There is an unsettling resemblance between Internet trolls and Christians of active faith, we both think we are THE bearers of truth, and therefore claim the right to be obnoxious when speaking our minds, provoking controversy and division within communities.
It is not wrong to seek truth, but at the same time, it should not be a truth that is closed up in illusions, dreams, and ideologies, frightened of reality and sets us apart from others. Instead, as Jean Vanier goes on to elaborate in his book, Becoming human, we must choose to move toward connectedness, for to be human is to remain connected to our humanness and to reality.
We need to accept history as it really is, our history, who we are, and the histories of others and to work, without fear, towards greater openness, greater understanding, and a greater love of others.
I really like what he also wrote about striving to live in truth even though it may mean loneliness and anguish at certain moments: Perhaps this search for truth is a process of letting ourselves be enfolded in truth rather than possessing truth, as if it were an object that we could possess, that we could use against others.
The truth will set us free only if we let it penetrate our hearts and rend the veil that separates head from heart.
Truth should inspire our lives, attitudes and way of living.
The truth of religion and morality shows itself when they liberate us and give us a deep respect and compassion for others.
This week's Gospel readings from Matthew serve as a reminder that truth can sometimes trap us in a web of self-righteous pride where we become like close-minded and rigid Pharisees, who on the outside appear righteous, but inside are filled with hypocrisy and evil-doing (chapter 23).
As Pope Francis addressed those present in Saint Peter's Square today, the "parish"* sin of disunity, caused by envy, jealousy and antipathy, happens when we seek the first places, when we put ourselves at the center, with our personal ambitions and our ways of seeing things, and we judge others; when we look at the defects of our brothers instead of their gifts, when we give more weight to what divides that to what brings us together.
He went on to say: In a Christian community, division is one of the gravest sins, because it renders it not the work of God but a sign of the devil, who by definition is he who separates, who ruins relations, who insinuates prejudices. Instead, God wants us to grow in the capacity to accept, forgive and love one another, to be ever more like Him who is communion and love. Herein lies the holiness of the Church: in recognizing herself as the image of God, filled with His mercy and His grace.
Pope Francis encourages all of us, especially those in community with this conclusion:
Dear friends, let us have these words of Jesus resound in our heart: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9). Let us ask sincerely for forgiveness for all the times we have been the occasion of division or incomprehension within our communities, knowing well that communion is not attained except through constant conversion. And let us pray that the daily fabric of our relations can become an ever more beautiful and joyful reflection of the relation between Jesus and the Father.
As we enfold ourselves more and more in Christ's liberating truth, let us not forget that we should participate in our communities with love, respect and compassion, and keep our troll-like tendencies under lock and key, together with our hubris.
* Pope Francis points out that each parish should be a place of sharing and communion, having one heart and one soul.
It is not wrong to seek truth, but at the same time, it should not be a truth that is closed up in illusions, dreams, and ideologies, frightened of reality and sets us apart from others. Instead, as Jean Vanier goes on to elaborate in his book, Becoming human, we must choose to move toward connectedness, for to be human is to remain connected to our humanness and to reality.
We need to accept history as it really is, our history, who we are, and the histories of others and to work, without fear, towards greater openness, greater understanding, and a greater love of others.
I really like what he also wrote about striving to live in truth even though it may mean loneliness and anguish at certain moments: Perhaps this search for truth is a process of letting ourselves be enfolded in truth rather than possessing truth, as if it were an object that we could possess, that we could use against others.
The truth will set us free only if we let it penetrate our hearts and rend the veil that separates head from heart.
Truth should inspire our lives, attitudes and way of living.
The truth of religion and morality shows itself when they liberate us and give us a deep respect and compassion for others.
This week's Gospel readings from Matthew serve as a reminder that truth can sometimes trap us in a web of self-righteous pride where we become like close-minded and rigid Pharisees, who on the outside appear righteous, but inside are filled with hypocrisy and evil-doing (chapter 23).
As Pope Francis addressed those present in Saint Peter's Square today, the "parish"* sin of disunity, caused by envy, jealousy and antipathy, happens when we seek the first places, when we put ourselves at the center, with our personal ambitions and our ways of seeing things, and we judge others; when we look at the defects of our brothers instead of their gifts, when we give more weight to what divides that to what brings us together.
He went on to say: In a Christian community, division is one of the gravest sins, because it renders it not the work of God but a sign of the devil, who by definition is he who separates, who ruins relations, who insinuates prejudices. Instead, God wants us to grow in the capacity to accept, forgive and love one another, to be ever more like Him who is communion and love. Herein lies the holiness of the Church: in recognizing herself as the image of God, filled with His mercy and His grace.
Pope Francis encourages all of us, especially those in community with this conclusion:
Dear friends, let us have these words of Jesus resound in our heart: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9). Let us ask sincerely for forgiveness for all the times we have been the occasion of division or incomprehension within our communities, knowing well that communion is not attained except through constant conversion. And let us pray that the daily fabric of our relations can become an ever more beautiful and joyful reflection of the relation between Jesus and the Father.
As we enfold ourselves more and more in Christ's liberating truth, let us not forget that we should participate in our communities with love, respect and compassion, and keep our troll-like tendencies under lock and key, together with our hubris.
* Pope Francis points out that each parish should be a place of sharing and communion, having one heart and one soul.
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