10/28/2023
Worth the read if you are in need of a little inspiration. Looking forward to hearing Joan in person next May in Seattle.
Full text of Sr Joan Chittister's speech at Synod Unbounded in Rome
DISCIPLESHIP FOR A PRIESTLY PEOPLE
IN A SYNODAL CHURCH TODAY
Joan Chittister.
THREE STORIES MAY BEST EXPLAIN THIS REFLECTION:
FIRST,
THERE'S A STORY GOING AROUND THAT'S GOT ME A BIT WORRIED. They say that
GOD THE FATHER IS PLANNING AN IMPORTANT
MEETING AND WANTS TO HAVE IT IN AN IMPORTANT PLACE...SO HE CALLS JESUS AND HOLY SPIRIT TOGETHER AND SAYS "I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT GOING TO JERUSALEM FOR THE SYNOD:
YOU KNOW. THEY'RE THE ORIGINS OF EVERYTHING;
THE VERY HISTORY ITSELF.
THAT WOULD BE A GREAT PLACE DON'T YOU THINK?
JESUS BANGS THE GAVEL: "SURELY YOU'RE NOT SERIOUS,?! THE SON SAYS TO THE FATHER. "YOU CAN GO IF YOU WANT TO. BUT I'M NOT GOING." HE SAYS. "THEY DIDN'T WANT ME THERE THE FIRST TIME!
THEY PAUSED TO THINK A BIT...
FINALLY, GOD THE FATHER SIGHED..... "OH, ALL RIGHT,"
HE SAYS, " I GUESS WE'LL JUST HAVE TO GO TO ROME, AS USUAL..."
"ROME?" THE HOLY SPIRIT SQUEALED," ROME?!"
THAT'S TERRIFIC!" SHE SAYS,
" I'VE BEEN DYING TO GO TO ROME.
I HAVEN'T BEEN THERE FOR YEARS."
*********************
BUT THERE ARE OTHER TWO OTHER STORIES
THAT MAY BETTER EXPLAIN
REFLECTIONS ON DISCIPLESHIP
IN THIS INTERIM AGE:
SO LET'S BEGIN...
THE FIRST INSIGHT IS FROM THE ZEN POET BASHO
WHO WROTE:
"I DO NOT SEEK TO FOLLOW
IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THOSE OF OLD.
I SEEK THE THINGS THEY SOUGHT."
THE SECOND INSIGHT
IS FROM ANCIENT MONASTIC LITERATURE:
ONCE UPON A TIME, THE STORY GOES,
A TEACHER TRAVELED TO A FAR AWAY MONASTERY
WHERE AN OLD MONASTIC
HAD A REPUTATION FOR ASKING
VERY PIERCING SPIRITUAL QUESTIONS.
“HOLY ONE,” THE TEACHER SAID.
”GIVE ME A QUESTION
THAT WILL RENEW MY TIRED SOUL.”
“AH, YES,” THE OLD MONASTIC SAID,
WELL, IN THAT CASE YOUR QUESTION IS
‘WHAT DO THEY NEED?’”
THE TEACHER WENT AWAY AND WRESTLED
WITH THAT QUESTION FOR DAYS
BUT THEN, DEPRESSED, AND DISAPPOINTED
HE WENT BACK TO THE OLD MONASTIC IN DISGUST.
“HOLY ONE,” THE TEACHER SAID,
“I CAME HERE BECAUSE I’M TIRED
AND DEPRESSED AND DRY INSIDE.
I DIDN’T COME HERE
TO TALK ABOUT MY MINISTRY.
I CAME HERE TO TALK ABOUT
MY SPIRITUAL LIFE.
PLEASE GIVE ME ANOTHER QUESTION:
“AH, WELL, THE OLD MONASTIC SAID,
“IN THAT CASE, THE RIGHT QUESTION
FOR YOU IS NOT ‘WHAT DO THEY NEED?”
THE RIGHT QUESTION FOR YOU IS
‘WHAT DO THEY REALLY NEED?”
THAT QUESTION HAUNTS ME:
WHAT DO THE PEOPLE REALLY NEED
IN A PERIOD
WHEN THE SACRAMENTS ARE BEING LOST
IN A SACRAMENTAL CHURCH
BUT ALL APPROACHES TO THE QUESTION--
EVEN THE ADMISSION THAT THERE IS
AN ADMISSIBLE QUESTION
ABOUT THE NATURE AND MEANING
OF DISCIPLESHIP ARE BEING, SUPPRESSED--
AND BY SOME --EVEN DENIED!.
“WHAT DO THEY REALLY NEED?
HAS BECOME A HAUNTING REFRAIN IN ME
FOR MORE REASONS THAN THE PHILOSOPHICAL.
UP AT THE TOP OF A MEXICAN MOUNTAIN,
UP BEYOND MILES OF RUTTED ROAD
AND WET, FLOWING CLAY,
I VISITED AN INDIGENOUS VILLAGE
THAT WAS VISITED BY A PRIEST
ONLY ONCE EVERY YEAR......
BUT THAT WAS YEARS AGO.
NOW THE MOUNTAIN IS STILL JUST AS HIGH
BUT THE PRIEST
IS at least thirty YEARS OLDER.
THEN TEN YEARS AGO
I SPOKE IN AN AMERICAN PARISH
OF 6000 FAMILIES--
THAT WAS BEING SERVED BY THREE PRIESTS.
BUT, THE PRIESTS TOLD ME,
THEY HAD NO PRIEST SHORTAGE IN THAT DIOCESE
WHY?!
BECAUSE THEIR BISHOP HAD JUST REDEFINED
THE RATIO OF PRIESTS TO PEOPLE
FROM ONE PRIEST TO EVERY 250 FAMILIES
TO ONE PRIEST TO EVERY 2000 FAMILIES.
