With the coming of Advent I am reminded that with the world in various states of disarray we wait in hope and joyful expectation for the Lord. For Advent I have begun (jumping the gun a bit) re reading the four Vatican II Constitutions; Lumen Gentium (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church), Gaudium et Spes (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World), Dei Verbum, (Constitution on the Divine Revelation), Sacrosanctum Concilium, (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy). See right hand column for the link to all Vatican II documents. In my reading I find I have fallen in love again with Mother Church, who loves the world and who reaches out Her hand to all people of good will.
As I read Gaudium et Spes I am struck by how contemporary it all sounds. The Church, then and now, sees in the “Signs of the Time” a world in transition. From Gaudium et Spes.
Today, the human race is involved in a new stage of history. Profound and rapid changes are spreading by degrees around the whole world. Triggered by the intelligence and creative energies of man, these changes recoil upon him, upon his decisions and desires, both individual and collective, and upon his manner of thinking and acting with respect to things and to people. Hence we can already speak of a true cultural and social transformation, one which has repercussions on man's religious life as well. 1
As happens in any crisis of growth, this transformation has brought serious difficulties in its wake. 4
One such sign of the time is how the world is so interconnected. What happens in Tunisia is heard, read and commented on in a flash from Los Angeles to Mexico City. In all these world changes think about the role of Social Media and what it has already accomplished, think Arab Spring and the Occupy Movement for recent examples. Again from Gaudium et Spes.
New and more efficient media of social communication are contributing to the knowledge of events; by setting off chain reactions they are giving the swiftest and widest possible circulation to styles of thought and feeling. 6
The status quo, of almost everything I can think of, has been looked at if not challenged and it is often the young who are taking the lead. They move forward (not always with clear outcome in sight) with great speed, endless energy and total commitment.
A change in attitudes and in human structures frequently calls accepted values into question, especially among young people, who have grown impatient on more than one occasion, and indeed become rebels in their distress. Aware of their own influence in the life of society, they want a part in it sooner. 7
As in 1962, 2011 finds the world anxious in spirit, slippery to grasp and increasing chaotic in structure. Anything goes (so it seems) and what was so stable (world banking or political status ) doesn’t seem stable at all and what could be counted on as bed rock is collapsing faster than I can write.
This development coming so rapidly and often in a disorderly fashion, combined with keener awareness itself of the inequalities in the world beget or intensify contradictions and imbalances. 8
Where does the Church fit in? As she always has been or should have been, right smack in the middle of life. A true and vital part of this transitory kingdom, She always points to the eternal kingdom to come. She always sees this world through the filter of the Gospel message.
The Church has always had the duty of scrutinizing the signs of the times and of interpreting them in the light of the Gospel. Thus, in language intelligible to each generation, she can respond to the perennial questions which men ask about this present life and the life to come, and about the relationship of the one to the other. We must therefore recognize and understand the world in which we live, its explanations, its longings, and its often dramatic characteristics. 4
If we feel that the Church has become more marginalized, more an on looker watching a passing parade or perched on some unearthly platform peering down on this world rather than a player in the game we are wrong. If the Church is a Pilgrim Church, and she is, then we pilgrim somewhere and it is clear that the Church does not, nor is she meant to, travel alone. She cooperates and shares in the heavy lifting of humanity. The Church can and must share her faith and experience in working together with all for the good of all.
In all this semi gloom there is always light at the edges that shines in or perhaps better thought of breaking into the gloom. This light is the Church, human and divine – both the Mystical Body of Christ and the People of God it in solidarity with all humanity, as we all struggle to build up the person, the family, community and the world.
The joys and the hopes, the grief’s and the anxieties of the men of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the grief’s and anxieties of the followers of Christ. Indeed, nothing genuinely human fails to raise an echo in their hearts. For theirs is a community composed of men. United in Christ, they are led by the Holy Spirit in their journey to the Kingdom of their Father and they have welcomed the news of salvation which is meant for every man. That is why this community realizes that it is truly linked with mankind and its history by the deepest of bonds. 1
For this Advent I am taking a breath and trying to see the big picture, at least a bigger picture. I will, to the best of my ability, read, pray, reflect and share what comes to mind in this year’s Advent experience.
Peace and Grace in Christ this Advent Season
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