN:
All parishioners and friends are welcome to attend a fun
and informal celebration for Elizabeth Nickols' 70th birthday Saturday
24th September after 6pm Vigil Mass, Penguin. If you are able to assist with a plate of
food could you please contact Jen Nickols on 6273:8494/0418 425 676 or email
jnpenguin@westnet.com.au
FOOTY POINTS MARGIN TICKETS:
Round
22 West Coast Eagles won by 25 Points Winners: Denise Paine, Albert Xavier.
BINGO
Thursday Nights - OLOL Hall,
Devonport. Eyes down 7.30pm!
Callers for Thursday 1st
September – Jon Halley & Merv Tippett
NEWS FROM ACROSS THE ARCHDIOCESE:
Archdiocesan Website: www.hobart.catholic.org.au for
news, information and details of other Parishes.
ST
VIRGILS OLD SCHOLARS LUNCHEON: will be held at Pedro's Restaurant near the Wharf at
Ulverstone on Saturday 3rd September starting at 12:30pm for a 1:00 pm
sit down. People wishing to attend can ring Terry Leary 0487 771 153, Peter
Imlach 0417 032 614 or Mark Waddington at St Virgils College Austins Ferry
6249:4569.
JOURNALING PRAYER RETREAT – FR RAY SANCHEZ: will be running a two day live in
retreat at Maryknoll House of Prayer on October 15th and 16th 2016. This is the most precious gift you can give
yourself. Journaling prayer is a process and resource to help you reach a
psychologically and spiritually healthy you. If you wish to enquire about
attending please phone Anne on 0407704539 or email: journallingretreat@iinet.net.au
CATHOLIC CHARISMATIC RENEWAL STATE CONFERENCE 2016:
is being conducted at the Emmanuel Retreat Centre, 123 Abbott St,
Launceston from 7:30pm Friday 16 September till 1:00pm Sunday 18th September
2016, The theme being “Be merciful as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36).
Guest presenters include: Fr Graeme Howard, Fr Mark Freeman
VG, and Fr Alexander Obiorah.
Application forms with further details including
accommodation and daily attendance
costs are included on Church notice boards.
Please contact Celestine Whiteley on 6424 2043, if you wish
to attend so that payments and transport can be organized locally.
Pope Francis and the challenge of being church today
Ann D Clark Lecture delivered by Most Rev Vincent
Long OFM Conv, Bishop of Parramatta, Evan Theatre, Penrith, 18 August 2016
Friends,
What a difference the Holy Spirit can make! When Pope
Emeritus Benedict XVI announced his resignation in early 2013, we were adrift
like I was adrift in the Pacific Ocean during my epic voyage. Why? Because in
600 years, there had not been a papal resignation. There had not been any hint
of it prior to the announcement that surprised everyone, even the cardinals who
had been summoned to the Vatican for the consistory. They were absolutely flummoxed
and speechless. Holy smoke and holy chaos! The Barque of Peter was truly
launched into uncharted waters. We Catholics felt we were in dire straights.
The mood wasn’t good. And yet somehow that mood was changed remarkably with the
arrival of a rather unlikely pope. He said it himself as he appeared on the
balcony after the conclave: “The cardinals have gone to the ends of the earth
to find the new Bishop of Rome”. Talk about a God of surprises. It’s like
Princess Penzance and Michelle Payne winning the Melbourne Cup. No one saw it
coming. No one predicted it.
READING SIGNS OF THE TIMES:
We are not out of woods by any means. Even the greatest pope
cannot solve all the problems we have in the church. In Australia, we seem to
have reached a critical juncture. Not only are we afflicted by such things as
the decline in Sunday worship, the fall in religious practices, the dearth of
the priesthood and religious life etc…, we also face the biggest challenge to
date which is the loss of our moral credibility and trust capital due to the
sexual abuse crisis. Nevertheless, it must be said that Pope Francis is the
embodiment of our hope. His unexpected election and the way he exercises his
leadership give us a breath of fresh air and a source of great hope. Even though
the journey ahead of us is daunting, we are bolstered by the fresh energy that
the Holy Spirit has given to us even as we face a critical juncture in human
history.
I make bold to say that this is the unexpected way of God.
Consistently in salvation history, he has brought unexpected outcomes out of
the most crushing defeats. Out of the ashes of the exile, he brought about the
new Israel; out of the ashes of the crucifixion, the resurrection; out of the
ashes of the Roman persecution, the universal church. Watershed moments can be
catalysts for renewal and transformation.
I believe that we are living in a watershed and a privileged
moment in the history of the church. Just as the biblical exile brought about
the most transforming experience that profoundly shaped the faith of Israel,
this transition time can potentially launch the Church into a new era of hope,
engagement and solidarity that the Second Vatican Council beckoned us with
great foresight. From where I stand, the arrival of Pope Francis and his emphasis
on servant leadership have unambiguously signaled this new era. He himself said
poignantly that we are not living in an era of change but change of era. By
this, he means that it is the church that needs to live up to its fundamental
call to be “ecclesia semper reformanda” or the church always in need of reform
to be in sync with the movement of the Holy Spirit and direction of the
Kingdom. It is not “business as usual”. There needs to be an attitudinal change
at every level, a conversion of mind and heart that conforms us to the spirit
of the Gospel, a new wine into new wineskins, not a superficial change or worse
a retreat into restorationism.
