Mary and the church in Latin America are marked by poverty.
Vatican Council II says that Mary stands out
among the poor who await redemption from God.
Mary appears in the Bible
as the expression of poverty, of humility,
of one who needs everything from God.
When she comes to America,
her intimate, motherly converse is with an Indian,
an outcast, a poor man.
Mary’s dialog in America begins with a sign of poverty,
poverty that is hunger for God,
poverty that is joy of independence.
Poverty is freedom.
Poverty is needing others,
needing brothers and sisters,
supporting one another so as to help one another.
This is what Mary means
and what the church means in Latin America.
If at some time the church betrayed its spirit of poverty,
then it was unfaithful to the gospel,
which meant it to be distinct from the powers of the earth,
not depending on the money that makes humans happy,
but depending on the power of Christ,
on God’s power.
That is its greatness.
Source: Found in Give Us This Day (missalette), December, 2018, page 132.
as the expression of poverty, of humility,
of one who needs everything from God.
When she comes to America,
her intimate, motherly converse is with an Indian,
an outcast, a poor man.
Mary’s dialog in America begins with a sign of poverty,
poverty that is hunger for God,
poverty that is joy of independence.
Poverty is freedom.
Poverty is needing others,
needing brothers and sisters,
supporting one another so as to help one another.
This is what Mary means
and what the church means in Latin America.
If at some time the church betrayed its spirit of poverty,
then it was unfaithful to the gospel,
which meant it to be distinct from the powers of the earth,
not depending on the money that makes humans happy,
but depending on the power of Christ,
on God’s power.
That is its greatness.
Source: Found in Give Us This Day (missalette), December, 2018, page 132.
No comments:
Post a Comment