Why? "It's about being vulnerable — if I tell you that I love you and you don't love me back."

In 30 years working in hospices and hospitals as a palliative care doctor, Mannix has seen love and death at close quarters.

Many people at the "edge of life, not everybody but a lot, have reached a place [where] they get what [life's] all about, it's much bigger than stuff and reputation.

It all comes down to self-worth and realising the worth of other people . . .

There's a danger that we leave it to the last moments and wait for the Hollywood last awakening where the person wakes up and [says], ‘I loved you all along.' And that doesn't happen . . . Lots of people [feel] very disappointed."

Since retiring in 2016 as a consultant in palliative medicine, and regional lead in the North East and North Cumbria for palliative and end-of-life care, Mannix has made it her mission to talk about death and dying, encouraging people to have meaningful conversations about last wishes and love before it is too late.

The success of her 2017 book With the End in Mind has given her a platform.

"By encountering death many thousands of times," she wrote, "I have come to a view that there is usually little to fear and much to prepare for. Sadly, I regularly meet patients and families who believe the opposite: that death is dreadful, and talking about it or preparing for it will be unbearably sad or frightening."

I wanted to talk to Mannix because her experience seems important as countries across Europe consider legislation on assisted dying.

France, Ireland, Scotland and the UK crown dependencies of Jersey and the Isle of Man may follow Switzerland and the Netherlands in permitting it in various forms, while Sir Keir Starmer, leader of Britain's Labour party, campaigning to win the general election on July 4, has said members of parliament will have a free vote on the matter.

We can't keep doing this one family at a time.

I arrive early for lunch at Six Rooftop, the glass-walled restaurant in the Baltic, Gateshead's cultural centre.

Shaking out my wet coat, I feel relieved that we didn't go with our original plan to meet for fish and chips on the Northumberland coast.

Outside, the sky is grey, a brooding backdrop for a conversation about death.

If the interview was filmed, I'd worry that the inclement weather was too crassly symbolic.

Mannix joins me at the table, pointing out the kittiwakes flying over the Tyne.

"I'm sorry that we're looking down the river in the rain because it's beautiful on a lovely day."

This restaurant has happy connotations for Mannix as the venue for various reunions with her year from Newcastle University Medical School, where she also met her husband.

Nonetheless, the 65-year-old former consultant and psychotherapist, dressed in mauve and grey, seems trepidatious, still not used to being the one holding forth rather than doing the listening.

Mannix has the soothing voice of an empathetic doctor though occasionally I strain to hear her over the hubbub of a Bank Holiday weekend.

Is it depressing to be around so much death?

"Look how miserable I am," she smiles, relaxing.

On the good days, her job provided the "best feeling in the world, you really make a difference at a point in [a patient's] life when that really matters.

"You're giving them their comfort back.

"The highs are high and the lows are low . . . You are meeting [people] who are sorrowful, but they are not only sorrowful."

Death dispenses with social conventions.

"There's something about people's attitude to the world and other people when there are no boundaries left that you've got to observe; they are the released version of who they've always been . . . and most people are naturally nice . . . there's a softness."

It was the case of a man brought into hospital with a long medical history that spurred Mannix's decision to start campaigning.

His two adult sons felt clueless about his final wishes because they had avoided their father's gentle cues to talk about his eventual death, wanting to chivvy rather than depress him.

"They just missed the hope of having that conversation with their dad because they thought they were going to be discussing something that was unbearable to talk about."

What bothered her was not that their story was remarkable, but that it was so commonplace.

"I [would] just wake up in the middle of the night thinking, ‘We can't keep doing this one family at a time. We can't keep [waiting] for the palliative care team to have a conversation about dying.'"

Improvements in medicine over the 20th century had the unfortunate byproduct, Mannix says, of shielding people from death.

"There's still a 100 per cent death rate and we need to think about when the dying can't be stopped.

"What can we do that enables it to be comfortable?"

Ignorance about death and dying, she says, is "a massive societal problem".

By raising public understanding, she hopes "that when doctors and nurses do try to have those conversations, they're talking to people who've got a few pegs to hang the ideas on".Continue reading

In his prepared text, Pope Francis told group members that theology is "a significant and necessary ecclesial ministry".

This is because "it is part of our Catholic faith to explain the reason for our hope to all those who ask".

Hope is Jesus Christ

Pope Francis noted three reasons why theology is important today.

First, "It is part of our Catholic faith to explain the reason for our hope to all who ask".

The Pope noted that this hope is not an emotion but the very Person of Jesus Christ.

Then, the "epochal changes" faced by an increasingly pluralistic society must be "critically assessed" to foster human fraternity and care for creation.

Third, there is the rapid progress of science and technology.

The pope used artificial intelligence (AI) as an example.

He wrote AI raises questions about "what it means to be human, what is worthy of our nature as human beings, what aspect of our humanity is irreducible because it is divine, that is, made in the image and likeness of God in Christ.

"Here, theology must be able to serve as a companion to the sciences and other critical disciplines, offering its specific sapiential contribution to ensuring that different cultures do not clash but become, in dialogue, symphonic" he wrote.

Cross-disciplinary approach

Francis further stressed the importance of a cross-disciplinary approach.

He highlighted the reciprocal relationship between theology and other fields of knowledge, where Christian wisdom enriches and informs scientific inquiry.

The pope emphasised the collaborative nature of theological inquiry and called for collegiality and synodality.

He recognised the shared responsibility of theologians and scholars in navigating the complexities of the contemporary world.

Pope Francis concluded that a 'theology of love' must be marked by charity.

"Because 'whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love'" as the First Letter of John says.

Sources

UCA News

Vatican News

America Magazine

CathNews NZ

This period of reflection and dialogue, aimed at rejuvenating and reforming the Church, must fundamentally be rooted in love.

Central to this journey is the challenge to embody the greatest commandment—love.

Yet, as we delve into this transformative journey, we must ask ourselves: Are we truly embracing the radical nature of God's love, or are we confining it to fit our agendas?

The synodal discussions are meant to be transformative, grounded in the radical love that Jesus exemplified.

Reject bullying: Embrace active love

Synodality and Church reform is not about bullying.

Bullying wants to control, harm, or intimidate others; living away from the power of love has the capacity to turn people into bullies.

So, as we participate in this transformative Synodal process, let us remind ourselves frequently that the command to love is central to all our conversations, agreements, disagreements, and decision-making.
Without love, decisions made "for the food of all" are little more than decisions made for some.

So love is not passive; it is active, challenging, and inclusive, rejecting any form of bullying, manipulation or coercion.

Love - a way and an end

As Pope Francis reminded us on April 24, "Goodness is not only an end, but also a way."

Or as John 13:34-35 puts it: "Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another."

The Church, through the ages, has faced myriad challenges and reforms.

Today, as we stand at another crossroads, at least in the first world, the call for reform is clear in the corridors of ecclesiastical power and among the faithful in the pews and the faithful who were once in the pews.

Essence of true reform

True reform, as highlighted in the foundational teachings of our faith, is not merely about structural adjustments or doctrinal clarifications.

True reform involves a deep, personal, and communal return to the first and greatest commandment: to love God and to love our neighbour, even when we do not necessarily like the person, agree with them, think their theology is not correct, or agree with what they are saying.

How often is it that decisions, supposedly made for the "good of all," end up benefiting only a few, as prudence and respect give way to expediency and efficiency?

Applying love

How often do power struggles within the Church overshadow this love?

The synodal process challenges us to debate, decide, and live out the love we profess fundamentally. I suggest that if we as a Church cannot first live love, our testimony to the world will become hollow.

Love is not soppy or wet, naïve or impractical.

Love is challenging.

Love calls us to a way of living, transcending the mundane calculations of gain and loss.

As we engage in this synodal process, let us remember that love is not passive but active and engaging.

It demands that we look beyond our personal desires and the immediate needs of the Church to embrace a more inclusive and comprehensive vision of reform.

Love compels us to listen, particularly the marginalised, the forgotten, and those we might disagree with vehemently.

Success beyond the documents

Ultimately, the measure of our synodal journey's success may not be found in entirely the documents we produce or the changes we implement. Rather, it will be measured by how deeply we have allowed ourselves to fall in love with God and with all whom God loves.

This Synodal transformation ought to be visible, about bringing people out of their homes to be a listening and loving Church.

Synodality should not effectively ‘force' people to stay home because they are afraid to share and bare themselves just a little.

All the Church reform in the world is pretty much worthless if we cannot love and respect each other.

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others; it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." 1- Corinthians 13:4-7

• Peter Roe SM has recently finished a term as a presbyter at St Francis Parish, Ohairu, Wellington. He now continues his ministry with Wellintown and in a range of workplace chaplaincies.

Yet the long history of American—mostly Protestant—hymnody, set to the cadence of the King James Bible, is embedded in our collective religious consciousness. (Think Julia Ward Howe's "Battle Hymn of the Republic" or "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.")

From there it moved into folk music, most notably Pete Seeger's "Turn! Turn! Turn!" and a huge chunk of Bob Dylan's ever-expanding catalog.

We are living in the twilight age of significant singer-songwriters who have worked in a biblical idiom.

