1/6/2009
Hope
Peace is not the product of terror or fear.
Peace is not the silence of cemeteries.
Peace is not the silent result of violent repression.
Peace is the generous, tranquil
contribution of all to the good of all.
Peace is dynamism. Peace is generosity.
It is right and it is duty.
Archbishop Oscar Romero.
In 2006, Jim Forest was invited to give a lecture at the Augustana
College in Alberta. Journalism and peace work have been major
elements in Jim Forest's life. In the 1960s he became a close
personal friend of Thomas Merton. He has also been on the staff on
several peace organizations, an interest that took root in his life
while he was serving in the U.S. Navy. He worked with Dorothy Day at
the Catholic Worker. In 1961, Thomas Merton sent an article to be
published in the Catholic Worker. In his lecture The Root of War is
Fear, Jim Forest quotes from Thomas Merton's article:
"What are we to do? The duty of the Christian in this crisis is to
strive with all his power and intelligence, and with his faith, his
hope in Christ, and love for God and man, to do the one task which
God has imposed upon us in the world today. That task is to work for
the total abolition of war. There can be no question that unless war
is abolished the world will remain constantly in a state of madness
and desperation in which, because of the immense destructive power of
modern weapons, the danger of catastrophe will be imminent and
probable at every moment everywhere. Unless we set ourselves
immediately to this task, both as individuals and in our political
and religious groups, we tend by our very passivity and fatalism to
cooperate with the destructive forces that are leading inexorably to
war. It is a problem of terrifying complexity and magnitude, for
which the Church itself is not fully able to see clear and decisive
solutions. Yet she must lead the way on the road to the nonviolent
settlement of difficulties and toward the gradual abolition of war as
the way of settling international or civil disputes. Christians must
become active in every possible way, mobilizing all their resources
for the fight against war."
Merton's final sentence in his essay is not sanguine: "We may never
succeed in this campaign but whether we succeed or not, the duty is
evident."
Five years later, Merton wrote to Jim Forest: "Do not depend on the
hope of results. When you are doing the sort of work you have taken
on, essentially an apostolic work, you may have to face the fact that
your work will be apparently worthless and even achieve no result at
all, if not perhaps results opposite to what you expect. As you get
used to this idea, you start more and more to concentrate not on the
results but on the value, the rightness, the truth of the work
itself. And there too a great deal has to be gone through, as
gradually you struggle less and less for an idea and more and more
for specific people. The range tends to narrow down, but it gets much
more real, In the end, it is the reality of personal relationships
that saves everything."
"... The big results are not in your hands or mine, but they suddenly
happened, and we can share in them; but there is no point in buiding
our lives on this personal satisfaction, which may be denied us and
which after all is not that important.... All the good that you will
do will come not from you but from the fact that you have allowed
yourself, in the obedience of faith, to be used by God's love."
In the post-9/11 world, a culture of fear still exists. Ours is in
many ways a more frightening and dangerous world than Merton
addressed in 1961. Our articulate dissent can make a difference.
1/20/2009
The call to mission: In whose hearts is the Spirit instilling the
desire for mission today?
In 2008, the Scarboro Missions celebrated 90 years. Similar to the US
Maryknoll organization, the Canadian Scarboro Missions consists of
religious priests, working with religious sisters and catholic lay
volunteers. There are many fewer priests of the religious order these
days. Fr. Ron MacDonnell wrote: "I have been ordained 22 years now.
Yet I am still the last ordained Scarboro priests. I cannot help but
reflect: Will I be the last Scarboro priest? Where is the Holy Spirit
leading our Church? In whose hearts is the Spirit instilling the
desire for mission?"
Since 1974, the Scarboro Missions, have prepared and sent more than
100 lay missionaries, men and women, single and married, overseas.
In the anniversary issue of their magazine, Fr. Mike Traher wrote:
"They have come with us in mission not as volunteers but as Vatican
II proclaimed, 'to be fully missionary in their own right'. They have
served in nine countries and because of our laity, new missions were
opened up in the mid-90s in Thailand and in Malawi, Africa.
