Mersey Leven Catholic Parish
Parish Priest: Fr Mike Delaney
Mob: 0417 279 437
mike.delaney@aohtas.org.au
Deacon in Residence: Steven SmithMob: 0411 522 630
steven.smith@aohtas.org.au
Priest in Residence: Fr Phil McCormack
Mob: 0437 521 257
pmccormack43@bigpond.com
Deacon in Residence: Rev Steven Smith
Mob: 0411 522 630
steven.smith@aohtas.org.au
Postal Address: PO Box 362, Devonport 7310
Parish Office: 90 Stewart Street, Devonport 7310
(Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 10am - 3pm)
Office Phone: 6424 2783 Fax: 6423 5160
Email: merseyleven@aohtas.org.au
Secretary: Annie Davies
Finance Officer: Anne Fisher
Pastoral Council Chair: Felicity Sly
Mob: 0418 301 573
fsly@internode.on.net
Parish Mass times for the Month: mlcpmasstimes.blogspot.com.au
Weekly Homily Podcast: mikedelaney.podomatic.com
Archdiocesan Website: www.hobart.catholic.org.au for news, information and details of other Parishes.
PLENARY COUNCIL PRAYER
Come, Holy Spirit of Pentecost.
Come, Holy Spirit of the great South Land.
O God, bless and unite all your people in Australia
and guide us on the pilgrim way of the Plenary Council.
Give us the grace to see your face in one another
and to recognise Jesus, our companion on the road.
Give us the courage to tell our stories and to speak boldly of your truth.
Give us ears to listen humbly to each other
and a discerning heart to hear what you are saying.
Lead your Church into a hope-filled future,
that we may live the joy of the Gospel.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, bread for the journey from age to age.
Amen.
Our Lady Help of Christians, pray for us.
St Mary MacKillop, pray for us.
Come, Holy Spirit of the great South Land.
O God, bless and unite all your people in Australia
and guide us on the pilgrim way of the Plenary Council.
Give us the grace to see your face in one another
and to recognise Jesus, our companion on the road.
Give us the courage to tell our stories and to speak boldly of your truth.
Give us ears to listen humbly to each other
and a discerning heart to hear what you are saying.
Lead your Church into a hope-filled future,
that we may live the joy of the Gospel.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, bread for the journey from age to age.
Amen.
Our Lady Help of Christians, pray for us.
St Mary MacKillop, pray for us.
Parish Prayer
Heavenly Father,
and calling us to serve as your disciples.
as we use our gifts to serve you.
as we strive to bear witness
to the Gospel and build an amazing parish.
Amen.
Our Parish Sacramental Life
THE FOLLOWING PUBLIC ACTIVITIES ARE SUSPENDED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
Eucharistic Adoration Devonport, Benediction with Adoration Devonport,
Legion of Mary, Prayer Group.
NO PUBLIC MASSES UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE DUE TO THE COVID-19 (CORONAVIRUS) PANDEMIC
DAILY AND SUNDAY MASS ONLINE: You will need to go to the following link and register: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_gHY-gMZ7SZeGMDSJyTDeAQ
Sunday 3rd May 9:00am
Monday 4th May No Mass
Tuesday 5th May 9:00am
Wednesday 6th May 9:00am
Thursday 7th May 9:00am
Friday 8th May 9:00am
Saturday 9th May 9:00am
Sunday 10th May 9:00am
If you are looking for Sunday Mass readings or Daily Mass readings, Universalis has the readings as well as the various Hours of the Divine Office - https://universalis.com/mass.htm
Your prayers are asked for the sick: Barry Mulcahy, Jane Fitzpatrick, Mark Aylett, Tony Kiely, Sand Frankcombe, Judith Xavier, Pat Barker, Paul Richardson, & …
Let us pray for those who have died recently: Ken Bailey, Irene Blachford, Lawrence Keygan, Barry Quinn, Peter Phair, Vanessa Beasley, Lorna Watson, Graham Taylor, Bill Bracken, Bill Halley, Elizabeth Heckscher, Charles Johnson, Edward King
Let us pray for those whose anniversary occurs about this time: 29th April – 5th May, 2020
Brian McCormick, Michael Harvey, Michael Pankiv, Matthew Keen, Margaret Cameron, Shaun Douglas, William Cloney, Catherine Johnson, Julie Horniblow, Aileen Harris, Nell Kelleher, Doris Coad, Peter Rae, Clare Kuhnle, Margaret Nolan, Mary Edmunds, Robert Cooper Fr Dan McMahon, Beverley Cloney, Donald Breen, Robert Charlesworth, Audrey Enniss.
May the souls of the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen
PREGO REFLECTION ON TODAY’S GOSPEL:
Today, I come to spend some quality time with the Lord; I
settle down.
What are the issues which keep coming to my mind today? Gently but
firmly, I put them aside.
They will wait.
Slowly and deliberately, I read the
text.
It may be familiar, but there may be a phrase which strikes me anew.
I
stay with it and ponder.
The gatekeeper protects what is most valuable to him:
his sheep.
Whom or what do I consider to be most valuable to me?
Do I, like the
Pharisees, adhere rigidly to rules and regulations to keep out those I consider
to be brigands and thieves?
Or do I simply trust the Lord to look after my
treasures and myself, as the shepherd looks after his flock?
I take time to
listen to his voice speaking to me through his words.
What do I hear him say to
me?
How do I feel?
I may come to realise that in the past I have been lured by
other voices which I did not recognise, yet still followed.
I tell the Lord
about this.
I also tell him how I want to respond to his voice today.
In time,
with gratitude for any insights I’ve received, I close with Glory be...
Weekly Ramblings
Have had some great and some challenging experiences during this past week as I seek to cope with what is happening around us.
This morning (Thursday) I have been chatting online with clergy and leaders from different parts of the world who are facing the challenge of ‘how to ensure the safety of parishioners as restrictions are lifted’. Yesterday, our Archbishop posed a similar question asking us what we needed to do in each Parish to ‘restart’.
I have to say that I am anxious about starting too soon – and I apologise if anyone thinks it is because I don’t want to – it’s just that having people at the door counting numbers and telling people they can’t come in just isn’t the way I’d want to pastor our community. I’m not certain what decisions might be made but until there is a little more certainty then I would want to wait a little longer. What are your thoughts? Please feel free to comment on the Parish Facebook Group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/265072810272802/) or by email.
Just after writing my thoughts on a re-opening I read an article in Crux – an online ‘magazine’ – with comments by Pope Francis on the question of timing. You can find it here https://cruxnow.com/news-analysis/2020/04/popes-call-for-obedience-on-mass-restrictions-both-pastoral-and-political/ or on the Daily Living Page – https://mikeadelaney.blogspot.com.au
Whilst it might sound counter intuitive two great things have been, firstly, a Finance Committee meeting – bit funny you might think. Quite simply it was the Income report that told us that Parishioners have been incredibly supportive with their continuing contributions to the Planned Giving program for the Parish. In the midst of everything else please accept my heartfelt thanks for your support at this time.
The second great experience is the Pentecost Pilgrimage – I have found the reflections and stories by the presenters refreshing in their simplicity and honesty and am looking forward to the journey as it continues. If you haven’t already tried it go to https://www.pentecostpilgrimage.com/ and sign up.