IN DIOCESE AFTER DIOCESE LIKE THAT,
PARISHES ARE BEING MERGED,
CLOSED, AND TURNED INTO
SACRAMENTAL WAY STATIONS
SERVED BY RETIRED PRIESTS
OR MARRIED MALE DEACONS, --
BOTH OF WHICH ARE DESIGNED
SIMPLY TO KEEP THE CHURCH MALE,
WHETHER IT IS MINISTERING OR NOT.
THE NUMBER OF PRIESTS IS DECLINING.
THE NUMBER OF CATHOLICS IS INCREASING.
WHILE THE NUMBER OF CERTIFIED LAY MINISTERS
IS SHRINKING BECAUSE THEIR SERVICES
ARE BEING REJECTED OR REDUNDANT EVERYWHERE.
AT THE SAME TIME, OVER OUR BRIDGE INTO CANADA,
THERE’S A FIVE YEAR OLD GIRL
WHO, NOTICING THAT ALL THE PRIESTS
IN HER PARISH WERE MEN,
ASKED HER PARENTS ONE SUNDAY MORNING
WHERE THE WOMEN PRIESTS WERE.
THE MOTHER WAS CLEAR:
IN OUR CHURCH, DARLING,”
“WE DON’T HAVE GIRL-PRIESTS
THE LITTLE GIRL FROWNED,
THOUGHT FOR A MINUTE
AND THEN ANSWERED BACK
JUST AS CLEARLY--
“THEN WHY DO WE GO THERE?!”
CLEARLY, THE CHURCH IS CHANGING
FROM THE GROUND UP...
EVEN WHILE IT REASSERTS
ITS CHANGELESSNESS.
IT IS A FAR CRY FROM THE DYNAMISM
OF THE EARLY CHURCH IN WHICH
PRISCA, AND LYDIA, THECLA, AND PHOEBE--
BECAME DISCIPLES OF PAUL AND
THE SCRIPTURE SAYS, “CONSTRAINED HIM!” TO STAY THERE AND OPEN MORE NEW HOUSE CHURCHES
WITH NO APOLOGY, NO ARGUMENT,
NO TRICKY THEOLOGICAL SHELL GAMES
ABOUT WHETHER THEY WERE
MINISTERING‘ IN PERSONA CHRISTI’
OR ‘IN NOMINE CHRISTI.’
WHAT DO THEY REALLY NEED?
THE QUESTION AND THE ANSWER ARE CLEAR:
THEY NEED WHAT THEY NEEDED
WHEN THE TEMPLE BECAME LESS IMPORTANT
THAN THE TORAH.
THEY NEED WHAT THEY NEEDED
WHEN THE FAITH WAS MORE A HEART-BEAT
THAN AN INSTITUTION.
THEY NEED WHAT THEY HAVE ALWAYS NEEDED:
THEY--NEED-- COMMUNITY,
NOT PATRIARCHAL CLERICALISM.
THEY NEED DISCIPLESHIP,
SO WHAT IS TO BE DONE
AT A TIME LIKE THIS
WHEN WHAT IS BEING SOUGHT,
BUT WHAT IS CLEARLY POSSIBLE
ARE BEING MADE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS?
THE QUESTIONS MAY SOUND NEW
BUT THE ANSWER IS AN OLD ONE.
AN ANCIENT ONE.
A TRUE ONE.
THE ANSWER IS DISCIPLESHIP.
BUT IF WE SEEK THE ORDINATION
THAT JESUS IS SEEKING TO GIVE US--
TO MARY MAGDALENE TO PREACH,
TO THE SAMARITAN WOMAN TO TEACH,
TO COUPLES SENT ON THE ROAD TO EMMAUS
WE, TOO, MUST PURSUE THREE THINGS:
FIRST, WE MUST UNDERSTAND
THE NATURE OF DISCIPLESHIP,
SECOND, WE MUST RECOGNIZE
THE SIGNS OF TRUE DISCIPLESHIP,
AND THIRD WE MUST BE WILLING
TO GIVE OURSELVES OVER
TO WHAT DISCIPLESHIP DEMANDS NOW.
*********
CHRISTIAN DISCIPLESHIP IS--BY NATURE-
A VERY DANGEROUS THING.
IT HAS PUT EVERY PERSON
WHO EVER ACCEPTED IT
AT RISK.
IT MADE EVERY FOLLOWER
WHO EVER TOOK IT SERIOUSLY
ON ALERT FOR REJECTION--,
WHY?
BECAUSE DISCIPLESHIP CASTS
EVERY FRAGILE NEW CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY
IN TENSION WITH THE TIMES
IN WHICH IT GROWS.
IN THE EARLY CHURCH
TO BE A CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY
MEANT TO DEFY ROMAN IMPERIALISM,
TO STRETCH JUDAISM,
TO COUNTER PAGAN VALUES
WITH CHRISTIAN ONES.
IT DEMANDED VERY CONCRETE PRESENCE;
IT TOOK GREAT COURAGE,
UNENDING FORTITUDE
AND VERY CLEAR PUBLIC POSTURE.
REAL DISCIPLESHIP MEANT
THE REJECTION OF REAL THINGS
AWA THE RISK OF THE NEW:
IT MEANT THE REJECTION
OF EMPEROR WORSHIP,
THE FORESWEARING
OF ANIMAL SACRIFICE,
THE INCLUSION OF GENTILES,
THE ELIMINATION OF DIETARY LAWS,
THE DISAVOWAL OF CIRCUMCISION,--
THE ACCEPTANCE OF WOMEN!
AND THE SUPPLANTING OF LAW
WITH LOVE,
OF NATIONALISM WITH UNIVERSALISM--
OF A CHOSEN PEOPLE
WITH A GLOBAL PEOPLE.
THE FOLLOWING OF CHRIST
WAS NOT, IOW, AN EXCURSION
INTO PHILOSOPHICAL ARGUMENT.
IT WAS REAL AND IMMEDIATE AND EFFECTIVE.
IT WAS, IN OTHER WORDS, NOT EASY THEN
AND IT WILL NOT BE EASY NOW.