".... To be missionary today calls for authentic witnesses, men and
women, priests, religious, and laity who are willing to immerse
themselves in service to the needs of others, to advance the basic
needs of humanity. Such actions reflect the heart of Christ and the
kingdom of God. Advocating justice for the oppressed, healing for
those wounded by conflict and ill with disease, upholding the weak
and vulnerable - all of these are the essence of the kingdom of God.
The hungry, the homeless, the refugee, those enslaved today in global
sexual trafficking need to hear the good news of Jesus Christ which
affirms their dignity and belovedness before God. We know from the
teaching and witness of Jesus that our God earnestly seeks that they
be reed from their captivity and oppression. Everyone just by being
born on earth is a child of God and inherits the right to share in
the gifts of God. Our mission is to live and promote these Gospel
values that reflect the heart of God to others.
"Mission for this 21st century requires all Christians to be open to
seeing the world with new eyes and with a new understanding of things
as they are. The new missionary will require a ready heart that is
intimately linked to the person and teaching of Jesus Christ, whose
Spirit is actively inviting us to be involved in mission in our world."
Of course, VMM is better! It makes a great deal of difference that it
was founded by a lay person and specifically as a movement of lay
people. I also greatly appreciate that VMM is open to all Christians
who embrace VMM's Spirit and Lifestyle. And, finally, VMM accepted
me. Scarboro Missions didn't!
Let us resolve in this new year to make VMM known and to support our
VMs in mission. Let us also check the website, www.vmmusa.org, and
mark on our calendar the VMM Assembly, June 12-14.
Cecily
PS I just returned last evening from Nicaragua and election
observation in El Salvador. I'll write more next week.
1/27/2009
Mastering the human condition is not superficial, it takes a lot of
knowledge and concentration, understanding and healing. It takes deep
love for God, it takes spiritual practices and it takes loving
sensitivity for all people. Leonard Orr.
Sunday two weeks ago, I was at the cultural centre of Batahola in
Nicaragua for mass. Two VMs, Christine Ruppert and Laura Hopps, have
worked there for the last year and a half. Christine was away but
Laura was there and she was a wonderful hostess. In 1992-95, while
working with Witness for Peace, I often took delegations to Batahola
for the 6 PM Sunday mass. At that time the founders were still alive.
I was concerned as to what would happen to the centre when they
passed away and I was so glad when I heard that Christine and Laura,
years later, had chosen to spend two years there to make the project
more known and sustainable.
Just before my visit to Batahola, I went to another poor and
dangerous neighborhood, to visit a music project. I was delighted to
hear that eight years ago some of the Batahola "graduates" played a
great role in founding this new music project. Here also many of the
music students chose to continue music studies at university and
join the youth orchestra. They continue to teach pro bono even though
they lack resources and time.
At Batahola, three North American delegations - none of them Catholic
- showed up for mass - a wonderful testimony for the ecumenical
spirit of the cultural centre. The centre with its beautiful mural
behind the altar was full and a choir and musical group of youth
invited us to join in the singing. Opening song is one any of you who
have lived in Central America will recognize:
Un pueblo que camina por el mundo gritando ven señor.
Un pueblo que busca en esta vida la gran liberación
Los pobles siempre esperan el amanecer de un día mas justo y sin
opresión
Los pobres hemos puesto la esperanza en ti, Libertador.
Salvaste nuestra vida de la esclavitud; esclavos de la ley sirviendo
en el temor;
nosotros hemos puesto la esperanza en ti, Dios del amor.
El mundo por la guerra sangra sin razón;
Familias destrozadas buscan un hogar;
El mundo tiene puesta la esperanze en ti; Dios de la paz.
A people who walks in the world crying Come Lord
A people who seeks in this life the great liberation
The poor are always waiting for the dawn of a day with more justice
and less oppression
We the poor have placed our hope in you the Liberator
You saved us from slavery, slaves of the law, serving in fear
We put our hope in you, God of love
The world bleeds because of senseless wars
Broken families look for shelter
The world has put its hope in you, God of peace.
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