Lenten reflections
Change of direction Diana Klein continues her series of meditations for Lent based on Benedict XVI’s speeches. This week she explores Newman’s thinking on service
uring the Rite of the Ashes on Wednesday, we heard the terms “Repent and believe the Gospel” and “Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.” The first invites us to follow the high standards of Christian life; the sec- ond recalls our fragility, but also our liberation from death, gifted to us by Jesus. Lent is a time when we are invited to
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review the way that we are living our lives, to consider what we are doing with them. We ask ourselves what influence our faith has on us. It is a time to think about whether we need to change direction in some way. During his September visit to Britain, Pope Benedict reminded us of one of Cardinal John Henry Newman’s best-loved medita- tions, which includes the following words: “God has created me to do him some definite service. He has committed some work to me which he has not committed to another.” This, he said, is where we see the point at which faith and life intersect – where faith is meant to bear fruit in the transformation of our world through the power of the Holy Spirit at work in the lives of believers. The Pope went on to say that Christians cannot afford to get on with business as usual
College in Dublin, requested a meeting with Cardinal O’Malley, offering his views as a his- torian and as a practising Catholic. He was very positive in his appreciation of a meeting that “surpassed [his] expectations in its can- dour and interest in detail”. Also impressed by what she saw and heard at a meeting with Cardinal O’Malley was Dr Margaret Downes, chairwoman of the parish council at St Mary’s, Haddington Road, who attended with 16 other representatives of parish pastoral councils. “Celibacy and the position of women in the
Church will have to be looked at if the Church is to be more responsive,” Dr Downes told me, adding that there was a great need for a change of attitude in Rome, which often appears not really to understand the realities on the ground. She wanted to see a synod set up in the Irish Church with lay participation but she suspected there would be no radical change in a Church she saw as being “increas- ingly out of touch”. There is widespread debate among the
clergy on the subject of Archbishop Diarmuid Martin’s handling of the abuse scandal. Some feel that he has been unsuccessful in com- municating with his priests and even that he has lost the confidence of some as the pastor with a responsibility to them as well as to oth- ers. Yet Archbishop Martin probably has more credibility with survivors of abuse than any other member of the Irish hierarchy. Maeve Lewis of the victim support group One in Four said Archbishop Martin had become a real leader in the field worldwide.
in the world today, ignoring the profound crisis of faith which has overtaken our society, or simply trusting that the patrimony of val- ues handed down by the Christian centuries will continue to inspire and shape the future of our society. Echoing Newman, he said that each of us is called to work for the advancement of God’s Kingdom by imbuing temporal life with the values of the Gospel. Each of us has a mission; each of us is called to change the world, to work for a culture of life, a culture forged by love and respect for the dignity of each human person. As our Lord tells us in Matthew’s gospel, “our light must shine in the sight of all, so that, seeing our good works, they may give praise to our heavenly Father” (cf. Matthew 5:16). Newman taught us that if we have accepted the truth of Christ and committed our lives to him, there can be no separation between what we believe and the way we live our lives. Our every thought, word and action must be directed to the glory of God. On the eve of Newman’s beatification, Pope Benedict invited us to examine our lives, to see them against the vast horizon of God’s plan. Newman believed that each of us has been assigned a specific task: “I have my mission,”
She was fearful that if, as is often rumoured, he were to move on from Dublin, it would represent a step back for child protection. She added that while many survivors rejected the Church, others struggled to hold on to their faith and therefore the approach of the Church was of great importance to them. Sr Elizabeth Cotter, vicar for Religious in Dublin Archdiocese and a canon lawyer, said that while she accepted the absolute importance of facing up to the scandal and the immense pain caused by the Church’s cover-up, she feared that the aspect of renewal that was central to the visitation at
Benedict XVI at John Henry Newman’s beatification Mass. Photo: CNS
he wrote, “I am a link in a chain”. There is a bond of connection between us. God has created each of us to do his work. Newman was called to apply his keen intel-
lect and his prolific pen to many of the most pressing subjects of his day. His insights into the relationship between faith and reason, into the vital place of revealed religion in civilised society, and into the need for a wide- ranging approach to education were not only of profound importance for Victorian England, but continue today to inspire and enlighten many all over the world. Ask yourself this Lent what service has been committed uniquely to you. Ask yourself if you are open to God’s voice resounding in the depths of your heart, ask yourself if God is telling you it is time to change direction.
■Diana Klein is a catechetical adviser in Westminster Diocese.
the outset had somehow become obscured. “How”, Sr Elizabeth asked, can we come to a point where “we fall on our knees and listen to the call of the Gospel? How can we achieve renewal for the Church? What will bring us back to the Scriptures as Archbishop Martin has so often said?” She sees the need for a broad renewal across the Church but questions the will for it in many circles.
Among the priorities for the future, Mgr Dan O’Connor cites “the need for a meaningful report that will be part of a new beginning for the Church in Ireland, survivors and others who have lost their faith because of the great suffering inflicted upon them, active laity, priests and Religious”. He added: “If this does not happen committed Catholics will walk.” The fear is that what will be presented in the end will be a document couched in what many will see as the usual turgid Vaticanese that will inspire little confidence or hope. The broader socio-political reality in Ireland today could hardly be starker: our economy is in considerable difficulty; politics is seen to have failed, as have several of our public-sector institutions, notably banking and finance; and the Church also has failed us. What is called for is something that will give us both faith and hope, faith in ourselves and our institutions and hope for the future. If this can be achieved in any small way it will be an important contribution. We stand and wait.
Archbishop Timothy Dolan, who lead the visitation. Photo: CNS
■ Dr Patrick Claffey is a priest and an academic with an interest in the area of faith and culture.
12 March 2011 | THE TABLET | 17
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