LAUNCH INTO DEEPER WATERS:
I have a particular interest in the biblical experience of
the exile. My personal story of being a refugee, my struggle for a new life in
Australia, coupled with my Franciscan heritage have all contributed to the
sense of hope which was the legacy of the exile of old and which should inform
and enlighten our present exile experience. Like the prophets who accompanied
their people, interpreted the signs of the times and led them in the direction
of the kingdom –the arc of salvation history if you like- we must do the same
for our people in the context of this new millennium.
Our story, the Judeo-Christian story is a narrative of hope
in despair and of reordering human relationships in the light of unfolding
revelation. It began with the story in Genesis where the seed of hope was sown
and a promise of redemption was made in the face of sin and brokenness. The
story of the great exile likewise puts in bold relief how hope was born in a
situation of utter vulnerability. In the light of this experience, there
occurred a paradigm shift in the way the people related to God and to others. A
vengeful, jealous, petty and tribal deity gave way to a much more expansive
vision of the divine: a truly universal and all-embracing God. As a
consequence, human relationships and social structures were reordered in a way
that was consonant with the evolving consciousness.
The Judeo-Christian story finds its ultimate expression in
the life, death and resurrection of Jesus –the source and the ground of its
hope and renewal. But it also continues to unfold throughout history,
especially at its pivotal moments. Thus, when persecution forced the Church to
disperse from her Jewish home, she learned to welcome the gentiles and became a
refuge for the persecuted. When she came out of the catacombs into an imperial
Christendom, places of learning, contemplation, prayer, and solidarity sprung
up in response to the thirst for authentic discipleship, hope and renewal.
Now we find ourselves in yet another pivotal moment in
history. Just as the Berlin wall collapsed, the walls of Christendom too have
been blown away the wind of secularization. We are forced to move out of our
catacombs into the open, into the new unfamiliar world of post-modernity where
nothing is taken for granted as far as faith and belief go. Like the disciples
on the Sea of Galilee, we are roused by the Spirit of Jesus to launch the
Barque of Peter into deeper waters (Luke 5:4).
“Duc in altum” which is my episcopal motto is a perennial
test of radical discipleship. It is a call like that of Abraham and Sarah, to
leave the familiar and the comfortable, to go to the unknown destination. It is
a theme made with urgency and constancy by Pope Francis. It is a church that
dares to risk the new frontier rather than a church that anchors in a safe
harbor. The Barque of Peter is once again pushed out into deeper and more
treacherous waters. Here, in the new exile and inhospitable landscape, we must
learn to walk with others: other faiths, other traditions, other voices
including those who oppose and are critical of us. We learn to be the humble
servants of the Kingdom and the sacrament of God’s love and presence in the
world.
THE CHALLENGE TO OFFER A HOPEFUL VISION:
I believe that one of the critical challenges for the church
today is that of prophetic reframing. It is the ability to read the signs of
the times and interpret them in a way that offers fresh and hopeful vision for
the future despite appearances to the contrary. The prophet knows the past
promise of God’s word, but knows how to interpret this word in her or his life
and to speak that word to others that will lift them up.
One of the stories that has a feminist touch and a
particular relevance to us today is the story of the Hebrew midwives Puah and
Shiprah. Their courage, imagination, and daring are highlighted in the very
first chapter of Exodus. It was a critical situation vis-à-vis the future of a
people. Yet Puah and Shiprah were up to the task of reframing a harsh reality
into a vision of fresh hope. They did so by refusing to obey Pharaoh’s command
and by showing faithfulness to God in delivering new life, thus securing a
vital future for his people.
Today, in the midst of many situations of seeming
hopelessness, it is easy for us to be overwhelmed and numbed. We feel unable to
meet the challenge of delivering new life on behalf of those who feel hopeless
and disenfranchised. Yet like Puah and Shiprah, we are challenged to present an
alternative vision of fresh hope. When we are on the side of the poor, the
vulnerable, the suffering people and when we stand in solidarity with those
without hope and act together, we can be channels of hope. In opening our eyes
and hearts to the sufferings of our world, hope can be awakened, a hope that
allows us to see things from the perspective of God.
This was what Mary MacKillop did when she rallied her
sisters behind the poor and vulnerable in colonial Australia. She took a
prophetic stance not simply in providing affordable quality Catholic education
and health care to the poor masses but fundamentally in meeting the great
cultural challenges of their times. “Never see a need without doing something
about it”. In acting out of a strong passion for the Kingdom and a visceral
compassion for the suffering, she brought about a fresh hope for others.
Like her, we are called to be channels of hope and to meet
the challenges of our times. In what ways can we follow her prophetic vision
and apply it to our context? Who are the people without hope and how can we
reframe the harsh realities that they experience into a hopeful future?
