Monday, February 24, 2014

The Spirit of Poverty







After discussing how poverty is a defining quality of Christ, Pope Francis takes his Lenten message to its next logical conclusion, which is to say that poverty is a trait that all Christians should emulate.   Archbishop Óscar A. Romero of El Salvador explicitly states the call, explaining that “Poverty is a spirituality, a Christian attitude and the soul’s openness to God.”  The powerful “are on their knees before—and, trust in—false idols” of money, power, and pleasure, Romero says.  But, “you who are destitute of everything, know that the poorer you are, the more you possess God’s kingdom, provided you truly live that spirituality” (Feb. 17, 1980 sermon).  The poor are not distracted by or subservient to earthly idols and are therefore more receptive to the call to holiness of the true God.

Although Pope Francis’ call for a “poor church for the poor” has been viewed by some through a political lens (as was Archbishop Romero’s ministry), the identification with the poor dates back to the days of the early Church.  Msgr. Ricardo Urioste recalls being given some radical literature by Archbishop Romero.  One day I was visiting him in his rooms. He had a book in his hands,” Urioste recalled.  At Archbishop Romero’s behest, Urioste read the following passage from the tome:

Do you want to honor the body of Christ? Don’t ignore Him then, when you find Him naked in the poor. Do not honor Him in the temple with clothes of silk if, on your way out, you abandon Him in his cold nakedness [in the poor] … Is it good to decorate Christ's table with vessels of gold if the same Christ is dying of hunger? First, feed the hungry and then, with what is left over, you may decorate Christ's table.

Surely the words of a Vatican II enemy of traditional liturgy, right?  Lest Msgr. Urioste get that idea, Archbishop Romero set him straight: “It is from St. John Chrysostom, from the fourth century. He was canonized. He is a saint. The Church needs saints like him.”  Like Romero, St. John Chrysostom was a radical Christian.  John said things like: “Not to share one’s wealth with the poor is to steal from them” and “The poor exist for the salvation of the rich,” and he did not say them for dramatic effect or for emphasis.  Rather, he said it as a necessary expression of the Christian faith.  Romero did, too.  This is because, “historically, Romero is situated solidly in the patristic, episcopal tradition of the Church, alongside Basil the Great of Capadocia, Saint Ambrose of Milan, and Saint John Chrysostom of Constantinople,” the great fathers of the Church, whom Romero studied and admired.  These were men who were not shy about stating the radical implications of the faith that fly in the face of all worldly concerns.

Although these teaching are, in a sense, quite remarkable and even shocking, they are absolutely orthodox as Church doctrine.  In fact, it is an article of canon law that certain religious communities in the Church are to take a vow of poverty, precisely because  of the recognition of the spiritual qualities of poverty in God’s plan of salvation (see Code of Canon Law § 600).  Through the centuries, such vows have been fervently embraced by the saints.  Such vows have been especially effective as means to combat spiritual stagnation and corruption within the Church.  The reform of St. Francis of Assisi is an example.  Nor is the view that poverty purifies us and pushes us to perfection something that the Church invented.  Rather, it is the teaching of Christ himself, who counsels the young man who professes to already have a compliant spiritual life, “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor …” (Matthew 19:21).  It is one of Christ’s three “counsels of perfection.”

Therefore we become holy,” preached Archbishop Romero, “according to the degree to which we make poverty a part of our spirituality and to the degree in which we hand ourselves over to the Lord and show our openness to God.”

El Espíritu de la Pobreza








Después de explicar que la pobreza es una cualidad que define a Cristo, el Papa Francisco toma su mensaje de Cuaresma a su próxima consecuencia lógica, es decir, que la pobreza es un rasgo que todos los cristianos deberían imitar. Monseñor Óscar A. Romero de El Salvador declara explícitamente la llamada, explicando que “La pobreza es, pues, una espiritualidad, es una actitud del cristiano; es una disponibilidad de alma abierta a Dios”. Los poderosos “están de rodillas ante los falsos ídolos y confían en ellos”, los dioses del dinero, del poder y del placer, dice Romero. Pero, “Ustedes que no tienen esos ídolos, ustedes que no confían porque no tienen el dinero o el poder, ustedes desvalidos de todo, cuanto más pobres, más dueños del Reino de Dios, con tal que vivan de verdad esta espiritualidad” (homilía del 17 de febrero 1980). Los pobres no están distraídos por o subordinado a los ídolos terrenales y por lo tanto son más receptivos a la llamada a la santidad del Dios verdadero.

