SPRINGTIME IN THE CHURCH

March 30,2013 Saturday

This is the season of springtime, when the trees show forth leaves and flowers of all
hues burst into full bloom. The earth becomes radiant with the symphony of colors;
the cold and gloom of winter is replaced by verdant evidence of life that spring
brings.Temperate countries that have four seasons celebrate spring as a signal to
new life and new growth. The tropical climate of our country limits the experience of
seasonal change to summer and rainy season, with not so gentle variations in
between. And yet , the notion of springtime is known and has found common usage
in reference to a fresh beginning,preferably of something wonderful and beautiful.
However and wherever Springtime is enjoyed, it is always a welcome event. The
Philippines has no Spring to speak of but many Filipinos working or living in
temperate climates exhilirate in the season and have therefore much familiarity
with it.
One of the most popular and well known celebration of Spring happens in Japan and
even casual mention of haru ( spring season) leads a listener to images of
flowering Sakura (cherry blossoms) and cool refreshing weather. Anticipation and
enjoyment of the sight of the Sakura blossoms is not only traditional heritage and
national pasttime but is ingrained in the life and culture of the people. They have
Hanami, the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the beauty of the flowers,
especially Sakura. The observance of Hanami is more than a thousand years old,
and remains very popular even today. Even as the blossoms last only for a week or
two, usually from March to April, still the excitement and anticipation of what has
become part of the peoples' lives are sufficient for them to celebrate and continue
to hope and look forward to such occurrence,year after year.
Another way of appreciating spring is to remember the religious festivals that
happen during the season.Spring is the time for the observance of the Passover
even by modern day Jews around the world but especially in Israel.For the whole
Christendom and particularly in Rome, the seat of Catholicism, there is the
traditional Holy Week observance and ceremonies. Spring time this year is extra
special because the unexected resignation of Pope Benedict XVI led to the election
of Pope Francis to the seat of St. Peter in March. Unprecented is the presence two
living popes- Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and Pope Francis I; this newness presents
unique realities that the church must cope up with while attending to the needs of
the Catholic faithful. The Church is expected to face the pernicious problems that
have buffeted it for several decades if not centuries, foremost of these are the
scandals brought about by the failings of the priest pedophiles, the alleged disunity
in the Curia and others. Meanwhile, the Catholic Church led by Pope Francis must
galvanize and inspire the faithful to muster the energy and focus for the big task
required of the New Evangelization. The fresh approach and the amiable
personality of the new pope comes as a new spingtime to the Vatican and to the
rest of the Catholic faithfuls around the world.
The election of Pope Francis I as the new Shepherd of the Catholic Church is very
much an existential Springtime. In many ways,the Church is experiencing a fresh
beginning, a new pope during the spring season of the year !The new Pope is an

unexpected break in the usual mold as he is from the New World ( the Americas,
specifically Argentina), is non - European even as he has Italian blood in his veins ,
very much uncomfortable with the traditional trappings of the Papacy and prefers
the touch of ordinary life. Pope Francis continues the governance and spiritual
leadership of 1.2 billion Catholics around the globe even as then Cardinal Jorge
Mario Bergoglio was not even in the list of the most possible papabiles prior to the
Conclave. He takes over the awesome responsibility from the much beloved Pope
Benedict XVI. The Catholic Church bequeathed by his predecessor to Pope Francis is
in the midst of changes needed to meet the call for the New Evangelization while
addressing much awaited reforms.True , there are problems that the contemporary
Catholic church must contend with such as,the troubled Vatican finances and
allegations of disunity in the Curia. On top of it is the continuing loss of Catholics to
other denominations, as well as the tension of the liberal drift of the West against
the traditional Catholic stand of those coming from Asia ; yet optimism abounds
that the new pontiff will lead the faithful out of the metaphorical woods. Despite the
difficulties,the Catholic faithful draw strength from the promise of Jesus Christ that
the ' gates of hell will not prevail against it'.
Hours before the Conclave that elected the new pope, then Cardinal Jorge Mario
Bergoglio stated that he would want to see the Church ' not to be eschewed with
self-absorption' and focus its energies outwards.The future pope also warned
against the dangers of stagnation- " when the Church does not emerge from itself to
evangelize, it becomes self-referential and therefore becomes sick...the evils that
over time, occur in ecclesiastical institutions have their roots in self- referentiality, a
kind of theological narcissism." Pope Francis, not knowing that he would be elected,
said he expected the top pastor of the Church of Rome to be a man who, from the
contemplation of Jesus Christ helps the Church to emerge from itself to arrive at
the existential limits " ( from Catholic Conclave blog, based on document given to
Cardinal Jaime Ortega of Havana by then Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio).
The full text of that document allows us to take a look into the heart and mind of
Pope Francis I:
"Reference was made to the evangelization. It is the reason for the Church.
- The sweet and comforting joy of evangelizing (Paul VI). It is the same Jesus
Christ who, from within, drives us.
1. Evangelizing supposes apostolic zeal. Evangelize implies that the Church should
speak candidly, coming out of herself. The Church is called to come out of herself
and to go to the peripheries, not only in the geographical sense but also to go to the
existential peripheries: those of the mysteries of sin, of pain, of injustice, of
ignorance and of religious indifference, of thought, of all misery.
2. When the Church does not come out of itself to evangelize, it becomes selfreferential and then gets sick (cf. the woman hunched over the Gospel). The evils
that, over time, occur in ecclesiastical institutions have roots in referentiality, a sort
of theological narcissism. In Revelation Jesus says he is at the door and knocks.
Obviously the text refers to hitting from outside the door to enter But think of the

