Friday 18 December 2020

4th Sunday of Advent (Year B)

 Mersey Leven Catholic Parish

OUR VISION

To be a vibrant Catholic Community 
unified in its commitment 
to growing disciples for Christ
 

Parish Priest: Fr Mike Delaney 
Mob: 0417 279 437
Assistant Priest: Fr Steven Smith
Mob: 0411 522 630 
Priest in Residence:  Fr Phil McCormack  
Mob: 0437 521 257 
Seminarian in Residence: Kanishka Perera
Mob: 0499 035 199 
Postal Address: PO Box 362, Devonport 7310
Parish Office: 90 Stewart Street, Devonport 7310 
(Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 10am - 3pm)
Office Phone: 6424 2783  Email: merseyleven@aohtas.org.au 
Secretary: Annie Davies Finance Officer: Anne Fisher


Mersey Leven Catholic Parish Weekly Newsletter: mlcathparish.blogspot.com.au
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.
                          

Mersey Leven Catholic Parish
Christmas Mass Times 2020

OUR LADY OF LOURDES CHURCH, STEWART STREET, DEVONPORT

CHRISTMAS EVE:     5:00pm Children’s Mass
                                       6:30pm Children’s Mass
                                       8:00pm Mass
                                       Midnight Mass (Carols starting at 11:15pm)

CHRISTMAS DAY:    9:00am Mass

SACRED HEART CHURCH, ALEXANDRA ROAD, ULVERSTONE

CHRISTMAS EVE:    6pm Children’s Mass
                                       8pm Mass

CHRISTMAS DAY:    9am Mass

RECONCILIATION: Our Lady of Lourdes Church – Wed 9th Dec, 7pm
                                      Sacred Heart Church – Thurs 10th Dec, 7pm

Please note: bookings are essential.
                          

         

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.


Parish Prayer


Heavenly Father,
We thank you for gathering us together 
and calling us to serve as your disciples.
You have charged us through Your Son, Jesus, with the great mission
  of evangelising and witnessing your love to the world.
Send your Holy Spirit to guide us as we discern your will
 for the spiritual renewal of our parish.
Give us strength, courage, and clear vision 
as we use our gifts to serve you.
We entrust our parish family to the care of Mary, our mother,
and ask for her intercession and guidance 
as we strive to bear witness
 to the Gospel and build an amazing parish.
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:  Ulverstone - Fridays (10am - 10:30am), Devonport - Saturday (5:15pm– 5.45pm) 
Eucharistic Adoration - Devonport: No Adoration for the month of January, 2021
Prayer Group: Charismatic Renewal – In Recess until February, 2021

SUNDAY MASS ONLINE: 
Please go to the following link on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MLCP1
Mon 21st Dec    NO MASS  
Tues 22nd Dec   Devonport   9:30am
Wed 23rdDec    Ulverstone   9:30am 
Thurs 24th Dec  Devonport   8:30am ... pre-recording of Sunday Mass
                           Devonport   5:00pm
                           Ulverstone   6:00pm
                           Devonport   6:30pm
                           Ulverstone   8:00pm
                           Devonport   8:00pm ... ALSO LIVESTREAM
                           Midnight     midnight - carols from 11:15pm
Fri 25th Dec      Ulverstone    9:00am 
                           Devonport    9:00am
Sat 26th Dec      Devonport   6:00pm
                   Ulverstone   6:00pm
Sun 27th Dec     Devonport   10:00am 
                   Ulverstone   10:00am

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: 
Dot Prior, Regina Locket, Allan McIntyre, Loretta Visser, Aidan Ravaillion, David Ockwell, Judy Redgrove, Sam Eiler, & ...

Let us pray for those who have died recently:
Sr Annette Condon, Mary Bosworth, Fr Frank Young, Ann Radford, Emily Floresta, Mary Clifford, Ena Carter, Marianne Riek

Let us pray for those whose anniversary occurs about this time: 16th – 23rd December, 2020
Beau Reynolds, Sr Marlene Binns SSJ, Marie Williams, Sr Joy Hanrahan, Reg Watson, Georgia Lewtas, Jamie Fahey, Amy Batt, Greg Williams, Laurence Kelcey, Austin Florian, Eileen McIver, Neil Hensby, Fr John Wall, Jessie Parker, Gwenda Stones, Wallace Malone, Michael Quillerat, Gladys Ballini, Eileen Burrows. Also Hedley & Enid Stubbs, Gregory & Damian Matthews and deceased relatives and friends of the Matthews, Cunningham, Knight, Sheridan and Bourke families.