Aunque el llamado Papa Francisco por una “Iglesia pobre para los pobres”, ha sido vista por algunos a través de un lente político (como fue el ministerio de Monseñor Romero), la identificación con los pobres se remonta a los tiempos de la Iglesia primitiva. Monseñor Ricardo Urioste recuerda haber recibido una literatura radical de manos de Mons. Romero. “Un día le estaba visitando en sus habitaciones. Él tenía un libro en sus manos”, recordó Urioste. Bajo insistencia de mons. Romero, Urioste leyó el siguiente pasaje del tomo:


¿Deseas honrar el cuerpo de Cristo? No lo desprecies, pues, cuando lo encuentres desnudo en los pobres, ni lo honres aquí en el templo con lienzos de seda, si al salir lo abandonas en su frío y desnudez … ¿De qué serviría adornar la mesa de Cristo con vasos de oro, si el mismo Cristo muere de hambre? Da primero de comer al hambriento, y luego, con lo que te sobre, adornarás la mesa de Cristo.


Seguramente son las palabras de un enemigo de la liturgia tradicional en el Vaticano II, ¿no? Para no dejar a mons. Urioste con esa impresión, Romero explicó: “Es una cita de San Juan Crisóstomo, del siglo IV. Fue canonizado. Es un santo. La Iglesia necesita santos como él”. Al igual que Romero, San Juan Crisóstomo era un cristiano radical. Juan dijo cosas como: “No compartir la riqueza de uno con los pobres es robar de ellos” y “Los pobres existen para la salvación de los ricos”, y no lo dijo por efecto dramático o para dar énfasis. Más bien, lo dijo como una expresión necesaria de la fe cristiana. Romero también lo hizo. Esto se debe a que, “históricamente, Romero se encuentra sólidamente en la tradición patrística, episcopal de la Iglesia, junto a Basilio el Grande de Capadocia, San Ambrosio de Milán y san Juan Crisóstomo de Constantinopla”,  los grandes padres de la Iglesia, a quien Romero estudiado y admirado [Greenan]. Estos eran hombres que no eran tímidos para exponer las implicaciones radicales de la fe que van en contra de todas las preocupaciones mundanas.

Aunque se trata de enseñanzas que son, en cierto sentido, bastante notables e incluso sorprendentes, son absolutamente ortodoxas como doctrina de la Iglesia. De hecho, es un artículo de la ley canónica que ciertas comunidades religiosas de la Iglesia han de tomar un voto de pobreza, precisamente por el reconocimiento de las cualidades espirituales de la pobreza en el plan de salvación de Dios (véase el Código de Derecho Canónico § 600). A través de los siglos, estos votos han sido fervorosamente optados por los santos. Estos votos han sido especialmente eficaces para combatir el estancamiento y la corrupción espiritual dentro de la Iglesia. La reforma de San Francisco de Asís es un ejemplo. Tampoco es la idea de que la pobreza nos purifica y nos empuja a la perfección algo que la Iglesia se ha inventado. Más bien, es una enseñanza del mismo Cristo, que aconseja al joven que profesa tener ya una vida espiritual satisfactoria: “Si quieres ser perfecto, anda, vende lo que tienes, y dadlo a los pobres... ” (Mateo 19:21). Es uno de los tres “consejos de la perfección” de Cristo.

Cada quien será un santo, predicaba Mons. Romero, “en la medida en que hace de su pobreza una conciencia, una espiritualidad, una entrega, una disponibilidad al Señor”.

Lo Spirito della Povertà





Dopo aver parlato di come la povertà è una qualità distintiva di Cristo, Papa Francesco prende il suo messaggio quaresimale verso la sua prossima logica conclusione: che la povertà è un tratto che tutti i cristiani dovrebbero emulare. Mons. Oscar A. Romero di El Salvador afferma esplicitamente l’invito, spiegando che “La povertà è una spiritualità, un atteggiamento cristiano e di apertura dell’anima a Dio”. Gli potenti “sono in ginocchio prima e, hanno fiducia in, i false idoli” di denaro, potere e piacere, dice Romero. Ma, “voi che siete privati di tutto, sapete che quanto più poveri, più vi possiede il regno di Dio, se veramente vivete queste spiritualità” (sermone 17 Febbraio 1980). I poveri non sono distratti da o asserviti a idoli terrene e sono quindi più ricettivi alla chiamata alla santità del vero Dio.