TO FOLLOW JESUS, HERE, NOW, AND EVERYWHERE,
IS TO FOLLOW THE ONE
WHO TURNS THE WORLD
UPSIDE DOWN--,
EVEN THE RELIGIOUS WORLD.
REAL DISCIPLESHIP IS A CALL TO RESPOND,
TO DO SOMETHING TO MAKE THE COMMUNITY,
A REAL COMMUNITY....
PEOPLE WITH HIGH NEED
FOR APPROVAL, FOR SOCIAL STATUS,
AND PUBLIC RESPECTABILITY
NEED/ NOT/ APPLY.
"FOLLOWING JESUS" LEADS ALWAYS --
TO PLACES WHERE ‘NICE’ PEOPLE
DO NOT GO,
CHRISTIAN DISCIPLESHIP
IS THE COMMITMENT TO LIVE A GOSPEL LIFE,
A MARGINAL LIFE.
IN THIS PLACE, AT THIS TIME--
WHATEVER THE COST.
TO FOLLOW CHRIST
IS TO SET ABOUT FASHIONING A WORLD
WHERE THE STANDARDS
INTO WHICH WE HAVE BEEN FORMED
BECOME, TOO OFTEN, THE VERY STANDARDS,
WE MUST ULTIMATELY FORESWEAR
FLAG AND FATHERLAND, FOR INSTANCE,
PROFIT AND POWER,
CHAUVINISM AND SEXISM
CLERICALISM AND AUTHORITARIANISM
justified IN THE NAME OF CHRIST
ARE NOT CHRISTIAN VIRTUES
WHATEVER THE SYSTEM --CHURCH OR STATE--
THAT LOOKS TO THEM FOR LEGITIMACY.
CHRISTIAN DISCIPLESHIP IS ABOUT
LIVING IN THIS WORLD
THE WAY THAT CHRIST LIVED IN HIS--
TOUCHING LEPERS,
RAISING DONKEYS FROM DITCHES
ON SABBATH DAYS,
QUESTIONING THE UNQUESTIONABLE!
DISCIPLESHIP IMPLIES A COMMITMENT
TO LEAVE NETS AND HOMES HERE,
STATUS AND SECURITIES HERE,
TO BE NOW-- IN OUR OWN WORLD--
WHAT CHRIST WAS FOR HIS:
LIKE JESUS, THE TRUE DISCIPLE HEARS THE POOR,
AND MINISTERS TO ANYONE,--
TO EVERYONE--
UNHEARD AND ABANDONED,
LEFT TO MAKE THEIR WAY ALONE
UNNOTICED AND UNWANTED
BY A MAJORITY WHITE PATRIARCHAL WORLD
THAT ABUSES POWER TO GARNER PROFITS--
BOTH IMMORAL AND UNCONSCIONABLE.
WHATEVER THE BURDEN FOR EVERYONE ELSE.
THE PRICE IS A HIGH ONE.
DISCIPLESHIP COST MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
HIS LIFE FOR FREEING OTHERS,
COST BP. ROMERO HIS LIFE
FOR PROTECTING THE POOR,
AND COST THE MONKS OF TIBHIRINE THEIR LIVES
FOR REFUSING TO MAKE ENEMIES
THEIR ENEMIES...
INDEED, THE NATURE OF DISCIPLESHIP
IS PASSION AND RISK.
BUT TO UNDERSTAND THE NATURE
OF DISCIPLESHIP IS NOT ENOUGH.
WE MUST BE MARKED BY ITS MARK.
TO THE TRUE DISCIPLE
THE PROBLEM IS CLEAR:
THE CHURCH MUST NOT ONLY
PREACH THE GOSPEL,
IT MUST NOT OBSTRUCT IT.
IT MUST BE WHAT IT SAYS.
IT MUST DEMONSTRATE WHAT IT TEACHES.
IT MUST, THEN, BE JUDGED BY ITS OWN STANDARDS.
THE CHURCH THAT SILENTLY COLLUDES
WITH THE LOWER WAGES OF WOMEN WORKERS,
AND THE HOMELESSNESS OF THE ABANDONED ,
OR THE ECONOMIC ENSLAVEMENT OF IMMIGRANTS
IN ORDER TO GARNER SPECIAL FAVOR WITH THE STATE
BECOMES JUST ONE MORE INSTRUMENT OF THE STATE.
THE CHURCH THAT BLESSES OPPRESSIVE GOVERNMENTS, BUT FAILS TO SPEAK OUT
FOR THOSE WHO LIVE IN LEAN-TO BARRIOS
IN ORDER TO GAIN PRIVILEGES FOR THE CHURCH
MAKES ITSELF AN OPPRESSOR AS WELL.
IN THE SAME VEIN,
RELIGION THAT PREACHES THE EQUALITY OF WOMEN
BUT DOES NOTHING TO DEMONSTRATE IT
WITHIN ITS OWN STRUCTURES,
PROCLAIMS A THEOLOGY OF EQUALITY
THAT IS BIBLICAL BUT CONSTRUCTS FOR THE CHURCH
AN ECCLESIOLOGY OF SUPERIORITY
THAT IS OUT OF SYNC WITH ITS BEST SELF
AND SO ITSELF KEEPS DISCIPLESHIP IN BO***GE.
AROUND THE GLOBE.
REPEATING THE THEOLOGICAL ERRORS
THAT UNDERLAY CENTURIES
OF CHURCH-SANCTIONED INVISIBILITY
OF WOMEN EVERYWHERE
AND THE PAUPERIZATION OF WOMEN IN THE NAME OF
KEEPING MOTHERHOOD IN THRALL
AROUND THE WORLD YET
TO MALE OWNERSHIP AND INHUMAN CONTROL.