May the souls of the faithful departed, 
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen
                                      

PREGO REFLECTION ON TODAY’S GOSPEL
Amidst the busyness of these last few days before Christmas, I find some precious time in a comfortable place to spend with the Lord. 
In time, I read this familiar Gospel prayerfully, pausing wherever I feel drawn. 
Perhaps I place myself in the scene, noticing what Mary is doing in her house … the expression on her face and eyes as she sees the angel. 
Gabriel’s first word is ‘Rejoice’. 
I ponder those things that bring me joy, or the ways in which I am, or have been, a joy to others. 
What comes to mind as I hear the words ‘Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God’s favour’? 
I bring to the Lord any fears or doubts troubling me, or any grace I feel I need. 
I speak freely from my heart. 
Maybe I hear Gabriel giving God’s message to me now. 
How would I like to respond? 
I may choose to stay with Mary and speak with her about her inner strength and trust in God. 
Or perhaps I talk to Jesus, asking him for the grace of Mary’s courage and faith, so that I may respond even more deeply to his call.
With a deep sense of gratitude, I end my prayer with ‘Glory be …’
                                     


Weekly Ramblings 


This has been a hectic week of end of year School Assemblies, staff functions and Graduation services for the Year 6 students at our three Catholic Primary Schools. Fr Steven and I have been part or all of them (separately and together) – sharing in the journey of these young people as they prepare to embark on the next stage of their journey.

When I arrived in the Parish these graduands were in Prep and I thought that I would be here when they completed Year 12 but sadly that is not to be – however, I have been able to share in the 1st half of the journey. Coincidently, the Year 12 Graduands from SBSC were the children (now young adults) who graduated from Year 6 in my 1st year here in 2014 so in one way I have seen the cycle – just not with the same young people.

Wednesday’s announcement that we will be able to increase the numbers attending Christmas Masses was welcome news. It means we will be able to seat up to 250 in OLOL and 300 in Sacred Heart so there should be no difficulties in getting people into our Christmas Masses. People who have booked tickets to the overflow Masses will be automatically transferred to the Church at OLOL.

I’m not certain if we will be able to transfer you to a different Mass time – please be patient with us as we learn how to navigate the changes as we don’t have access to the database – it is one staff member at the Church Office and she has another job besides this. 

On Thursday Kanishka had his final meeting with a group of Parishioners who have been helping him during his pastoral placement in the Parish. Fr Jake Mudge, from Corpus Christi College (the Seminary), joined us for the day to hear firsthand from them their thoughts about his time amongst us. During these past six months, whenever I had a question or comment, I would wiggle my right index finger and suggest it was getting itchy – had Kanishka slightly worried until I told him I was left handed!! 

I know there are many people who will be heading off after this weekend, some have indicated that they are going on Sunday, so if I miss you I would like to thank everyone for the support that you have given me over these past 7 years. I know that I am here for another three weekends but with the Holidays rapidly approaching people move about I will not get a chance to see you all but ...

Stay safe and take care as this busy season continues, 
                                     

MACKILLOP HILL LIBRARY 
MacKillop Library will close on Tuesday 22nd December, 2020 and re-open on Wednesday 3rd February, 2021.
Please make sure all books and/or audio-visual materials are returned by the closing date. Should you wish to borrow any material for the “holiday” period you can contact Sr Marg on 0418 367 769.
We hope you have enjoyed and been enriched by any of the valuable resources borrowed during this year. 
We wish you all a peaceful and joyous Christmas!
                                      

FLOWER ROSTER – SACRED HEART CHURCH ULVERSTONE
Do you have a garden full of beautiful flowers? 
Would you like to donate flowers to the Church on a regular basis? 
You don’t have to be on the flower roster, you can simply supply the Church with flowers ... BUT ... if you would like to be on the roster we would welcome you! 
If you have a friend or two that could help bring them along as well! 
No experience needed just fun and enjoyment making Sacred Heart Church look fresh and colourful. 
Please contact Jo Rodgers on 0439 064 493
                                     

READERS ROSTER – SACRED HEART CHURCH, ULVERSTONE
Calling all readers - New and old! 
Would you like to join the reader’s roster? 
If you would like to know more please contact Jo Rodgers 0439 064 493 or the Parish Office 6424:2783.
                                     

