In the last few days, I have been reading a recent book by Leonardo Boff, a prolific writer with over sixty books to his name who, along with Gustavo Guiterrez, will always be associated with Liberation Theology.

 His book has a simple title ‘Come Holy Spirit’ and, as that title would suggest, explores our relationship with the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost and how each of us is affected by the Spirit’s presence. He suggests that the presence of the Spirit is significant and at times can be clearly seen.

 In recent years he points to the work of the Spirit within the exchanges and teaching of the Second Vatican Council, the Spirit ‘bringing new light into the darkest corners of the church’. He mentions, CELAM the Latin American Episcopal Conference gathered at Medellin . Colombia , in 1968 where the Church rediscovered through the teachings of the Council, the necessity to be a Church of the poor and disadvantaged. It was a seminal gathering that gave rise to Liberation Theology and the necessity of the option for the poor. Within that context, the communities of prayer that were established within the laity brought about a new way of being Church and allowed the voices of the dispossessed to be raised and heard. Leonardo Boff‘s book is a thought-provoking read, challenging in so many ways, asking questions to which there are not always comfortable answers.

 But let’s take a few moments to examine this word ‘Community’, how it is formed and what is its purpose.

 In the writings of Isaac of Nineveh we find these words.
‘When the Spirit dwells within a person, from the moment that person has become prayer, the Spirit never leaves them. For the Spirit never ceases to pray within us. Whether we are asleep or awake, from then on prayer never departs from our soul. Whether we are eating or drinking or sleeping or whatever else we may be doing, even if we are in the deepest of sleeps, the incense of prayer is rising without effort in our heart. Prayer never again deserts us. In every moment of our life, even when it appears to have ceased, prayer is secretly at work within us continuously.

 A long quotation, but one that is well worth the time taken to pause and consider its implications. First of all the centrality of prayer in the lives of each of us, for whatever the circumstances, whatever the difficulties, the continual presence of the Spirit within us, is never lost.

 Within a Community, be it a Base community in Latin America or a parish Community here in the United Kingdom , our prayer life is sustained by the Spirit living in us.

 Boff goes on to mention two other occasions of the Spirit being with us, the movement towards Charismatic prayer, again centering on the need for the reality of prayer not only as individuals but in communion with others, and surprise, surprise, the arrival of Jorge Bergolio in the See of Rome, a long journey from Argentina.

 His taking of the name of Francis was the first act of significance, a saint associated with a life of companionship with the poor and downtrodden. Then in the months that have followed since that night in March three years ago, when he bowed low before the gathering in St Peter’s piazza, asking for prayer, the whole manner of his life has been Spirit-filled. His life of ‘being through doing’ has been a remarkable example to us all, especially within the cultural and economic hedonism of the West.

 He has shown no hesitation in speaking with those who do not share his Christian faith, respecting their person as a fellow human being, anxious to talk, to share and to pray together.

 And through all of this, the dove of peace, one of the most evident symbols of the presence of the Spirit, hovers time and again in his words. His compassion for the displaced from the Middle East and North Africa is clear for all to see, he has indicated the need to be generous in our response.

 Maybe one of the most disappointing aspects in the current debate on whether the UK should remain in the EU or leave, has been the way the issue of immigration is being bounced around in the public square in such a selfish manner.

 The communion that we share with each other and with the Christ in the shared loaf of Eucharist, cannot be contained in the small comfort zone of Sunday mass in our familiar parish. It has to go far beyond that. Our option for the poor through the in-dwelling of the Spirit in each of us, is an option we cannot ignore. Incidentally, I have often wondered why we call these coming weeks ‘ordinary time’. After Pentecost, they are anything but that.

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