FLIES IN THE FACE OF THE JESUS
WHO OVERTURNED TABLES IN THE TEMPLE,
CONTENDED WITH PILATE IN THE PALACE,
CHASTISED PETER TO PUT AWAY HIS SWORD
AND, DESPITE THE TEACHING OF THE DAY,
CURED THE WOMAN WITH THE ISSUE OF BLOOD,
AND REFUSED TO ALLOW HIS OWN APOSTLES
TO SILENCE THE SAMARITAN WOMAN
ON WHOSE ACCOUNT, SCRIPTURE TELLS US,
“THOUSANDS BELIEVED THAT DAY.”.
INDEED, THE LIFE OF JESUS SHOWS US,
THAT THE INVISIBILITY OF WOMEN IN THE CHURCH
THREATENS THE VERY NATURE
OF THE CHURCH.
REAL DISCIPLESHIP REFUSES TO LEGITIMATE
THE SIN OF SEXISM.
IT MUST NOT BE BASED ON CULTURAL NORMS
THAT MAKE MALENESS SUPREME;
AND IT IS CERTAINLY MUST NOT BE BASED
ON THE LIFE OF JESUS!
ON THE CONTRARY.
EQUALITY PITS THE HEART OF CHRIST
AGAINST THE HEARTLESSNESS
OF AN EMINENTLY MALE ORIENTED,
MALE DEFINED,
MALE CONTROLLED, WORLD.
WHERE WOMEN FOLLOWED JESUS
IN EVERY CROWD.
INEQUALITY IS SIMPLY NOT THE MODEL
SCRIPTURE GIVES US OF TRUE DISCIPLESHIP:
THE TRUE DISCIPLE INSISTS--
AS THE FEARLESS BIBLICAL CHAMPIONS
JUDITH AND THE LIBERATOR ESTHER
DID WHAT HERETOFORE
HAD BEEN ACCEPTABLE ONLY FOR MEN--
WHY?! BECAUSE MEN SAID ONLY MEN COULD DO IT--
AND SO THEMSELVES BECAME
HOLY WOMEN WARRIORS
WHO ANNOUNCED THE EQUALITY OF GOD.
ESTHER AND JUDITH--
THE SAVIORS OF THEIR PEOPLE
AS SURE AS MOSES WAS OF HIS,
GAVE THE PEOPLE WHAT
THE MEN WOULD NOT GIVE--
FREEDOM AND POWER
AND THE FULLNESS OF HUMANITY TO ALL.
BUT THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH SAID
NOTHING ABOUT THAT KIND OF DISCIPLESHIP
IN WOMEN
FOR ALMOST 2000 YEARS....
YOU SEE?
JESUS' "COME,FOLLOW ME"
BECOMES ANTHEM
OF PUBLIC EQUALITY
FROM WHICH NO ONE--NO ONE--
IS EXCLUDED
AND FOR WHICH NO RISK IS TOO GREAT.
DISCIPLESHIP IS NOT
AN INTELLECTUAL EXERCISE OF ASSENT
TO A BODY OF DOCTRINE.
DISCIPLESHIP IS AN ATTITUDE OF MIND,
IT IS A QUALITY OF SOUL, -- MALE AND FEMALE...
WHICH CHANGES A CHURCH INTO THE CHURCH
THAT IS MORE COMMUNAL, MORE GLOBAL, MORE EQUAL
THAN IT IS ECCLESIASTICAL, CLERICAL, OR MALE.
DISCIPLESHIP CHANGES THINGS.
IT DOES NOT IGNORE THINGS AS THEY ARE--
SOME OF US FULLY HUMAN; SOME OF US NOT.
IT REFUSES ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING
THAT DEFIES THE WILL OF GOD FOR HUMANITY...
NO MATTER HOW COMMON,
NO MATTER HOW HISTORICALLY PATRIARCHAL,
NO MATTER HOW OFTEN IT HAS BEEN CALLED
“THE WILL OF GOD” BY THOSE
WHO PURPORT TO DETERMINE WHAT THAT IS
OR, MORE LIKELY, INTEND TO IMPOSE
WHAT THEY SAY IT IS.
THE DISCIPLE TAKES AIM AT INSTITUTIONS
THAT CALL THEMSELVES “FREEING”
BUT WHICH KEEP HALF THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD --
WOMEN--
IN SPIRITUAL BO***GE,
TRUE DISCIPLESHIP TAKES THE SIDE
ALWAYS,-- ALWAYS--
OF THE POOR, THE MINORITY, THE OUTCAST,
THE OTHER,
NOT BECAUSE THE POOR AND POWERLESS
ARE MORE VIRTUOUS
THAN THE RICH AND POWERFUL
BUT BECAUSE THE GOD OF LOVE
WILLS FOR THE NEEDY
WHAT THE UNCARING, IGNORES FOR THEM.
DISCIPLESHIP CUTS A RECKLESS PATH
THROUGH CORPORATION TYPES LIKE HEROD,
THROUGH INSTITUTION TYPES LIKE THE PHARISEES,
THROUGH SYSTEM TYPES
LIKE THE MONEY-CHANGERS
AND THROUGH CHAUVINIST TYPES
WHO SEE THEMSELVES AS APOSTLES
WHO EVEN NOW, EVEN TODAY, EVEN HERE!
IN THIS PLACE, AT THIS TIME
WANT TO SEND THE WOMEN AWAY.
DISCIPLESHIP STANDS BARE NAKED
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WORLD'S MARKETPLACE
AND, IN THE NAME OF JESUS,
CRIES ALOUD ALL THE CRIES
OF THE WORLD
UNTIL SOMEONE, SOMEWHERE
HEARS AND RESPONDS
TO THE POOREST OF THE POOR,
THE LOWEST OF THE LOW,
THE MOST OUTCAST OF THE REJECTED.
ANYTHING ELSE--ALL THE POMP,
ALL THE GOLD LACE AND RED SILK,
ALL THE RITUALS IN THE WORLD,
THE GOSPELS THEMSELVES ATTEST,
IS CERTAINLY MEDIOCRE
AND SURELY BOGUS DISCIPLESHIP.