Anche se chiamata di Papa Francesco per una “chiesa povera per i poveri” è stato vista da alcuni attraverso un obiettivo politico (come era il ministero di Mons. Romero), l’identificazione con i poveri data ai tempi della Chiesa primitiva. Mons. Ricardo Urioste ricorda essere dato un po ‘di letteratura radicale da Mons. Romero. “Un giorno io lo trovavo in visita nelle sue stanze. Aveva un libro tra le mani”, ha ricordato Urioste. Su invito di Mons. Romero, Urioste legge il seguente passaggio dal libro:


Vuoi onorare il corpo di Cristo? Dopo averlo onorato in chiesa, non disprezzarlo quando è coperto di stracci fuori della porta della chiesa ... Che importa che la mensa del Signore scintilli di calici d’oro, mentre lui muore di fame? ... Rendi bella la casa del Signore, ma non disprezzare il mendicante, perché il tempio di carne di questo fratello è più prezioso del tempio di pietre.


Sicuramente le parole di un nemico della liturgia tradizionale dal Vaticano II, giusto? Per rifiutare quest’idea mons. Romero disse: “È ‘da san Giovanni Crisostomo, dal quarto secolo. Fu canonizzato. Lui è un santo. La Chiesa ha bisogno di santi come lui”. Come Romero, San Giovanni Crisostomo era un radicale cristiano. John ha detto cose come: “Non condividere la propria ricchezza con i poveri è quello di rubare da loro” ed “I poveri esistono per la salvezza dei ricchi”, e non le hanno detto per effetto drammatico o per dare enfasi. Piuttosto, ha detto questo come espressione necessaria della fede cristiana. Romero ha fatto, troppo. Questo perché, “storicamente, Romero si trova saldamente nella patristica, la tradizione episcopale della Chiesa, accanto a Basilio il Grande di Capadocia, sant’Ambrogio di Milano e san Giovanni Crisostomo di Costantinopoli”, " i grandi padri della Chiesa, che Romero studiato e ammirato. Questi erano uomini che non erano timidi di precisare le implicazioni radicali della fede che volano in contro a tutte le preoccupazioni mondane.

Anche se questi insegnamenti sono, in un certo senso, abbastanza notevole e anche scioccante, sono assolutamente ortodossi come dottrina della Chiesa. In realtà, si tratta di un articolo di diritto canonico che certe comunità religiose nella Chiesa devono prendere un voto di povertà, proprio a causa del riconoscimento delle qualità spirituale della povertà nel piano di salvezza di Dio (cfr. Codice di Diritto Canonico, § 600). Attraverso i secoli, tali voti sono stati abbracciati dai santi. Tali voti sono stati particolarmente efficaci come strumenti per combattere la stagnazione spirituale e la corruzione all’interno della Chiesa. La riforma di San Francesco d’ Assisi è un esempio. Né è del parere che la povertà ci purifica e ci spinge alla perfezione qualcosa che la Chiesa ha inventato. Piuttosto, è l’insegnamento di Cristo stesso, che consiglia il giovane che professa di avere già una vita spirituale soddisfacente, “Se vuoi essere perfetto, va ‘, vendi quello che hai e dallo ai poveri... ” (Matteo 19: 21). Si tratta di uno dei tre “consigli di perfezione” di Cristo.

Perciò diventiamo santi”, ha predicato Mons. Romero, “nel grado in cui facciamo la povertà una parte della nostra spiritualità e nella misura in cui ci consegniamo al Signore e mostriamo la nostra apertura a Dio”.

Friday, February 21, 2014

Overcoming distractions during prayer




If you’ve ever had trouble concentrating during prayer, take heart—even a seventeenth century theologian and ascetic writer admitted to the trouble.  That labor of the intellect which we call meditation,” wrote the Venerable Fr. Luis De La Puente (1554-1624), “is among the most difficult things about mental prayer.”  We all know the reasons: “it is easy to have several things in mind at once, and to dash from one thing to another without order or concert, but it is very difficult to think about a single thing with concentration, with fixed memory and understanding of God, without diverting to or spilling over to other things; even the great Saints have this trouble sometimes, and they complain about it.”  (Meditaciones Espirituales, available online here—in Spanish.)

