Much
has been written about the encyclical Laudato Si since
it was published last Thursday and many
more words will be written and spoken in the coming months as the full import of
the text is explored. I will not dwell on the global implications for our common
home, but rather I want to explore the theme of desolation for the individual
person. That thought came to mind after reading a quotation from Thomas Merton
in this week’s Tablet.
“As
to your own desolation and loneliness: what can anyone say? It is the desolation
of all of us in the presence of death and nothingness, but Christ in us bears it
for us: without our being consoled. To accept non-consolation is to mysteriously
help others who have more than they can bear.”
Everyone
has times in their lives when things aren’t going well, either at work,
socially, within a marriage or within oneself, times when long-held certainties
are questioned and consolations in response are few. To cover them all with the
blanket term ‘desolation’ would be an exaggeration, but just once in a while
that is an appropriate term.
It
is then that our hope and trust in our Christian faith is tested and to use
Merton’s phrase ‘Christ in us bears it for us’
This
surely is the central theme of the Year of Mercy proclaimed by Francis starting
in December this year, that in our expression of mercy to others we can help
them carry the load when it is too much to bear.
The
20th century with its major wars and numerous conflicts, brought us
face to face with evil in a manner not
previously experienced. And in the first few years of this Century that process
continues apace. Within the greater story of the
Middle East
and other places of social disturbance are the lives of
families, of disruption and fear. The suffering of displaced children and their
parents on desolation row must not be ignored, for when we read of stories from
these war zones, it is all too easy to forget the distraught young ones who
don’t understand what it is all about. They are, none the less, caught up in
the all-pervading trauma.
The
words of the Prayer of St Francis that are the title of the encyclical –Laudato
si O mi signore - were set to music a few years back. You can hear
them at this website address:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66XAltaJGS0
Gerald
Hughes sj, who died last year, had a phrase, “Think
globally, act locally”. That is the attitude we should take if the
Gospel message of Laudato si is to be
implemented by nations as well as in our own lives. The care of those about us
who at times feel desolate and lost is a contribution we can make day by day to
this living planet.
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