AND THEREIN LIES THE PROBLEM:
IT IS ONE THING, THEN,
FOR AN INDIVIDUAL
TO SUMMON THE COURAGE IT TAKES
TO STAND ALONE
IN THE EYE OF A STORM CALLED
"THE REAL WORLD."
IT IS ANOTHER THING ENTIRELY
TO SEE THE CHURCH ITSELF BE ANYTHING LESS
THAN THE LIVING CHRIST
THAT HEALED THE SICK AND RAISED THE DEAD,
AND SENT THE DISCIPLES OUT TO PREACH...
WOMEN SPIRITUAL LEADERS,
FOLLOWERS OF JESUS,
AS WELL AS MEN.
WHY? BECAUSE THE CHURCH
OF JESUS CHRIST
IS NOT CALLED TO CLERICALISM--
WITH THE PROPER UNIFORM
ANYBODY CAN DO THAT!
NO, INSTEAD--THE CHURCH OF CHRIST
IS CALLED TO TRUE DISCIPLESHIP.
FOR THE CHURCH--
FOR YOU AND ME, THEN,
AS WELL AS THE INSTITUTION--
NOT TO MEET WHAT DISCIPLESHIP DEMANDS NOW
IS FOR THE CHURCH, FOR YOU AND ME
TO ABANDON THE DISCIPLESHIP
OUR BAPTISM DEMANDS US TO PURSUE.
TO SEE A CHURCH OF CHRIST
IGNORE THE LITTLE ONES
OR REFUSE THE INVISIBLE THEIR DUE,
AND SO INSTITUTE THE VERY SYSTEMS IN ITSELF
THAT IT PURPORTS TO DESPISE IN SOCIETY,
IS TO SEE NO CHURCH AT ALL.
IN THIS KIND OF CHURCH,
THE GOSPEL HAS BEEN
LONG REDUCED TO THE CATECHISM.
IN THIS KIND OF CHURCH,
PROPHECY DIES ,
AND JUSTICE WHIMPERS ,
AND THE TRUTH BECOMES TOO DIM
FOR THE SEARCHING HEART TO SEE.
AS A RESULT,
NEW LIFE QUESTIONS ARE EMERGING
WITH STARTLING IMPACT AND BEING IGNORED:
WILL OUR CHILDREN SURVIVE CLIMATE CHANGE?
WILL OUR GENERATION PROVIDE ENOUGH
FOOD FOR THE WHOLE WORLD?
WILL WE ALLOW IMMIGRANTS PLACE
AND PEOPLE OF COLOR OFFICE
WHERE WE ALL MAY GROW TOGETHER?
WILL WE OURSELVES PUT DOWN
OUR OWN RELIGIOUS SWORDS
AND BECOME "THE CHRISTIAN FAMILY"
RATHER THAN
CHRISTIAN ENEMIES?
AND THE GREATEST QUESTION OF THEM ALL
IS WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE WOMEN?.
TO HALF THE INTELLIGENT, THE VISIONARY, THE WISE,--
TO THE OTHER HALF POPULATION OF THE GLOBE.
RIGHT NOW WOMEN ARE MOST OF THE POOR,
MOST OF THE REFUGEES,
MOST OF THE UNEDUCATED,
MOST OF THE BEATEN AND BLOODIED,
MOST OF THE REJECTED,
MOST OF THE ABSENT DECISION-MAKING VOICES
EVEN IN THE CHURCH
WHERE EDUCATED, DEDICATED, COMMITTED WOMEN
ARE IGNORED YET--EVEN IN THE PRONOUNS
OF THE MASS!
WHERE IS THE PRESENCE OF JESUS
TO THE ABANDONED WOMAN,
TO THE WOMAN ALONE,
TO THE WOMAN WHOSE QUESTIONS, CRIES
AND LIFE EXPERIENCE
ARE NO PLACE TO BE SEEN
IN THE SYSTEMS OF THE WORLD
WHILE THE CHURCH SAYS NOTHING
EXCEPT OF COURSE TO BE DEFINED
AS A SECOND KIND OF HUMAN NATURE,
NOT QUITE AS COMPETENT,
NOT QUITE AS VALUED,
NOT QUITE AS HUMAN,
NOT QUITE AS GRACED BY GOD
AS MEN ARE?
3. WHAT DOES THE THEOLOGY
OF DISCIPLESHIP DEMAND HERE?
WHAT DOES THE THEOLOGY OF
A PRIESTLY PEOPLE
IMPLY HERE?
ARE WOMEN SIMPLY HALF A DISCIPLE OF CHRIST?
TO BE HALF COMMISSIONED,
HALF NOTICED,
HALF VALUED
AND HALF ACCEPTABLE.
IN THE LIGHT OF THESE SITUATIONS, THERE ARE,
CONSEQUENTLY, QUESTIONS
IN THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY TODAY
THAT CANNOT BE MASSAGED UUT OF EXISTENCE
BY FOOTNOTES,
ANY LONGER;
NOR OBSCURED BY JARGON, ANY MORE;
NOR MADE PALATABLE TO THE CONSCIOUS
BY OUR RETREAT TO “FAITH” ANYMORE.
ON THE CONTRARY,
BEFORE THESE ISSUES THE FOOTNOTES FALTER,
FAITH ITSELF DEMANDS THE QUESTION.
THE DISCIPLESHIP OF WOMEN
IS THE QUESTION
THAT IS NOT GOING TO GO AWAY.
INDEED, THE DISCIPLESHIP
OF THE CHURCH IN REGARD TO WOMEN
IS THE QUESTION THAT WILL, IN THE LONG RUN,
PROVE THE CHURCH ITSELF.
IN THE WOMAN'S QUESTION
THE CHURCH IS FACING
ONE OF ITS MOST SERIOUS CHALLENGES
TO DISCIPLESHIP
SINCE THE EMERGENCE OF THE SLAVERY QUESTION
WHEN WE ARGUED THEN, TOO,
THAT SLAVERY
WAS THE WILL OF GOD!