times when Jesus knocks from within to let himself out. The self-referential Church
seeks Jesus Christ within and does not let him out.
3. When the Church is self-referential, unwittingly believed to have its own light, it
is no longer the mysterium lunae and leads to the evil that is so serious: spiritual
worldliness (According to de Lubac, the worst evil that can befall the Church). That
lives to give glory to one another rather than God. The Church, when it is selfreferential, without realizing it, believes it has a light of its own; it ceases to be the
mysterium lunae (for an explanation of this phrase) and gives rise to this evil that is
so serious that of spiritual wordliness (according to De Lubac, the worst evil that can
occur to the Church). It lives for the glory to be given to each other Put simply, there
are two images of Church: the evangelizing Church taking leave of itself which
religiuously hears the Word of God and faithfully proclaims it (Dei Verbum religiose
audiens et fidenter proclamans)or the worldly Church living in itself, of itself, for
itself. This should shed light on the possible changes and reforms that must be done
for the salvation of souls.
4. Thinking about the next pope: a man who, from the contemplation of Jesus
Christ and from worshiping Jesus Christ helps the Church out of itself to the outskirts
of the existential, that helps Her to be a fruitful Mother, living the delightful and
comforting joy of evangelizing.
Pope Francis introduced new and personal ways of performing the responsibilities of
the papacy, such as asking the faithful whom he faced from the Vatican balcony for
the first time to pray for him instead of simply praying for them.That observation
was not lost on the faithful who saw and heard him that first day The new pope
brings so much refreshing simplicity and humility into the seat of Peter.It is
exhilirating as the cool fresh wind of Springtime to read about the simple lifestyle of
Pope Francis ,prefering to live in austere community conditions with his fellow
cardinals in the Vatican Residence. He insisted on riding with them in the cardinals'
bus after the conclave that elected him pope, seeking out and mingling with the
faithful after his first papal mass and even dressing up with his brother- cardinals in
the same dressing room as the others. There is a picture of the well-worn black
shoes the new Pontiff wore during his first audiences rather than the customized red
shoes of his predecessors. These are simple yet evocative images and impressions
of the pope who found his commitment for the poor at the heart of his papacy. The
choice of the name Francis connects him to St. Francis of Assissi, his role model for
holiness, poverty in spirit, simplicity, humility and obedience. The impressions
formed to date will in all likelihood provide a pattern for the ponficate of Pope
Francis.
The relationality that Pope Francis brings into his pontificate bodes well for the
Catholic church. We are looking forward to a church that will be more open and
sensitive to the needs of the faithful, especially the poor. There is a building up of
optimism that the task of evangelization and bringing the gospel to the limits of '
existential outskirts' will be the welcome fresh wind of Springtime in the Church. To
the over one billion Catholics around the world, the message of Evangelii Nuntiandi,
the encyclical written by Pope Paul VI, will find depth, meaning and relevance
regarding the need of the Church for more ' witnesses'. Pope Francis I will lead the
way.