Gospel Mission - People First, Always!

Brother Juniper O'Brien, 1925-2013

When he was in Brazil in July Pope Francis met with the bishops there and posed a fundamental question: “I would like all of us to ask ourselves: are we still a Church capable of warming hearts?”

Hearts are warmed by love, by compassion, by a presence that accompanies with understanding and wisdom.

On Sunday 20 October the Church celebrates World Mission Day and Francis marks out a path for that mission to our contemporaries.

“Today, we need a Church capable of walking at people’s side, of doing more than simply listening to them; a Church which accompanies them on their journey; a Church able to make sense of the ‘night’ contained in the flight of so many of our brothers and sisters from Jerusalem; a Church which realizes that the reasons why people leave also contain reasons why they can eventually return. But we need to know how to interpret, with courage, the larger picture.”

Writing recently in the Washington Post, Michael Gerson focused on the priority that Francis gives to the person.

“This personalism is among the most radical implications of Christian faith. In every way that matters to God, human beings are completely equal and completely loved.

Their dignity runs deeper than their failures.

They matter more than any cause; they are the cause.

Francis knowing that he has been criticised by some over his comments about gays, observed in his interview for Jesuit publications: ‘Tell me, when God looks at a gay person, does he endorse the existence of this person with love, or reject and condemn this person? We must always consider the person.’

While the Pope's views on moral topics are orthodox, his critique of legalism is radical and unsparing. The Church must be more than the sum of ‘small-minded rules.’ ‘We have to find a new balance,” he said, “otherwise even the moral edifice of the Church is likely to fall like a house of cards.’

This teaching - to always consider the person - was disorienting from the beginning. The outsiders get invited to the party. The prodigal is given the place of honour. The pious complain about their shocking treatment. The gatekeepers find the gate shut to them. It is subversive to all respectable religious order, which is precisely the point. With Francis, the argument gains a new hearing.”

The photo with this blog is that of Brother Juniper O’Brien who went home to the Lord on 13 October in Harare in his 89^th year. A Dublin man he had spent 49 years as a missionary in Zimbabwe where he was deeply loved and respected by both the friars and people. He spent his days building churches, missions and schools, training apprentices, plumbing and painting, whatever was needed. And when his strength decreased he raised turkeys and gardened.

To my knowledge Brother Juniper never preached a homily in his life. However in the witness of his life of prayer and service, in his humble, cheerful way of being with people Christ’s love was proclaimed strong and clear.

Loving concern for the individual comes first, always. Or as the Pope puts it: “The proclamation of the saving love of God comes before moral and religious imperatives.”

Stripping in Assisi!

During his visit to Assisi on the feast day of St Francis, one of the first places Pope Francis visited was the “Sala della Spoliazione” - the room is the site where Francis stripped himself of his clothes before his father, the bishop and the townspeople, saying, "From now on I can truly say: Our Father who art in heaven.”

When forced to choose by his father – Francis chose the call of God and sonship in Christ.

A radical turning point in his, at times, painful journey of conversion

Pope Francis used this evocative setting to speak a strong message on “the cancer of worldliness.”

He did not read the address he prepared, choosing to speak off the cuff. He began by pointing out that in recent days the newspapers “fancied” how the Pope would “strip” the Church in Assisi, the habits of the Bishops, the Cardinals, and himself. He said that this was a good occasion to invite the Church to strip herself of worldliness.

However, all of us are the Church, beginning with the baptized. “We must all go on Jesus’ path, who followed the path of despoliation of himself,” recalling that Jesus made himself slave, servant, he let himself be humiliated to the Cross, he added. The Pope reminded those present that “if we want to be Christians there is no other way.” He also warned about the danger of being “pastry shop” Christians, nice cakes but with no real substance.

“What must the Church strip herself of?

Pope Francis stressed emphatically the danger of worldliness, “a very grave danger that threatens the whole Church,” a worldliness that leads to vanity, arrogance, pride. “This is an idol, and idolatry is the strongest sin,” he noted. Once again he said that all of us are the Church and that it “is sad to meet a worldly Christian.” As he has already stated on other occasions, the he warned that "one cannot work for both sides: either one serves God or one serves money.”