OUR LADY OF LOURDES CHURCH READERS 
The new roster commencing 24th January 2021 is now available for collection from the Church. Please continue with current roster until then.
                                      

OUR LADY OF LOURDES PIETY SHOP ROSTER 
The roster is available for collection from the Church. Please note the Piety Shop Roster begins January, 2021.
                                     

Please Note
Hand delivery of MLCP Weekly Newsletters has now finished until further notice.
                                     

NEWS FROM ACROSS THE ARCHDIOCESE

IMMACULATA MISSION SCHOOL 2021 - MADE FOR HEAVEN!
Start the New Year by going deeper in faith through awesome talks, friendship and fellowship, daily Mass and prayer, Eucharistic Adoration, praise and worship and lots more!
When: 1st - 5th January, 2021, 
Where: St James Catholic College, Cygnet Tasmania
Cost per person: $220 (with basic shared accommodation), $170 (with no accommodation) - includes food, speakers, activities and youth and children's ministry - all ages, families welcome!
Speakers: Archbishop Julian Porteous, Fr Rob Galea, James Parker, Paul Elarde, Sisters of the Immaculata and lay community. 
For more info or to register: www.sistersoftheimmaculata.org.au/ims  or 0406 372 608

VIRTUAL WAY TO ST JAMES PILGRIMAGE
Make your way through natural surroundings in a meditative way anywhere in the world on 9th – 10th January 2021. 
Join this Global “El Camino de Santiago” in the Spirit of the Annual Pilgrimage to St James Church in Cygnet in the Huon Valley. 
                                      

Letter From Rome 

'Twas The Week Before Christmas


Pope Francis prepares the Church for the true celebration of Christ's Nativity -  Robert Mickens, Rome, December 18, 2020. 
This article is from the La-Croix International website - you can access the site here but complete full access is via paid subscription

'Twas the week before Christmas in St. Peter's Square
The basilica was open, but few souls were there

Pope Francis was busy, working away
On his Urbi et Orbi that he'll give Christmas Day

Cards and gifts lay in front of his door
Greetings and bribes as he turned 84

The elderly pope just ignored the big pile
He had much else to do for another great while

On Sunday, as usual, he addressed a big crowd
He began with "Buongiorno" and they all screamed aloud

"Be joyful," he told them, "and make no mistake
"We're now in Advent, not at a wake!"

He then blessed statuettes held by kids who were there
Baby Jesuses for the Christmas cribs they prepare

Speaking of such, the pope's surely aware
That something's not right with the creche in his square

The figures themselves, though odd as they are
Aren't really that bad except seen from afar

For where is the house, the manger, the stall?
Instead, there are just pipes and a plexiglass wall

A Nativity scene that's been the butt of some jokes
Told by cardinals and highbrows and just regular folks

But the pope's not concerned by the fuss they have made
The creche is to challenge "faith" false or too staid

On Wednesday morning that's a theme he did raise
While noting a danger we face in these days

"Let's hurry towards Christmas, but the one that is real"
Rather that shopping for another great deal

Sure, in some places, churches are closed
But that should not blind us to what is proposed

Our Christmas with Covid is not all that tough
For Mary and Joseph it was much, much more rough

"It was no bed of roses," as noted the pope
But their many worries were supplanted by hope

And it can only be hope that keeps Francis strong
As he watches our poor Church bumble along

See how they love one another, some shake their heads
As we foolish Catholics rip each other to shreds.

And even some prelates in purple and red
Would love nothing more than to see this pope dead.

Let us recall a time long ago
When combatants on Christmas disarmed in the snow

A truce they called, if just for a day
Proof that they had not gone totally astray

A truce in the Church is something we need
If nothing more than to match word with deed

And Christmas is certainly the time to begin
The reconciliation that's urgent within

May Christmas bring peace one-hundredfold
To the Church, to our homes and to the whole world.
                                     

Lamentation For A Time Of Crisis


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 

Intelligently responding to the Coronavirus demands that we access resources of physical, emotional and spiritual resilience. One practice Christianity has developed to nurture resilience is lamentation. Prayers of lamentation arise in us when we sit and speak out to God and one another—stunned, sad, and silenced by the tragedy and absurdity of human events. . . Without this we do not suffer the necessary pain of this world, the necessary sadness of being human.