THE MAJOR QUESTION
FACING THE CATHOLIC HIERARCHY TODAY
IS WHAT DOES DISCIPLESHIP REALLY MEANS
IN A CHURCH
THAT WANT SILENT WOMEN IN A WORLD
THAT NEEDS THINKING, COMMITTED, CARING
COURAGEOUS ONES
LIKE MARY OF NAZARETH, MARY MAGDALEN,
AND THE DEACONS
PRISCA, LYDIA, THECLA, PHOEBE
TO GATHER THE CHURCH ANEW.
IF DISCIPLESHIP IS REDUCED TO MALENESS
WHAT DOES THAT DO TO THE REST
OF THE CATHOLIC DISPENSATION?.
IF ONLY MEN CAN REALLY LIVE DISCIPLESHIP
TO THE FULLEST,
WHAT IS THE USE OF A WOMAN
ASPIRING TO THE DISCIPLESHIP
BAPTISM IMPLIES,--
NO! CORRECTION:--DEMANDS,--
BUT DOES NOT DEMONSTRATE IN THE
LIFE OF THE CHURCH AT ALL?
WHAT DOES IT MEAN
FOR THE WOMEN THEMSELVES
WHO ARE FACED WITH REJECTION, DEVALUATION
AND A DEBATABLE THEOLOGY
BASED ON THE REMNANTS
OF A BAD BIOLOGY THEOLOGIZED.
WHAT DO WE DO WHEN A CHURCH
Toys with THE EQUALITY OF WOMEN -
A READING HERE, DISTRIBUTION OF EUCHARIST THERE-
BUT BUILDS ITSELF ON STRUCTURES
THAT ASSURE THEIR INEQUALITY.
WHAT, IN FACT, DOES THE REJECTION OF WOMEN
AT THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF THE CHURCH
MEAN FOR MEN
WHO CLAIM TO BE ENLIGHTENED
BUT CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THE VERY SYSTEM
THAT MOCKS HALF THE HUMAN RACE?
WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR THE CHURCH
THAT CLAIMS TO BE A FOLLOWER OF THE JESUS
WHO HEALED ON THE SABBATH
AND RAISED WOMEN FROM THE DEAD
AND CONTENDED WITH THE TEACHERS OF THE FAITH--
AND FINALLY --
WHAT DOES IT MEAN
FOR A SOCIETY BADLY IN NEED
OF A COSMIC WORLDVIEW
ON THE MORNING OF A GLOBAL AGE?
THE ANSWERS ARE DISCOURAGINGLY CLEAR
ON ALL COUNTS.
CHRISTIAN DISCIPLESHIP
IS NOT SIMPLY IN DANGER
OF BEING STUNTED.
DISCIPLESHIP HAS, IN FACT, BECOME THE BARRIER
TO SOMETHING THE CHURCH ITSELF TEACHES I
IS REQUIRED OF US ALL--
WOMEN ARE BEGINNING TO WONDER
IF DISCIPLESHIP
HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH THEM
AT ALL.
AND THEREIN LIES THE CONTEMPORARY QUESTION
OF DISCIPLESHIP.
SOME CONSIDER FAITHFULNESS
TO THE GOSPEL
TO MEAN DOING WHAT WE HAVE ALWAYS DONE.
OTHERS FIND FAITHFULNESS
ONLY IN BEING WHAT WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN.
THE DISTINCTION IS CRUCIAL
TO OUR UNDERSTANDING OF TRADITION.
THE DISTINCTION IS ALSO ESSENTIAL
TO THE UNDERSTANDING OF DISCIPLESHIP
IN THE MODERN CHURCH.
WHEN "THE TRADITION"
BECOMES SYNONYMOUS WITH "THE SYSTEM"
AND MAINTAINING THE SYSTEM
BECOMES MORE IMPORTANT
THAN MAINTAINING THE SPIRIT OF THE TRADITION,
DISCIPLESHIP SHRIVELS
AND BECOMES AT BEST "FIDELITY"
TO THE PAST
BUT NOT DEEP-DOWN COMMITMENT
TO THE PRESENCE
OF THE LIVING CHRIST HERE AND NOW
CONFRONTING THE LEPROSIES OF THE AGE.
THE WORLD INTO WHICH JESUS WAS BORN
CALLED THE BLIND AND DISEASED SINFUL,
A FEMALE CHILD USELESS,
A MENSTRUATING WOMAN UNCLEAN,
AND SO ALL OF THEM MARGINAL
TO THE SYSTEM;
CONDEMNED TO THE FRINGES OF LIFE,
BARRED FROM THE HEART OF THE TEMPLE.
BUT JESUS TAKES EACH OF THEM
TO HIMSELF,
DESPITE THE LAWS,
REGARDLESS OF THE CULTURE,
NOTWITHSTANDING THE DISAPPROVAL
OF THE SPIRITUAL NOTABLES OF THE AREA
AND FILLS THEM WITH HIMSELF
AND SENDS THEM AS HIMSELF
OUT TO THE HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS
OF THE ENTIRE WORLD..
TO BE DISCIPLES OF JESUS
MEANS THAT WE MUST DO THE SAME.
DISCIPLESHIP INFERS, REQUIRES NO LESS
THAN THE CONFIRMING, ORDAINING, LOVE OF JESUS
FOR EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE.
BUT THEN WHO CAN DARE
TO TAKE UPON THEMSELVES
THE AUDACIOUS RIGHT TO DRAW LIMITS
AROUND THE WILL OF GOD
FOR THOSE WE CALL USELESS,
INCOMPETENT, UNLOVABLE..
DISCIPLESHIP AND THE AUDACITY OF FAITH
ARE OF A PIECE.
TO SAY THAT WE BELIEVE
THAT GOD LOVES THE POOR,
JUDGES IN THEIR BEHALF,
WILLS THEIR DELIVERANCE
BUT DO NOTHING OURSELVES
TO LIFT THE WEIGHT OF REJECTION
FOR THE DIVORCED AND REMARRIED,
THE LGBTQI AND THE WOUNDEDNESS OF THEM.