Stay safe, stay sane and, if you can, stay at home, God bless you
CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER:
The contemplative world is not just in a monastery. It can equally be in our domestic settings.
And how appropriate to be considering such a world in our current situation. So I am offering an introduction to two contemplative prayer forms with the view to maybe establishing an ongoing contemplative prayer group. These are:
· Centering Prayer - a receptive method of silent prayer
· Chanting – a contemplative practice of praying the psalms which naturally draws our focus to the present and calms the dualistic mind.
If you are not familiar with these forms of prayer, I encourage you to give it a go. In this initial program over 4 weeks there will be appropriate teaching to enable you to engage and incorporate into your own prayer. When? Wednesdays at 7 pm. Please let me (John) know by email if you are interested in this initial program, and then I can send you the log in details.
Email: john.leearcher@gmail.com
ONLINE GIVING: The details for online Planned Giving are: Bank Commonwealth; Account Name: Mersey Leven; BSB: 067 000; Acc No: 1031 5724. In the Description area simply add your Name or Envelope Number.
BANK DEPOSIT: If you go to a Branch of the Commonwealth Bank to make a deposit to the Parish you will need to change the Account Name to Catholic Development Fund. The BSB and Account Number remain the same.
CARITAS/PROJECT COMPASSION: Please support the work of Caritas/Project Compassion by making your Project Compassion offering online: Bank: CBA, Account Name: Caritas Australia. BSB: 062438 Account No: 10038330. Reference please put Agent Number 187907 then your surname. We are unable to provide receipts, please contact Caritas directly.
On behalf of Mersey Leven Parish we would
like to wish Fr Mike
A Day In My "Coronated" Life At The Vatican
The Holy See Press Office has been a welcome refuge during the COVID-19 lockdown - Robert Mickens, Rome, May 1, 2020.
This article is from the La-Croix International website - you can access the site here but complete full access is via paid subscription
Ionel is my newest friend in Rome. But he was so out-of-his-mind crazy with rage one day last week that I had to keep my distance.
He had left his place to go get some food, but when he came back everything he owned was gone. And he was so angry, almost to the point of becoming violent, that it was useless to even try to talk to him at that moment.
Ionel is a homeless Romanian migrant of perhaps 35 or 40 years of age who suffers from diabetes and probably other ailments, both physical and psychological. He lives on the streets around the Vatican.
And during the coronavirus lockdown he's made his home of cardboard boxes, blankets and a satchel of personal items in an outer nook of a floor-to-ceiling store window.
The window is part of high-end shop, shuttered for weeks now, that sells mosaics, icons and other religious goods.
And it is also right next to my "parking spot" on a corner next the Holy See Press Office.
Going to work and getting a workout
During most of coronavirus lockdown I've been cycling to the press hall almost every day. It's open from 11 a.m. till 1 p.m. And going there provides a valid reason for being out during the quarantine.
This privilege allows me to get some exercise. It's about a 15-20 minute trek to the Vatican from my flat, which is located between Santa Maria Maggiore and Saint John Lateran.
But the return route, because it's always more "creative" and much longer, can take 45-60 minutes at a good clip and with a lot of sweat.
One of the first mornings I went down to the press office, and as I was locking my mountain bike to a pole, someone said: "Ciao, caro" – that friendly, slightly chummier Italian greeting.
That is when I met Ionel.
He had moved his makeshift abode across to the pedestrian strip along the Via della Conciliazione and had perched himself up against one of those massive travertine lampposts that line the long avenue that stretches from the Tiber River to the outer reaches of St. Peter's Square.
"Ciao," I said, as I made towards the press office.
"Auguri!" he shouted back at me.
That's a festive or celebratory sort of exclamation usually used to express holiday or a birthday greetings. It's also used as a form of congratulation.
About the best way to describe the context in which Ionel used it is something like "best wishes" or "enjoy".
"Grazie," I said and reciprocated the greeting, "Auguri!" before going inside.
The few, the brave…
Now, during this entire COVID-19 shutdown, only three or four of us "Vaticanisti" have been going to the press office regularly.
When I joked with Matteo Bruni, the director, that I only come here to get out for exercise, he said: "That's good, because we keep this open so you all have a place to go."
The other two regulars take up their places at the opposite ends of a long table in the journalists' work area. I, instead, have made my "office" next door in the large theater-like hall where the press conferences are held – the entire room.
I only made this sacrifice to respect social distancing measures, of course. I sit comfortably in the very last row and edit articles, looking up from time to time over a vast sea of royal blue velour seats.
Then about ten minutes before 1 p.m. one of the fellows at the front desk announces over the loudspeaker that the press office will soon be closing. The three of us gather our things and head out.
"I'm already writing our hagiography," I say to one of them.
"Future generations need to know that we were among the few brave souls that kept the lines of communication between the Vatican and the outside world open during the plague," I say ridiculously.
Then we leave.
"The good Lord takes care of me"
When I was unchaining my bike to go home that day when Ionel first greeted me, he said hello again.
And that's when I went over and asked him his name. Now, weeks later, he and I are famous friends.
I can't say I know an awful lot about him. He's never asked me for money or anything else. And whenever I've asked him if he needs anything, he just lifts his eyes and points an index finger to the sky and says: "The good Lord takes care of me."
Then he shrugs and sighs. And he says, "What else can we do?"
Actually, the Lord also has some helpers who take care of Ionel, especially one my new friend calls "the padre". That's Padre Konrad (actually Cardinal Konrad Krajewski), the pope's almoner.
The Polish prelate helps Ionel get his necessary supply of insulin to keep the diabetes in check and he takes him to the doctor for check-ups.
"The padre said he can help me get my leg operated on," my friend told me the other day.
Padre Konrad, Caritas and Sant'Egidio
A few days later when I arrived he seemed unusually chipper and upbeat. And he looked a little different.
"Hey, you shaved and got a haircut," I said.
He smiled and pointed over to the colonnades of St. Peter's Square. That's where Padre Konrad's "salon" for the homeless is located – there are toilets, showers and first-aid facilities. And on certain days people can get a haircut.
I'm ashamed to say that I never really noticed my new Romanian friend – or his numerous "colleagues" – before the coronavirus emptied the Eternal City's streets and squares of all but those who have no home.
Except for that one incident when Ionel flew into a rage, no doubt because he felt deeply humiliated even more than he felt robbed, the street people down by the Vatican seem very calm.
For these past weeks the city has been theirs and their friends' – the pigeons and cats – with whom they share the food they get from Caritas, the Sant'Egidio Community and other folks who try to help them.
Meanwhile, my bicycle rides down to the press office, which were initially aimed merely at getting some exercise during the coronavirus lockdown, are now crowned with a blessing.
Being able to share a few words and thoughts each day with Ionel, one of God's favorite children.
The Desert Mystics
This article is taken from the Daily Email sent by Fr Richard Rohr OFM from the Center for Action and Contemplation. You can subscribe to receive the email by clicking here
Though I deeply admire the Desert Fathers and Mothers, I
must be completely honest with you. There is much about them that I do not find
attractive or helpful. And it is important to share that here, or you might
pick up one of the collections of their “sayings” and throw it out as unreal,
dualistic, naïve, and pre-rational—all of which, I think, would be largely
true. The desert mystics represent a level of human consciousness and
historical development that we have collectively moved far beyond. And yet, I
still admire and even need to learn from them! Let me use the desert abbas and
ammas to illustrate an important point for understanding many historical
personages and traditions (and even the Scriptures themselves).