Fr. La Puente prescribes four potent tools to avoid distractions during prayer:

  • Profound humility
  • Prayer itself
  • Faith; and
  • Spiritual fortitude

Fr. La Puente was the subject of Archbishop Óscar A. Romero’s thesis for his doctorate studies in theology.  Romero never obtained the degree but he put Fr. La Puente’s methods into practice.  Fr. La Puente spurred the young Romero to strive to perfect his devotion.  In recent days the Lord has inspired in me a great desire for holiness, after I had read some of Father La Puente,” Romero wrote in his diary in February 1943.  I have been thinking of how far a soul can ascend if it lets itself be possessed entirely by God.”  But, like the saints that Fr. La Puente tells us had trouble concentrating during prayer, Archbishop Romero sometimes felt distracted.  Persecution, assassination, and a downward spiral toward civil war all around you can have that effect: “I wonder if it is the result of my habitual dissipation on account of the special circumstances I have experienced since I became archbishop,” Romero wrote during a retreat in January 1978, confessing, “I have the feeling I have lost some ability to turn inward.”  (Compare Blessed Teresa of Kolkata: “When I try to raise my thoughts to Heaven, there is such convicting emptiness that those very thoughts return like sharp knives and hurt my very soul.”)

Although there are times when our prayer life is carried by the Spirit, we must develop defenses against distraction, Fr. La Puente writes.  We must not be sailors who can only glide when the wind is filling up the sails; when the gust of the Holy Spirit does not push us forward, we must learn to row on our own.  We must deploy the four tools prescribed by Fr. La Puente.  Archbishop Romero deployed all of them.

First, Archbishop Romero exhibited great humility.  Fr. James R. Brockman, Romero’s biographer, writes that the Archbishop’s “words written during his last retreat, shortly before his death, indicate an emptying of self and a mature acceptance of God.” Fr. Brockman points to the annotation from Romero’s last spiritual retreat: “I place under His loving providence all my life, and I accept with faith in Him my death, however hard it be ... it is sufficient to know with assurance that in Him is my life and my death.”

Second, Archbishop Romero believed, like Fr. La Puente, that prayer itself could help develop a more fervent practice of prayer.  Romero pointed to the Bible image of Aaron and Hur holding up Moses’ hands so that they would not tire in prayer, as an inspiration for the faithful to support their pastors in prayer (see, Exodus 17:11-12).  There is a need for everyone to become those aides of Moses, to become another Aaron and Hur and together to become this people of prayer,” preached Romero.  My heart is filled with joy when I listen to people who tell me: We are praying for you. We lift you up in prayer.”

Third, Archbishop Romero had Faith that God does not present us with tests that he does not provide us the talent and ability to overcome, even if it requires us to make an effort to overcome such challenges, and that therefore the God who requires our prayers also furnishes the means for us to pray effectively.  Thank God,” Romero wrote during the 1978 retreat during which he confessed difficulty turning inwards, “I find that when I go at it seriously I am able to concentrate and to rise to prayer. God is good and I find him easily.”

Finally, Archbishop Romero was possessed of the spiritual fortitude that Fr. La Puente prescribed to avoid losing focus during prayer.  Archbishop Romero had the opportunity to exhibit such spiritual fortitude in November 1979, when he was called to negotiate a hostage standoff at a church called El Rosario (The Rosary).  Leftist guerrillas were holding a soldier inside the church as a human shield, while riled-up soldiers loyal to the regime surrounded the church threatening to open fire and storm it.  At one point, Romero stood in the middle of the street with his hands outstretched in the form of a cross, trembling in fear and drenched in sweat as the soldiers yelled out sacrilege and vulgarities.

Juan Bosco Palacios was Romero’s driver.  In the documentary, Monseñor:The Last Journey of Óscar Romero, Palacios recalls feeling dumbfounded by where Archbishop Romero’s attention was focused as the emergency unfolded.  One of the things that has struck me is that at that moment of the worse crisis,” Palacios recounts, “what he brought out was his Rosary and he began to pray the Rosary.” (1:03:15 of video.)

Palacios, who was a seminarian, had not thought that prayer was apropos at this precise moment.  Well, I was wondering, since I was standing close to him, ‘Just what is he thinking when he starts to pray the Rosary instead of trying to figure out how the blazes we are going to get out of this situation!

