Tenison Woods and MacKillop Centre News: Power of the mite

Jesus sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the treasury, and many of the rich put in a great deal. A poor widow came and put in two small coins, the equivalent of a penny. Then he called to his disciples and said to them, ‘I tell you solemnly, this poor widow has put more in than all who have contributed to the treasury; for they have all put in money they had over, but she from the little she had has put in everything she possessed, all she had to live on.’

Mark 12:41 - 44

Milan is a beautiful city. Its people are beautiful. It is the home of Armani and Versace. At its heart is the utterly impressive Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele I, an enormous, glazed arcade of immense proportions, named for the first king of a united Italy and built between 1865 and 1877. This is real window shopping. This retail centre is adjacent to the spiritual centre, the Duomo (Cathedral) of Milan. 500 years in the making, the Duomo is breathtakingly beautiful. After St Peter’s in Rome and the Seville Cathedral, the Duomo is the third largest church in Christendom.

Charles Borromeo was 12 when he was created an abbot; 21 when he completed his doctorate in law; 22 when his uncle Pius VI named him a cardinal; then archbishop of Milan. He founded seminaries, supported decrees of the Council of Trent and was rigorous in the reform of his diocese. His work and generosity to the poor was renowned. Charles brought a new simplicity to the Duomo, removing ornate tombs, banners and ornaments. He died in 1584. 25 years after his death, Charles was canonised. He is now the patron saint of bishops, students for the priesthood, catechists and catechumens. He was interred in a crypt under the Duomo, expressly contrary to his request.

The crypt is an eerie, dimly lit place. You have no doubt you are in the presence of the holy, of the sacred. Lying beneath the majesty of the Duomo, Charles’ tomb is a link between the saintliness we are each called to, and the humanity which drives our urges, hungers and desires.

We are familiar with Mark’s story (12:38 – 44) of the widow’s mite. Clearly Mark is teaching that those who give from their excess are not being generous, but those who give of their entire livelihood are worthy of great honour. Charles came from a family of great wealth and position, and while had titles of his own, he called on his total being as a gift to his Lord and God. Wealth and titles were for him but tools at the service of the poor and ignorant.

The City of Milan is a testament to humanity’s capacity to create beautiful churches, shopping complexes, motorcycles and clothing and should be a must see on your Italian sojourn, yet its rich and deep faith simmers not only in its underbelly, but in the celebration of life that the Milanese enjoy in their bounty.

St Charles Borromeo’s feast day is this Wednesday.

Peter Douglas

HEAD OF SCHOOL SERVICES, NORTH

Slow down and know God's love

by Peter Hosking SJ

Jesuit Province Express, 20 October 2015

Many professionals work long hours and are expected to be available 24/7. They push themselves so hard that stress leads to strain and breakdown. They find it hard to disconnect from work, recover, and enjoy life with family and friends. The competitive 21st century workplace is not a healthy one.

Slow down clockIn this vein, Megan Graham reflected in Eureka Street about how people are expected to be across more data, and connected to more people, for more of the time. Our lament is that we have no time. We struggle to process the sensory stimuli, with few opportunities to reflect meaningfully or ponder creatively.

This addiction to stimulation eventually causes us to react superficially to people and events. We detach because we are unable to respond to all that comes our way. Our imagination becomes blunted and our emotions restricted. Many struggle to relax, sleep and recreate, and become stressed and irritable.

Few find time to contemplate the implications of the information that passes through their consciousness. We respond with lightweight, lightning-quick tweets rather than considered reflection.

Graham counselled that serious issues such as climate change, asylum seekers, and mental illness should engage us deeply. This will help us find creative and just solutions that go beyond surface thinking and knee-jerk reactions.

She believes our individual and collective attention spans are at an all-time low because we are so assaulted with technological distractions. Without a deeper connection and intimacy, we are becoming intellectually and affectively disconnected from people.

Advocates of mindfulness, prayer, yoga, fitness and meditation encourage us to pay closer attention to what is actually happening, to take control of our pace, to recognise that it is possible to choose to slow down. We need to switch off devices, breathe, and ponder.

Taking this time will help us have deeper friendships, make better decisions, and take wiser actions.

In As Bread That Is Broken Peter van Breemen SJ reflected on how our deepest need is to be appreciated and loved. This is not the same as being told we are wonderful; rather it is to be deeply accepted for who we most truly are. Acceptance means that the people with whom I spend time respect and value me.

St Augustine says: A friend is someone who knows everything about you and still accepts you. Friends reassure and take me seriously enough to help me face my flaws. They give me room to outgrow mistakes of the past. When I am not accepted, something in me is broken and I can lose my way.

A student who does not feel accepted by a teacher will not learn. People who do not feel accepted may assert themselves inappropriately to gain approval. They may be easily threatened and gossip, or criticise others. Some try to get whatever they can by taking shortcuts. Some may be rigid because they lack security.

Faith gives perspective to the deepest questions of the human heart. Our relationship with God helps us to live better, to be more human, and to be more integrated. God is the deepest ground of our being.

Sometimes we readily believe in God's love in general but find it difficult to believe in God's love for us personally. It is one thing to believe God loves me, but such a liberating and healing thing to experience it. It can take some time to appreciate how I am accepted by God as I am.

The practice of the Examen helps put our self into this place of acceptance, where we know we are loved, and encourages us to look honestly at our experiences. It allows us to be with God as we would with our most trusted friend and reflect on our hopes and disappointments, sorrows and joys, successes and failures.

There are many curves and imperfect decisions that, in the course of life, have brought me to where I am. God knows me through and through and accepts me as I am — not as I should be.

The Catholic writer Henri Nouwen wrote: Somewhere we know that, without a lonely place, our lives are in danger. Somewhere we know that, without silence, words lose their meaning; that, without listening, speaking no longer heals; that, without distance, closeness cannot cure.

Van Breemen reminds us that we are divided in many ways:

(a) in time — for us, one minute comes after the other and our time is spread out, yet for God, the whole of time is compressed in one moment which lasts forever;

(b) in space — we have limited extensions of place and being, yet God is completely one and everywhere;

(c) in love — we quantify and divide our love, yet God loves fully in perfect unity. God is love. God's love is not an activity; rather it is his very self.

Paul Tillich defines faith as the courage to accept acceptance. It takes courage to believe in God's acceptance no matter what happens to us. When things disappoint us, we complain and doubt the love of God. It is hard to make the leap of faith, to respond to the invitation Jump and I'll catch you.

Such acceptance can never be based on my own qualities, because such a foundation would collapse. It is an act of faith. And when God loves me, I quite naturally accept my true self as well, because grace takes over from will.

Fr Peter Hosking SJ is Rector of St Aloysius' College. This article first appeared in the school's newsletter The Gonzagan