awake & linking: Pope Benedict XVIHaving removed his shoes, the Pope paused for a full two minutes, eyes closed in prayer, standing side-by-side with the Mufti of Istanbul and the Imam of the Blue Mosque.Full story here
I can't help but think to myself... my reaction to this 3 years ago, and my reaction today are quite disparate. The "orthodoxy" is a bit more "generous" and "wide," you might say. I don't know. It's tough to describe, but it seems sorta like prescription lenses - seeing new, different, and probably better now.
6 comments:
I'm curious, how is your reaction differernt? If I may ask :-)
Like I said, "I don't know. It's tough to describe..."
And, the "3 years" is somewhat hypothetical. I just know that there was a time at which I would have immediately responded - "well, there you go. the liberal catholics are at it again, praying with everyone and holding hands" - that type of thing said in disdain.
Really, I'm ashamed to admit that.
Now, I say something like - "wow. Wow. interesting. the Pope praying in a mosque. good."
and I don't even know what it means.
Shaun,
It seems that whatever change in posture and attitude you have experienced is something you and I have gone through together. When I saw this story on the news the other night I had two thoughts. First (and unfortunately the negative) I thought that the Roman Father was there solely for the purpose of patching up things with the Muslims whom he offended recently. Though that must have been part of his motivation, my second thought was more like yours Shaun. I thought about all the beautiful muslims all around me at school. I thought about how I would like to go to a mosque with my 10th grade buddy and pray with him-maybe even learn a muslim prayer. Just today I found him in the library and asked him how to pronounce "Inshallah," a commonly used muslim phrase for, "God willing."
Maybe this new view we are taking is no longer about correctness or 2+2=4. Instead I am looking for what is good, what is not fearful, what is slow to judge and quick to love. Maybe we are no longer moderns, Inshallah.
HEY RICHARD…what's up man? Hope things are going well in the great country…uh…I…mean…uh…state…of TEXAS :-)!
I don’t want to make any false assumptions, but it seems that there is an implication in your last paragraph that correctness is (or at least can be) at odds with what is “good, not fearful, nonjudgmental, and loving”? Am I correct (pardon the pun)? Can you expound on that a little.
Ted, that is an excellent question. Upon looking back at my comment and specifically the word, "correct" I thought I probably should have explained myself a little better.
To be honest, I do think that goodness and correctness can be at odds. But let me explain what I mean by correctness. I was thinking of a specific time in my life and a specific attitude toward people who think or believe differently. It is an attitude that cares almost exclusively with what is right. It is about proving what is right without regard or respect, not for a different opinion, but a different point of view-a different way of life. Sometimes I want to love, to understand, to see in a way that I have never seen before. This does not mean that I do not think or care about what is true. The love and the understanding just holds a higher place on the list.
Having said all this, I want to share an email I received from a friend. After thinking about our discussion here, I asked a catholic who has lots of good ideas and thoughts about life and faith, what she thought about the Pope's visit with Islam. I think her answer is great even though it is focused slightly differently than our previous comments. Here it is.
"I think one of the most difficult parts about having a "friendship" with
another religion is that immediately people view the relationship as
utilitarian or political. Not that it couldn't be, but one must be slow to
judge. (as you mentioned in your comments.) More importantly, one must
understand where the Pope is coming from; see it through his point of view. Many people today believe that we should all just get along
with eachother, neglect our beliefs and simply be good. Not that there's
anything wrong with some of that but Truth is crucial to our well-being. We
can not last without it. The only way to come to Truth is through respect,
humility, faith and love. The Pope is an embodiment of all of these virtues
since here on earth he is Christ's vicar. We, as Catholics, strive to share
our faith since we believe it to be a fullness of Truth. However, Catholics
should not impose their beliefs, just as God does not impose upon us, but
gave us free will instead to choose Him. Communication and interest in Truth
can only begin with respect. Pope Benedict XVI, the head of the Church, is an example of our respect for other beliefs in that we understand that man is searching for Truth (and should). Just as Jesus desired to be in the presence of sinners to show His compassion and mercy towards them in hopes of leading them to His Divine Love, so the Pope enters a Mosque to bring the Light of Christ to a place of darkness (Don't get me wrong - the Pope is also a sinner.)not with intentions of being wishy-washy or in a mockery of the Muslim community, but in a way of opening a relationship with another faith - that we may all begin to find the Truth that will "set us free". Violence and hatred and abuse are not the path to Christ and as Catholic Christians we stand firm on believing only through love and humililty can we receive and accept the grace to know God and sacrifice ourselves to Him. We shall never know what the Pope silently prayed in that holy temple, but I'm sure it was a prayer that all would come to Christ and find fulfillment within Him."
"Sometimes I want to love, to understand, to see in a way that I have never seen before. This does not mean that I do not think or care about what is true. The love and the understanding just holds a higher place on the list."
Amen. I find myself becoming less and less concerned with what I (and my neighbors) believe, and more and more concerned with how I (and they) believe in it.
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