 |
Catalyst for RenewalSeeking truth and renewal through conversation |
 |
|
| THE MIX
Excerpts from the June 2007 Edition of The MIX
Our Say - On being voice for the voiceless Baptism,
we believe, anoints us to be prophets. How
many believers think of themselves seriously – and realistically – as
prophets? Archbishop Pius Ncube of
Bulawayo in Zimbabwe takes his baptismal vocation as prophet seriously.
He visited Australia recently as the guest of the Department of Foreign
Affairs and Trade. Sadly,
his visits to Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney were not widely advertised or
promoted. For example, this writer
has become aware of only three events while the Archbishop was in Sydney: The
first, a luncheon at the Lowy Institute on Thursday May 3 and the second, a
seminar organised by the Australian Human Rights Centre at the University of NSW
on Friday May 4 at 1pm. While it was
pleasing to see that the Australian Bishops Conference also received him, this
was a private session. The wider
Catholic community of Australia should have been exposed to this man and his
prophetic presence. Archbishop
Ncube embodies the two central characteristics of the prophet.
Firstly, he is a living reminder of important truths the community has
forgotten or is ignoring. Secondly,
he gives voice to the voiceless. The
oppressed and downtrodden, those deprived of any reasonable chance to resist the
power of the powerful, must have someone to intervene for them. Being
prophetic can make you simply unpopular. There
are times, however, when it can be downright dangerous, especially when you are
dealing with someone like President Mugabe.
Archbishop Pius Ncube accepts this as his vocation. In
a report in The Sydney Morning Herald
(May 12-13, 2007, 33), the reporter noted, significantly enough, that “(Ncube)
fortifies himself with an hour, sometimes two, of prayer, reflection and reading
every morning, rising at 5am.” We
can and must be prophetic where we are. That
is part of what it means to be baptised. We
might find some simple and concrete ways of expressing this vocation by asking
the question: Where/who are the voiceless in my life? Catalyst
for Renewal was established to promote conversation.
In doing this – without fanfare or spectacle – we believe we are
quietly prophetic, providing voice for the voiceless.
We also believe that is profoundly in tune with the Second Vatican
Council and its desire to promote dialogue at all levels of Catholic life.
In other words, Catalyst is, and intends to remain in the years ahead,
thoroughly Catholic. With
regard to the particular issue of global warming, we might also speak out for
the future generations of human beings. Surely
they will appreciate it if we make decisions now that leave them with a planet
to rejoice in rather than one to lament. It
might also be helpful to look around and give thanks for those many people who
do remind us of forgotten truths, people who do act for and on behalf of the
voiceless and the vulnerable. ¡
The Bible – The birth of a prophet On
the Feast of the Birth of John the Baptist (Year C), we turn to Luke, the only
one of the Gospel writers to speak specifically of the birth of John the
Baptist. Matthew simply says: “In
due course John the Baptist appeared” (3:1).
Mark begins his Gospel with a reference to Isaiah followed by the remark:
“ …. so it was that John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness” (1:4).
John, immediately following his Prologue, introduces John the Baptist by
telling of how he was questioned by the authorities: “Who are you?”
(1:19-34). Why might Luke have
included the details of his birth? We
could consider at least two reasons for Luke’s inclusion of these special
details. Firstly, Luke has an
obvious intention to make it clear to his readers that being a disciple of Jesus
is no more nor less than the natural flowering of Judaism.
Jesus is the promised one and everything that happens concerning him is
part of the fulfilling of the promise in the history of the people of Israel.
He has already situated Mary deeply in that history.
See, for example, the parallels between Mary’s “Magnificat” (Luke
1:46-55) and the Song of Hannah (1Samuel 2:1-11).
Like Jesus, John is circumcised according to Jewish custom and named at
that event. Also like Jesus (see
Luke 2:21), the name is given by an angel of the Lord (see Luke 1:13).
The name John means “Yahweh-is-gracious”. Secondly,
Luke’s details of the birth keep in focus the unmerited action of God.
God has taken the initiative to intervene in human history and that
intervention continues in all generations. The
people live by trusting God’s fidelity to a promise.
Their whole existence as a people is a graced existence.
The Baptist’s mother – like Isaac’s mother – is beyond her child
bearing years. In the sight of the
human community she is barren, one who will never be a mother.
By the grace of God this child is born and by the grace of God this child
will be what he must be and do what he must do.
This child is to be a servant of the Great Mystery of Love embracing and
liberating the world.
¡
The Tradition - We who seek are sought “Too
late have I loved you, O Beauty so ancient and so new, too late have I loved
you! Behold you were within me while
I was outside: it was there that I sought you, and, a deformed creature, rushed
headlong upon these things of beauty which you have made. You were with me, but
I was not with you.” (St.
Augustine, Confessions, J. Ryan, ed.,
Image Books, Bk. 10, Ch. 27) This is
one of the better known statements by the great saint.
Perhaps it is better known because many of us easily identify with the
sentiment: “You were with me, but I was not with you.”
Many Catholics raised before the Second Vatican Council have had to
struggle with an image of God that is judgmental, and a sense of self that is
too influenced by false guilt. The
moralism that characterized so much of our recent history is not faithful to the
Tradition. Listen
to the Catholic Catechism speaking of prayer: “'If you knew the gift of God!'
(Jn 4:10). The wonder of prayer is
revealed beside the well where we come seeking water: there, Christ comes to
meet every human being. It is he who
first seeks us and asks us for a drink. Jesus
thirsts; his asking arises from the depths of God's desire for us. Whether
we realize it or not, prayer is the encounter of God's thirst with ours. God
thirsts that we may thirst for God.” (n.2560)
What the Catechism says of prayer applies to living as such.
St Bernard of Clairvaux says: You have been seeking God?
Know that he has long since been seeking you.
|
Send mail with
questions or comments about this web site please
|
