Who Are We? Transformed by the Paschal Mystery by John E

Who Are We? Transformed by the Paschal Mystery By John E. Deegan, O.S.A.

Retreat talk given by Fr. Deegan, Director of Justice and Peace for the Province of Saint Thomas of Villanova, for the Catholic Peace Fellowship (May 6, 2006).

The search for identity is an on-going life process. The young are tormented by this search for identity and crave the acceptance of their peers. The old wonder “what has it all been about. Can I persevere up to the hour of death.” Don Burt, O.S.A., in his book Let me know you…Reflections on St. Augustine’s Search for God, says that St. Augustine prayed for perseverance because he was convinced that he would die as he was born, a cracked pot and that at the last minute failure was always possible. He was not unhappy nor was he fearful of his future. He was happy, Burt writes, because he remembered the words of his mentor, St. Paul:

“Remember that Jesus Christ, a descendant of David, was raised from the dead….you can depend on this: “If we have died with him, we shall also live with him; if we hold out to the end, we shall also reign with him.” (2 Tim 2:8-12).

If we are to persevere in our Christian journey, we need to be honest with ourselves in the first instance. And in the second instance, demand honesty of our church and government. Truthfulness/honesty demands that we ourselves are open to being transformed. We need to die to self so that we may live with him. We also, have a right to demand of our church and nation a truthfulness that does not hide behind structure and privilege but embraces Transparency in all of its acts, exposing all words and actions to the truth which will set us free. After the Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus, Peter was challenged as to on what authority he cured a crippled beggar (Acts 4). Peter replied:” In the name of Jesus the Nazarene whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead”. Peter underwent a transformation by his experience of the risen Lord. Before the paschal mystery of death and resurrection, Peter was weak and even denied that he knew Jesus. After the resurrection experience, Peter was transformed from fearful and powerless to bold and powerful. He found his true identity in the paschal mystery. So, too, should we. Who are we in this church of the 21st century? Are we transformed by the paschal mystery to demand truth of ourselves and truth of our church and nation? Will we speak truth to power lovingly, respectfully but persistently? Are we confident enough in our own transformation that we can begin to bring this resurrected, loving, compassionate, forgiving Jesus to a world that seems to have lost its way? How do we as Christians transform a mentality of violence into a peace loving dialogue based on the basic principle of the dignity of each individual as a creation of God? We can have an exciting and intellectually stimulating debate on the just war theory and the merits of a preemptive war to remove brutal dictators. But what of the human costs of a seeming inability to understand what war does to individuals and families: 2400 American soldiers dead, tens of thousands of Iraq casualties, and at least 20,000 American soldiers returning home with loss of limb and years of psychological recuperation before them? How do we preach the paschal mystery to a righteous administration that paints all dissent with the brush of un-patriotic conduct? How do we lovingly bring our church leaders to see the need for a national healing process wherein the victims of sexual abuse and their families, as well as the whole communion of the faithful, might seek closure and reconciliation with their Bishops and priests? How can we help our wounded church strip away the hierarchical structure, secret decisions and financial obfuscation and create a just,

1 Courtesy of www.augustinianfriends.org. © 2006 John E. Deegan, O.S.A transparent and open community of equals where leaders are recognized by their willingness to be servants? St. Augustine gives us a model. He set up communities of friends who lived together in mutual support and respect. The priests and bishops were chosen by the people and transparency of finances was based on the rule that they held all things in common and to each was given according to his/her need. Ripped from the news headlines, our paschal transformation is rattled by calls to deport millions of our brothers and sisters who have journeyed outside the law to find in our nation of immigrants a better, freer life for themselves and their families. Cries to build bigger walls and form ever more strident vigilante groups shatter the more conciliatory voices seeking a fair and more just reform of our outdated immigration laws. Lies and half truths about the effects of illegal workers on the school and health care systems and the taking away of jobs from citizens, enflame bigotry and racism and cruelly divide needy and deserving people as they strive for dignity in their lives. Who speaks for the poor and shares the paschal mystery with them when greedy persons of all stripes, in the name of the bottom line of power, foster division of white from black, white and black from Latino and all persons from their dignity as creations of God? In the beauty of springtime, we see new life everywhere. Mother Nature is doing her thing and we like children at a circus, marvel at each new act hypnotized by nature’s magic. But, despite frantic denials by those who should know better, global warming is a reality. Humankind has gone from steward of creation to owner of the world and its resources and the world has suffered because of this. The air we breathe, the water we drink, and the sources of energy we rip from the earth in pursuit of comfort have become victims of greed and self indulgence. Where are the leaders who will raise prophetic voices in protest to a seemingly unquenchable greed that values life only in proportion to its ability to produce profit? Caring for God’s creation and all life is what our paschal transformation and that of our church and nation is all about. Life, we say, is precious from conception to natural death. Yet, if the truth be told, the quality of life is lacking for millions of people. Trafficking for sex and sweat shop labor is all too common. Genocide in Dafur goes unabated despite promises from our leaders of “not on my watch”. The pandemic of HIV/AIDS and the liberal use of the death penalty in our nation make liars of those who claim to value life. And the root cause of many of these critical issues is poverty. Many people rally around the slogan of “making poverty history”. As Jim Wallis, editor of Sojourners says: “for many, poverty is the new slavery”. Who are we, we followers of Christ in the sixth year of a new century? It is very important that we know ourselves and open ourselves to the transforming love of the Spirit. If we are accountable to ourselves and to our God, then our speaking truth to power is more genuine and effective. All our being and all of our doing must be based on a love that imitates the sacrificing love of the crucified, resurrected Jesus. If love fuels our conviction, then we can change the world. At the end of time, God will come to us as a lover and will judge us on the quality of our love for one another, for our nation and church leaders and for the poor and marginalized. The Song of Songs will ring in our ears:

“Arise my beloved, my beautiful one and come! See the winter is past, the rains are over and gone The flowers appear on the earth, The time of pruning the vines has come, And the song of the Dove is heard in the land. Arise my beloved, my beautiful one and come”.

I wonder if at the end, we can say that “I loved the best that I could”? I wonder if our paschal transformation has made us worthy to speak truth to power; to hold ourselves accountable and to 2 Courtesy of www.augustinianfriends.org. © 2006 John E. Deegan, O.S.A demand accountability and transparency from our leaders both of church and nation. I wonder if our paschal experience will make us, as it did Peter, bold and powerful to recognize and proclaim the salvific truth that is in our midst, Jesus the Christ?