Contemporary philosopher Ken Wilber offers a helpful
distinction between stages and states. [1] Your stage is your outer awareness.
Your state is your inner aliveness. The goal is to be both holy and whole,
saintly and wise. But your state and stage don’t always coincide; many of us
are stronger in one area than another.
You can be a high-level thinker and be quite astute about
psychology, theology, history, or philosophy (a high stage), but do it all from
a perspective of individualism and arrogance about that very information (a low
state)—because it is still all about “you.” Conversely, you could be quite
unified within and with others, in a high state of loving consciousness, but be
poorly informed, lacking in exposure and education to helpful and informative
knowledge.
Perhaps you know people who are compassionate and kind yet
still reveal prejudicial attitudes. They may seem hypocritical but are simply
at a high state and a low stage. Love will win out in them and goodness will
flow through them, even if they don’t have the gift of teaching or of
understanding complex or contradictory issues. They are holy but not whole,
saintly but not “smart.”
This describes many Desert Fathers and Mothers: having high
states of union but by today’s standards low levels of cultural, historic, or
intellectual exposure to coherent thinking. Enjoy them for their state, but do
not hate them for their stage! Today we have large segments of the population
with the opposite problem: high stages of intellectual exposure with very low
levels of unitive consciousness—very smart but without awe, humility, or love,
which the Desert Fathers and Mothers had in spades!
Many of the desert sayings may sound naïve, simplistic, and
even dangerous, but try to receive the simple wisdom of the desert mystics with
an open heart and mind in the coming days and let it lead you to authentic joy.
Perceive and enjoy their state of loving union; don’t dismiss them for living
in a pre-rational society. Perhaps holding this tension compassionately for
them will help us do the same for people in our own time.
[1] See, for example, “States, Stages, and the Three Kinds
of Self,” Integral Life (September 16, 2009),
https://integrallife.com/states-stages-and-3-kinds-self/.
God and the Principle of Non-Contradiction
This article is taken from the archive of Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI. You can find this article and many others by clicking here
It is funny where the lessons of our classrooms are sometimes understood.
I studied philosophy when I was still a bit too young for it, a nineteen year-old studying the metaphysics of Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas. But something from a metaphysics course remains indelibly stamped in my mind. We learned that there are four “transcendental”properties to God: Scholastic metaphysics tells us that God is One, True, Good, and Beautiful. My young mind then had some grasp of what is meant by True, Good, and Beautiful since we have some common sense notions of what these are; but what is Oneness? What is divine about being undivided?
The answer to that didn’t come to me in a classroom or in an academic discussion, even though I have often tried to explain its meaning to students in a classroom. It came to me in a grocery store.
I had been buying groceries in the same store for twelve years when a trivial incident helped explain God’s Oneness and its importance to me. The store, a large supermarket, has a fruit isle where you pick up apples, oranges, grapefruits, bananas, and the like and then bag them yourself in plastic bags the store supplies. Alongside the plastic bag dispensers there are small containers holding metal twisters you use to tie up the top of your bag. One day, I picked up some fruit, put it into a bag, but all the containers containing the twisters were empty, every one of them. As I checked out my groceries, suspecting that possibly someone that taken them as a prank, I mentioned to the cashier that all the twisters were gone. Her answer took me aback: “But, Sir, we have never had them in this store!” Thinking she might be new on the job, I said: “I’ve been coming here for more than 10 years and you’ve always had them! You can even see their containers from here!” With an assurance that comes from absolute certitude, she replied: “I’ve been working here for a long time, and I can assure you we’ve never had them!”
I pushed things no further, but, walking out of the store I thought this to myself: “If she’s right, then I’m certifiably insane! If she’s right then I’m completely out of touch with reality, have been for a long time, and I have no idea what sanity is!” I was certain that I had seen the twisters for ten years! Well, they had reappeared by the next time I entered the store and they are there today, but that little episodic challenge to my sanity taught me something. I now know what it means that God is One and why that is important.
That God is One (and not divided) is the very foundation for all rationality and sanity. That God is undivided and consistent within assures you that two plus two will always be four – and that you can anchor your sanity on that. That God is undivided assures you that if you saw package twisters in a store for twelve years, they were there … and you are not insane. That God is One is the basis for our sanity. It undergirds the Principle of Non-contradiction: Something is or it is not, it cannot be both; and two plus two can never be five – and that allows us to live rational, sane lives. Because God is undivided, we can trust our sanity.
The truth of this was never jeopardized by the great epistemological debates in history. Doubts about rationality and sanity do not come from Descartes, Kant, Hegel, Locke, Hume, Wittgenstein, or Jacques Derrida; these philosophers merely argued about the structure of rationality, never about its existence. What jeopardizes our sanity (and is, no doubt, the greatest moral threat in our world today) is lying, the denial of facts, the changing of facts, and the creation of fake facts. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is as dangerous and pernicious as lying, dishonesty. It is no accident that Christianity names Satan the Prince of Lies and teaches that lying is at the root of the unforgivable sin against the Holy Spirit. When facts are no longer facts, then our very sanity is under siege because lying corrupts the basis for rationality.
God is One! That means that there is no internal contradiction within God and that assures us that there is no internal contradiction possible within the structure of reality and within a sane mind. What has happened, has forever happened, and cannot be denied. Two plus two will forever be four and because of that we can remain sane and trust reality enough to live coherent lives.
The single most dangerous thing in the whole world is lying, dishonesty, denying facts. To deny a fact is not only to play fast and loose with your own sanity and the very foundations of rationality; it is also to play fast and loose with God whose consistency undergirds all sanity and all meaning. God is one, undivided, consistent.
and calling us to serve as your disciples.
as we use our gifts to serve you.
as we strive to bear witness
Amen.
Our Parish Sacramental Life
Baptism: Arrangements are made by contacting Parish Office. Parents attend a Baptismal Preparation Session organised with a Priest.
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: BY APPOINTMENT ONLY
THE FOLLOWING PUBLIC ACTIVITIES ARE SUSPENDED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
Eucharistic Adoration Devonport, Benediction with Adoration Devonport,
Legion of Mary, Prayer Group.
NO PUBLIC MASSES UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE DUE TO THE COVID-19 (CORONAVIRUS) PANDEMIC
DAILY AND SUNDAY MASS ONLINE: You will need to go to the following link and register: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_gHY-gMZ7SZeGMDSJyTDeAQ
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. Please keep this confirmation email as that will be your entry point for all further Masses or Liturgies.
Monday 4th May No Mass
Tuesday 5th May 9:00am
Wednesday 6th May 9:00am
Thursday 7th May 9:00am
Friday 8th May 9:00am
Saturday 9th May 9:00am
Sunday 10th May 9:00am
If you are looking for Sunday Mass readings or Daily Mass readings, Universalis has the readings as well as the various Hours of the Divine Office - https://universalis.com/mass.htm
Your prayers are asked for the sick: Barry Mulcahy, Jane Fitzpatrick, Mark Aylett, Tony Kiely, Sand Frankcombe, Judith Xavier, Pat Barker, Paul Richardson, & …
Let us pray for those who have died recently: Ken Bailey, Irene Blachford, Lawrence Keygan, Barry Quinn, Peter Phair, Vanessa Beasley, Lorna Watson, Graham Taylor, Bill Bracken, Bill Halley, Elizabeth Heckscher, Charles Johnson, Edward King
Let us pray for those whose anniversary occurs about this time: 29th April – 5th May, 2020
Brian McCormick, Michael Harvey, Michael Pankiv, Matthew Keen, Margaret Cameron, Shaun Douglas, William Cloney, Catherine Johnson, Julie Horniblow, Aileen Harris, Nell Kelleher, Doris Coad, Peter Rae, Clare Kuhnle, Margaret Nolan, Mary Edmunds, Robert Cooper Fr Dan McMahon, Beverley Cloney, Donald Breen, Robert Charlesworth, Audrey Enniss.