Walter Brueggemann, my favorite Scripture teacher, points out that even though about one third of the Psalms are psalms of “lament,” these have been the least used by Catholic and Protestant liturgies. We think they make us appear weak, helpless, and vulnerable, or show a lack of faith. So we quickly resort to praise and thanksgiving. We forget that Jesus called weeping a “blessed” state (Matthew 5:5) and that only one book of the Bible is named after an emotion: Jeremiah’s book of “Lamentation.”

In today's practice, Reverend Aaron Graham reflects on the elements found in prayers of lament. I hope that you will find in his words and in the text of Psalm 22 a way to voice your own complaints, requests, and trust in God, who is always waiting to hear. 

We need to be reminded that our cries are not too much for God. [God] laments with us. In fact, [God] wants us to come to the [Divine Presence] in our anger, in our fear, in our loneliness, in our hurt, and in our confusion. 

Each lamenting Psalm has a structure;
• They begin with a complaint. . . that things are not as they should be.
• They turn to a request. God, do something! Rescue me! Heal me! Restore me! Show mercy! 
• Laments end with an expression of trust. Laments end with the reminder that God is setting things right, even though it often seems so slow. It is right for our laments to turn towards a reminder that God is in control and about the business of righting all things made wrong. [1]

Consider praying these words found in Psalm 22, or choose another passage of lament. Before you pray, ask God to speak to you. . .
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
and by night, but I find no rest.
Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
In you our fathers trusted;
they trusted, and you delivered them.
To you they cried and were rescued;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame (Psalm 22:1-5). 

[1] Aaron Graham, “Lament,” An  American Lent Devotional, eds. Jacalyn Barnes, Amy Leonard, Robert Mackay, and Irma McKnight, 3rd ed. (Repentance Project: 2019), 12-13.
Adapted from Richard Rohr, “Complaining to God,” Tikkun, vol. 23, no. 3 (May/June 2008), 12-13.
                                     

The Illusion Of Invulnerability

This article is taken from the archive of Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI. You can find this article and many others by clicking here

Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. That’s a pious axiom that doesn’t always hold up. Sometimes the bad time comes and we don’t learn anything. Hopefully this present bad time, Covid-19, will teach us something and make us stronger. My hope is that Covid-19 will teach us something that previous generations didn’t need to be taught but already knew through their lived experience; namely, that we’re not invulnerable, that we aren’t exempt from the threat of sickness, debilitation, and death. In short, all that our contemporary world can offer us in terms of technology, medicine, nutrition, and insurance of every kind, doesn’t exempt us from fragility and vulnerability. Covid-19 has taught us that. Just like everyone else who has ever walked this earth, we’re vulnerable.

I’m old enough to have known a previous generation when most people lived with a lot of fear, not all of it healthy, but all of it real. Life was fragile. Giving birth to a child could mean your death. A flu or virus could kill you and you had little defense against it. You could die young from heart disease, cancer, diabetes, bad sanitation, and dozens of other things. And nature itself could pose a threat. Storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, drought, pestilence, lightening, these were all to be feared because we were mostly helpless against them. People lived with a sense that life and health were fragile, not to be taken for granted.

But then along came vaccinations, penicillin, better hospitals, better medicines, safer childbirth, better nutrition, better housing, better sanitation, better roads, better cars, and better insurance against everything from loss of work, to drought, to storms, to pestilence, to disasters of any kind. And along with that came an ever-increasing sense that we’re safe, protected, secure, different than previous generations, able to take care of ourselves, no longer as vulnerable as were the generations before us.

And to a large extent that’s true, at least in terms of our physical health and safety. In many ways, we’re far less vulnerable than previous generations. But, as Covid-19 has made evident, this is not a fully safe harbor. Despite much denial and protest, we’ve had to accept that we now live as did everyone before us, that is, as unable to guarantee own health and safety. For all the dreadful things Covid-19 has done to us, it has helped dispel an illusion, the illusion of our own invulnerability. We’re fragile, vulnerable, mortal.

At first glance, this seems like a bad thing; it’s not. Disillusionment is the dispelling of an illusion and we have for too long (and too glibly) been living an illusion, that is, living under a pall of false enchantment which has us believing that the threats of old no longer have power to touch us. And how wrong we are! As of the time of this writing there are 70.1 million Covid-19 cases reported worldwide and there have been more than 1.6 million reported deaths from this virus. Moreover the highest rates of infection and death have been in those countries we would think most invulnerable, countries that have the best hospitals and highest standards of medicine to protect us. That should be a wake-up call. For all the good things our modern and post-modern world can give us, in the end it can’t protect us from everything, even as it gives us the sense that it can.