Willie Nelson just celebrated his 90th birthday with a two-day series of tribute concerts at the Hollywood Bowl. Bob Dylan turned 82 last month; Paul McCartney will be 81 this month.

Paul Simon, another octogenarian songwriter, has just released a new album entitled "Seven Psalms."

The Psalter is the Bible's songbook, and tradition attributes most of the Psalms to King David, whom the Bible dubs "the sweet singer of Israel."

And while Paul Simon is not known for a large number of biblically inspired songs ("Bridge Over Troubled Water" being the notable exception), he has touched upon biblical and religious themes before.

I refer the reader to "Jonah" from the 1980 LP "One Trick Pony," or his use of the melody from the old hymn "O Sacred Head Now Wounded" for his 1973 song "American Tune," or the heartbreaking yet uplifting story of the refugee family who finds shelter in the church from life and death in "The Coast," from 1990's transcendent "Rhythm of the Saints."

This list can be easily extended.

"Seven Psalms" is different, though.

The entire 33-minute record is one musical piece without pause, with sparse instrumentation and production, built around minor chords.

Its sad and reflective music suits Simon's wobbly high tenor.

John Pareles describes the record as "a last testament" in The New York Times, and while it has an air of finality in terms of this world, it hints at an open door that leads into much larger rooms.

The Psalter, strictly speaking, is not God's word to us, but rather our words about God, and as such it is rich in metaphors for the divine: rock, tower, light, shepherd, a mother's comforting breast.

Like its namesake, "Seven Psalms" piles up its own imagery for God, encompassing the biblical God of both comfort and destruction:

The Lord is my engineer
The Lord is the earth I ride on
The Lord is the face in the atmosphere
The path I slip and I slide on

The Covid virus is the Lord
The Lord is the ocean rising
The Lord is a terrible swift sword
A simple truth surviving
In this cosmic vision, Simon also sees the Lord in the human world in terms of stewardship, vulnerability and care. One such example is this repeated stanza that the radical priest in "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" would no doubt approve of:

The Lord is a virgin forest
The Lord is a forest ranger
The Lord is a meal for the poorest of the poor
A welcome door to the stranger

But it is the last ten minutes of the record, beginning with the movement entitled "The Sacred Harp," where "Seven Psalms" takes flight.

Here, Simon's wife, Edie Brickell—a wonderful singer in her own right—joins in counterpoint and harmony as Simon paints a picture of the two of them picking up a hitchhiking, unhoused young couple.

The girl says, "We're refugees of sorts/ From my hometown/ They don't like different there/ They would have moved us down," while the boy says nothing, struggling with the unnamed but all-too-common traumatic exclusions that occur in this country. Continue reading

Seven Psalms

0​1 The Lord
02 Love Is Like a Braid
03 My Professional Opinion
04 Your Forgiveness
05 Trail of Volcanoes
06 The Sacred Harp
07 Wait

Seven Psalms

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• Thomas M. Bolin is a theology and religious studies professor at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wis.

When we embrace God's love and when we love one another in him, we plumb the depths of our identity, as individuals and as Church, and the meaning of our existence.

We understand not only how important our own lives are, but also how precious too are the lives of others. We perceive clearly how every life is unique and inalienable, a marvel in the eyes of God.

Love opens our eyes, expands our gaze, and allows us to recognize in the stranger who crosses our path the face of a brother or sister who has a name, a story, a drama, to which we cannot remain indifferent.

In the light of God's love, the reality of the other comes forth from the shadows, emerges from insignificance, and acquires value and relevance.

The needs of our neighbour challenge us, trouble us, and arouse in us a sense of responsibility.

It is always in the light of love that we discover the strength and courage to respond to the evil that oppresses others, to respond to that evil personally, and to confront it by committing ourselves fully and rolling up our sleeves.

God's love makes us sense the weight of the other's humanity as a yoke that is easy and a burden that is light (cf. Mt 11:30).

It leads us to feel the wounds of others as our own and challenges us to pour the balm of fraternity on the invisible wounds that we perceive present in their heart.

Do you want to know if a Christian is living charity?

Then look closely to see if they are willing to help freely, with a smile on their face, without grumbling or getting annoyed.

Charity is patient, Paul writes, and patience is the ability to endure unexpected trials, and daily labours without losing joy and trust in God.

For it is the result of a slow travail of the spirit, in which we learn to master ourselves and acknowledge our limitations.

As we learn to relate to ourselves, interpersonal maturity also develops, and we come to realize that other people too "have a right to live in this world, just as they are" (Amoris Laetitia, 92).

Breaking free from self-referentiality, from considering what we want for ourselves as the core around which everything revolves, even to the point of bending others to our desires, requires not only restraining the tyranny of our self-centredness but also cultivating a creative and dynamic ability to let the charisms and qualities of others come to the fore.

Living charity - caritas - thus entails being magnanimous and benevolent, recognising for example, that to work together constructively first requires "making space" for others.

We do this when we are open to listening and dialogue, ready to consider opinions that differ from our own, not insisting on our own positions but seeking instead a meeting point, a path of mediation.

The Christian who lives immersed in the love of God does not nurture envy, for "love has no room for discomfiture at another person's good fortune" (Amoris Laetitia, 95).

Love is not boastful or arrogant, for it has a sense of proportion.

Love does not set us above others, but allows us to approach them with respect and kindness, gentleness and tenderness, sensitive to their frailties.

"If we are to understand, forgive and serve others from the heart, our pride has to be healed and our humility must increase" (Amoris Laetitia, 98).

Love is not self-serving but aims to promote the good of others and to support them in their efforts to achieve it.

Love does not take into account wrongs endured, nor does it gossip about the evil done by others; rather, with discretion and in silence, it entrusts everything to God, putting aside judgement.

Love covers everything, says Paul, not to hide the truth, in which the Christian always rejoices, but to distinguish the sin from the sinner so that, while the former is condemned, the latter may be saved.

Love excuses everything so that we may all find comfort in the merciful embrace of the Father and be cloaked in his loving forgiveness.

Paul concludes his "hymn" by stating that charity, as a more excellent way to reach God, is greater than faith and hope. What the Apostle says is completely true.

While faith and hope are "provisional gifts", that is, linked to our lives as pilgrims and wayfarers on this earth, charity, by contrast, is "a definitive gift", a pledge and a foretaste of the final time, the Kingdom of God.

Everything else will pass away, while charity will never end.

The good that is done in the name of God is the good part of us that will not be lost or wiped away. God's judgement upon history is based on the "today" of love, on his discernment of what we have done for others in his name.

As Jesus promises, the reward will be eternal life: "Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Mt 25:34). Continue reading

• Pope Francis
• Excerpt from Pope Francis message to participants in the General Assembly of Caritas Internationalis May 2023

They are names that reflect our adoration.

Jesus is Christ our Saviour, Redeemer, Lamb of God, Word made Flesh, Prince of Peace, Fountain of all Holiness…

Such names are deeply etched on our minds and hearts.

If someone mentions "Sacred Heart" there is immediate recognition.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus touches our own hearts in a way we cannot describe.

All we know is that our names for Jesus are touch-stones in the mystery of our Church.

But what name did Jesus claim for himself?

Scripture tells us that he called God his Father, but there was another name he claimed over and over.

It appears in the Gospels more than seventy times.

That name is ‘Son of Man.'

You can count this for yourself. It is in all four Gospels.

In my youth, I had a strong fundamentalist streak and I was bewildered by this.

Why would the Son of God call himself Son of Man?

Then I learned that the original phrase Son of Man, simply meant Human Being.

More than 70 times in the Gospels, Jesus calls himself a human being.

What does that say to us?

If the "Word made flesh" claimed his humanity this way, how can we diminish our own humanity?

How can we fail to see that this is a huge gift?

I am reminded of St Paul's words in 2 Corinthians 8:9: "For you know the generousity of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes, he became poor so that by his poverty you might become rich."

In Jesus claim of humanity, we find a depth of prayer that takes us to the God-ness of our own little souls.

Jesus' love connects us.

He is the bridge between this life and the greater reality we call God.

That bridge is very strong.

When I was a child, I was told that Jesus died for my sins.

That's a cruel thing to tell a child.

Or an adult, for that matter.

My own children were told that Jesus died so he could be everywhere at once.

That is truth, and they recognised it as such. Jesus, the Son of God, was as close as the air they breathed.

For adults like me, who have lived the full circle back to the simplicity of childhood, this is also true.

We have learned, through trial and error, that the Word was made Flesh to teach us one thing.

It is love.

A love of all creation.

A love that connects.

Love in light and love in darkness.

Love in sickness and health.

Love for the crying child in others and ourselves.

Love that dissolves all fear.

When we come close to understanding the power of love, we make sense of statements such as: "For God so loved the world…"(John 3}

We realise that love is "the way, the truth and the life " that Jesus talked about.

We also know why Jesus wanted to call himself Human Being.

It was all about love.

• Joy Cowley is a wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and retreat facilitator. Joy Cowley is a wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and retreat facilitator.

Then he smiled and said: 'We probably won't see them again the following week, but that's OK.'

I was pleased to hear that.