May the souls of the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen
PREGO REFLECTION ON TODAY’S GOSPEL:
Today, I come to spend some quality time with the Lord; I
settle down.
What are the issues which keep coming to my mind today? Gently but
firmly, I put them aside.
They will wait.
Slowly and deliberately, I read the
text.
It may be familiar, but there may be a phrase which strikes me anew.
I
stay with it and ponder.
The gatekeeper protects what is most valuable to him:
his sheep.
Whom or what do I consider to be most valuable to me?
Do I, like the
Pharisees, adhere rigidly to rules and regulations to keep out those I consider
to be brigands and thieves?
Or do I simply trust the Lord to look after my
treasures and myself, as the shepherd looks after his flock?
I take time to
listen to his voice speaking to me through his words.
What do I hear him say to
me?
How do I feel?
I may come to realise that in the past I have been lured by
other voices which I did not recognise, yet still followed.
I tell the Lord
about this.
I also tell him how I want to respond to his voice today.
In time,
with gratitude for any insights I’ve received, I close with Glory be...
Weekly Ramblings
Have had some great and some challenging experiences during this past week as I seek to cope with what is happening around us.
This morning (Thursday) I have been chatting online with clergy and leaders from different parts of the world who are facing the challenge of ‘how to ensure the safety of parishioners as restrictions are lifted’. Yesterday, our Archbishop posed a similar question asking us what we needed to do in each Parish to ‘restart’.
I have to say that I am anxious about starting too soon – and I apologise if anyone thinks it is because I don’t want to – it’s just that having people at the door counting numbers and telling people they can’t come in just isn’t the way I’d want to pastor our community. I’m not certain what decisions might be made but until there is a little more certainty then I would want to wait a little longer. What are your thoughts? Please feel free to comment on the Parish Facebook Group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/265072810272802/) or by email.
Just after writing my thoughts on a re-opening I read an article in Crux – an online ‘magazine’ – with comments by Pope Francis on the question of timing. You can find it here https://cruxnow.com/news-analysis/2020/04/popes-call-for-obedience-on-mass-restrictions-both-pastoral-and-political/ or on the Daily Living Page – https://mikeadelaney.blogspot.com.au
Whilst it might sound counter intuitive two great things have been, firstly, a Finance Committee meeting – bit funny you might think. Quite simply it was the Income report that told us that Parishioners have been incredibly supportive with their continuing contributions to the Planned Giving program for the Parish. In the midst of everything else please accept my heartfelt thanks for your support at this time.
The second great experience is the Pentecost Pilgrimage – I have found the reflections and stories by the presenters refreshing in their simplicity and honesty and am looking forward to the journey as it continues. If you haven’t already tried it go to https://www.pentecostpilgrimage.com/ and sign up.
Stay safe, stay sane and, if you can, stay at home, God bless you
CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER:
The contemplative world is not just in a monastery. It can equally be in our domestic settings.
And how appropriate to be considering such a world in our current situation. So I am offering an introduction to two contemplative prayer forms with the view to maybe establishing an ongoing contemplative prayer group. These are:
· Centering Prayer - a receptive method of silent prayer
· Chanting – a contemplative practice of praying the psalms which naturally draws our focus to the present and calms the dualistic mind.
If you are not familiar with these forms of prayer, I encourage you to give it a go. In this initial program over 4 weeks there will be appropriate teaching to enable you to engage and incorporate into your own prayer. When? Wednesdays at 7 pm. Please let me (John) know by email if you are interested in this initial program, and then I can send you the log in details.
Email: john.leearcher@gmail.com
ONLINE GIVING: The details for online Planned Giving are: Bank Commonwealth; Account Name: Mersey Leven; BSB: 067 000; Acc No: 1031 5724. In the Description area simply add your Name or Envelope Number.
BANK DEPOSIT: If you go to a Branch of the Commonwealth Bank to make a deposit to the Parish you will need to change the Account Name to Catholic Development Fund. The BSB and Account Number remain the same.
CARITAS/PROJECT COMPASSION: Please support the work of Caritas/Project Compassion by making your Project Compassion offering online: Bank: CBA, Account Name: Caritas Australia. BSB: 062438 Account No: 10038330. Reference please put Agent Number 187907 then your surname. We are unable to provide receipts, please contact Caritas directly.
On behalf of Mersey Leven Parish we would
like to wish Fr Mike
a very happy
‘Isolation’ birthday, Sunday 3rd May. (BIG ONE NEXT YEAR!)
We are very
grateful for your ministry amongst us,
(even if it is via newsletter, email, zoom,
internet and so on and so on)
during these
very trying times.
Letter From Rome
This article is from the La-Croix International website - you can access the site here but complete full access is via paid subscription
Ionel is my newest friend in Rome. But he was so out-of-his-mind crazy with rage one day last week that I had to keep my distance.
He had left his place to go get some food, but when he came back everything he owned was gone. And he was so angry, almost to the point of becoming violent, that it was useless to even try to talk to him at that moment.
Ionel is a homeless Romanian migrant of perhaps 35 or 40 years of age who suffers from diabetes and probably other ailments, both physical and psychological. He lives on the streets around the Vatican.
And during the coronavirus lockdown he's made his home of cardboard boxes, blankets and a satchel of personal items in an outer nook of a floor-to-ceiling store window.
The window is part of high-end shop, shuttered for weeks now, that sells mosaics, icons and other religious goods.
And it is also right next to my "parking spot" on a corner next the Holy See Press Office.
Going to work and getting a workout
During most of coronavirus lockdown I've been cycling to the press hall almost every day. It's open from 11 a.m. till 1 p.m. And going there provides a valid reason for being out during the quarantine.
This privilege allows me to get some exercise. It's about a 15-20 minute trek to the Vatican from my flat, which is located between Santa Maria Maggiore and Saint John Lateran.
But the return route, because it's always more "creative" and much longer, can take 45-60 minutes at a good clip and with a lot of sweat.
One of the first mornings I went down to the press office, and as I was locking my mountain bike to a pole, someone said: "Ciao, caro" – that friendly, slightly chummier Italian greeting.
That is when I met Ionel.
He had moved his makeshift abode across to the pedestrian strip along the Via della Conciliazione and had perched himself up against one of those massive travertine lampposts that line the long avenue that stretches from the Tiber River to the outer reaches of St. Peter's Square.
"Ciao," I said, as I made towards the press office.
"Auguri!" he shouted back at me.
That's a festive or celebratory sort of exclamation usually used to express holiday or a birthday greetings. It's also used as a form of congratulation.
About the best way to describe the context in which Ionel used it is something like "best wishes" or "enjoy".
"Grazie," I said and reciprocated the greeting, "Auguri!" before going inside.