THE CHALLENGE TO GO TO THE MARGINS:
Pope Francis constantly calls us to move beyond the security
of status quo and take the risk of going to the periphery. The church must be
the church of the poor and for the poor. The church must go out of itself in
order to be close to those in need. Conversely, the church that does not go out
into the world keeps Jesus imprisoned.
The church without its missionary impulse is unhealthy. For
him, this missionary impulse has little to do with doing the minimum, with
complacency and mediocrity. In fact, it has everything to do with taking risks
and living with enthusiasm and commitment. We should not be content with status
quo, especially when that status quo is less than what God wants for us as
individuals and as a community. Australia is a wonderful country but where it
is in terms of its treatment of asylum seekers, indigenous and marginalized
people should trouble us.
If one can detect the direction of Pope Francis’
pontificate, it has something to do with the movement from security to
boldness, from inward looking to outward looking, from preoccupation with our
status quo, safeguarding our privileges to learning to be vulnerable, learning
to convey God’s compassion to those who are on the edges of society and church.
Hence our challenge is to accompany people from the margins
into a journey towards the fullness of life and love. It is to embrace the call
of the Vatican Council to identify with the joys and hopes, the griefs and the
anxieties of those who are poor and in anyway afflicted. It is to be the bearer
of joy to those who are most deprived of it. To do this, he/she must be able to
live in and to bridge the yawning gap, the liminal space between the ideal and
the real, between what the Church teaches and how the people respond.
We feel torn between the two. As representatives of the
Church and her servants, we want to be faithful and preserve her unity and
integrity. And yet on the other hand, we know that we must also walk with our
people, identifying with them in their struggles, their questions and their uncertainties.
We know that the faith and its radical demands cannot be compromised and
accommodated to suit everyone’s interpretation. At the same time, the fifty
shades of grey that life can present to the people in the real world demand
that we walk with them in the search for truth in love. We look to Christ for
inspiration in the way he immersed himself in their world and walked with them
on the journey to liberation.
In fact, history has shown that religious life is invariably
involved with a critique of status quo, a dissatisfaction of accommodation and
a search for fresh and radical ways of following Christ. The challenge for
those who wish to live the ideals of the Gospel is to not lose sight of the
divine pathos and God’s preferential option for the poor.
It is a vocation of the Christian leader to be with his
people in their hopes and struggles, anxieties and fears. He/she is to be “a
Malcolm in the middle” who occupies in betwixt and between, liminal, peripheral
and precarious places. It is not easy to be in the middle, and to be loyal to
both ends of the spectrum, to belong to the Church of orthodoxy and yet also to
minister in the world of the unorthodox. That is really between the rock and
the hard place as they call it. Yet, that is the calling of the leader, because
we are meant to be in the coal face, in the messiness of it all and at the same
time in fidelity to the Gospel. We are sent to the strong and the weak,
the wholesome and the broken, the churched and the unchurched, the pious and
the impious, the normal and the bizarre. We are sent to them through the gate,
who is Christ. We are sent often from the inside out and not from the outside
in. Like Christ in his ministry among the sick and the lost, we are called to
meet God in the most unlikely people and places.
Pope Francis challenges all of us to divest ourselves of
clericalism and elitism, and return to the purity of the Gospel. His constant
call to the church to be less concerned with itself and to be more outward
looking encourages us to walk with our people in the ambiguities and
complexities of their lives. The self-referential church steeped in a culture
of splendour is in stark contrast with the church of the poor and for the poor.
It is the latter that we who pattern ourselves according to Jesus the prophet
on the margins endeavours to serve. It is like new wine in new wineskins. The
leader for today’s church and today’s world is like Christ among the
marginalized, the sick and sinner.
How can we respond to the challenge of being a church at the
margins today? Where are the new “peripheries” and new “horizons” in Catholic
education that we are called to be and to offer nearness and proximity?
THE CHALLENGE TO BE A MERCIFUL CHURCH:
By proclaiming the Jubilee Year of Mercy, Pope Francis wants
it to be a special time for the Church to contemplate the mystery of mercy and
become a more effective sign of God’s action in the world. The symbolic opening
of the Holy Door in Rome –which is to be replicated in all particular Churches-
serves to remind us of the joy and hope that the Holy Spirit ushered through
the Second Vatican Council. One cannot help but feel the ardent desire of the
Holy Father in relaunching the project of the Council which is to present the
Gospel to the men and women of their time in a new, fresh, more accessible and
credible way. “The walls which too long had made the church a kind of
fortress were torn down and the time had come to proclaim the Gospel in a new
way” (MV4).