It is of the very nature of Catholicism that we welcome people but don't demand they conform to our expectations.

We're not a sectarian or exclusive church. The very word 'catholic' means universal, big, and embracing. I'm reminded of debates at clergy conferences about whether priests should baptise the children of non-practising Catholics. My view has always been 'yes', reach out to people, be like Jesus and welcome them.

But there's a flip side to this.

Earlier this month in La Croix, the bishop of Odienné in West Africa's Ivory Coast, Alain Clément Amiézi, complained that 'People are baptised without becoming Christian, the sacraments are given without evangelising.'

He says that 'the number of faithful who are truly committed to … the virtues of the gospel is infinitesimal.'

Speaking of African converts, he said that just being seen at church is insufficient, and that committed Christians have to break the tribal logic of social convention and be willing to critique societal norms and practices in the light of the gospel.

That requires a spirituality of faith and courage.

My purpose here is not to critique of African Christianity. You can see exactly the same superficiality in the conversion of Europe in the first millennium.

We have an entirely romanticised notion of the medieval 'ages of faith' and the notion of Ireland as 'the island of saints and scholars.'

Recently historians like Anton Wessels and Jan Romein have questioned whether Europe was ever really Christian. Wessels argues that medieval missionaries attempted to convert pagan Europe by Christianising the culture, and transforming it by re-interpreting it.

Jan Romein says that 'medieval Christianity was only a thin veneer,' a superficial overlay with people's basic pagan beliefs remaining unchanged.

This is understandable when mass baptisms followed the conversion of the local ruler or when people like the Saxons under Charlemagne were faced with the choice of either baptism or death.

The church has always embraced people with different levels of commitment

The result was that medieval 'Christendom', the combined power of church and state, dominated people's lives from birth to death. Sure, there were many people in the medieval period deeply committed to the teaching and person of Jesus and to a life of service, but they were the small minority.

Another historian writing in this vein is Frenchman Jean Delumeau, whose work focuses specifically on early modern Catholicism after the Council of Trent (1545-1563), the period that still influences us today.

He says that as late as the seventeenth century, 'the intellectual and psychological climate [of Europeans] … was characterised by a profound unfamiliarity with the basics of Christianity, and by a persistent pagan mentality.'

While Christendom still prevailed, there was a thriving underworld in which sub-Christian beliefs and pagan folk practices flourished.

When enclosure and a population explosion turned the landless peasantry into the urban working class in the emerging industrial cities of the early nineteenth century, their superficial faith quickly disappeared.

Delumeau argues that the church didn't lose the working class; they were never really Christian in the first place.

Now, this may be interesting historically, but you're probably asking: what's the point? The answer: the church has always embraced people with different levels of commitment.

Actually, modern secularism has done Christianity a big favour. First, by closing down Christendom and separating church and state; and secondly, by removing the social supports that made church-going 'respectable'. People can now choose to be or not to be Catholic.

Nowadays, particularly following the sexual abuse crisis and the failure of the church to address the issues that concern our contemporaries, commitment to faith and Catholicism is seen by many as irresponsible, if not unethical.

People deeply committed to the gospel is small

In addition, to many, the church projects an unattractive, unwelcoming image and seems besotted with a narrow range of issues focusing on gender, sex, reproduction and euthanasia, leading to the impression of a closed-door, hard-nosed, uncompromising institution.

The damage done to the church by a 'boots-and-all' approach is terrible.

In this context, we should, like my PP, be welcoming people.

Yes, it's true that the number of people deeply committed to the gospel is small, but that doesn't make us judges of the lives of others.

The word 'Catholic' is derived from the Greek 'katholikos' meaning universal, of the whole, and the entire tradition is the very opposite of sectarian, particularist, or narrow. It is most truly itself when it's embracing and inclusive.

This is where I think Catholic schools have been particularly successful.

With only a tiny number of students coming from committed-Catholic households and increasing numbers of non-Catholic students (in Sydney archdiocesan schools about 25 per cent and in South Australia 44 percent), the schools face a real challenge to form an approach to life that is genuinely Christian and Catholic, yet allows room for freedom of conscience to operate.

They need to form what theologian David Tracy has called a 'catholic imagination.'

That is the whole educational ethos of the school must be founded in the Christ-like values of love, compassion, acceptance and forgiveness and on a genuinely Catholic understanding of inclusivity and freedom of conscience.

For sure, staff, students and parents need to know they are embracing a whole 'package' when they come to a Catholic school, including religious education, liturgy, retreat days and explicitly Catholic values and spirituality.

That said, these are expressed in a welcoming, embracing way; no one should have Catholicism forced on them. And here 'embracing' includes LGBTQI+ students.

Here we're back with my PP last Sunday. We welcome people, whether we see them next week or not. Just like Jesus, really!

• Paul Collins is the author of 15 books, several of which focus on church governance and Australian Catholicism.
• First published in La-Croix International. Republished with permission.

Now, however, it is logic itself that I am doubting.

You hear people saying 'everything happens for a reason', and so they attach a reason to things.

Reason is not the explanation. It's a face-saving gimmick we humans import to cover up our failure to think in any other terms except cause-and-effect.

Why do colours splosh about among flowers? Remember the poem, "… Full many a flower is born to blush unseen and waste its sweetness on the desert air".

Nonsense!

All those flowers are seen by other flowers and lots of other creatures who like to see and brush against and contrast and celebrate those jazzy petals!

There is a place in the USA called Death Valley, where nothing ever grows in the sandy patch - except that every few years, it rains.

Then a sea of dazzling yellow flowers flood the patch for a few days.

Where were the seeds all this time?

Where did they come out of in the first place?

And why come out anyway?

Everything that moves makes noise.

Why?

Because the entire cosmos is love made visible, audible, smellable, tangible, sensible — communicable.

Why?

Because that's the way love is!

It is always saying "I love you!" in one way or another because love is like that.

When you read the holy books, you're inclined to say "Back off!" when the verses gush about God.

But that's because the writer had to say something bubbling up inside her/himself! She/he had or was having this extraordinary experience of divine love.

Hence the poetry and the excitement.

Love - it's what everything, everything is about

But where did the "bubbling" come from in the first place?

Now you're talking in circles - it came because that's the way love is, it has to communicate, the same as water has to seek its own level, hot air to rise, and so on.

Love is the final cause of everything.

And not just your love my love dad's love mum's love… even the tree's love the bird's love the caterpillar's love the elephant's love… the wind's love the rain's love the night's love the winter's love - it's what everything, everything is about.

Isn't language funny?

We never 'fall in hate' or 'fall in fear' or 'fall in joy'- no; we have other verbs for all these.

But for 'fall in love' - that's what we've got.

Always fall.

We don't decide whether I shall love this guy or this girl. We can pretend, of course; we can be seduced, of course, all that is so. But the actual whoosh - there's the word. Fall.

You've been there yourself.

Hopefully, still are.

And not necessarily with a person.

Language itself - all the bits of languages I know anyway - have this special word for the experience of love.

So what am I on about today?

I am on about the irrationality of the most important of our human experiences.

That's the territory where inspiration happens, where wonder happens, where creativity happens. Hey, they're all 'super' words.

Exactly - and these, these are roads we find ourselves on when we experience the marvel of ourselves, the amazing being I am.

Try not to get so wearily logical, and celebrate that often logic has nothing to do with it.

We sometimes force a logical explanation.

No: celebrate the mystery that you are, the centre of all full loving.

That someone loves you is the biggest thrill of your life. This is the visibility, the tangibility, of God.

Not a 'dimension,' an identity.

And that 'love' that I'm on about - it's the cosmos, the constellations, the multiverse: use all the words you like.

It's you, yourself.

Congratulations.

God bless.

• Brendan MacCarthaigh is a Christian Brother from Dublin working in India.
• First published in La-Croix International. Republished with permission.

Way back there used to be a tag Roma locuta est, causa finita! Rome has spoken, that closes the issue! (We had Latin in school.) Well, in no sense am I a Roma echo!

I preface today's item with it because I've been once referred to in those terms.

As the singer asserts in My Fair Lady, "I'm an ordinary man." An old one at that. It's the 'old' bit that gives whatever authenticity and authority these pieces may claim - I've done a lot of living. And dying. And lots of other 'ing' things.

Creation is at the moment going through a measurable phase. We can apply all sorts of statistics to creation, even to recognising that there is Dark Matter out there about which we know little more than that very sentence asserts. We are a statistician's playground.

And we are a playground too for mystery. I'll explain: While we tend to locate its centre in our head, the experience is that lots of worlds are where we live at any moment of the day - or night.

We dream stuff. We remember stuff. We envisage stuff. We create stuff. Vast, scary, cheery, unwilled and willed, priceless and useless, heroic and cowardly, sexy and saintly, and cull all the appropriate adverbs and adjectives you like: they're all true - and can be implemented while you take a bus ride to the restaurant.

I'm a guy who tries to pray pretty frequently. Kind seniors have taught me ways to do so. What exactly is going on when I'm doing this? The honest-to-God answer is, I don't really know.

What I do is, I turn my mind to the realisation that all creation is a manifestation of love, and that the one commonly labelled 'God' is no 'one' at all: is simply Love, at its fullest meaning. And I just sort of dwell in that. Like relishing a good memory, only it's now.