TO IGNORE THEIR PLEAS,
TO QUESTION THEIR COURAGE,
TO TURN OUR BACKS ON THEIR BEHALF
IS TO PROFER AN EMPTY FAITH INDEED.
TO SAY THAT GOD IS LOVE
AND NOT OURSELVES LOVE
AS GOD LOVES
MAY WELL BE CATHOLICISM
BUT IT IS NOT CHRISTIANITY.
TO PREACH A THEOLOGY OF EQUALITY
TO SAY THAT ALL PERSONS ARE EQUAL IN GOD'S SIGHT
BUT AT THE SAME TIME MAINTAIN
A THEOLOGY OF INEQUALITY,
A SPIRITUALITY OF DOMINATION,
THAT BARS HALF THE HUMAN RACE
ON THE BASIS OF GENDER--
THAT SAYS THAT WOMEN HAVE NO PLACE
IN THE DOMINION OF THE CHURCH
AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF DOCTRINE--
AND ALL OF THIS IN THE NAME OF GOD ....
IS TO LIVE A LIE.
BUT IF DISCIPLESHIP IS THE FOLLOWING OF JESUS,
BEYOND ALL BOUNDARIES, AT ALL COSTS,
FOR THE BRINGING OF THE REIGN OF GOD,
FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT
OF RIGHT RELATIONSHIPS,
THEN TO GROUND A WOMAN'S CALLING
TO FOLLOW CHRIST
ON HER ABILITY TO LOOK LIKE JESUS
OBSTRUCTS THE VERY THING
THE CHURCH IS FOUNDED TO DO.
IT OBSTRUCTS A WOMAN'S ABILITY
TO FOLLOW CHRIST TO THE FULL
TO GIVE HER LIFE FOR THE OTHERS,
TO BLESS AND PREACH AND SACRIFICE
AND BUILD COMMUNITY
“IN HIS NAME”--
AS THE DOCUMENTS ON PRIESTHOOD from VAT II
SAY THAT A PRIESTLY PEOPLE MUST DO.
AND IT DOES IT
IN DEFIANCE OF THE GOSPEL ITSELF.
HOW CAN A CHURCH SUCH AS THIS
CALL CONVINCINGLY TO THE WORLD
IN THE NAME OF JUSTICE
TO PRACTICE A JUSTICE
IT DOES NOT PRACTICE ITSELF.
HOW IS IT THAT THE CHURCH
CAN WITH INTEGRITY CALL OTHER INSTITUTIONS
TO DEAL WITH WOMEN
AS FULL HUMAN BEINGS
MADE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD
WHEN THEIR HUMANITY IS PRECISELY
WHAT THE CHURCH ITSELF HOLDS AGAINST THEM.
IN THE NAME OF GOD.
IT IS A PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTION
OF IMMENSE PROPORTIONS.
IT IS THE QUESTION WHICH,
LIKE THE CREATION OF WOMEN,
BRINGS THE CHURCH TO THE TEST.
FOR THE CHURCH TO BE PRESENT
TO THE WOMAN'S QUESTION,
TO MINISTER TO IT, TO BE DISCIPLE TO IT,
THE CHURCH MUST ITSELF
BECOME CONVERTED TO THE ISSUE,
IN FACT, THE CHURCH MUST BECOME CONVERTED
BY THE ISSUE. 4000*************************************************
MEN WHO DO NOT TAKE
THE WOMAN'S ISSUE SERIOUSLY
MAY BE PRIESTS
BUT THEY CANNOT POSSIBLY BE DISCIPLES.
THEY CANNOT POSSIBLY BE 'OTHER CHRISTS:'
NOT THE CHRIST BORN OF A WOMAN.
NOT THE CHRIST
WHO COMMISSIONED WOMEN TO PREACH HIM.
NOT THE CHRIST WHO TOOK FACULTIES
FROM A WOMAN AT CANA.
NOT THE CHRIST WHO SENT WOMEN
TO PREACH RESURRECTION TO APOSTLES
WHO WOULD NOT BELIEVE IT THEN
AND DO NOT BELIEVE IT NOW.
NOT THE CHRIST WHO SENT THE HOLY SPIRIT
ON MARY THE WOMAN
AS WELL AS ON PETER THE MAN,
NOT THE CHRIST WHO ANNOUNCED HIS MESSIAHSHIP
AS CLEARLY TO THE SAMARITAN WOMAN
AS TO THE ROCK THAT THEN SHATTERED.
IF THIS IS THE JESUS
WHOM WE AS CHRISTIANS, AS CHURCH,
ARE TO FOLLOW,
THEN THE DISCIPLESHIP OF THE CHURCH
IS NOW MIGHTILY IN QUESTION.
INDEED, THE POET BASHO WRITES:
"I DO NOT SEEK
TO FOLLOW IN THE FOOTSTEPS
OF THOSE OF OLD.
I SEEK THE THINGS THEY SOUGHT."
***************************************************
DISCIPLESHIP DEPENDS
ON OUR BRINGING THE WILL OF GOD FOR HUMANKIND
TO THE QUESTIONS OF THIS AGE
AS JESUS DID TO HIS.
AS LONG AS TRADITION IS USED TO MEAN FOLLOWING
IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF OUR PAST
RATHER THAN SEEKING TO MAINTAIN
THE SPIRIT OF THE CHRIST IN THE PRESENT,
THEN IT IS UNLIKELY
THAT WE WILL PRESERVE MORE
THAN THE SHELL OF THE CHURCH.
THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF THE UNIVERSALISM
OF HUMANITY ACROSS DIFFERENCES
HAS BECOME THE THREAD
THAT BINDS THE WORLD TOGETHER
IN A GLOBAL AGE.