Prior to the 2nd Vatican Council, the church was
suspicious of the world which was perceived as evil. Remember the classic three
enemies: the world, the flesh and the devil. It was a defensive, fortress
church. Followed the lead of Pope John XXXIII and his optimistic aggiornamento,
guided by “the signs of the times”, the gathered bishops recognized that the
church needed to open itself to the world, engage with the world and even to
learn from the world. Gaudium et Spes –the guiding document of the Council
presented a new paradigm: the church is not an enclosure which protects its
members against the sinful world. It is a fellow pilgrim with the men and women
of our age. It is a church incarnate in the world. Therefore, it is time not of
fearful retreat, disengagement and self-referential pomp, but of accompaniment
and engagement. The Jubilee of Mercy is opportune for us to respond anew to the
clarion call of the Council to engage with the hopes and joys, the griefs and
anxieties of the people of our age. Thus Pope Francis affirms “The time has
come for the Church to take up the joyful call to mercy once more. It is time
to return to the basics and to bear the weaknesses and struggles of our
brothers and sisters.” (MV10)
Pope Francis uses a rather unconventional term to describe
the church. He famously says that pastors need to wear the scent of the sheep.
Then he describes the church as a field hospital that treats the wounded after
the battle. “The thing the church needs most today is the ability to heal
wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful; it needs nearness, proximity”.
That is his vision of the ideal church. Not a perfect society, nor the
enclosure for the privileged but a refuge for the poor, an oasis for the weary
and a hospital for the wounded. When I was in Italy, I was very intrigued by
the private tombs in many churches. In medieval time, it was not uncommon for
high ranking ecclesiastics, royals and even well-heeled citizens to be buried
in ornate church buildings. I wonder if this was a vestige of the time when the
Church was the arena for power. I wonder if this was the natural progression of
the imperial Church which came to be born after the conversion of Constantine.
Thank God Pope Francis has reclaimed for us the vision of Church of the
“anawim”. “Anawim” refers to the faithful few or the remnants who endured much
suffering and who formed the nucleus of the new Israel after the exile.
The field hospital is not concerned about defending against
threat of encroachment and loss of its status and privileges. Instead, it goes
out of itself to respond to the needs of those whose lives are at risk. It
engages with the world rather than withdraws into enclaves. In fact, time and
again, Pope Francis challenges the church to not be concerned with its own
prerogatives. “I prefer a church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because
it has been out on the streets, rather than a church which is unhealthy from
being confined and from clinging to its own security”.
Being merciful is at the heart of Catholic identity. It is
not simply a matter of acting with mercy and compassion to those in need with
our position of power and privilege intact. Rather, it is a radical
discipleship of vulnerability and powerlessness in the footsteps of the humble
servant of God. It is an existential stance in favour of the weak and the
vulnerable in the face of the prevalent business model of success and power. It
is about building people and relationships rather than profit and size. (In the
paper, the neighbours who fight the proposed development in Springwood are
described as the battlers taking on a giant CEO Parramatta). It has to do
with the Kingdom mentality rather than the empire mentality. How can we be the
merciful face of God to a wounded humanity in our school communities and
families? How do we balance the need for recognition and success on the one
hand and the fundamental ethos of care for the broken and the wounded on the
other?
THE CHALLENGE TO BE AN INCLUSIVE CHURCH:
For me, one of the greatest challenges the church faces
today is to be inclusive, to be a big tent church. Pope Francis urges us to be
a church where everyone can feel welcomed, loved, forgiven and encouraged to
live according to the Gospel. You heard me say in my Installation Homily that
there can be no future for the living church without this vital sense of
ecclesial inclusiveness. By that I mean there must be space for everyone,
especially those who have been hurt, excluded or alienated, be they abuse
victims, survivors, divorcees, gays, lesbians, women, disaffected members. The
church will be less than what Christ intends it to be when issues of inclusion
and equality are not fully addressed. That is why you heard me say that I am
guided by the radical vision of Christ. I am committed to make the church in
Parramatta the house for all peoples, a church where there is less an
experience of exclusion but more an encounter of radical love, inclusiveness
and solidarity.
The teachings of Jesus like the parable of the Good
Samaritan challenge us to think outside the square, outside the established
patterns, norms and conventions. Jesus teaches us some home truths that are
truly confronting and incisive. Samaritans were considered outsiders and
outcasts by ordinary Jews. Yet in the parable, it was the Samaritan who was the
unlikely hero. For he showed love and compassion to the person in need. On the
contrary, the priest and the Levite who were considered the respected class of
society and the custodians of tradition were found wanting. They put tradition
and law in the way of basic human love. Thus, in crafting the characters in
their cultural and religious context, Jesus really upset the tulip cart. He
questioned the prevailing assumptions and stereotyped attitudes. He turned the
presumed order of moral goodness upside down. The holders of tradition failed the
test of good neighbour while the outcast proved himself an unlikely champion of
basic human decency, mercy and compassion.
We can no longer understand the parable just in terms of
being kind to those in need. It is an incisive lesson that cuts our prejudice
to the quick. The lawyer who posed the question to Jesus “who is my neighbour”
went away with much more than what he had bargained for. He was challenged to
be the neighbour and to be one like the Samaritan. It would have been a
profound and indeed humbling revelation: The villain had become a hero and vice
versa. The meaning of goodness, humanity, moral uprightness had been redefined.
The boundaries of acceptance, inclusion and love had been annulled. Jesus had
presented to him a radical new way of seeing, acting and relating.
