Chris McDonnell, UK
christymac733@gmail.com

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May 24, 2018

Last Sunday we marked Pentecost, a turning point of change, when a group of people who had hidden themselves out of fear were given the inspiration to have courageous conversations. It happened then and it happens again and again in our own time.

Pentecost was not a ‘one-off’ event. The coming of the Holy Spirit to the Apostles in Jerusalem in the tentative times after the Resurrection did not have finality in its action but has a reality in our own lives.

There has been mention again in recent months of a man from Central America, the Archbishop of El Salvador, Oscar Romero. His cause is being pursued in Rome, recognition of his sanctity evident.

Speaking on Pentecost Sunday in 1978 he made this comment. "It will always be Pentecost in the Church provided the Church lets the beauty of the Holy Spirit shine forth from her countenance…The Church will be fair to see, perennially young, attractive in every age, as long as she is faithful to the Spirit that floods her and she reflects that Spirit through her communities, through her pastors, through her very life."   The conclusion of his own life by assassination whilst sharing the Eucharist was two years distant? What he said on that Pentecost Sunday deserves our careful attention, for he spoke then of a living Church, a Church whose activity is motivated by the Spirit, a beauty seen.

The staidness of older age is an attitude we see about us on a regular basis, the critical attitude towards younger people, an un-willingness to be open to the sparks of creativity that they have to offer, a reluctance to change.

The Church-that is all those who gather under the name of Christ-must always be faithful to the Gospel and be willing to respond to the joyful gift the Spirit offers. The Church must be ‘forever new’. That message of the Council is too easily forgotten as we slip back into old ways, seeking security rather than forging ahead with confidence and mission.

Recent attempts to apply the brakes have come from over-cautious individuals and groups, looking for the security of the familiar rather than taking risks on a path of hope and mission.

It was reflection on such timidity that brought a group of Catholic Christians together in 2012, anxious to express their willingness to fulfil our Pentecostal mission. Out of that first gathering at Heythrop College in Kensington came A Call to Action- ACTA. Their mission statement is clear:  

‘We are a group of Catholics, some of whom are ordained, brought together by our love of Christ's Church and our anxiety about its future. Still inspired by the Second Vatican Council, we want to contribute fully to the life of our Church so that we may be a more effective sign of the Kingdom of God. To do this, we believe that an atmosphere of openness and dialogue both with each other and with our church leadership needs developing. Accordingly, we aim to supply channels of free and frank communication. We desire to help create a climate of trust and respect for all where this dialogue may be fostered’.

It is worth taking time to reflect on those few words for they are indeed Spirit-filled. Anxiety about where we presently find ourselves is counter-balanced by a willingness to act, to share the presence of God through who we are and how we behave. The ‘openness and dialogue’ that is called for in these few words has been the constant message of Pope Francis in recent years. Too often we talk of commemorations, of people or occasions, rather than Gospel imperatives to Christian action. The essential demand for dialogue between us must be part of the adventure. That principle is at the core of Romero’s words from 1978, words that he ultimately fulfilled at the conclusion of his life on March 24th 1980. 

Where we have been, the life experience that it has been our lot to receive, cannot be changed. Neither can we cherry-pick the bits that were comfortable and reassuring.

Where we are now is an immediate presence that shapes and directs the future path we take. It has to be Spirit-filled or it is nothing. One of Sydney Carter’s songs reflects this when he writes "So shut your bibles up and show me how, the Christ you talk about is living now’. The trouble is that for many of us, we have never opened our bibles in the first place. Carter’s words only find strength if they come from a real appreciation of Scripture that enables us to move on in the Spirit.

This year’s ACTA Conference in being held in Cardiff on October 20th, taking as its theme the words of Oscar Romero mentioned above. A living and refreshing Pentecost must be our constant companion.

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