The few, the brave…
Now, during this entire COVID-19 shutdown, only three or four of us "Vaticanisti" have been going to the press office regularly.
When I joked with Matteo Bruni, the director, that I only come here to get out for exercise, he said: "That's good, because we keep this open so you all have a place to go."
The other two regulars take up their places at the opposite ends of a long table in the journalists' work area. I, instead, have made my "office" next door in the large theater-like hall where the press conferences are held – the entire room.
I only made this sacrifice to respect social distancing measures, of course. I sit comfortably in the very last row and edit articles, looking up from time to time over a vast sea of royal blue velour seats.
Then about ten minutes before 1 p.m. one of the fellows at the front desk announces over the loudspeaker that the press office will soon be closing. The three of us gather our things and head out.
"I'm already writing our hagiography," I say to one of them.
"Future generations need to know that we were among the few brave souls that kept the lines of communication between the Vatican and the outside world open during the plague," I say ridiculously.
Then we leave.
"The good Lord takes care of me"
When I was unchaining my bike to go home that day when Ionel first greeted me, he said hello again.
And that's when I went over and asked him his name. Now, weeks later, he and I are famous friends.
I can't say I know an awful lot about him. He's never asked me for money or anything else. And whenever I've asked him if he needs anything, he just lifts his eyes and points an index finger to the sky and says: "The good Lord takes care of me."
Then he shrugs and sighs. And he says, "What else can we do?"
Actually, the Lord also has some helpers who take care of Ionel, especially one my new friend calls "the padre". That's Padre Konrad (actually Cardinal Konrad Krajewski), the pope's almoner.
The Polish prelate helps Ionel get his necessary supply of insulin to keep the diabetes in check and he takes him to the doctor for check-ups.
"The padre said he can help me get my leg operated on," my friend told me the other day.
Padre Konrad, Caritas and Sant'Egidio
A few days later when I arrived he seemed unusually chipper and upbeat. And he looked a little different.
"Hey, you shaved and got a haircut," I said.
He smiled and pointed over to the colonnades of St. Peter's Square. That's where Padre Konrad's "salon" for the homeless is located – there are toilets, showers and first-aid facilities. And on certain days people can get a haircut.
I'm ashamed to say that I never really noticed my new Romanian friend – or his numerous "colleagues" – before the coronavirus emptied the Eternal City's streets and squares of all but those who have no home.
Except for that one incident when Ionel flew into a rage, no doubt because he felt deeply humiliated even more than he felt robbed, the street people down by the Vatican seem very calm.
For these past weeks the city has been theirs and their friends' – the pigeons and cats – with whom they share the food they get from Caritas, the Sant'Egidio Community and other folks who try to help them.
Meanwhile, my bicycle rides down to the press office, which were initially aimed merely at getting some exercise during the coronavirus lockdown, are now crowned with a blessing.
Being able to share a few words and thoughts each day with Ionel, one of God's favorite children.
The Desert Mystics
This article is taken from the Daily Email sent by Fr Richard Rohr OFM from the Center for Action and Contemplation. You can subscribe to receive the email by clicking here
Though I deeply admire the Desert Fathers and Mothers, I
must be completely honest with you. There is much about them that I do not find
attractive or helpful. And it is important to share that here, or you might
pick up one of the collections of their “sayings” and throw it out as unreal,
dualistic, naïve, and pre-rational—all of which, I think, would be largely
true. The desert mystics represent a level of human consciousness and
historical development that we have collectively moved far beyond. And yet, I
still admire and even need to learn from them! Let me use the desert abbas and
ammas to illustrate an important point for understanding many historical
personages and traditions (and even the Scriptures themselves).
Contemporary philosopher Ken Wilber offers a helpful
distinction between stages and states. [1] Your stage is your outer awareness.
Your state is your inner aliveness. The goal is to be both holy and whole,
saintly and wise. But your state and stage don’t always coincide; many of us
are stronger in one area than another.
You can be a high-level thinker and be quite astute about
psychology, theology, history, or philosophy (a high stage), but do it all from
a perspective of individualism and arrogance about that very information (a low
state)—because it is still all about “you.” Conversely, you could be quite
unified within and with others, in a high state of loving consciousness, but be
poorly informed, lacking in exposure and education to helpful and informative
knowledge.
Perhaps you know people who are compassionate and kind yet
still reveal prejudicial attitudes. They may seem hypocritical but are simply
at a high state and a low stage. Love will win out in them and goodness will
flow through them, even if they don’t have the gift of teaching or of
understanding complex or contradictory issues. They are holy but not whole,
saintly but not “smart.”
This describes many Desert Fathers and Mothers: having high
states of union but by today’s standards low levels of cultural, historic, or
intellectual exposure to coherent thinking. Enjoy them for their state, but do
not hate them for their stage! Today we have large segments of the population
with the opposite problem: high stages of intellectual exposure with very low
levels of unitive consciousness—very smart but without awe, humility, or love,
which the Desert Fathers and Mothers had in spades!
Many of the desert sayings may sound naïve, simplistic, and
even dangerous, but try to receive the simple wisdom of the desert mystics with
an open heart and mind in the coming days and let it lead you to authentic joy.
Perceive and enjoy their state of loving union; don’t dismiss them for living
in a pre-rational society. Perhaps holding this tension compassionately for
them will help us do the same for people in our own time.
[1] See, for example, “States, Stages, and the Three Kinds
of Self,” Integral Life (September 16, 2009),
https://integrallife.com/states-stages-and-3-kinds-self/.
God and the Principle of Non-Contradiction
This article is taken from the archive of Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI. You can find this article and many others by clicking here
It is funny where the lessons of our classrooms are sometimes understood.
I studied philosophy when I was still a bit too young for it, a nineteen year-old studying the metaphysics of Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas. But something from a metaphysics course remains indelibly stamped in my mind. We learned that there are four “transcendental”properties to God: Scholastic metaphysics tells us that God is One, True, Good, and Beautiful. My young mind then had some grasp of what is meant by True, Good, and Beautiful since we have some common sense notions of what these are; but what is Oneness? What is divine about being undivided?
The answer to that didn’t come to me in a classroom or in an academic discussion, even though I have often tried to explain its meaning to students in a classroom. It came to me in a grocery store.
I had been buying groceries in the same store for twelve years when a trivial incident helped explain God’s Oneness and its importance to me. The store, a large supermarket, has a fruit isle where you pick up apples, oranges, grapefruits, bananas, and the like and then bag them yourself in plastic bags the store supplies. Alongside the plastic bag dispensers there are small containers holding metal twisters you use to tie up the top of your bag. One day, I picked up some fruit, put it into a bag, but all the containers containing the twisters were empty, every one of them. As I checked out my groceries, suspecting that possibly someone that taken them as a prank, I mentioned to the cashier that all the twisters were gone. Her answer took me aback: “But, Sir, we have never had them in this store!” Thinking she might be new on the job, I said: “I’ve been coming here for more than 10 years and you’ve always had them! You can even see their containers from here!” With an assurance that comes from absolute certitude, she replied: “I’ve been working here for a long time, and I can assure you we’ve never had them!”