That is what Jesus consistently does. He has a habit of
challenging ingrained stereotyped attitudes, subverting the tyranny of the
majority, breaking social taboos, pushing the boundaries of love and redefining
its meaning. “You heard it said that love your neighbour and hate your enemy.
But I say to you….” His interactions with women, with tax collectors and other
types of social outcast are nothing short of being revolutionary and boundary
breaking. It is his radical vision of love, inclusion and human
flourishing that ought to guide our pastoral response.
As the Gospel illustrates, it is the holders of the
tradition who are often guilty of prejudice, discrimination and oppressive
stereotype. The Church today needs to examine its own attitudes and actions
towards the victims of injustice and adopt what I would call a seamless garment
approach. We cannot be a strong moral force and an effective prophetic voice in
society if we are simply defensive, inconsistent and divisive with regards to
certain social issues. We cannot talk about the integrity of creation, the
universal and inclusive love of God, while at the same time colluding with the
forces of oppression in the ill-treatment of racial minorities, women and
homosexual persons. It won’t wash with young people especially when we purport
to treat gay people with love and compassion and yet define their sexuality as
“intrinsically disordered”. This is particularly true when the Church has not
been a shining beacon and a trail-blazer in the fight against inequality and
intolerance. Rather, it has been driven involuntarily into a new world where
many of the old stereotypes have been put to rest and the identities and rights
of the marginalised are accorded justice, acceptance, affirmation and
protection in our secular and egalitarian society.
In one of his interviews on a rather thorny issue of
homosexuality, Pope Francis says that we must always consider the person,
because – I quote “when God looks at a gay person, does he endorse the
existence of this person with love, or reject and condemn this person?” It
seems to me that the Pope has more than moved away from the approach of
condemnation and judgement. He has refocused on the proclamation of God’s love
for the poor, the vulnerable and the marginalised; he has firmly placed the
pastoral emphasis on the dignity of every person; he has committed the Church
to the way of engagement, affirmation and compassion which is at the heart of
the Gospel. The Church can only be the conduit of compassion and speak the
language of hope to a broken humanity when it truly personifies powerlessness
and stands where Christ once stood, that is, firmly on the side of the outcast
and the most vulnerable.
The Synod on the family was essentially an exercise in
administering the medicine of mercy to the wounded. In the past, the
results of synods were sometimes seen to be foregone conclusions. This synod,
however, has seen the unleashing of the energy long locked up beneath the ice
of institutional security. Pope Francis has really lived up to his vision of
the Church daring to break loose from its comfort zone and self-referential
mentality. It is a church attentive to the signs of the times and incarnate
grace at work in the world, even among the unorthodox and the marginalized.
Much emphasis has been placed on the question of communion to the divorced and
remarried. Yet, through the lens of mercy, the real question is how the
missionary Church can accommodate and accompany those struggling to live and
still falling short of the Christian ideal. This ecclesial inclusiveness which
was instrumental to the doubting Thomas’ journey to faith is characteristic of
a Church that walks the walk with the weak.
Catholic schools are premised on the fundamental dignity of
each and every person. Attention to the most vulnerable and needy is written
into our DNA, our Catholic ethos. How can we be places where this sense of
ecclesial inclusiveness is fully expressed? In what ways can we advance
Jesus’ radical vision of love, inclusion and human flourishing in our
communities?
CONCLUSION:
In summary, I believe we are living a time of grace and hope
precisely because this fallow time allows us to rid ourselves of what is
unworthy of Christ and to grow more deeply in our identity and mission as his
disciples. Hence, it is the time to reclaim for the Church:
* Less a role of power, dominance and privilege but more a
position of vulnerability and powerlessness;
* Less an enclosure for the virtuous but more an oasis for
the weary and downtrodden;
* Less an experience of exclusion and elitism but more an
encounter of radical love, inclusiveness and solidarity;
* Less of an attitude of “we are right and you are wrong”
and more of an attitude of openness to truth wherever and whoever it is to be
found;
* Less a leadership of control and clericalism but more a
diakonia of a humble servant exemplified by Christ at the Last Supper;
* Less a language of condemnation but more a language of
affirmation and compassion; and
* Less a preoccupation for its own maintenance but more a
concern for the kingdom of God.
In the end, though, I firmly believe that we’re on the
threshold of renewal and transformation. The Second Vatican Council set in
motion a new paradigm that cannot be thwarted by fear and paralysis. Once the
genie is out of the bottle, it cannot be put back. That new paradigm is one
that is based on mutuality not exclusion, love not fear, service not
clericalism, engagement with the world not flight from or hostility against it,
incarnate grace not dualism. The Holy Spirit is at work even at a time of great
anguish. He accompanies us as we move in the direction of the Kingdom.