Romero, however, was deep in prayer.  And I grew even more concerned when after finishing the First Mystery, he turns to me and asks, ‘And what should we do if they fire?’

‘Oh, well’—I said to him—‘we should probably get on the floor behind that little wall’—I said to him—‘in case of anything.’

‘Ah, I see.’  He kept praying.

He pauses again.  ‘And why must we get on the floor?’

‘Well, because these fools fire from the waist up’—I said to him—‘and [being shot] from the waist down has lesser impact, but from the waist up they’ll kill you.’

‘Ah.’  Romero nods.  But he continues praying.  The next time he pauses, he says to Palacios with a wry smile, perhaps a little bit of gallows humor: “Behind that little wall looks like a good place for us to jump, eh?  The bemused seminarian replies, “That’s assuming we have time, because if you’re praying while you’re attempting to go behind the wall, you might not have enough time to get there.”

This is the spiritual fortitude that Fr. La Puente urges.  Fr. La Puente writes that spiritual fortitude means “deliberately making a valiant resolution not to admit any thought that will separate us from what we are praying,” even if the distraction is something that “appears very important.”  After all, nothing is more important “than to tend to what I pray and to God, before whom I am in prayer.”  Therefore, “when I become unwittingly distracted, I will go back again to tie the thread of good thought and the discourse started, and if I should become a thousand times distracted, then a thousand times will I return to the same without losing courage or confidence.”  (Op cit.)
Archbishop Romero demonstrates how to pray with focus as Fr. La Puente advises, by showing humility, having a prayerful life, having faith, and exercising spiritual fortitude.

Monday, February 17, 2014

The poverty of Jesus



Pope Francis and “Jesus the Homeless” sculpture.


Español | Italiano



Pope Francis wisely begins his First Lenten Message by asking us to focus on Christ.   In particular, the Pontiff asks us to contrast the wealth of Christ with the poverty of Christ.  Jesus’ wealth lies in his being the Son,” the Pontiff tells us: “his unique relationship with the Father” is what makes Him rich.  By contrast, Christ’s poverty “is his way of loving us” by suffering for our cause.  We could add a third facet, which would be Christ’s act of “emptying himself,” stripping himself of his godly grandeur to be incarnate among us.  Archbishop Romero gives us three visions of Christ that illuminate this point.

THE TRANSFIGURATION

The wealth of Christ, centered on his role as the Son in unique relationship with the Father is revealed in the Gospel account of His Transfiguration.  In addition to being one of the first Lent readings, the episode is the basis for El Salvador’s national patronal feast and thus, Romero had been preaching on the Transfiguration since the 1950s.  When Jesus lets us glimpse a flash of the radiant light he emanates, and the voice from the clouds says, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 17:5), Romero preaches, Jesus is letting us in on the secret of His divinity, as well as giving us a foretaste of the heavenly glory to which all men are destined as Children of God.  The wealth of Jesus is a shared inheritance, because this glorification for the Son of God is the dignity that God wants for all His children, and symbolizes the perfection attained when man is elevated above the terrestrial realm and held up in the celestial plane, free of all temptation and sin.  In fact, Romero says, the image of Jesus thus exalted is the perfect icon of liberation and he goes as far as to call his preaching “Transfiguration Theology” rather than Liberation Theology because it is premised on a transcendent, spiritual emancipation.

CHRIST FASTING IN THE DESERT

The other image of Christ from the readings of Lent portrays Christ entering the desert to fast and pray for forty days and forty nights.  Importantly, Christ rejects the temptations of power, success and domination presented by Satan, embracing hunger, obscurity and insignificance, and thus running the same fate as the poor.  This is the poverty of Christ, and it is presented in rich symbolism to highlight the importance of this feature as a central characteristic of Christ.  Romero points out that the length of time Jesus spends in the desert—forty days and forty nights—holds great theological significance in the Hebrew Bible.  After all, Moses led the Israelites for forty years in the desert in search of the promise land, and forty days was the term that Elijah spent in his spiritual quest.  Accordingly, when Jesus later appears atop Mt. Tabor surrounded by Moses and Elijah (see previous point about The Transfiguration), it is to confirm Jesus as God’s chosen prophet.  In fact, Romero points out, in entering the desert, Jesus also figures as the New Adam, by contrast, the Garden of Eden juxtaposed against this forbidding place of wild beasts and the dead, which will bloom as a sacred garden because of Jesus’ radiant spirituality, his holy poverty.