I pushed things no further, but, walking out of the store I thought this to myself: “If she’s right, then I’m certifiably insane! If she’s right then I’m completely out of touch with reality, have been for a long time, and I have no idea what sanity is!” I was certain that I had seen the twisters for ten years! Well, they had reappeared by the next time I entered the store and they are there today, but that little episodic challenge to my sanity taught me something. I now know what it means that God is One and why that is important.
That God is One (and not divided) is the very foundation for all rationality and sanity. That God is undivided and consistent within assures you that two plus two will always be four – and that you can anchor your sanity on that. That God is undivided assures you that if you saw package twisters in a store for twelve years, they were there … and you are not insane. That God is One is the basis for our sanity. It undergirds the Principle of Non-contradiction: Something is or it is not, it cannot be both; and two plus two can never be five – and that allows us to live rational, sane lives. Because God is undivided, we can trust our sanity.
The truth of this was never jeopardized by the great epistemological debates in history. Doubts about rationality and sanity do not come from Descartes, Kant, Hegel, Locke, Hume, Wittgenstein, or Jacques Derrida; these philosophers merely argued about the structure of rationality, never about its existence. What jeopardizes our sanity (and is, no doubt, the greatest moral threat in our world today) is lying, the denial of facts, the changing of facts, and the creation of fake facts. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is as dangerous and pernicious as lying, dishonesty. It is no accident that Christianity names Satan the Prince of Lies and teaches that lying is at the root of the unforgivable sin against the Holy Spirit. When facts are no longer facts, then our very sanity is under siege because lying corrupts the basis for rationality.
God is One! That means that there is no internal contradiction within God and that assures us that there is no internal contradiction possible within the structure of reality and within a sane mind. What has happened, has forever happened, and cannot be denied. Two plus two will forever be four and because of that we can remain sane and trust reality enough to live coherent lives.
The single most dangerous thing in the whole world is lying, dishonesty, denying facts. To deny a fact is not only to play fast and loose with your own sanity and the very foundations of rationality; it is also to play fast and loose with God whose consistency undergirds all sanity and all meaning. God is one, undivided, consistent.
A 'Mobile - First' Church
A 'Mobile - First' Church
This article is taken from the Blog posted by Fr Michael White, Pastor of the Church of the Nativity, Timoneum, Baltimore. You can find the original blog by clicking here
In a recent homily, Pope Francis offered a caution for parishes turning to digital means of communication to do ministry. He said clearly that a church which exclusively operates online, without physical presence and celebration of the sacraments, would be at risk of becoming individualistic, insular, and detached from a living faith.
This caution comes at a turning point for many parishes around the world. Faced with lockdowns and occupancy limits, they have pivoted to digital communication such as online livestreams in place of public Mass. It’s an effective way to maintain connection with and spiritual support for their congregation. Obviously, they have no choice, though I am sure this experience will only increase our appreciation for celebrating the sacraments together when we are allowed to do so. The Catholic Church cannot be the Catholic Church unless we are gathering to celebrate the Eucharist and the other sacraments.
But…
I have been positive about the impact we think digital communication and technology will have, indeed does have at the local parish level. The sacramental presence of the Church does not end when your congregants head to the parking lot. Instead, the community grows and deepens, aggregating all of life into the reality of the Eucharist received at Mass. Each congregant leaves with a mission to bring Christ to where the unchurched are, and that’s online.
That’s why, as a parish, our new rally cry is:
Let’s be a mobile-first parish.
Mobile-first merely recognizes the first path by which people today are approaching the sacraments: by an initial, albeit imperfect, encounter mediated by a screen. This imperfect encounter can lead to church attendance and integration into the sacramental life of the parish. This type of encounter wasn’t born with the coronavirus, it has been the norm for most people since the dawn of smartphones and high-speed internet. Therefore, it won’t end when the world has forgotten about COVID-19.
Mobile first means…
1) Your website is your new front door.
Most people today would not consider stepping foot inside a restaurant until they had gone online to check reviews and see the menu. The decision to visit a local church likewise starts online. When newcomers Google your church, what will they find? Is your website filled with information for insiders or is it designed for newcomers?
2) Livestreaming is your new beginner’s experience.
Like your website, the unchurched will use your livestream to ask questions like: “would I feel comfortable in this environment” or “is the preaching applicable to my life?” If your church is just trying out livestreaming during the lockdown, by all means consider keeping up the practice. Livestreaming isn’t just for insiders who can’t leave their houses. It should primarily be for those who want to check out your church but aren’t comfortable coming in-person yet.
3) Electronic giving is your new offering basket.
It’s likely that even after the worst of the lockdowns are lifted, some practices will have to remain discontinued. Passing the basket will be one of them. We should prepare for this reality now by setting up easy-to-use channels of online giving. Select a provider that has multiple ways of giving like text-to-give.
Mobile-first doesn’t mean online-only. It only means acknowledging that everyone we’re trying to reach is on-line. We need to be too.
Laudato si' and Covid-19: Can Praises still Be Sung In A Strange Land?
The coronavirus pandemic is highlighting in a new and acute way the vulnerability of the human race, and our interconnection with one another and with other creatures, something of which the poorest communities in the world are already well aware. Celia Deane-Drummond of the Laudato Si’ Research Institute, Campion Hall, University of Oxford. In this article she alerts us to the wake-up call that we are hearing to preserve and celebrate every part of our common home.[1] Her most recent book is Theological Ethics Through a Multispecies Lens, Evolution of Wisdom Volume 1 (Oxford University Press, 2019); Shadow Sophia, Evolution of Wisdom Volume 2 (Oxford University Press, 2021), in press.
This article is taken from the ThinkingFaith.org website where you can find a wide range of articles by clicking here
This year was supposed to be a year of celebration in Rome, commemorating five years since the release of Laudato si’, the papal encyclical on care for our common home. However, instead of the gratitude that ought to have characterised the marking of that anniversary, the underlying public sentiment when witnessing the unfolding events first in China, then Italy, Spain and now the UK, USA and so many other countries, is panic, horror and anxiety.
Some reporters have tried to find examples of good news in order to lift the prevailing angst and heaviness. One is that stopping or drastically reducing flying and other activities does literally clean up our air. But before making too hasty a judgment about this, we must acknowledge that vulnerable, poor communities, such as those of the Pacific Islands, are losing their economic foothold as an indirect result of Covid-19. The very factors that lead to ‘ecological virtues’, such as halting the carbon footprint of global exchange, also open up other threats to the means of addressing basic human need. It shows how entangled our lives are and how extremely complicated it is to try and solve threats to our common home.
In the Western hemisphere, we have also largely forgotten what entanglement with other species means. Yes, we keep a pet dog or cat, or perhaps see an urban fox or mouse. But our interconnectedness is not just with the species that we encounter daily, but myriad creatures of the biological world of which we are part. What is significant in the case of Covid-19, like other new diseases of the last century such as SARS or HIV, is that it is zoonotic – it has jumped across a species boundary. Some scientists say it comes from bats, others from snakes, possibly through a mammalian intermediary like Malayan pangolins. Crowded ‘wet’ live animal markets are potential sources. Often these are illicit markets housing rare species or parts of species in some cases, as with the rhino horn, parts of some snakes or others thought to provide aphrodisiac potency to satisfy an ever-present market, including that in the Western world.
What is really surprising is that something like this has not happened on this scale before. The global market disrupts the delicate ecological balance and protection of species that often characterise indigenous communities living within fragile ecologies. There are political, social, moral and biological aspects to why Covid-19 has appeared on the global scene in the twenty-first century.
