July 4, 2018
Dear Brigid, Brendan, Ally, Jake and
Mary,
I am thrilled...and I speak also for
our family...that you are going to Guatemala.
“Blessed are the poor, for the
Kingdom of God is theirs” Jesus famously said. Perhaps on your trip
you will encounter the poor and enter into this strange, puzzling
Mystery.
The initial experience of raw poverty,
for us who live in comfort and relative affluence, can be harsh,
disturbing, troubling and even traumatic. I can imagine four possible
reactions:
One would be to despise the suffering
and deprivation; flee desperately from it; and move forward to avoid
poverty at all costs and do all possible to accumulate success,
security and prosperity. This, of course, is a response of anxiety
and fear. It could also be aligned with a sense of superiority and
arrogance: that our society and way of life is far better,
technologically and economically, in that we are able to build such
wealth in comparison with these inferiors who live in poverty due to
ignorance, laziness or primitiveness. That would clearly be an
unhappy outcome and (thank God!) improbable for you.
A second would be only slightly better:
to become sad and discouraged, weakened in faith, to forget or
repress the memory, to avoid thoughts about such suffering and
inequality, and to live a mediocre, ungenerous life with a small and
fearful spirit.
A third would be better morally, but
unfortunate in a subtler, deeper manner. This would be anger and
resentment against the suffering and the offensive inequality that
some live in obnoxious extravagance while others suffer deprivation.
This is, to an extent, a just and truthful reaction. It can take the
form of an indignant, political judgment against capitalism,
structures of inequality and discrimination. Again, in right
proportion this is a holy response: Jesus said “Blessed are those
who hunger and thirst for justice.” It can lead to a simplistic
approach to economics and politics that fails to grapple with the
complexity of things. Worse, the resentment can simmer and produce a
shrill, indignant, judgmental self-righteousness; a disguised
arrogance and superiority; and underneath, perhaps, an anger at God
who allows this. Such agitation and resentment is not good for the
poor or the heart and soul.
Finally, a response rooted in our faith
in Christ and His Church will be deep, joyful, nuanced, hopeful and
complex:
- You will recognize in the poor, underneath the physical deprivation, marvelous resources of resilience, joy, courage, generosity, gratitude and strength. You will come to love, not poverty as deprivation, but the poor themselves as fascinating, charming, delightful, and inspiring. You will see that they have much to teach you! You will be jealous of their faith, hope and love.
- Enriched by this new friendship, you will be moved to live your life liberated from excessive consumption, competitiveness, and covetousness in simplicity, gratitude and magnanimity. You will, in the words of St. Mother Theresa, “live simply, that others may simply live.”
- You will think patiently, deeply, inquisitively about the roots and resolution of poverty. You will ponder the workings of global capitalism as it results in an odious degree of inequality as it pulls millions out of poverty; it enhances freedom of enterprise as it tends to erode bonds of family, faith and community; it is extraordinarily productive materially and technologically as it can impoverish interiority and relationality. You will consider the proper role of government on behalf of the common good and the underpriviledged, avoiding extremes of an oppressive, overly-controlling state as well as a libertarian individualism that advantages those already wealthy and powerful.
- Most importantly, you will recognize, in this encounter with the poor, your own inner poverty and need for God's help. Your poverty may be feelings of anxiety, depression, confusion, inadequacy, weakness, ugliness, and inferiority. Adolescence is, for almost everyone, a time of ferocious, miserable insecurity. On Facebook, the athletic field, or in a bathing suit on the beach: almost everyone seems so much more attractive, popular, muscular, and confident. It is a time of self-doubt, jealousy and overall psychic misery (not all the time Thank God!). I invite you to bring your own hidden poverty into intimacy with Jesus: “Lord, I am a poor one, in need of your mercy and your love." this is hard. And so, on this beautiful pilgrimage to Guatemala, may you:...... Find comfort in your own inner poverty in prayer intimacy with God; in good friends and cousins; and in love of family. ....... Find strength and energy in Christ's presence in the Eucharist: so small, quiet, humble, poor, generous and powerful........ Emulate the poor in faith, gratitude, joy, patience and fortitude. ....... Rejoice in the Holy Spirit in all your blessings and gifts as well as your struggles and suffering. ....... Be exhilarated to find yourself blessed by these marvelous people you will encounter and find that you are yourself, for them also, a blessing...not by any altruism, effort or achievement on your part, but simply by your attention, presence, humility and grateful receptivity.
Our prayer, hopes and love go with you.
Love,
Paca-Matt
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