CHRIST DESCENDING FROM THE MOUNTAIN

The third, implied scene is the one that symbolizes the deliberate option by Christ to side with us, to be one of us.  For Romero, it is Jesus descending from the high place, where He communes alone with God the Father.  The gospels use beautiful expressions that describe some profound ways of seeing Jesus,” Romero tells us.  Let us behold Jesus as He comes down the mountain, as He comes down from the heights to mingle with the people” down in the valley.  The Spanish words Romero uses to express this idea are powerful: he literally says Jesus comes down to let himself be confused with the commonality of mankind.  In essence, Christ not only enters history, He blends in.  Consequently, Romero tells us, “we cannot separate the context of Jesus’ words from the whole history of Israel.”  And by extension, we cannot interpret Jesus without allowing His teachings to infiltrate the history and context of every place where His gospel is heard.  When He empties Himself, Jesus makes himself accessible to all of us.

The poverty of Jesus enriches us, because in making Himself poor to walk alongside us, Christ also shares His wealth, the spiritual treasure of His Kingdom.


Next: poverty as a valued spiritual trait in the Church.

La pobreza de Jesús



El Papa Francisco y la escultura “Jesus the Homeless”.

English | Italiano



El Papa Francisco comienza su Primer Mensaje de Cuaresma sabiamente pidiéndonos que nos centremos en Cristo. En particular, el Papa nos invita a contrastar la riqueza de Cristo con la pobreza de Cristo. “La riqueza de Jesús radica en el hecho de ser el Hijo”, nos dice el Pontífice: “su relación única con el Padre” es lo que le hace rico. Por el contrario, la pobreza de Cristo es “su modo de amarnos” sufriendo por nuestra causa. Podríamos añadir una tercera consideración, que sería el acto de “vaciarse”, de despojándose de su grandeza para encarnarse entre nosotros. Monseñor Romero nos da tres imágenes de Cristo que iluminan este punto.

LA TRANSFIGURACIÓN

La riqueza de Cristo, centrada en su papel como el Hijo en relación única con el Padre se revela en el relato del Evangelio sobre Su Transfiguración. Además de ser una de las primeras lecturas de la Cuaresma, el episodio es la base para la fiesta patronal nacional de El Salvador y, por tanto, Romero había estado predicando sobre la Transfiguración desde los 1950. Cuando Jesús vislumbra un destello de la luz radiante que emana, y la voz de Dios dice desde las nubes, “Este es mi Hijo amado, el de mis complacencias” (Mateo 17:05), Romero predica, Jesús nos está dejando conocer el secreto de su divinidad, y a la vez dándonos un anticipo de la gloria celestial a la que todos los hombres están destinados como Hijos de Dios. La riqueza de Jesús es una herencia compartida, ya que la glorificación del Hijo de Dios es la dignidad que Dios quiere para todos sus hijos, y simboliza la perfección alcanzada cuando el hombre es elevado por encima de lo terrestre y puesto en el plano celestial, libre de de toda tentación y del pecado. De hecho, dice Romero, la imagen de Jesús así exaltado es el icono perfecto de la liberación y hasta llega a llamar su predicación la “Teología de la Transfiguración” y no teología de la liberación, ya que se basa en una emancipación trascendente, espiritual.

CRISTO AYUNANDO EN EL DESIERTO

La otra imagen de Cristo de las lecturas de Cuaresma presenta a Cristo entrando en el desierto para ayunar y orar por cuarenta días y cuarenta noches. Es importante destacar que Cristo rechaza las tentaciones del poder, del éxito y del dominio presentada por Satanás, abrazando el hambre, la oscuridad y la insignificancia, y corriendo así la misma suerte que los pobres. Esta es la pobreza de Cristo, y viene presentada con el rico simbolismo que resalta la importancia de esta pobreza como una característica central de Cristo. Romero señala que la duración del tiempo que Jesús pasó en el desierto—cuarenta días y cuarenta noches—tiene un gran significado teológico en la Biblia hebrea. Moisés condujo a los israelitas cuarenta años por el desierto en busca de la tierra prometida, y cuarenta días fue el término que Elías pasó en su búsqueda espiritual. Por tanto, cuando Jesús aparece en la cima del monte Tabor rodeado de Moisés y Elías (véase el punto anterior sobre de la Transfiguración), está confirmando a Jesús como el profeta elegido de Dios. De hecho, señala Romero, entrando en el desierto, Jesús también figura como el nuevo Adán, solo que, el Jardín del Edén se yuxtapone contra este lugar de fieras y de muerte, que florecerá como un jardín sagrado debido a la espiritualidad radiante de Jesús y por su santa pobreza.