WHAT WAS ONCE A HIERARCHY OF HUMANKIND
IS COMING TO BE SEEN FOR WHAT IT IS:
THE OPPRESSION OF HUMANKIND
WHILE ON THE HORIZON OF COSMOS
THE HUMANIZATION
OF THE HUMAN RACE IS UPON US.
THE ONLY QUESTION FOR THE CHURCH NOW
IS WHETHER THE HUMANIZATION
OF THE HUMAN RACE
WILL LEAD AS WELL
TO THE CHRISTIANIZATION
OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
OTHERWISE, DISCIPLESHIP WILL DIE
AND THE INTEGRITY, THE TRUTH,
THE JESUS LIFE OF THE CHURCH WITH IT.
WE MUST TAKE DISCIPLESHIP SERIOUSLY
OR WE SHALL LEAVE THE CHURCH OF THE FUTURE
WITH FUNCTIONARIES --
BUT WITHOUT DISCIPLES.
THE FACT IS THAT CHRISTIANITY
LIVES IN CHRISTIANS, NOT IN CATECHISMS,
NOT IN DOCUMENTS CALLED ‘DEFINITIVE’
TO HIDE THE FACT THAT THEY ARE--
AT BEST--TIME-BOUND.
NOT EMBODIED IN PLATITUDES ABOUT
“SPECIAL VOCATIONS,”
NOT IN OLD ERRORS
DIGNIFIED AS ‘TRADITION.’
THE NEW FACT OF LIFE IS THAT
DISCIPLESHIP TO WOMEN
AND THE DISCIPLESHIP OF WOMEN
IS KEY TO THE DISCIPLESHIP
OF THE REST OF THE CHURCH.
THE QUESTIONS ARE CLEAR.
THE ANSWER IS OBSCURE AND UNCERTAIN
BUT CRUCIAL TO THE FUTURE OF A CHURCH
THAT CLAIMS TO BE THE ETERNAL PRESENCE
OF THE LIVING JESUS.
A GROUP SUCH AS THIS, SUCH AS YOU,
AT A TIME SUCH AS THIS--
A PRIESTLY PEOPLE
IN A GROWINGLY PRIESTLESS PERIOD--
MUST KEEP THE TOTAL VISION
CLEARLY IN MIND.
BUT WE MUST ALSO KEEP THE TASKS
OF THE PRESENT CLEARLY IN HAND:
AND THE TASK OF THE PRESENT
IS NOT PREPARATION
FOR PRIESTLY ORDINATION
BUT FOR THE RIGHT TO DISCUSS
THE FESTERING QUESTION
OF WHETHER OR NOT WOMEN ARE FIT MATTER
TO RECEIVE THE SACRAMENT OF ORDERS.
NO, THE TASK OF A SYNODAL CHURCH
AT A TIME SUCH AS THIS
IS TO GO ON YOURSELVES IN THE CO-CREATION
of A NEW COSMIC THEOLOGY OF THE CHURCH .
WE NEED A GROUP FREE OF CENTURY-OLD MANDATUMS
THAT WILL ORGANIZE SEMINARS,
HOLD PUBLIC DEBATES IN THE STYLE
OF THE GREAT MEDIEVAL DISPUTATIONS
ON THE FULL HUMANITY
OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES....
HOLD TEACH-INS,
SPONSOR PUBLICATIONS,
WRITE BOOKS on the subject,
POST EDUCATIONAL WEB SITES,
GATHER DISCUSSION GROUPS
AROUND THE TOPICS
OF WHETHER OR NOT INFALLIBILITY WAS INFALLIBLE
WHEN THEY SAID IT WAS...
CHRISTIAN SENSITIVITY TO THE SENSUS FIDELIUM,’
AND THE CLEAR EXCLUSION OF WOMEN
FROM THE RESTORATION OF
THE PERMANENT DIACONATE--
AN OFFICIAL MANNER OF DISCIPLESHIP FOR WOMEN
INCIDENTALLY--
IS MORE THAN AWARE OF ITS
HAS ANCIENT THEOLOGY, HISTORY,
RITUAL, LITURGY AND TRADITION
FIRMLY, FULLY AND CLEARLY
ON ITS SIDE
AS IT DID 2000 YEARS AGO!!
CLEARY, IT’S TIME
TO BRING INTO THE LIGHT OF DAY
THE DISCUSSIONS THAT LURK
BEHIND EVERY CHURCH DOOR,
IN EVERY SEEKING HEART.
IF AS VATICAN II SAYS,
PREACHING AND COMMUNITY BUILDING,
ARE THE FOUNDATIONS OF DEVELOPMENT,
THEN PROCLAIMING THE COMING
OF THIS NEW SYNODAL CHURCH,
SACRIFICING OURSELVES TO BRING IT,
AND SHAPING A COMMUNITY
NEW WITH THE NOTION OF A NEW KIND OF PRIEST
AND PERMANENT WOMAN DEACONS
MAY BE THE GREATEST PRIESTLY SERVICE OF THEM ALL
RIGHT NOW.
SO WE MUST KEEP TURNING,
TURNING, AND TURNING
IN THE DIRECTION OF DISCIPLESHIP---
AS WOMEN ALWAYS HAVE...
BUT DIFFERENTLY--AND ALONE.
FOR AS BASHO SAYS,
WE DO NOT, INDEED, SEEK TO FOLLOW
IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THOSE OF OLD.
WE SEEK THE THINGS THEY SOUGHT--
THE FULLNESS OF LIFE
BOTH HUMAN AND SPIRITUAL.
WE DON’T SEEK TO DO
WHAT THEY REALLY NEED.
NO, WE NEED MUCH MORE THAN THAT.
WE NEED NOW TO DO
WHAT THEY REALLY, REALLY NEED.
AND THAT IS A SYNODAL CHURCH--
THAT LISTENS.
GO ALL OF YOU AND DO IT NOW!!!
FOR AS WE GO INTO THIS MOMENT,
REMEMBER ...
THAT IF THE PEOPLE of God WILL LEAD,
EVENTUALLY....
THE LEADERS WILL FOLLOW...