Pope Francis has unleashed a new energy, he has poured a new
wine which cannot be contained in old wineskins. He has challenged us to move
in concert with him and bring about the rebirth of the church. I am
endeavouring to follow the pope’s lead. I have forfeited my Qantas Club
Membership which is not a big deal these days. I fly with Tiger regularly –on a
wing and a prayer. But that’s the easy part. The harder part is to do what most
of you do, which is to labour at the coalface of the church. It is have
the smell of the sheep, to walk with people, identifying with them in their
struggles, their questions and their uncertainties. It is to discern and live
out the vision of hope in the midst of life’s disappointments.
May we be like the prophets for our people during this our
contemporary exile. May we be strengthened to walk the journey of faith with
them, proclaim the message of hope, the signs of the new Kairos and lead them
in the direction of the kingdom. May all of us enact the rhythm of the paschal
mystery of dying and rising in the pattern of our Lord who is the Alpha and the
Omega.
Amen.
GOD’S NATURE – EXUBERANCE OR THE CROSS?
An article by Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI. The original article can be found here
It’s funny where you can learn a lesson and catch a glimpse of the divine. Recently, in a grocery store, I witnessed this incident:
A young girl, probably around 16 years of age, along with two other girls her own age, came into the store. She picked up a grocery basket and began to walk down the aisle, not knowing that a second basket was stuck onto the one she was carrying. At a point the inevitable happened, the basket stuck to hers released and crashed to the floor with a loud bang, startling her and all of us around her. What was her reaction? She burst into laughter, exuding a joy-filled delight at being so startled. For her the surprise of the falling basket was not an irritation but a gift, an unexpected humor happily fracturing dram routine.
If that had happened to me, given how I’m habitually in a hurry and easily irritated by anything that disrupts my agenda, I would probably have responded with a silent expletive rather than with laughter. Which made me think: Here’s a young girl who probably isn’t going to church and probably isn’t much concerned about matters of faith, but who, in this moment, is wonderfully radiating the energy of God, while, me, a vowed religious, over-serious priest, church-minister and spiritual writer, in such a moment, too often radiate the antithesis of God’s energy, irritation.
But is this true? Does God really burst in laughter at falling grocery baskets? Doesn’t God ever get irritated? What’s God’s real nature?
God is the unconditional love and forgiveness that Jesus reveals, but God is also the energy that lies at the base of everything that is. And that energy, as is evident in both creation and scripture, is, at its root, creative, prodigal, robust, joy-filled, playful, and exuberant. If you want to know that God is like look at the natural exuberance of children, look at the exuberance of a young puppy, look at the robust, playful energy of young people, and look at the spontaneous laughter of sixteen-year-old when she is startled by a falling basket. And to see God’s prodigal character, we might look at billions and billions of planets that surround us. The energy of God is prodigal and exuberant.
Then what about the Cross? Doesn’t it, more than anything else, reveal God’s nature? Isn’t it what shows us God? Isn’t suffering the innate and necessary route to maturity and sanctity? So isn’t there a contradiction between what Jesus reveals about the nature of God in his crucifixion and what scripture and nature reveal about God’s exuberance?
While there’s clearly a paradox here, there’s no contradiction. First, the tension we see between the cross and exuberance is already seen in the person and teachings of Jesus. Jesus scandalized his contemporaries in opposite ways: He scandalized them in his capacity to willingly give up his life and the things of this world, even as he scandalized them equally with his capacity to enjoy life and drink in its God-given pleasures. His contemporaries weren’t able to walk with him while he carried the cross and they weren’t able to walk with him either as he ate and drank without guilt and felt only gift and gratitude when a woman anointed his feet with expensive perfume.
Moreover, the joy and exuberance that lie at the root of God’s nature are not to be confused with the bravado we crank up at parties, carnival, and Mardi Gras. What’s experienced there is not actual delight but, instead, a numbing of the brain and senses induced by frenzied excess. This doesn’t radiate the exuberance of God, nor indeed does it radiate the powerful exuberance that sits inside us, waiting to burst forth. Carnival is mostly an attempt to keep depression at bay. As Charles Taylor astutely points out, we invented carnival because our natural exuberance doesn’t find enough outlets within our daily lives, so we ritualize certain occasions and seasons where we can, for a time, imprison our rationality and release our exuberance, as one would free a caged animal. But that, while serving as a certain release-valve, is not the ideal way to release our natural exuberance.
When I was a child, my parents would often warn me about false exuberance, the exuberance of wild partying, false laughter, and carnival. They had this little axiom: After the laughter, come the tears! They were right, but only as this applies to the kind of laugher that we tend to crank up at parties to keep depression at bay. The cross however reverses my parents’ axiom and says this: After the tears, comes the laughter! Only after the cross, is our joy genuine. Only after the cross, will our exuberance express the genuine delight we once felt when we were little, and only then will our exuberance truly radiate the energy of God.
Jesus promises us that if we take up his cross, God will reward us with an exuberance that no one can ever take from us.
TACKLING THE TOUGH QUESTIONS
5 LESSONS FOR TELLING THE TRUTH GRACEFULLY
From the weekly blog by Fr Michael White, Pastor of the Church of the Nativity. You can find the original blog here
If you’re a part of a church staff or other ministry and don’t live under a rock, you’ve likely come face-to-face with having to answer tough questions on morals and doctrine. Answering tough and touchy questions is just part of working for a counter-cultural Church.