Francis addressed those present: the poor people assisted by Caritas. He said that many of them have been “stripped by this savage world that doesn’t give work, doesn’t help and is not concerned if people die of hunger, who flee seeking freedom, with so much sorrow we see that they meet with death, as yesterday in Lampedusa. Today is a day of mourning. These things  are done by the spirit of the world.”

He ended by reminding us all, “the strength of God is what pushed Saint Francis to strip himself and I invited you to pray for the grace to have the courage to strip yourself of this worldliness that is the cancer of society.”

The Pope's Interview

There is a story told of the future Good Pope John when he was Cardinal Archbishop of Venice. Dining with some of his senior clergy in his residence he listened as his Vicar General spoke harshly of a particular priest who was drinking too much and causing scandal.

The future Pope took his empty wine glass and asked, "Monsignor, to whom does this glass belong?" "It is yours, Your Eminence," was the reply.

The Cardinal let the glass fall to the ground. Then, indicating the broken glass, he asked, "And now to whom does it belong?" The answer, "It is still yours." The Cardinal replied, "And so it is with the brother you speak of - he is still my brother!"

Those who deserve love least need love most.

Mercy is the most beautiful face of God. There is more mercy in the Lord than sin in us. We will always underestimate His goodness.

If we as Church forget these basic truths, fail to open ourselves to that mercy and mirror that mercy we are all lost.

As Francis puts it: "The thing the Church most needs today is the ability to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful. It needs nearness, proximity."

There has been a huge international response to Pope Francis' interview with its tone of compassion and graciousness. And some in the Church are trying to "explain away" some of his statements. And, as expected, some sectors of the media are reading into his words what is not there. But overall there is a sense of breathing in lung-fulls of fresh air; the response has a tone of hope and freedom and blessing.

Why? Because we are all hearing once again with simplicity and clarity the Gospel of Grace. This is the Word of love that draws and attracts us even with all our sin and brokenness, and then refreshed in mercy we are able to accept the redeeming grace that heals and puts us on a new path. He loves us first always and frees us to love in return.

In one of his homilies - commenting on the phrase, "Jesus was teaching in the temple each day" - Gregory the Great said that the Lord continues to teach daily in the temple that is His Body, the Church, if only we have ears to hear.

Through His servant Francis the Lord is definitely teaching us at this time. We are being taught that the Church is to be a place of welcome, mercy and healing. It is as if the Lord repeats to all of us what he once said to those who complained about Him eating with sinners: "Go and learn the meaning of the words: What I want is mercy not sacrifice."

May we learn their meaning at depth!

Our fundamental vocation is to rejoice in the Gospel of Grace - to be a people who continue to experience the tender mercy of God, and celebrate, proclaim and live in that mercy.

'The Secret of our Joy'

David and Hugh

Just back from a wonderful celebration of the Solemn Profession of our brother David Collins in Adam and Eve’s Church, Dublin. Our Provincial Minister, Hugh McKenna, received David’s vows on behalf of the Order.

He told David: ‘Our world needs to see people of joy and faith and hope and love.’

And he reminded him of the words the Pope spoke to a gathering of young religious in Rome this summer for the Year of Faith, an event David attended. 

Pope Francis said: ‘In calling us God says to us: “You are important to me, I love you, I count on you.” Jesus says this to each one of us! Joy is born from here, the joy of the moment in which Jesus looked at me.'

'To understand and to feel this is the secret of our joy. Don’t be afraid to show the joy of having answered the Lord’s call, of the choice to love and witness His Gospel in the service of the Church. And joy, real joy, is contagious; it infects … it makes us go forward.’

Hugh continued: ‘David, like our Father Francis before you when he discovered his Gospel calling, you too have been able to say: “This is what I want, this is what I seek, this is what I desire with all my heart.” And I pray that God’s call may always fill your heart with joy as you continue your journey of faith.’

The Cry for Peace!