How do I know this is so? I have certainly been given reason to be cautious about it, because others relate to God as Father, some even as one of what they refer to as the Blessed Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Others as Allah, as Bhagwan, others as Lord Krishna, the Dhamma, Ahura Mazda, etc. They go along with the activity of divine love but are more wary about my trip: that there is no divinity except Love. So I tread cautiously because though in my own mind I am convinced, that doesn't make me infallible. (What a sick history of infallibility our religions have!)

Dare. Don't be afraid. Don't get locked into present reality

In 2019 I had the life-changing experience during three months in Europe of being loved, and of being a part in that very thing called love. I've talked of this before, so I won't wallow in it again, though 'wallow' is both apt and inept in this context.

Just let's say, I live in love, nonstop, after spending all of four scores of my life's story convinced there was, at best, bodily love and even commitment culminating in a life partnership, but nothing as total as where I now find myself.

There was no particular moment, it was a gradual transforming, but all within that three-month spell. (My life up to then had been empty beyond description, for reasons that don't matter here.)

So when I now explore What's it all about? and try to offer this new insight to brave people like you who read it, this is where I start from.

It is quite possible that you yourself are so familiar with this understanding of your being that you hardly blink on reading it - but for me, it is a new life. And real; that's the point.

A few paragraphs back I said Creation is at the moment going through a measurable phase. I think that Covid might be a step towards abandoning this state, and turning Earth, and all creation, into one of those I listed in the paragraph after that.

After all, if our minds "inside our heads" can conjure notions like this, why cannot those conjurations become realities? This one, where we are now living, hasn't ended very happily, so let's start over.

Really what I wanted this particular reflection to say, dear reader is Dare. Don't be afraid. Don't get locked into present reality.

Let your mind do its stuff of creating a totally new reality, happier for all who dwell in it. Love really is the door to all fullness, all totality, all meaning - and in this era, we have not realised that. There is at least as much non-love abroad as love.

As for everything else, it hardly matters. Love your associates, your family, your world, yes yes yes: but celebrate the marvellous universe you yourself are.

How come I am not saying 'Love God'? Hang it, God is all this!

And you!

• Brendan MacCarthaigh is a Christian Brother from Dublin working in India for over 50 years, mostly in Value Education with senior classes and teachers.
• First published in La-Croix International. Republished with permission.

Usually, the gold is in a simple statement and sometimes it is quite ancient. Always it is right for the moment we discover it.

This is the way God works.

I still cherish a vein of gold from a wise desert Abba of the third century. It is a truth so simple I had not considered it.

He wrote, "We are part angel and part animal".

When I read that, my heart laughed. Of course! Angel and animal! It is the tension between the two states that effects growth.

For all of us who struggle with our animal nature, it is a blessing to contemplate that this is necessary for the development of the angel self which is our beautiful soul.

It seems trite to remind ourselves that our primal animal instinct is for survival. So much of our behaviour, socially good or bad, is linked to self-protection.

Aggression, procreation, war, patriotism, greed, law and order, anger, justice, injustice, reward, revenge - all of this and much more can be traced back to our primal instinct for survival.

All exist in some form in what we call the animal kingdom.

I am part of that animal kingdom.

But the ancient Desert Father was right.

There is more to our make-up.

In you, in me, in every human being on this planet, there is a spark of God we call a soul.

It has a gentle voice, and it grows in conversation with our animal self.

While the animal voice tends to be loud and fear-based, the angel voice is soft and about love.

We live with this inner dialogue.

Daily we ask ourselves, is this action or reaction coming from fear or from love.

This sounds simple, almost childishly so.

It's what Jesus talked about when the mothers of Salam brought their children to him. Remember that reading?

The disciples tried to send the children away, but Jesus said, "Forbid them not, for of such in the Kingdom of Heaven".

Later, he said, "Except you become as little children you cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven".

I notice the word "become".

Jesus did not tell his disciples to remain as children.

"Becoming" is a long growth journey of tension between animal and angel, between the selfish instinct and the unselfish inclination, between fear and love.

The stages of spiritual growth can seem complex.

Scripture gives us many parables about spiritual growth. The mustard seed. The yeast in the bread. The story of the talents.

My favourite image comes from that Desert Father whose name I have forgotten.

Every person I see is a human-animal carrying a sacred presence.

Whether we are aware of it or not, we are all living tabernacles.

• Joy Cowley

Others gloss it as "unconditional gift" or "undeserved favour."

Still others prefer to see it as God's favourable disposition toward his people.

However, the word grace in the New Testament (Greek charis) simply means "gift." The content of the gift is determined by its context. For example, the definition "God's riches at Christ's expense" makes perfect sense in the broader context of Ephesians 2:8.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.

But does that same definition fit 2 Corinthians 12:9?

[Jesus] said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

What about 1 Corinthians 15:10?

By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me."

The more fitting definition of "grace" in these two passages in Corinthians seems to be "power."

Grace is God's power manifested in Paul's weakness in the first, and in his ability to work harder than others in the second.

Do we give Grace?

What about 2 Corinthians 8:3-4? Do the glosses "unconditional gift," "undeserved favour," or "a favourable disposition" work here?

(The Macedonian believers) gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favour (same word for grace) of taking part in the relief of the saints."

Grace here is not the immaterial gift of salvation or spiritual power. Rather, grace is the material gift of money or resources.

That may surprise you.

Have you ever described the act of giving money as the giving of "grace"? Paul clearly does in 2 Corinthians 8-9, not just once, but six times (8:4, 6, 7, 19; 9:8, 15). The money bag he carried from these predominantly Gentile churches to the poor saints in Jerusalem is, strangely enough, "grace."

But what is even more surprising about 2 Corinthians 8-9 is how the material grace of humans is inextricably connected to the immaterial grace of God.

Grace as a person

To motivate the Corinthians to contribute, Paul begins 2 Corinthians 8 by speaking about the grace of God.

"We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given" (2 Corinthians 8:1). He then expands the definition of this grace in 2 Corinthians 8:9: "you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that although he was rich, for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich."

Grace, in its chief manifestation, is the gift of a person (Titus 2:11-14), our incarnate, crucified, and ascended Savior.

To receive all the benefits that this gift of grace achieved, we must, as Calvin argues, receive his person: "as long as Christ remains outside of us, and we are separated from him, all that he has suffered and done for the salvation of the human race remains useless and of no value for us" (Institutes, 3.1.1).

In 2 Corinthians 8:9, we find that the gift of Christ's person is given to us in the gospel — he lowered himself, so that we, through his poverty, might become rich. And this gift comes from God. It is, after all, "the grace of God" (2 Corinthians 8:1).

I find it fascinating that when Paul wants to encourage human giving in the church, he placards the divine grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the fundamental expression of giving grace as he gives himself.

Paul does this intentionally to teach the church that Christ's self-giving love is the paradigm for all human expressions of material grace toward others.

Interestingly, the only two instances where the phrase "the grace of God" appears in 2 Corinthians 8-9 are when Paul speaks of God's giving (2 Corinthians 8:1) and human giving (2 Corinthians 9:14: "the surpassing grace of God on you [Corinthians]").

What's the connection? God's divine gift of grace fuels the human giving of grace to others.

God's Grace and ours

Consider 2 Corinthians 9:7-8. After stating that "God loves a cheerful giver" (quoting Proverbs 22:8), Paul takes a step back to explain the source of one's giving.

"God is able to make all grace [divine grace] abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work [human grace]."

Also, 2 Corinthians 9:11: "You will be enriched in every way [by God] to be generous in every way [toward others]." Divine grace propels human giving.

But why is this the case?

Why does our human giving depend on God's initial gift of grace? Because "all things are from him, through him, and to him. To him be the glory forever and ever" (Romans 11:36).

As Paul asks the boastful Corinthians, "What do you have that you did not receive? Why then do you boast as if you did not?" (1 Corinthians 4:7).

The only appropriate response is, "Everything is a gift from God's hand."

David also declared, "All things come from you" (1 Chronicles 29.14).

John the Baptist also affirms what David declared: "A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven" (John 3:27). James agrees: "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights" (James 1:17).

But God always gives his grace to his people for a particular purpose.

We see this in 2 Corinthians 9:8 above (indicated by "so that") and 9:11 (indicated by "to be").

When people in the world give gifts, they determine the purpose of their gifts. But when God's people steward God's grace, the purpose of giving must align with God's purposes.

Thanks be to God

Why? Because our possessions are God's.

He's the Giver and the owner of grace.

We're simply stewards who mediate his grace.

In a sense, we're co-owners, but God never relinquishes his divine right over our possessions.

This becomes evident when we discover who receives thanks for the gift that the Corinthians give to the Jerusalem saints. Paul writes,

You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.

For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.

By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others, while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you. Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!

Why will humans direct their thanksgiving to God rather than to the human giver? Because, ultimately, humans do not receive from but through other humans. The final giver is God. He, therefore, deserves the final glory.

But does this mean that when I receive a gift from another human, I should never thank that person?