After decades, even centuries of debate on certain issues, you would think we’d be pretty good at answering questions on tough topics, but we’re not. Because the truth is, it will always be hard. The good news is, you can still learn to do it effectively and gracefully. Here’s 5 important lessons.
Build Trust
You cannot speak truth into a situation where there is no established trust. That’s because receiving truth is an extremely vulnerable position. You’re not just dealing with abstract “issues” but concrete persons.
The problem is, many staffs and congregations are not characterized by a foundation of trust, but by an absence of trust and vulnerability. Start there, even if it takes time. If you don’t have their trust, not only are they not inclined to listen, but you’ll probably just make matters worse.
Balance Humor and Sincerity
Even a brief allusion to certain issues raises defenses. Do it in a homily and it may be the only time ever when every person in the congregation is actually focused what you’re saying. In those cases, it’s just as important how you say something as what you say. Even if not everyone agrees with the teaching, you can still keep and even earn their respect.
A small dose of humor can inject some relief into a message and lower defenses. Be careful – nothing too personal or offensive (do yourself a favor and get a second opinion beforehand). Sincerity, without being too serious, can go a long way getting your message across.
Leverage Your Small Groups
Not every question requires an answer from the pulpit. In fact, most difficult issues need to be talked through at some length, which isn’t possible in a homily anyway. Where in your church is there space and time to do that?
That’s another hidden blessing of building a church culture of small groups. The mission of small groups is not to debate moral or doctrinal issues, but they do build the trust between people necessary to talk about the issues, and ground people in the Bible enough to begin shaping their worldview accordingly.
Break It Up
If you’re discussing a thorny subject, don’t heap it all on at once. People need time beyond one homily to absorb or reflect one point at a time on what you’ve said.
Keep in mind that you’re not under a strict obligation to answer every question on the spot, especially taken off guard. Some people are just plain rude, and do not require an immediate response. If you’re not prepared, set up a time to meet or refer them to someone with more expertise.
Remember the Rule of Grace
The truth can be very convicting and some people have a lot at stake personally and relationally. However the message lands, err on the side of grace rather than judgment. Be confident, but remember to be humble about what you really understand, which is less than we preachers usually assume.
Opening to
Love
Conclusion to the series on the Enneagram by Fr Richard Rohr. You can subscribe to his daily emails here
Each of the
nine Enneagram types has a different trap, a different "sin" that
keeps us from living out of our True Self, which is Love. Brother Joseph
Schmidt shared with us this paraphrase of 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (original author
unknown). I invite you to read these statements and see yourself in them. Only
when we face and embrace our false self with humility can we begin moving
toward freedom and wholeness, toward being Love.
If I live my
life to perfection, doing what is right and good on behalf of others, but act
with compulsion and without love, then I am nothing at all.
If I take
care of the needs of everybody in the world, especially the poor, because of my
own need to help, but am without love even for myself, then I am nothing at
all.
If I am
efficient and successful in all that I do for the sake of justice, but act out
of drivenness and without love, then I am nothing at all.
If I am
cultured and refined, and in touch with the pain of existence, but am absent
from the pain of persons in the present moment who need my empathy; and if I
act without love and compassion, then I am nothing at all.
If I have
the gifts of wisdom, insight, and understanding, but am not engaged with those
around me in the present moment and am without a spirit of compassion and love,
then I am nothing at all.
If I am
faithful, loyal, and obedient, and never deviate from the law, but am
judgmental and blaming, and am without love, then I am nothing at all.
If I live in
a pain-free world of dreams and plans, enjoying optimism and pleasurable
options, but am not addressing present problems and am avoiding people in
actual distress and am without love, then I am nothing at all.
If I am
strong and powerful, but lose my best self in a spirit of resentment,
retaliation, and vindictiveness, and know nothing of the vulnerability of love,
then I am nothing at all.
If I am
settled and accommodating, holding onto a sense of distance and calm, but am
not journeying inward to know and appreciate my weaknesses and gifts, and am
neglecting my own legitimate calling to love myself, then I am nothing at all.
Love is
always patient and kind;
it is never
jealous;
love is
never boastful or conceited;
it is never
rude or selfish;
it does not
take offense, and is not resentful.
Love takes
no pleasure in other people's sins but delights in truth;
it is always
ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes.
Love never
fails, never ceases. 1
Corinthians 13:4-8
Count your blessings
When you respond to someone’s sneeze with an instinctive ‘bless you’, do you ever think about what you’re saying? Sr Teresa White reflects on the essentially social dynamic of a blessing and the way in which John the Baptist, the feast of whose Passion we observe on 29 August, was a communicator of blessing in his life. Her original article can be found here
Blessing, in my childhood, was considered to be the preserve of priests. That this was so is confirmed, in my memory, by visits to our family by the young curate of our parish. Sometimes, when he came, my father was at work, so any conversation that took place was with my mother – we children were greeted courteously, but our verbal participation was neither expected nor encouraged. The visits always ended with my mother saying, ‘Please, Father, give us your blessing’, and we all knelt down, bowed our heads and made the sign of the cross. There was something endearing in the way my mother scooped up Paul, the youngest, into her arms, and put her hand on his head to quieten him so that he too, minuscule as he was, could fittingly receive the blessing. For us it was a holy action, associated with God and goodness.