CRISTO BAJANDO DE LA MONTAÑA

La tercera escena implícita es la que simboliza la opción deliberada de Cristo de ponerse al lado nuestro, para volverse uno de nosotros. Para Romero, es la imagen de Jesús descendiendo de la cima, donde Él comulga solo con Dios Padre. “En sus expresiones de los evangelios tienen profundos modos de ver a Jesús”, nos dice Romero. “Mirémoslo bajando de la montaña, bajando de las alturas a confundirse en la llanura con el común de los hombres”. Estas palabras que Mons. Romero utiliza para expresar la idea son poderosas: nos dicen textualmente que se deja sumergir en el carácter común de la humanidad. En esencia, Cristo no sólo entra en la historia, Él se mezcla entre los hombres. En consecuencia, nos dice Romero: la prédica de Cristo, “no la arranquemos del contexto de toda la historia de Israel”. Y, por extensión, no se puede interpretar a Jesús sin que sus enseñanzas se filtren en la historia y el contexto de cada lugar donde se escucha su evangelio. Cuando Él se vacía a sí mismo, Jesús se hace accesible para todos nosotros.

La pobreza de Jesús nos enriquece, porque en lo que hizo pobre para caminar junto a nosotros, Cristo también comparte su riqueza, el tesoro espiritual de Su Reino.


Sigue: la pobreza es un rasgo espiritual valioso en la Iglesia.

La povertà di Gesù



Papa Francesco e la scultura “Gesù il Homeless”.


Papa Francesco inizia con saggezza il suo primo Messaggio per la Quaresima chiedendo di concentrarsi su Cristo. In particolare, il Pontefice ci chiede di contrastare la ricchezza di Cristo con la povertà di Cristo. “La ricchezza di Gesù è il suo essere il Figlio”, ci dice il Pontefice: “la sua relazione unica con il Padre” è ciò che lo rende ricco. Al contrario, la povertà di Cristo “è il suo modo di amarci” soffrendo per la nostra causa. Potremmo aggiungere un terzo aspetto, che sarebbeil atto di “svuotare se stesso”, spogliandosi della sua grandezza divina per essere incarnato in mezzo a noi. Mons. Romero ci offre tre visioni di Cristo che illuminano questo punto.

LA TRASFIGURAZIONE

La ricchezza di Cristo, incentrata sul suo ruolo come il Figlio in rapporto unico con il Padre si rivela nel racconto evangelico della Sua Trasfigurazione. È una delle letture prima della Quaresima, e l’episodio è la base della festa patronale nazionale di El Salvador e, quindi, Romero stava predicando sulla Trasfigurazione dal 1950. Quando Gesù ci fa intravedere un lampo della luce radiosa che emana, e la vocedi Dio dalle nuvole dice: “Questo è il mio Figlio prediletto, nel quale mi sono compiaciuto” (Matteo 17:05), Romero predica, Gesù ci sta lasciando vedere il segreto della sua divinità, così come dandoci un assaggio della gloria celeste a cui tutti gli uomini sono destinati come figli di Dio. La ricchezza di Gesù è un patrimonio comune, perché questa glorificazione del Figlio di Dio è la dignità che Dio vuole per tutti i suoi figli, e simboleggia la perfezione raggiunta quando l’uomo si eleva sopra della sfera terrestre al piano celeste, libero di ogni tentazione e del peccato. In realtà, Romero dice, l’immagine di Gesù così esaltato è l’icona perfetta della liberazione e chiama la sua predicazione “Teologia della Trasfigurazione”, piuttosto che la Teologia della Liberazione, perché si fonda su una emancipazione trascendente, spirituale.