Of course not. John Calvin's Geneva Catechism #234 is helpful here. He writes,

Question: But are we not to feel grateful to men whenever they have conferred any kindness upon us?

Answer: Certainly we are; and were it only for the reason that God honours them by sending to us, through their hands, as rivulets [or streams], the blessings which flow from the inexhaustible fountain of his liberality. In this way, he [God] lays us under obligation to them and wishes us to acknowledge it. He, therefore, who does not show himself grateful to them by so doing, proves himself to be ungrateful to God.

We thank God by thanking others, remembering that his gifts come from him but through others.

And so our thanks should flow through others back to God — the Father of every good and perfect gift — as Paul does when he ends 2 Corinthians 9:15 by saying, "Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!"

More than human love

Recently, a close friend of mine bestowed on me a very generous gift. I was floored by his loving generosity toward me and my family, especially my mom. He loved my mom with an earnest love for widows.

But his love was no mere human love. It was divine. Not that my friend is God. But God loves through means.

Ηe channelled his abundant love on us through this friend, allowing us to witness the beauty of divine and human grace for those in need.

His act of generosity was simultaneously a gracious act of self-giving, and it immediately redirected my eyes and heart to the self-giving love of Christ.

It was therefore more than fitting to turn to my friend and say, "I thank God for ‘the surpassing grace of God upon you'" (2 Corinthians 9:14).

• David Briones is David Briones is associate professor of New Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary. He is the author of Paul's Financial Policy: A Socio-Theological Approach.
• First published in Desiring God. Republished with permission.

Many of us grew up in an era of "We are right and the others are wrong."

Christian churches seemed to have high fences around them, and religions that were not Christian were often labelled "Heathen" or "Pagan."

These divisions were puzzling when we were young.

Children tend to see God in everything.

I love the way Pope Francis strengthens the Catholic faith with a wider understanding of world religions.

Belief is largely cultural.

Our history, environment and traditions, make a receptacle for the Spiritual Presence that we know but can't directly describe.

Each religion values the rituals that lead to the heart space.

Each cherishes forms of prayer.

Each has a knowledge of God.

And we discover that the more we appreciate other religions, the deeper we come into our own faith.

It is the way God works.

My love of the Catholic Church has some connection with Judaism and Islam, the other two Abrahamic religions.

Let's put it this way:

God planted a treeing Israel and it grew, a strong Jewish tree sending out two solid branches, one Christian and the other Islamic.

The branches were of a different shape, but they had the same roots and the life of God running through them.

So what do I gain from this tree of Abraham?

There are Jewish teachings that are very close to my Catholic faith. Here are two:

We are born with two instincts, Yetzah Hatov, unselfishness, and Yetzah Hara, selfishness. The more we practice unselfishness, the more the selfish instinct will change.

The soul comes from God and the soul is always pure. But the soul wears three gardens: thought, word and deed, and these get soiled and need cleansing. When the garments are clean, the soul can see the light.

What gifts have come from Islam?

Hospitality to the stranger, and prayer throughout the day. There is also more about Jesus' mother in the Qu'ran than there is in the New Testament of the Bible.

I think God has undone most of the fear-based prejudice of my ancestors, but I still have a long way to go.

Thanks to the leadership of Pope Francis, I make the journey of discovery, with love.

• Joy Cowley is a wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and retreat facilitator.

The document focuses on fraternity and social friendship as the ways to build a better, more just and peaceful world - with the contribution of all: people and institutions.

The official summary follows, with a link to download the full document at the end.

What are the great ideals but also the tangible ways to advance for those who wish to build a more just and fraternal world in their ordinary relationships, in social life, politics and institutions?

This is mainly the question that Fratelli tutti is intended to answer: the Pope describes it as a "Social Encyclical" which borrows the title of the "Admonitions" of Saint Francis of Assisi, who used these words to "address his brothers and sisters and proposed to them a way of life marked by the flavour of the Gospel" (1).

The Poverello "did not wage a war of words aimed at imposing doctrines; he simply spread the love of God", the Pope writes, and "he became a father to all and inspired the vision of a fraternal society" (2-4).

The Encyclical aims to promote a universal aspiration toward fraternity and social friendship. Beginning with our common membership in the human family, from the acknowledgement that we are brothers and sisters because we are the children of one Creator, all in the same boat, and hence we need to be aware that in a globalized and interconnected world, only together can we be saved.

Human Fraternity

Fraternity is to be encouraged not only in words, but in deeds.

Deeds made tangible in a "better kind of politics", which is not subordinated to financial interests, but to serving the common good, able to place the dignity of every human being at the centre and assure work to everyone, so that each one can develop his or her own abilities.

A politics which, removed from populism, is able to find solutions to what attacks fundamental human rights and which aims to definitively eliminate hunger and trafficking.

At the same time, Pope Francis underscores that a more just world is achieved by promoting peace, which is not merely the absence of war; it demands "craftsmanship", a job that involves everyone.

Linked to truth, peace and reconciliation must be "proactive"; they must work toward justice through dialogue, in the name of mutual development.

This begets the Pontiff's condemnation of war, the "negation of all rights" and is no longer conceivable even in a hypothetically "justified" form, because nuclear, chemical and biological weapons already have enormous repercussions on innocent civilians.

There is also a strong rejection of the death penalty, defined as "inadmissible", and a central reflection on forgiveness, connected to the concepts of remembrance and justice: to forgive does not mean to forget, the Pontiff writes, nor to give up defending one's rights to safeguard one's dignity, which is a gift from God.

In the background of the Encyclical is the Covid-19 pandemic which, Francis reveals, "unexpectedly erupted" as he "was writing this letter". But the global health emergency has helped demonstrate that "no one can face life in isolation" and that the time has truly come to "dream, then, as a single human family" in which we are "brothers and sisters all" (7-8).

Global problems, global actions

Opening with a brief introduction and divided into eight chapters, the Encyclical gathers - as the Pope himself explains - many of his statements on fraternity and social friendship, arranged, however, "in a broader context of reflection" and complemented by "a number of letters, documents" sent to Francis by "many individuals and groups throughout the world" (5).

In the first chapter, "Dark clouds over a closed world", the document reflects on the many distortions of the contemporary era: the manipulation and deformation of concepts such as democracy, freedom, justice; the loss of the meaning of the social community and history; selfishness and indifference toward the common good; the prevalence of a market logic based on profit and the culture of waste; unemployment, racism, poverty; the disparity of rights and its aberrations such as slavery, trafficking, women subjugated and then forced to abort, organ trafficking (10-24).

It deals with global problems that call for global actions, emphasizes the Pope, also sounding the alarm against a "culture of walls" that favours the proliferation of organized crime, fuelled by fear and loneliness (27-28).

Moreover, today we observe a deterioration of ethics (29), contributed to, in a certain way, by the mass media which shatter respect for others and eliminate all discretion, creating isolated and self-referential virtual circles, in which freedom is an illusion and dialogue is not constructive (42-50).

Love builds bridges: the Good Samaritan

To many shadows, however, the Encyclical responds with a luminous example, a herald of hope: the Good Samaritan.

The second chapter, "A stranger on the road", is dedicated to this figure.

In it, the Pope emphasizes that, in an unhealthy society that turns its back on suffering and that is "illiterate" in caring for the frail and vulnerable (64-65), we are all called - just like the Good Samaritan - to become neighbours to others (81), overcoming prejudices, personal interests, historic and cultural barriers.

We all, in fact, are co-responsible in creating a society that is able to include, integrate and lift up those who have fallen or are suffering (77).

Love builds bridges and "we were made for love" (88), the Pope adds, particularly exhorting Christians to recognize Christ in the face of every excluded person (85).

The principle of the capacity to love according to "a universal dimension" (83) is also resumed in the third chapter, "Envisaging and engendering an open world".

In this chapter Francis exhorts us to go "'outside' the self" in order to find "a fuller existence in another" (88), opening ourselves up to the other according to the dynamism of charity which makes us tend toward "universal fulfilment" (95).

In the background - the Encyclical recalls - the spiritual stature of a person's life is measured by love, which always "takes first place" and leads us to seek better for the life of the other, far from all selfishness (92-93).

Rights have no borders

A fraternal society, therefore, will be one that promotes educating in dialogue in order to defeat the "virus" of "radical individualism" (105) and to allow everyone to give the best of themselves.

Beginning with protection of the family and respect for its "primary and vital mission of education" (114).

There are two 'tools' in particular to achieve this type of society: benevolence, or truly wanting good for the other (112), and solidarity which cares for fragility and is expressed in service to people and not to ideologies, fighting against poverty and inequality (115).

The right to live with dignity cannot be denied to anyone, the Pope again affirms, and since rights have no borders, no one can remain excluded, regardless of where they are born (121).

In this perspective the Pontiff also calls us to consider "an ethics of international relations" (126), because every country also belongs to foreigners and the goods of the territory cannot be denied to those who are in need and come from another place.

Thus, the natural right to private property will be secondary to the principal of the universal destination of created goods (120).

The Encyclical also places specific emphasis on the issue of foreign debt: subject to the principle that it must be paid, it is hoped nonetheless that this does not compromise the growth and subsistence of the poorest countries (126).