Much of the public ethical discussion about Covid-19 is about issues of justice. Who gets access to what has increasingly become a lottery in availability of healthcare, testing and personal protective equipment. Political experimentation costs lives. The most vulnerable suffer directly from this disease, but the indirect national and global economic and social impacts cut deep. Short of finding a cure or vaccine, social distancing or isolation is the only possible way forward. We are asked to remain distant. It’s a self-emptying sacrifice of love, reminiscent of Good Friday, that brings pain of absence – the pain of not being able to be present with those we love or even gather in communion for burial of the dead. Dying alone or with masked carers is not the kind of death any would wish for. It feels counterintuitive.
The more fundamental issue to consider is our common shared humanity, to which this pain points us. Evolutionary anthropology highlights our co-evolution with other species and our highly distinctive ‘hyper’ sociality. Cutting out the opportunity for that sociality is deeply disturbing for many people. But there seems to be no other choice.
Pope Francis argues in Laudato si’ that technology is a poor substitute for human relationships. He welcomes technology that is at the service of the common good, but not when it replaces social bonds. We are now finding the deep truth in what he says. Doing everything through FaceTime or other virtual tools is dissatisfying and feels odd to most people. We are now in a strange land, in spite of familiarity, where we cannot even properly weep and mourn with others. Even papal Masses and eucharistic communion, the liturgical highlight of the Christian year in the Triduum, and the material incarnate source of Christian life, are virtual. What are the spiritual lessons in this dark night, that the early mystics knew so well? The shadow of the empty tomb lingers.
So, can we still find a voice to sing praises, or would such a gesture be hollow in the wake of such an outcry of suffering? Kierkegaard believed that anxiety is the root of sin, and when we consider many aspects of this crisis, we can see that he was at least partly correct. It is from anxiety that politicians distort what is really happening in the public sphere; it is from anxiety that desires seem to be unsatisfied and solace sought in animal products; it is through anxiety that we remain paralysed in our everyday lives, uncertain what to do; it is through anxious desires to relax that we flout social distancing regulations. But a counter to such anxiety is gratitude. In Rome, nuns continue to sing the Divine Office from their apartments and others join in. In Madrid, every evening people gather on balconies to applaud heath workers going into a night shift. In the UK, many thousands clap each Thursday evening for the NHS and social care workers. Various support groups have formed all over the world to help those who are housebound or self-isolating. Covid-19 has a relatively low death rate compared with many other parasitic relationships, so perhaps we also need to be grateful for that. Indeed, the most successful parasites do not kill their hosts.
Let’s also consider those millions of microorganisms living within us that help us stay healthy and live long lives. Not all microorganisms are parasitic; some are mutualistic. Our microbiome is complex. Further, let us consider those other living species who share our common home, and celebrate and protect the life and health that they and we have, while we have it.
We need to try and understand this virus as a newcomer in an existing panoply of creatures who are associated with us – some kill, yes, but many do not. We can mourn in deep solidarity with those who mourn, but anxiety will not help those left behind. The next time a cloud of anxiety rises up within us, let us reflect that the flowers, birds, trees and other living creatures around us even in an urban environment are not in lockdown. Stop to listen to the birdsong. Their praises cannot be stamped out, in spite of our mortality and disease. The Christian hopeful message of Easter cannot be suppressed. God’s grace is continuously at work in unselfish acts of self-emptying, love and sacrifice even in the midst of the pandemic.
Before we knew about evolution many theologians had trouble squaring belief in God with those creatures that seemed to us to be immoral or positively evil. But there is nothing explicitly evil about Covid-19. It is doing what it is made to do: multiply in its hosts, keeping many alive to pass it on to new hosts. It does not ‘intend’ to kill. We use anthropomorphic language of ‘battle’ and ‘starvation’ in our relationship with the virus as it helps us to deal with its dark and negative consequences on our lives. Rather like climate change, it is portrayed as a horrendous ‘natural evil’, but its impact is a consequence of our daily decisions and relationships, many of which may seem to us to be innocuous but have devastating consequences for other innocent parties. It is a moral, political and natural phenomenon, but also has theological meaning.
Covid-19 is teaching the human race important lessons that it first learnt in the crucible of its early emergence in deep time. Our lives are entangled with each other and with other species and this is the source of both our unique strength but also our vulnerability. We will best honour those who have suffered and died by learning to take our interconnectedness with God, each other, and other creatures much more seriously. Further, even the deepest and darkest suffering is not beyond the reach of God’s mercy and grace, thus providing an occasion for change and renewal.
[1] I would like to thank Séverine Deneulin and Austen Ivereigh for helpful comments on an earlier version of this article.
This article is taken from the Blog posted by Fr Michael White, Pastor of the Church of the Nativity, Timoneum, Baltimore. You can find the original blog by clicking here
In a recent homily, Pope Francis offered a caution for parishes turning to digital means of communication to do ministry. He said clearly that a church which exclusively operates online, without physical presence and celebration of the sacraments, would be at risk of becoming individualistic, insular, and detached from a living faith.
This caution comes at a turning point for many parishes around the world. Faced with lockdowns and occupancy limits, they have pivoted to digital communication such as online livestreams in place of public Mass. It’s an effective way to maintain connection with and spiritual support for their congregation. Obviously, they have no choice, though I am sure this experience will only increase our appreciation for celebrating the sacraments together when we are allowed to do so. The Catholic Church cannot be the Catholic Church unless we are gathering to celebrate the Eucharist and the other sacraments.
But…
I have been positive about the impact we think digital communication and technology will have, indeed does have at the local parish level. The sacramental presence of the Church does not end when your congregants head to the parking lot. Instead, the community grows and deepens, aggregating all of life into the reality of the Eucharist received at Mass. Each congregant leaves with a mission to bring Christ to where the unchurched are, and that’s online.
That’s why, as a parish, our new rally cry is:
Let’s be a mobile-first parish.
Mobile-first merely recognizes the first path by which people today are approaching the sacraments: by an initial, albeit imperfect, encounter mediated by a screen. This imperfect encounter can lead to church attendance and integration into the sacramental life of the parish. This type of encounter wasn’t born with the coronavirus, it has been the norm for most people since the dawn of smartphones and high-speed internet. Therefore, it won’t end when the world has forgotten about COVID-19.
Mobile first means…
1) Your website is your new front door.
Most people today would not consider stepping foot inside a restaurant until they had gone online to check reviews and see the menu. The decision to visit a local church likewise starts online. When newcomers Google your church, what will they find? Is your website filled with information for insiders or is it designed for newcomers?
2) Livestreaming is your new beginner’s experience.
Like your website, the unchurched will use your livestream to ask questions like: “would I feel comfortable in this environment” or “is the preaching applicable to my life?” If your church is just trying out livestreaming during the lockdown, by all means consider keeping up the practice. Livestreaming isn’t just for insiders who can’t leave their houses. It should primarily be for those who want to check out your church but aren’t comfortable coming in-person yet.
3) Electronic giving is your new offering basket.
It’s likely that even after the worst of the lockdowns are lifted, some practices will have to remain discontinued. Passing the basket will be one of them. We should prepare for this reality now by setting up easy-to-use channels of online giving. Select a provider that has multiple ways of giving like text-to-give.