Covid-19 has been a game-changer; it has dispelled an illusion, that of our own invulnerability. What’s to be learned? In short, that our generation must take its place with all other generations, recognizing that we cannot take life, health, family, work, community, travel, recreation, freedom to gather, and freedom to go to church, for granted. Covid-19 has taught us that we’re not the Lord of life and that fragility is still the lot of everyone, even in a modern and post-modern world.

Classical Christian theology and philosophy have always taught that as humans we are not self-sufficient. Only God is. Only God is “Self-sufficient Being” (Ipsum Esse Subsistens, in classical philosophy). The rest of us are contingent, dependent, interdependent … and mortal enough to fear the next appointment with our doctor. Former generations, because they lacked our medical knowledge, our doctors, our hospitals, our standards of hygiene, our medicines, our vaccines, and our antibiotics, existentially felt their contingency. They knew they weren’t self-sufficient and that life and health could not be taken for granted. I don’t envy them some of the false fear that came with that, but I do envy them not living under a pall of false security. Our contemporary world, for all the good things it gives us, has lulled us asleep in terms of our fragility, vulnerability, and mortality. Covid-19 is a wake-up call, not just to the fact that we’re vulnerable, but especially to the fact that we may not take for granted the precious gifts of health, family, work, community, travel, recreation, freedom to gather, and (yes) even of going to church.
                                      



                                     

A Kingdom Without Borders

Pope Francis highlights the relationship between the local and the global in his teaching, not least in Fratelli tutti, and what he says has implications for the way in which we relate to our sisters and brothers. Massimo Faggioli invites us to reflect on the illustrations of that contrast that we find in the readings for the fourth Sunday of Advent: ‘one event, in place and time and historical context, but with universal significance.’
Massimo Faggioli is Professor of Historical Theology at Villanova University.
This article is taken from the ThinkingFaith.org website where you can find a wide range of articles by clicking here 

The readings for the fourth Sunday of Advent illuminate a particular contrast that Pope Francis refers to in his teaching, and in particular in Fratelli tutti: the dichotomy and the fruitful tension between the local and the universal.

This is a very biblical theme that runs through the entire sacred history from the Jewish Scriptures to the New Testament: the relationship between the particular, local stories narrated in the books of the Bible, and the universal implications of salvation history and of God’s salvific project.

In the first reading from 2 Samuel[i] there is a pairing of the local and global. God’s message to David via the prophet Nathan talks about a fixed place (‘a house to dwell in […] a place for my people Israel’) and yet at the same time eternal endurance (‘Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever’). In the Letter to the Romans,[ii] Paul also speaks to the theme of eternal significance finding its locus in earthly places, as he writes about ‘the command of the eternal God, made known to all nations’.

The pattern continues in the Gospel of Luke:[iii] the angel Gabriel, talking to Mary about the child she is to bear, speaks of ‘the throne of David his father’, of ‘rule over the house of Jacob’ … but that rule is ‘forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’ It’s the beginning of one event, in place and time and historical context, but with universal significance.

This interdependence between local and universal, particular and general is at the heart of Pope Francis’ worldview as expressed in Fratelli tutti.[iv] It is strongly present in the reflection on the Good Samaritan, where the pope writes that a particular act of love at the ‘concrete and local’ level can have far-reaching consequences; it can ‘expand to the farthest reaches of our countries and our world, with the same care and concern that the Samaritan showed for each of the wounded man’s injuries.’[v]

Holding the local and the universal together is crucial as we navigate the global world, not just in cultural terms, but as members of the one human family. Francis warns us about the danger of falling into one of two extremes. ‘In the first, people get caught up in an abstract, globalized universe…  In the other, they turn into a museum of local folklore, a world apart, doomed to doing the same things over and over, incapable of being challenged by novelty or appreciating the beauty which God bestows beyond their borders.’[vi]

Being people of faith requires us to be attentive to the particular, but not parochial:
We need to have a global outlook to save ourselves from petty provincialism. When our house stops being a home and starts to become an enclosure, a cell, then the global comes to our rescue, like a ‘final cause’ that draws us towards our fulfilment. At the same time, though, the local has to be eagerly embraced, for it possesses something that the global does not: it is capable of being a leaven, of bringing enrichment, of sparking mechanisms of subsidiarity.[vii]

Here there is a Christian understanding of ‘universal’ in play: we are speaking about a unity embracing diversity, as in the Latin universa, and not as in universalis, a synonym of ‘imperial’ uniformity. ‘Universal does not necessarily mean bland, uniform and standardized, based on a single prevailing cultural model, for this will ultimately lead to the loss of a rich palette of shades and colours, and result in utter monotony. Such was the temptation referred to in the ancient account of the Tower of Babel.’[viii] The model is not the sphere, a symbol of totalitarian imposition of sameness, but the polyhedron,[ix] in which diversity is harmonised in an equality not reduced to standardisation.