Migrants: global governance for long-term planning

Meanwhile, part of the second and the entire fourth chapter are dedicated to the theme of migration, the latter, entitled "A heart open to the whole world".

With their lives "at stake" (37), fleeing from war, persecution, natural catastrophes, unscrupulous trafficking, ripped from their communities of origin, migrants are to be welcomed, protected, supported and integrated.

Unnecessary migration needs to be avoided, the Pontiff affirms, by creating concrete opportunities to live with dignity in the countries of origin. But at the same time, we need to respect the right to seek a better life elsewhere.

In receiving countries, the right balance will be between the protection of citizens' rights and the guarantee of welcome and assistance for migrants (38-40).

Specifically, the Pope points to several "indispensable steps, especially in response to those who are fleeing grave humanitarian crises": to increase and simplify the granting of visas; to open humanitarian corridors; to assure lodging, security and essential services; to offer opportunities for employment and training; to favour family reunification; to protect minors; to guarantee religious freedom and promote social inclusion.

The Pope also calls for establishing in society the concept of "full citizenship", and to reject the discriminatory use of the term "minorities" (129-131).

What is needed above all - the document reads - is global governance, an international collaboration for migration which implements long-term planning, going beyond single emergencies (132), on behalf of the supportive development of all peoples based on the principle of gratuitousness.

In this way, countries will be able to think as "human family" (139-141).

Others who are different from us are a gift and an enrichment for all, Francis writes, because differences represent an opportunity for growth (133-135).

A healthy culture is a welcoming culture that is able to open up to others, without renouncing itself, offering them something authentic. As in a polyhedron - an image dear to the Pontiff - the whole is more than its single parts, but the value of each one of them is respected (145-146).

Politics: valuable form of charity

The theme of the fifth chapter is "A better kind of politics", which represents one of the most valuable forms of charity because it is placed at the service of the common good (180) and recognizes the importance of people, understood as an open category, available for discussion and dialogue (160).

In a certain sense, this is the populism indicated by Francis, which counters that "populism" which ignores the legitimacy of the notion of "people", by attracting consensuses in order to exploit them for its own service and fomenting selfishness in order to increase its own popularity (159).

But a better politics is also one that protects work, an "essential dimension of social life", and seeks to ensure everyone the opportunity to develop their own abilities (162).

The best help to a poor person, the Pontiff explains, is not just money, which is a provisional remedy, but rather allowing him or her to have a dignified life through work.

The true anti-poverty strategy does not simply aim to contain or render indigents inoffensive, but to promote them in the perspective of solidarity and subsidiarity (187).

The task of politics, moreover, is to find a solution to all that attacks fundamental human rights, such as social exclusion; the marketing of organs, tissues, weapons and drugs; sexual exploitation; slave labour; terrorism and organized crime.

The Pope makes an emphatic appeal to definitively eliminate human trafficking, a "source of shame for humanity", and hunger, which is "criminal" because food is "an inalienable right" (188-189).

The marketplace, by itself, cannot resolve every problem. It requires a reform of the UN

The politics we need, Francis also underscores, is one that says 'no' to corruption, to inefficiency, to the malign use of power, to the lack of respect for laws (177).

It is a politics centred on human dignity and not subjected to finance because "the marketplace, by itself, cannot resolve every problem": the "havoc" wreaked by financial speculation has demonstrated this (168).

Hence, popular movements have taken on particular relevance: as true "social poets" with that "torrent of moral energy", they must be engaged in social, political and economic participation, subject, however, to greater coordination.

In this way - the Pope states - it will be possible to go beyond a Policy "with" and "of" the poor (169).

Another hope present in the Encyclical regards the reform of the UN: in the face of the predominance of the economic dimension which nullifies the power of the individual state, in fact, the task of the United Nations will be to give substance to the concept of a "family of nations" working for the common good, the eradication of indigence and the protection of human rights.

Tireless recourse "to negotiation, mediation and arbitration" - the Papal Document states - the UN must promote the force of law rather than the law of force, by favouring multilateral accords that better protect even the weakest states (173-175).

The miracle of kindness

From the sixth chapter, "Dialogue and friendship in society", further emerges the concept of life as the "art of encounter" with everyone, even with the world's peripheries and with original peoples, because "each of us can learn something from others.

No one is useless and no one is expendable" (215).

True dialogue, indeed, is what allows one to respect the point of view of others, their legitimate interests and, above all, the truth of human dignity.

Relativism is not a solution - we read in the Encyclical - because without universal principals and moral norms that prohibit intrinsic evil, laws become merely arbitrary impositions (206).

From this perspective, a particular role falls to the media which, without exploiting human weaknesses or drawing out the worst in us, must be directed toward generous encounter and to closeness with the least, promoting proximity and the sense of human family (205).

Then, of particular note, is the Pope's reference to the miracle of "kindness", an attitude to be recovered because it is a star "shining in the midst of darkness" and "frees us from the cruelty … the anxiety … the frantic flurry of activity" that prevail in the contemporary era.

A kind person, writes Francis, creates a healthy coexistence and opens paths in places where exasperation burns bridges (222-224).

The art of peace and the importance of forgiveness

The value and promotion of peace is reflected on in the seventh chapter, "Paths of renewed encounter", in which the Pope underlines that peace is connected to truth, justice and mercy.

Far from the desire for vengeance, it is "proactive" and aims at forming a society based on service to others and on the pursuit of reconciliation and mutual development (227-229).

In a society, everyone must feel "at home", the Pope writes.

Thus, peace is an "art" that involves and regards everyone and in which each one must do his or her part. Peace-building is "an open-ended endeavour, a never-ending task", the Pope continues, and thus it is important to place the human person, his or her dignity and the common good at the centre of all activity (230-232).

Forgiveness is linked to peace: we must love everyone, without exception - the Encyclical reads - but loving an oppressor means helping him to change and not allowing him to continue oppressing his neighbour.

On the contrary: one who suffers an injustice must vigorously defend his rights in order to safeguard his dignity, a gift of God (241-242).

Forgiveness does not mean impunity, but rather, justice and remembrance, because to forgive does not mean to forget, but to renounce the destructive power of evil and the desire for revenge.

Never forget "horrors" like the Shoah, the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, persecutions and ethnic massacres - exhorts the Pope.

They must be remembered always, anew, so as not be become anaesthetized and to keep the flame of collective conscience alive. It is just as important to remember the good, and those who have chosen forgiveness and fraternity (246-252).

Never again war, a failure of humanity

Part of the seventh chapter, then, focuses on war: it is not "a ghost from the past" - Francis emphasizes - "but a constant threat", and it represents "the negation of all rights", "a failure of politics and of humanity", and "a stinging defeat before the forces of evil" which lies in their "abyss".

Moreover, due to nuclear chemical and biological weapons that strike many innocent civilians, today we can no longer think, as in the past, of the possibility of a "just war", but we must vehemently reaffirm: "Never again war!"

And considering that we are experiencing a "world war fought piecemeal", because all conflicts are interconnected, the total elimination of nuclear arms is "a moral and humanitarian imperative".

With the money invested in weapons, the Pope suggests instead the establishment of a global fund for the elimination of hunger (255-262).

The death penalty inadmissible, to be abolished

Francis expresses just as clear a position with regard to the death penalty: it is inadmissible and must be abolished worldwide, because "not even a murderer loses his personal dignity" - the Pope writes - "and God himself pledges to guarantee this".

From here, two exhortations: do not view punishment as vindictive, but rather as part of a process of healing and of social reintegration, and to improve prison conditions, with respect for the human dignity of the inmates, also considering that "a life sentence is a secret death penalty" (263-269).

There is emphasis on the necessity to respect "the sacredness of life" (283) where today "some parts of our human family, it appears, can be readily sacrificed", such as the unborn, the poor, the disabled and the elderly (18).

Guarantee religious freedom

In the eighth and final chapter, the Pontiff focuses on "Religions at the service of fraternity in our world" and again emphasizes that violence has no basis in religious convictions, but rather in their deformities.

Thus, "deplorable" acts, such as acts of terrorism, are not due to religion but to erroneous interpretations of religious texts, as well as "policies linked to hunger, poverty, injustice, oppression".

Terrorism must not be supported with either money or weapons, much less with media coverage, because it is an international crime against security and world peace, and as such must be condemned (282-283).

At the same time the Pope underscores that a journey of peace among religions is possible and that it is, therefore, necessary to guarantee religious freedom, a fundamental human right for all believers (279).

The Encyclical reflects, in particular, on the role of the Church: she does not "restrict her mission to the private sphere", it states.

She does not remain at the margins of society and, while not engaging in politics, however, she does not renounce the political dimension of life itself.

Attention to the common good and concern for integral human development, in fact, concern humanity, and all that is human concerns the Church, according to evangelical principals (276-278).

Lastly, reminding religious leaders of their role as "authentic mediators" who expend themselves in order to build peace, Francis quotes the "Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together", which he signed on 4 February 2019 in Abu Dhabi, along with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmad Al-Tayyib: from that milestone of interreligious dialogue, the Pontiff returns to the appeal that, in the name of human fraternity, dialogue be adopted as the way, common cooperation as conduct, and mutual knowledge as method and standard (285).