I was unaccountably reminded of this a few days ago when, in a crowded London bus, a child sneezed. It was a relatively discreet sneeze but it was clearly audible in the silence of a longish halt at traffic lights. The mother’s reaction was immediate: she proffered a tissue, and said ‘Bless you, darling!’ I noticed that at least two other women looked at the child and quietly echoed the mother’s words – I could hear the hiss of their esses! Perhaps yet others, like me, did so silently. The little girl herself smiled as if in acknowledgement.
So even in our secularised culture, it seems, ‘blessing’ is common currency. Yet its origin is unequivocally religious, and some form of the practice of blessing is found not only in Judaism and Christianity but in Islam, Hinduism and Sikhism also. In all these faiths its godliness, its divine connection, is undeniable: to bless is to sanctify, to make holy; to bless is to invite God to intervene in our lives. Dietrich Bonhoeffer puts it well: ‘A blessing’ he says, ‘is the visible, perceptible, effective proximity of God’. In view of my experience on the bus, I found it interesting that he continues: ‘A blessing demands to be passed on – it communicates itself to other people. To be blessed is to be oneself a blessing’. The child on the bus seemed to sense this as she responded instinctively with her smile, passing on the blessing.
The etymology of ‘to bless’, in old English, relates it to the word ‘blood’ and in early times it meant to sprinkle persons or things with the sacrificial blood of animals offered to a divinity. As time passed, water was used, not blood, and the sprinkling came to be seen as a sign of that purification needed by those wishing to enter into God’s presence. To this day, in Judaism and Christianity, sprinkling with water takes place in numerous ritual observances. Psalm 51, used by both traditions, expresses its cleansing purpose: ‘Sprinkle me with water until I am clean; wash me and I will be whiter than snow’ (Ps 51:7).
But the action of sprinkling, which was and still is believed by many people of faith to have a sacred significance, does not exhaust the meaning of ‘blessing’, and our understanding of the word is enriched and deepened if we ponder the Latin equivalent, benedicere. This compound verb literally means to speak (dicere) well (bene), to speak favourably, approvingly, positively of someone. Applied to God, it is often translated as ‘to give praise’, and the praise is coupled with thanksgiving. And from time immemorial we bless certain places and objects: homes and churches, precious books and works of art, food and drink, crops and herds, plants and animals. When we bless these things, we look on them with reverence, we honour them, admire their beauty, appreciate their usefulness, ‘speak well’ of them, and give thanks to God for them.
In his 2014 book, Sacred Fire, Ronald Rolheiser devotes a full chapter to blessing. Without attempting to elaborate the notion of blessing in the Hebrew and Christian scriptures, he briefly notes what he sees to be two essential passages: the early verses of Genesis, where we are told that God looked upon creation and ‘saw that it was good’, and the Gospel accounts of the baptism of Jesus by John. He seeks above all to present the spiritual and psychological benefits of blessing and of being blessed, by God and by one another. His special insight is that blessing is a way out of the depression which afflicts so many adults today, and he believes it can and often does lead to wholeness and contentment, not just for the person blessed, but equally for the one who blesses: ‘when we bless others, we help lift depression from our lives; when we do not bless others, we deepen that depression’ (p. 235). He admits that blessings need not be articulated in words, because ‘there are ways beyond words to tell others that we take delight in them, just as there are many ways to communicate to others that we find them a threat or irritation in our lives’ (p. 227). Nevertheless, he holds that words are usually an important part of a true and heartfelt blessing.
Following the theories of anthropologists, Rolheiser says that blessing has three essential components: looking upon someone with affection and attentiveness, really ‘seeing’ the person and taking delight in what we see; speaking words of affirmation, of approval; and being ready to give up something of ourselves so that the other person may flourish. As I read this, and appreciated its wisdom, I thought of John the Baptist. Details from the four gospels present a picture of John that fulfils Rolheiser’s short list of requirements for ‘blessing’. In the Gospel of John, we are told how John the Baptist ‘stared hard’ at Jesus, looked upon him, recognised him as the ‘Lamb of God’, and later said of Jesus the famous words: ‘he must increase, but I must decrease’. Matthew, Mark and Luke all record the words heard coming from heaven when Jesus was baptised by John: ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on you’.
Rolheiser sees blessing as the ‘crowning glory’ of a prayerful life, a life in which we all participate when we truly see, speak to and give of ourselves to others, and when others do the same for us – something to remember and celebrate the next time we hear, or utter, a simple ‘bless you’.
Sister Teresa White belongs to the Faithful Companions of Jesus. A former teacher, she spent many years in the ministry of spirituality at Katherine House, a retreat and conference centre run by her congregation in Salford.
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