CRISTO DIGIUNA NEL DESERTO

L’altra immagine di Cristo dalle letture della Quaresima ritrae Cristo entrando nel deserto a digiunare e pregare per quaranta giorni e quaranta notti. È importante sottolineare che Cristo respinge le tentazioni del potere, il successo e il dominio presentate da Satana, abbracciando la fame, l’oscurità e insignificanza, e correndo così la stessa sorte dei poveri. Questa è la povertà di Cristo, e si è presentato in ricca simbologia per sottolineare l’importanza di questa caratteristica come una caratteristica centrale di Cristo. Romero sottolinea che la durata di tempo che Gesù trascorre nel deserto, quaranta giorni e quaranta notti, ha un grande significato teologico nella Bibbia ebraica. Mosè condusse gli Israeliti per quarant’anni nel deserto alla ricerca della terra promessa, e 40 giorni era il termine che Elia ha trascorso nella sua ricerca spirituale. Di conseguenza, quando Gesù dopo appare in cima al Monte Tabor circondato da Mosè ed Elia (vedi punto precedente su La Trasfigurazione), è di confermare Gesù come il profeta scelto da Dio. In realtà, Romero sottolinea, ad entrare nel deserto, Gesù figura anche come il nuovo Adamo: il Giardino dell’Eden giustapposte contro questo luogo che vieta di belve e dei morti, che fiorirà come un giardino sacro a causa della spiritualità raggiante di Gesù,e  la sua santa povertà.

CRISTO SCENDE DALLA MONTAGNA

La terza scena implicita è quella che simboleggia l’opzione deliberata da Cristo a schierarsi con noi, di essere uno di noi. Per Romero, è Gesù che discende dal luogo alto, dove Lui solo in comunione con Dio Padre. “I Vangeli usano belle espressioni che descrivono alcuni modi profondi di vedere Gesù”, Romero ci dice. “Cerchiamo di contemplare Gesù scendendo della montagna, come Egli scende dalle alture a mescolarsi con la gente” giù nella valle. Le parole spagnole usate di Romero per esprimere questa idea sono potenti: dice letteralmente Gesù scende a lasciarsi confondere con la comunanza dell’umanità. In sostanza, Cristo non solo entra nella storia, Egli mescola con noi, Romero ci dice: “non possiamo separare il contesto delle parole di Gesù ‘ da tutta la storia di Israele”.  E per estensione, non siamo in grado di interpretare Gesù senza che i Suoi insegnamenti infiltrarsi la storia e il contesto di ogni luogo in cui si sente il Suo vangelo. Quando Egli svuota stesso, Gesù si rende accessibile a tutti noi.

La povertà di Gesù ci arricchisce, perché facendosi povero per camminare insieme a noi, Cristo condivide anche la sua ricchezza, il tesoro spirituale del Suo Regno.


Avanti: la povertà è un tratto spirituale prezioso nella Chiesa.

Friday, February 14, 2014

“His way of loving us:” Septem 2014






Our Lenten series, «Septem Sermones ad Pauperem» (“Seven Sermons to the Poor”) is inspired this year in Pope Francis’ Lenten Message.  From February 14, 1980 through March 24, 1980, Archbishop Óscar A. Romero lived the last 40 days of his life—a period I call his Quaresima d’amore (because it starts on St. Valentine’s Day), in which he preached his final seven sermons, some of his very best, encapsulating the message of his life.

Pope Francis has focused Catholics on poverty by making his message for Lent 2014 about St. Paul’s statement that Christ “became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich” (2 Cor.  8:9). The poverty of Christ, said the Pope, “is his way of loving us” by suffering for our cause.  Archbishop Romero taught the same lesson by preaching about the readings for Lent and what they teach a poor Church for the poor.  Accordingly, we will unpack the Pope’s Lent message this year by reviewing seven messages we have drawn from Archbishop Romero’s final seven sermons from 1980:


In our pass through the seven sermons this year, we will discuss each of these lessons over the next seven weeks and, rather than focus on a specific sermon each week, we will focus on one theme and how that message is reflected in the sermons as a whole.

Let’s begin by reviewing how we have analyzed Romero’s final seven sermons over the past three years.

Sermon
2013 Analysis
2012 Analysis
2011 Analysis
I.
The Beatitudes
II.
The Temptations
III.
The Transfiguration
IV.
The Barren Fig Tree
V
The Prodigal Son
VI.
The Adulteress
VII.
The Grain of Wheat


«Septem» 2014 will kick off next with a discussion of poverty as a central characteristic of Christ.