For Pope Francis, the love of one’s own people and culture requires openness to the universal:

Yet it is impossible to be ‘local’ in a healthy way without being sincerely open to the universal, without feeling challenged by what is happening in other places, without openness to enrichment by other cultures, and without solidarity and concern for the tragedies affecting other peoples. A ‘local narcissism’ instead frets over a limited number of ideas, customs and forms of security; incapable of admiring the vast potential and beauty offered by the larger world, it lacks an authentic and generous spirit of solidarity. Life on the local level thus becomes less and less welcoming, people less open to complementarity.[x]

The reverse is also true: there is no true openness to the universal without a fecund relationship to the local. ‘Just as there can be no dialogue with “others” without a sense of our own identity, so there can be no openness between peoples except on the basis of love for one’s own land, one’s own people, one’s own cultural roots.’[xi]

What Pope Francis says in Fratelli tutti reveals a very deep understanding of the current crisis of globalisation: localism and cosmopolitanism are no longer arcane concepts but have become part of strongly held political opinions and cultural identities. Francis articulates a typically Catholic worldview, open to the international, the global, the universal. At the same time, he makes clear that Catholicism is about the somewhere, not the superficial anywhere. Francis is very well aware of the risk, also in the Church, of a tribal divide between those rooted in a specific place or community but afraid of ‘the other’, and those who could come from anywhere: footloose, open to diversity … but only their particular kind of diversity.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio is a Jesuit of the post–Vatican II Society of Jesus, in which the shift inaugurated by the council was matched by a change in the Society’s leadership towards a global religious order, not just in its personnel but in its theological orientation and relation to local cultures. One of the typical antinomies and tensions within the culture and theology of the Jesuits is the polar tension between Catholic universality and local inculturation of the gospel message. In our postmodern times and for Pope Francis, this tension is rephrased as being between globalization and localization and takes shape in the image of the Church as a polyhedron, where the tension between local and universal is not resolved in favour of one or the other, but is kept in tension.

Francis’ understanding of his role as Bishop of Rome means a new relationship between the local and the universal in his ministry: a more visible papal ministry in the city of Rome itself, more present in the global world, and a different kind of relationship with Italy and Western Europe. In a time when globalisation effectively means more connections among urban giants and fewer connections with the peripheries, Francis’ engagement with the Church in places far removed from Europe and his attention to those particular localities has conversely led to a renewed pastoral attention to the city of Rome.

In a global Church, in which a new emphasis on the local dimension often means the Church is at risk of being overwhelmed by idiosyncratic political and cultural narratives, Francis’ missionary ecclesiology implies a repositioning on the global map and in local communities – not only a geographical repositioning but also a new posture towards the issue of local and universal.

As we move towards the celebration of an event that we locate so firmly in the humblest of places but the significance of which can never be contained, this might be the time that we, too, discover ourselves as people with our own origins but members of a global human family. ‘To see things in this way brings the joyful realization that no one people, culture or individual can achieve everything on its own: to attain fulfilment in life we need others. An awareness of our own limitations and incompleteness, far from being a threat, becomes the key to envisaging and pursuing a common project.’[xii] In this spirit of co-operation, of fraternity, we are best placed to bring about on earth the kingdom of which there will be no end.[xiii]

[i] 2 Samuel 7:1-5,8b-12,14a,16.
[ii] Romans 16:25-27.
[iii] Luke 1:26-38.
[iv] Pope Francis, Fratelli tutti (3 October 2020).
[v] Fratelli tutti, §78.
[vi] Fratelli tutti, §142, quoting Evangelii Gaudium.
[vii] Fratelli tutti, §142.
[viii] Fratelli tutti, §144.
[ix] Fratelli tutti, §145.
[x] Fratelli tutti, §146.
[xi] Fratelli tutti, §143.
[xii] Fratelli tutti, §150.
[xiii] Luke 1:33.

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