Blessed Charles de Foucauld, "the universal brother"

The Encyclical concludes by remembering Martin Luther King, Desmond Tutu, Mahatma Gandhi and above all Blessed Charles de Foucauld, a model for everyone of what it means to identify with the least in order to become "the universal brother" (286-287).

The last lines of the Document are given to two prayers: one "to the Creator" and the other an "Ecumenical Christian Prayer", so that the heart of mankind may harbour "a spirit of fraternity".

Fratelli Tutti - Encyclical of the Holy Father, Francis, on the fraternity and social friendship

The encyclical calls for a new kind of politics and emphasises social friendship as a way to build a more just and peaceful world.

It encourages the contribution of all people and institutions and seeks to build a global movement of fraternity.

In many cases the encyclical is a condensation of the issues Francis has tacked during his pontificate.

The document covers a range of topics, for example, from digital culture, migrants, economics, war and nuclear weapons, the death penalty, religious freedom, peace, forgiveness, the markeplace, Christian charity, love, trafficking, racism, unemployment, excessive profits, culture walls and the role of christians in politics.

Among many of the topics Francis traverses, he observes that currently humanity seems to be the midst of a worrying regression and is intensely polarized.

He says people are talking and debating without listening, and global society seems to have devolved into a "permanent state of disagreement and confrontation."

In some countries, leaders are using a "strategy of ridicule" and relentless criticism, spreading despair as a way to "dominate and gain control," Francis observes.

Although beginning to write the encyclical before the outbreak of COVID-19, Francis argues the world's response to the crisis shows the depth of humanity's mistrust and fractures.

In this light, Francis says that Christians have a key role in political life and despite all the difficulties should not bow out of political engagement.

Christians, he said, must act at a local level to build relationships of trust and assistance and support politicians and political platforms that promote the common good.

"Whereas individuals can help others in need when they join together in initiating social processes of fraternity and justice for all, they enter the ‘field of charity at its most vast, namely political charity,'" he said.

Getting practical, Pope Francis explained that "if someone helps an elderly person cross a river, that is a fine act of charity. The politician, on the other hand, builds a bridge, and that too is an act of charity" but on a larger scale.

Focussing on one of society's most visible items of mistrust, Francis dwells on the fractious issue of immigration, saying that unnecessary migration needs to be avoided by creating concrete opportunities to live with dignity in the countries of origin. But at the same time, humanity needs to respect the right to seek a better life elsewhere.

Focussing on receiving countries, Francis says there needs to be a right balance between the protection of citizens' rights and the guarantee of welcome and assistance for migrants.

Saving harsh words for politicians who have "fomented and exploited" fear over immigration, Francis observes a healthy culture is a welcoming culture, one that does not have to renounce itself.

The pope observes that despite all our hyper-connectivity, we are witnesses to a global fragmentation making it difficult to resolve problems that affect us all.

The encyclical also offers some developments to Catholic social teaching, including on war where he writes that due to nuclear chemical and biological weapons that strike many innocent civilians, today we can no longer think, as in the past, of the possibility of a "just war", but we must vehemently reaffirm: "Never again war!"

The pope also expands another area of Catholic social teaching; the death penalty.

Francis says that not even a murderer loses their personal dignity and the death penalty must be abolished worldwide.

Sources

• Washington Post
• Catholic News Service
• Image: Our Father's House Soup Kitchen

Focusing his talk on the common good, which is a central theme in the Church's social teaching, he said:

"A virus that does not recognize barriers, borders or cultural or political distinctions must be faced with a love without barriers, borders or distinctions."

The pope's talk is one of a series he has been giving and is based on the Gospel and the church's social doctrine. The talks aim to help the human family emerge from the coronavirus pandemic, heal social ills and build a better world for future generations.

During his first general audience in six months, Francis removed his face mask, chatted to and touched members of the 500-strong crowd.

"The Christian response to the pandemic and to the consequent socio-economic crisis is based on love," Francis said.

With God's help "we can heal the world," if we all strive alongside each other "for the common good."

"Thus, through our gestures, even the most humble ones, something of the image of God that we bear with us will be made visible, because God is the Trinity of Love."

Those who seek to selfishly take advantage of the situation for "partisan interests" must be guarded against, he added.

"For example, some would like to appropriate possible solutions for themselves, as in the case of vaccines. Some are taking advantage of the situation to instigate divisions: by seeking economic or political advantages, generating or exacerbating conflicts."

Some people, he said, care not for "the suffering of others; they pass by and go their own way," as the story of the Good Samaritan tells us.

He described them as "devotees of Pontius Pilate, who wash their hands of others' sufferings" and take no responsibility for the common good.

Francis told the crowd at the Vatican that there is a much larger global audience following on the livestream.

He explained the global audience sees "the Christian response to the pandemic and to the consequent socioeconomic crisis is based on love, above all, love of God who always precedes us" and "loves us unconditionally."

"When we welcome this divine love, then we can respond similarly."

Francis said loving everyone, including enemies is difficult.

"I would say it is even an art! But an art that can be learned and improved."

We need to build a civilisation of love, Francis said.

Otherwise, we get "wars, divisions, envy, even wars in families."

"The common good requires everyone's participation. If everyone contributes his or her part, and if no one is left out, we can regenerate good relationships on the communitarian, national and international level and even in harmony with the environment."

With God's help, he said, "we can heal the world working all together for the common good."

Source

• Irish Post
• NDTV
• America
• Image: The Catholic Weekly

I remembered this warning when I heard about the fall of another famous icon, Brother Jean Vanier, the revered founder of L'Arche, an ecumenical community where disabled and able persons live in Christian fellowship.

Vanier, who died last year at the age of 90, has been credibly accused of an abusive sexual relationship with six non-disabled adult women to whom he was giving spiritual direction.

In other words, this was not just a one-night fling with someone met in a singles bar.

These were calculated and manipulative attacks on women under the guise of bringing them closer to God.

These accusations were investigated by an independent agency at the request of L'Arche's new leadership, which agreed with the findings and made them public.

Despite our anger, we should still congratulate L'Arche for its transparency. We must also thank the women who had the courage to come forward.

Vanier was once talked about as a possible recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, even canonization.

To discover that such a person was a fraud makes me angry.

Jean Vanier's actions were calculated and manipulative attacks on women under the guise of bringing them closer to God.

At the same time, I ask myself, why am I surprised?

History has taught us the flawed and sinful character of most famous men.

Some of the founding fathers fathered children with their slaves. History is full of bad popes, bishops and priests. European and American history is full of great leaders and thinkers who were anti-Semites and racists.

During my lifetime, John Kennedy and Thomas Merton had their affairs.

The "Me Too" movement has ripped away the curtain to expose men who are not the gentlemen they projected publicly.

Even the Scriptures describe people as flawed who played important roles in salvation history: Eve, Abraham, Moses, David and the Twelve.

It is nearly impossible to find an important figure in the Bible who is not also a sinner. In Mark's Gospel, nobody understands Jesus, not even his mother (Mark 3).

• Does that mean that we must discard everything these sinners did?
• Do we stop honouring Abraham because he pimped his wife to Pharaoh in exchange for livestock and slaves?
• Do we stop praying the psalms because David had Uriah killed so he could have his wife Bathsheba?
• Do we burn the books of Thomas Merton because he had an affair?
• Do we close down L'Arche because Vanier abused his position as a spiritual father?

The message of the Scriptures is not that these are holy men but that God can use flawed and sinful people to do great things.

We continue to see that throughout history and in our own time. Part of growing up is recognizing that our heroes have clay feet.

Forgiveness is something else

I can forgive Eve, the Twelve, Merton and sins of weakness, but I am not ready to forgive Abraham, David, Theodore McCarrick, Vanier, Harvey Weinstein and others who abused their power to prey on the vulnerable.

I will leave their forgiveness to God.

I am still angry because of the harm done to the people who were exploited by these men.

I am also angry because they have made me a cynic when it comes to great artists, politicians and religious leaders. It has gotten to the point where I even take Mother Teresa, Pope Francis and Big Bird with a grain of salt.

As a social scientist, I am never surprised by sin, corruption and conflict.

I am a firm believer in Original Sin, for which there is lots of empirical evidence, although I don't blame it on Eve and the apple.

For me, Original Sin is the reality that sins of the past provide fertile ground for sins in the present (think slavery and racism). And sins in our time will make it difficult for people to be good in the future (think global warming).

What surprises me is goodness, kindness and love, which are signs of God's grace in the world.

Many people turn away from God because they cannot resolve the problem of evil: How can there be a God when there is such evil in the world?

I have the opposite question.

Granted that we have been struggling to survive ever since we crawled out of the muck, evil does not surprise me.

I am surprised by the problem of good. Why is there good in the world?

Given where we came from and the world in which we live, why is there love?

Why is there self-sacrifice? These are miracles of grace. These are signs of the Holy Spirit, God's presence in the world.

It is the Holy Spirit that pushes us upward in our evolutionary journey beyond selfishness and sin to kindness and love.

So, if you, too, are angry and depressed by the failures of great men, if all these failures are turning you into a cynic, don't let sin blind you to the presence of grace in our world.