Mobile-first doesn’t mean online-only. It only means acknowledging that everyone we’re trying to reach is on-line. We need to be too.
Laudato si' and Covid-19: Can Praises still Be Sung In A Strange Land?
The coronavirus pandemic is highlighting in a new and acute way the vulnerability of the human race, and our interconnection with one another and with other creatures, something of which the poorest communities in the world are already well aware. Celia Deane-Drummond of the Laudato Si’ Research Institute, Campion Hall, University of Oxford. In this article she alerts us to the wake-up call that we are hearing to preserve and celebrate every part of our common home.[1] Her most recent book is Theological Ethics Through a Multispecies Lens, Evolution of Wisdom Volume 1 (Oxford University Press, 2019); Shadow Sophia, Evolution of Wisdom Volume 2 (Oxford University Press, 2021), in press.
This article is taken from the ThinkingFaith.org website where you can find a wide range of articles by clicking here
This year was supposed to be a year of celebration in Rome, commemorating five years since the release of Laudato si’, the papal encyclical on care for our common home. However, instead of the gratitude that ought to have characterised the marking of that anniversary, the underlying public sentiment when witnessing the unfolding events first in China, then Italy, Spain and now the UK, USA and so many other countries, is panic, horror and anxiety.
Some reporters have tried to find examples of good news in order to lift the prevailing angst and heaviness. One is that stopping or drastically reducing flying and other activities does literally clean up our air. But before making too hasty a judgment about this, we must acknowledge that vulnerable, poor communities, such as those of the Pacific Islands, are losing their economic foothold as an indirect result of Covid-19. The very factors that lead to ‘ecological virtues’, such as halting the carbon footprint of global exchange, also open up other threats to the means of addressing basic human need. It shows how entangled our lives are and how extremely complicated it is to try and solve threats to our common home.
In the Western hemisphere, we have also largely forgotten what entanglement with other species means. Yes, we keep a pet dog or cat, or perhaps see an urban fox or mouse. But our interconnectedness is not just with the species that we encounter daily, but myriad creatures of the biological world of which we are part. What is significant in the case of Covid-19, like other new diseases of the last century such as SARS or HIV, is that it is zoonotic – it has jumped across a species boundary. Some scientists say it comes from bats, others from snakes, possibly through a mammalian intermediary like Malayan pangolins. Crowded ‘wet’ live animal markets are potential sources. Often these are illicit markets housing rare species or parts of species in some cases, as with the rhino horn, parts of some snakes or others thought to provide aphrodisiac potency to satisfy an ever-present market, including that in the Western world.
What is really surprising is that something like this has not happened on this scale before. The global market disrupts the delicate ecological balance and protection of species that often characterise indigenous communities living within fragile ecologies. There are political, social, moral and biological aspects to why Covid-19 has appeared on the global scene in the twenty-first century.
Much of the public ethical discussion about Covid-19 is about issues of justice. Who gets access to what has increasingly become a lottery in availability of healthcare, testing and personal protective equipment. Political experimentation costs lives. The most vulnerable suffer directly from this disease, but the indirect national and global economic and social impacts cut deep. Short of finding a cure or vaccine, social distancing or isolation is the only possible way forward. We are asked to remain distant. It’s a self-emptying sacrifice of love, reminiscent of Good Friday, that brings pain of absence – the pain of not being able to be present with those we love or even gather in communion for burial of the dead. Dying alone or with masked carers is not the kind of death any would wish for. It feels counterintuitive.
The more fundamental issue to consider is our common shared humanity, to which this pain points us. Evolutionary anthropology highlights our co-evolution with other species and our highly distinctive ‘hyper’ sociality. Cutting out the opportunity for that sociality is deeply disturbing for many people. But there seems to be no other choice.
Pope Francis argues in Laudato si’ that technology is a poor substitute for human relationships. He welcomes technology that is at the service of the common good, but not when it replaces social bonds. We are now finding the deep truth in what he says. Doing everything through FaceTime or other virtual tools is dissatisfying and feels odd to most people. We are now in a strange land, in spite of familiarity, where we cannot even properly weep and mourn with others. Even papal Masses and eucharistic communion, the liturgical highlight of the Christian year in the Triduum, and the material incarnate source of Christian life, are virtual. What are the spiritual lessons in this dark night, that the early mystics knew so well? The shadow of the empty tomb lingers.
So, can we still find a voice to sing praises, or would such a gesture be hollow in the wake of such an outcry of suffering? Kierkegaard believed that anxiety is the root of sin, and when we consider many aspects of this crisis, we can see that he was at least partly correct. It is from anxiety that politicians distort what is really happening in the public sphere; it is from anxiety that desires seem to be unsatisfied and solace sought in animal products; it is through anxiety that we remain paralysed in our everyday lives, uncertain what to do; it is through anxious desires to relax that we flout social distancing regulations. But a counter to such anxiety is gratitude. In Rome, nuns continue to sing the Divine Office from their apartments and others join in. In Madrid, every evening people gather on balconies to applaud heath workers going into a night shift. In the UK, many thousands clap each Thursday evening for the NHS and social care workers. Various support groups have formed all over the world to help those who are housebound or self-isolating. Covid-19 has a relatively low death rate compared with many other parasitic relationships, so perhaps we also need to be grateful for that. Indeed, the most successful parasites do not kill their hosts.
Let’s also consider those millions of microorganisms living within us that help us stay healthy and live long lives. Not all microorganisms are parasitic; some are mutualistic. Our microbiome is complex. Further, let us consider those other living species who share our common home, and celebrate and protect the life and health that they and we have, while we have it.
We need to try and understand this virus as a newcomer in an existing panoply of creatures who are associated with us – some kill, yes, but many do not. We can mourn in deep solidarity with those who mourn, but anxiety will not help those left behind. The next time a cloud of anxiety rises up within us, let us reflect that the flowers, birds, trees and other living creatures around us even in an urban environment are not in lockdown. Stop to listen to the birdsong. Their praises cannot be stamped out, in spite of our mortality and disease. The Christian hopeful message of Easter cannot be suppressed. God’s grace is continuously at work in unselfish acts of self-emptying, love and sacrifice even in the midst of the pandemic.
Before we knew about evolution many theologians had trouble squaring belief in God with those creatures that seemed to us to be immoral or positively evil. But there is nothing explicitly evil about Covid-19. It is doing what it is made to do: multiply in its hosts, keeping many alive to pass it on to new hosts. It does not ‘intend’ to kill. We use anthropomorphic language of ‘battle’ and ‘starvation’ in our relationship with the virus as it helps us to deal with its dark and negative consequences on our lives. Rather like climate change, it is portrayed as a horrendous ‘natural evil’, but its impact is a consequence of our daily decisions and relationships, many of which may seem to us to be innocuous but have devastating consequences for other innocent parties. It is a moral, political and natural phenomenon, but also has theological meaning.
Covid-19 is teaching the human race important lessons that it first learnt in the crucible of its early emergence in deep time. Our lives are entangled with each other and with other species and this is the source of both our unique strength but also our vulnerability. We will best honour those who have suffered and died by learning to take our interconnectedness with God, each other, and other creatures much more seriously. Further, even the deepest and darkest suffering is not beyond the reach of God’s mercy and grace, thus providing an occasion for change and renewal.
[1] I would like to thank Séverine Deneulin and Austen Ivereigh for helpful comments on an earlier version of this article.
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