We
are keen on defining the edges, the rules for inclusion, the boundaries that
demarcate one group from another. It becomes hard to accept that a certain
hesitancy as to where we are isn’t a sign of weakness or indecision but a
position of genuine searching. Why
are we so fearful of the Other, the ground beyond our own comfort zone?
So we draw up membership
rules, compliancy with which is deemed necessary for continued club membership,
with a whole batch of other circumstances discarded in favour of a central tenet
that all must adhere to.
In many ways such a position
is easier, for it allows no real questions to be asked. The frame work is
constructed, the answers have been formulated, everything has all been decided.
So we hide behind our walls and ignore the howling gales of disquiet that would
otherwise assail us.
The courage that is demanded
of a Christian is to live a life where we do not hide in a sentimental comfort
zone, but face, day by day, the reality of where we are, who we are and where we
might be going.
Often we hear of
life-changing events that demand individuals face up to moments that are
transformative, experiences that are so fundamental that there is no going back.
Oscar Romero was one such person whose option for the poor lead to his murder
whilst saying Mass. Francis too has travelled a long way, not just in air miles
from his native
Argentina
but in his personal realisation of faith.
It was on this date, two
years ago, that Benedict XVI showed enormous courage in his resignation of the
papacy, a decision that was to give Francis to the Church. It is also the date
when we celebrate the feast of
Lourdes
, the appearance of Mary to a small uneducated child whose
faith we recognise in naming her saint.
We look for certitude when we
only experience doubt, we ask for proof which obviates faith, we look for a
comfortable ride over dirt track roads.
I wrote this a couple of
weeks ago.
Crow
The scattering call of a
passing bird
broke
the early morning silence,
a
wordless time of seeking solitude
seated in a small space
before a candle-lit icon.
Dry
desert land of not knowing,
bleakness
after certitude
as
each day breaks,
questions
ask for answers,
but
remain unanswered,
in
a journey dependent on faith.
END
