Circling ...

I occasionally include in my written thoughts, a quotation I have already used elsewhere. There is no reason to exclude it when it clearly speaks to whatever my thoughts are at the time; having used it does not disqualify it from further use. But, while always taking care to avoid any accidental or unnecessary repetition, I have found that the last quote in my previous post had also been the ending for one in January 2009 (Recognition 2).

My first reaction was one of mild annoyance and a decision not to draw attention to the fact, but, as is already made clear by my mentioning it, my thoughts very quickly moved on from there as a result of asking myself how I had missed it, and what reason there may have been for its repetition. I only had to read the post titles – ‘An ongoing call’ and ‘Recognition’ – for the few lines already written here to be discarded. I have lost track of the number of times I have had to alter direction when writing for these posts, even when seeming to know exactly what I am sitting down to write about. Indeed those unexpected course changes began almost as soon as I ventured, somewhat nervously, into this internet world. On Christmas Eve 2006 (Following ...) I wrote,

‘... Even that last sentence does not convey what I had set out to say, and yet, it lays the foundation for giving expression to an overflowing which I began to feel as soon as it was written. Things are certainly not going as I thought I had planned. ... my own conscious thoughts dispersed, to be lost in the wake of an overwhelming yet unseen vessel, powering past me as soon as I have set sail for a distant shore. ... I am, for the moment at least, a follower: a disciple. ... I must follow where I am led, trusting that my use of words will not too often lead me off the path;’

Four years later, and after an absence during which my following took me into unexpected and unknown areas, I am still experiencing the same sensations: what I might then have called confusion, but which I now more readily and comfortably accept and describe as direction. Having set off towards whatever had been in my mind when I began tapping the keyboard, I have been steered gently round in a circle – thus losing none of my momentum, and remaining unaware until after it had happened – to give further thought to what I had previously been writing.

That word, ‘previously’, is very much involved here. I have already referred to the quote from Alan Abernethy’s book, that clergy ‘only have a function within a local community that recognizes their ministry and gifts and is willing to share that ministry with them’ and that ‘the body of Christ gives to all who are members an identity, a calling and gifts to offer for the good of all.’ That calling is to every one of us: not just to the ordained, the eminent, the prominent, the recognized, and the clearly visible members of Christ’s Church. It is an ongoing call because it is a call from God; a call that has been echoing down the years since His Spirit’s direction first stirred chosen and influential persons in the Church. A recognizable point along the way was marked for most of us by the Second Vatican Council, though it would be a mistake for us to believe that was the start of this particular call; and an arrogant mistake for anyone involved in the Council or in its early after-effects. It is not every recognizable movement that can necessarily be interpreted as an approach; and no limited approach can be accepted as an arrival at a destination. Certainly there is movement going on almost everywhere, even if much of it is still remains little more than a restless uncertainty, or a discomforted writhing in both presbyteries and pews. But the Spirit of God is still at work, urging us toward that same end. Christ still wants His church back. The reality of that is that He wants us back: all of us. You and me; men and women; laity, deacons, priests, bishops; all of us. And not as individuals only, but as one body: His Church.

Looking for something closer to the time of changes brought about after Vatican II, I came across this among my gathered bits and pieces: from Carlo Carretto, in his book ‘The God Who Comes’.

‘In the minds and hearts of Christians yesterday, the Church was a rock of safety and stability. Now it has become an open arena for every kind of contest, profound or superficial. Clerics and bishops dispute openly ... and the average Christian grows frightened, lost among increasingly anonymous and strangely restless crowds. Many people take refuge in inaction and isolation. Many take up any kind of hobby just to pass the time. Others assume the role of prophet, even though they have nothing to prophesy. And many, finding no other solution, close themselves off in fond memories of the past, dreaming of Latin liturgies, fervent processions, and blind obedience. And, of course, everyone does his best to get just one drop of pleasure out of life ... contributing to a civilization of material prosperity, sex, drugs – the permissive society, a decadent civilization. It is as though a cyclone or an earthquake had just passed, not destroying the house completely, but leaving us insecure. We are discovering the cracks, and there is an undefined sadness in our hearts.’

And two items from the early 1990s: - ‘One of the signs of the times ... was the way he saw the priesthood today was being humbled, through the development of the laity and other not so encouraging things. This he felt was all part of God’s plan to prepare a new type of priest ... who would be more of a co-operator with his people, rather than a lord of the flock. He exhorted his fellow priests to be humble so that God could fill them with His power.’ (in Good News magazine, referring to Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, preacher to the Papal household, speaking at the National Charismatic Retreat for Priests: 1993)

‘It is surprising how many good Church people there are (clergy as well as laity) who are trying to serve God individually, but they are not rooted in parish community. What do we have to share if it is not our belonging?’ (Priests and People. April 1993. ’How do we renew our people?’)

And this from within the last few years: - ‘If people are to grasp and retain a genuine Christian faith within our pluralist and fast-changing society, they will need to be part of a community of believers, a group in which the full nature of that belief can be worked out.’ (Mike Booker & Mark Ireland. Evangelism – which way now?)

Most people today have neither need nor wish to join the Church for the ‘benefits’ of human authority encountered there; and as the number of pre-Vatican II members declines, the continued presence of younger existing churchgoers, expected to remain in the face of undue levels of masculine human dominance and authority, cannot be counted on. Let us thank God, once again, for having ensured that the majority of our priests are men of and for today: humble men filled with His power, and much loved co-operators with His people. They are the best possible focal points for setting the Church firmly and confidently back on its straight course: for bringing its hesitant circling to an end.