Be surprised by love.

• Thomas Reese SJ is a senior analyst at Religion News Service, and a former columnist at National Catholic Reporter, and a former editor-in-chief of the weekly Catholic magazine America. First published in RNS. Republished with permission.

Generally, we have a polarised view of the world, divisions created by our values system.

Our list for nature goes something like this: monarch butterflies good, white butterflies bad, kauri trees good, pine trees bad.

We tend to apply this to people, towns, countries, every aspect of life.

Good/bad. Comfort/discomfort. Love/fear.

We all operate according to this system. It's what we call being human.

But we also have that divine presence in us that keeps insisting that the world is not black and white, it is a rainbow of diversity, the many colours of incarnation that pour forth from God and return to God.

So how do we see creation through the eyes of love?

On my own, I can't do this.

But I can sit on my own road to Jericho and wait for Jesus. He will always stop and say, "What do you want?" and I will cry, "Lord, that I might see."

It is his touch that makes the difference.

The first thing I notice is that there is no difference between a flower and a weed, except my judgment.

My good and bad definitions disappear with his healing, and everything has its own beauty.

When we see beauty in everything, we see with the eyes of love.

The word ‘love" can be a cliché even in a religious context.

It has been so trivialised that in some contexts it has lost its meaning. But believe me, love is the stuff of spiritual journey.

Love is the impetus for journey. Fear is the inhibitor. Love - fear.

How do those operate in my life? I'm made a list of the effects that I recognize.

Love always calls us to a larger place.

Fear always tries to draw us back to a narrow place.

Love has a quiet soft voice.

Fear had a loud strident voice.

Love is compassionate.

Fear is judgmental.

Love is initive.

Fear is divisive.

Love is a slow feeling, a movement of the heart.

Fear comes quickly as strident thought.

Love sees beauty.

Fear tends to see ugliness.

Love opens me up like a flower.

Fear closes me down.

Love is my spiritual identity.

Fear belongs to my animal instinct for survival.

Whenever a strong thought or feeling arises, I can stand it against this list and see where it belongs. I'm surprised at the times fear has looked highly respectable and love has been as simple as a bowl of soup on a cold day.

• Joy Cowley is a wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and retreat facilitator.

Yes, the wedding was a "who's who" and fashionista's delight.

But it was the address and the animated picture of Bishop Michael Curry, the first black presiding bishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church which endures for me.

The cultural clash was palpable.

Some of the Royals smiled widely, others shuffled in their seats.

At one point, Singer, James Blunt reportedly called out "Amen".

And even Sir Elton John, who prior to the start of the service, was seen kissing another man in the church, looked puzzled at the message of love.

Some say Bishop Curry spoke too long, however there were few 'glazed eyes', people were listening.

Love's power

Putting aside people's reactions, I'm left scratching my head asking; "when did I last see so much press coverage of a sermon at a wedding?"

It's my experience, the one constant when watching wedding videos is whoever has the remote, come the sermon, they ‘fast forward'.

Yet YouTube is flooded with people listening and watching again Bishop Curry's message of love.

"There's power in love."

"Don't underestimate it.

"Don't even over-sentimentalise it," Bishop Curry said.

Whether frowning, smiling or politely holding back a laugh, people's reactions showed love's power.

Some cried.

"There's a certain sense in which when you are loved, and you know it, when someone cares for you, and you know it, when you love and you show it - it actually feels right.

"There is something right about it. And there's a reason for it. The reason has to do with the source. We were made by a power of love, and our lives were meant - and are meant - to be lived in that love. That's why we are here.

"Ultimately, the source of love is God himself: the source of all of our lives. There's an old medieval poem that says: 'Where true love is found, God himself is there'.

Bishop Curry continued, "There's power in love to help and heal when nothing else can.

"There's power in love to lift up and liberate when nothing else will.

"There's power in love to show us the way to live.

"There's power in love to help and heal when nothing else can."

The passionate preacher challenged Harry and Meghan, well known for their charitable works, and all of us, to "Think and imagine a world where love is the way."

"Imagine our homes and families where love is the way...

"Imagine governments and nations where love is the way…

"When love is the way, then no child will go to bed hungry in this world ever again.

"When love is the way, we will lay down our swords and shields, down by the riverside, to study war no more," he said.

Reality hits

Let's face it, the guest list was a mix of ‘A-listers' from both sides of the Atlantic.

Success, opportunity, power; no one in the congregation would wonder where their next meal is coming from or whether they can meet the rent.

Very unlike some fairly new New Zealand citizens, friends of mine whom I'd not seen for a little while and who called to see me on Saturday.

She was on ‘cloud nine' because after four attempts she finally got her driver's licence; enabling her to continue working, helping feed the family, pay the rent, electricity, school fees…

When they left, going home to watch the Royal Wedding, it was as though, "who needed a car, I'm flying".

Then Sunday, a phone call.

Some lousy soul threw a large stone and smashed their street-front window.

How totally loveless.

It's easy to fix a window, but they're left shattered, a little scared, feeling unloved in their new country.

Quoting from a spiritual song, Bishop Curry said: "If you cannot preach like Peter, and you cannot pray like Paul, you just tell the love of Jesus, how he died to save us all."

Telling the love of Jesus is often best done with actions, not by throwing stones.

In among the abundance of love on display during the ceremony was Harry's "thanks pa" to Charles for escorting his bride to the altar, the look Harry gave Meghan as she arrived, departures from protocol; Harry wearing a wedding ring and Harry and Meghan's kiss on the Church steps, etc.

Another, and one of my abiding memories, a tangible expression of love, was that huge former England outside centre, a brute of a rugby player, Mike Tindall, in public and with 2 billion people watching, turn to lovingly massage his heavily pregnant wife.

"We must discover the power of love, the redemptive power of love. And when we do that, we will make of this old world a new world, for love is the only way." Dr Martin Luther King Jr.

• John Murphy is a Marist priest working in communications and new media.
• Image: ManPost

• I didn't lose a wink of sleep over the Syrian women and children who died because of chemical weapons.
• I don't feel a twinge of guilt when I eat my dinner and think of hungry, homeless families sleeping under interstate bridges.
• Over 50,500 people worldwide died last night, but I didn't shed a single tear over them while I had my morning cup of coffee.

And, unless you're some kind of super-compassionate, super-merciful, lover of all humanity, you didn't either.

Do we care? Yes.

Are we concerned? Probably.

Do we want things to change? I would hope so.

But do we love these people? No, not really.

Notice: I didn't say, "Should we love these people?"

Of course we should.

Love in an imperfect world

In a perfect world, we'd love every man, woman, and child. With our whole heart. Unreservedly. But we don't. Not because we are hardhearted monsters, but because we are regular people. And regular people love a minuscule amount of the world's population.

Think of love this way: love is welcoming others into our little world.

Our little world begins with our own bodies. Only one person is welcome there: our spouse.

But our little world goes beyond our body.

It includes those who are welcome in our home and at our table, people like family and friends.

But our little world is still bigger: it includes those with whom we work, play, and worship.

The closer someone is to the little world of me, the more I love them. The farther away they are, the less I love them.

Our love is as much geographical as it is anything.

If your next-door neighbor is murdered tonight, you'll exclaim, "O dear God, poor Joe! How horrible."

But when the Mexican mafia guns down ten people on the streets of Juarez tonight, you'll just pop some popcorn and continue watching Netflix.

You don't love those people because they are far away, not in your world.

They are outside your love zone.

I say all this really for one reason and one reason only: to try and get through our thick heads just how different our love is from the love of God.

The women and children who died in Syria: God knit together every one of them in the womb, breathed life into them, laughed as they played and smiled as they grew.

He not only cared when they died horrific deaths; he loved them.

From the untouchable living on the streets of India to the millionaire in Manhattan; from the farmer in Germany to the escort in Vegas; from the missionary in Argentina to the bartender in Ireland—they are all in the love zone of the Lord.

Every. Single. One.

Every single one was on the mind of Jesus when he bled and died for them.

Every single one is the object of God's daily mercy and compassion.

Every single one is known, loved, and cherished by the Creator.

He know the number of hairs on their heads.

He knows the number of cells in their bodies.

He knows their dreams, their fears, their shame.

They are all in his big world of love. He will welcome every one into his home and at his table. He desires all to become part of the body of his Son.

Now that's true love.

And we shouldn't be surprised because, as John says, God is love.

Love isn't a trait of the divine personality but his very essence. He loves specifically, wholeheartedly, unreservedly.

We try—and fail—to imitate that love. Some of us do better than others. So be it.

But even as we fail, and try again, and seek to enlarge our own little worlds of love, we rest in the immense love of the Father. And we await that time when, in the new heavens and new earth, we will look every man, woman, and child in the eye, and truly, without reservation, echo the words of our Father as we say, "Dear brother, dear sister, I love you."

Dear God, enlarge our hearts. Expand our love. And fill us with your love, for without it, we all are lost.

• Chad Bird is an author and speaker devoted to honest Christianity that addresses the raw realities of life.
• First published at www.chadbird.com Republished with permission.
• Image: www.chadbird.com