A Prayer for Peace in Syria:

O Prince of Peace, we come before you sinful and sorrowful.
We know that we are all guilty of hatred and contempt,
and yet we ask for your mercy and forgiveness.

In Syria, millions of our brothers and sisters are suffering greatly.
And it seems that their suffering may be increased by people
who themselves wish to bring peace to this land.

We know that it is you who turn our hearts to peace,
and so we ask you to turn your eyes to Syria,
so near the towns and villages where you grew up and ministered,
to look upon that Holy Land, and bring an end to violence.

Help us do all that we can, physically, morally, legally,
to support dialogue, foster reconciliation and promote justice. 
End the terrible violence directed against so many Syrians
from so many places, and turn their hearts to forgiveness, compassion and love.

Open our own hearts to the needs of the millions of refugees. 
Help us to see that they are our brothers and sisters in crisis,
for you were a refugee yourself once,
along with Mary and Joseph.

Most of all, let us not bring more violence and suffering
upon a people who have already suffered immensely. 

Bring them peace, O Prince of Peace.

(Photo: Raghad Al-Hussein, a 30-year-old Syrian refugee, holds her newborn child inside their makeshift shelter in the village of Jeb Jennine, in Lebanon.  CNS Photo: Paul Jeffrey.)

Monuments of Mercy

All smiles: Vincent and David after their profession.

I was in our friary in Ennis on Saturday as we celebrated the First Profession of our two brothers - Vincent Finnegan and David Connolly. Having completed their novitiate year they took this major step on the path of their Franciscan formation. 

This coming Sunday the friars gathered again, this time in Dublin. We have the joy of celebrating the Solemn Profession of David Collins. David will make a final, life-long commitment to live out his Christian discipleship as a Friar Minor within the Irish Province.

Witnessing the profession of a brother is a particular grace. The actual profession of vows, made 'into the hands' of our Provincial Minister, is a very radical statement. Listening to it the friar cannot but challenged.

On Saturday I realised that I need, even more than ever, to lean on, indeed to fall back on the grace of God. Any fidelity to this life flows from the action of the Spirit.

As St Francis unceasingly experienced and taught - All is Grace!

The words of Theodore Jennings are striking: 'If grace is to be real, then it must have real effects. And these effects must be palpable, visible. When the divine enters the world, it produces changes everyone can see, not invisible craters, but manifest "monuments of mercy".'

May the lives of our young brothers and all our lives be monuments of mercy!

Making Demands of God

An insightful reflection from Kayla McClurg, Church of the Saviour, on Psalm 82... a faith that can demand of God, a faith that dares to pray, hope and work for a different world. "The psalmist has experienced God as a God of justice and mercy, but when he looks at the vast needs of so many, the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer, the nations failing to serve, he has to wonder. He interrogates the Holy One, demanding response. “What’s going on, God? How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? How long will you delay?” Would we dare such boldness? Do we have such raw and intimate relationship with God? The psalmist talks to God as one might a spouse—a spouse who has been quite a disappointment lately. Not only does he take the risk of haranguing God, he lays out in plain language what he thinks needs to be done. The psalmist gives God a “honey-do” list, a reminder of what awaits repair if God hopes to clean up the mess the world is in. Here is the psalmist’s list (I wonder what would be on mine): Give justice to the weak and the orphan; maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute; rescue the weak and the needy. Just do it already! Do you notice the psalmist does not ask for God’s intervention in his personal life and community? The relationship between them is greater than that. For the psalmist, God is not a personal peddler of goods, a well-stocked pantry to whom he goes for replenishment. In the psalmist’s daring, we hear what a deeper, more intimate connection sounds like, what it means to be in alignment with God’s own heart. When we dare to speak honestly on behalf of the silenced ones, perhaps it is because we know that God and we want the same things, that we are bonded with a covenant love that can be trusted., and we will be yoked together in the tasks at hand. In the depths of this kind of love, we can dare to ask boldly, dare to call God, our beloved, to task. C’mon, God, show us the right hammer and nails for the job. You know how to fix this!"