– Brought to you by Fr. Bernardino Andrade (bernardinodandrade@gmail.com)
Michael Slaughter in his book «Unlearning Church» tells us about a religion editor from a local newspaper who came to his Church to interview him about a conference they were having.
At the end of the interview, he asked if she (the editor) went to Church. He assumed she did since she was a religion editor. She replied: ” No, I am a Buddhist. I was raised in the Church, but about ten years ago I became interested in Buddhism because the highest value of Buddhism is the value of compassion.”
Michael Slaughter said that her next comment made him feel as if she had put her hand in his chest and squeezed his heart.
“The people I grew up around in the Church,” she added, “were some of the least compassionate people I ever knew.”
“Ouch!,” says Michael Slaughter, and then he adds “yet Jesus is compassion made visible.”
And he’s right. Jesus is compassion made visible. Having Jesus’ name, but not his heart is a dangerous combination. It can make us turn away people that Jesus is calling us to embrace.
* * *
Brian, a very good friend of mine, is Mormon. One day we were talking about two women who worked with me in two different Parishes. I will call them Harriet and Tammy (not their real names). Their main job was to make my life miserable and put people against people. I will never forget what Brian told me: «Wherever you go, Bernardino, you will always find a Harriet and a Tammy». And I have.
Mother Teresa used to say: «I prefer a person making a mistake with kindness than doing something right with rudeness».
I believe that these kind of rude and intolerant people in our Churches are the ones who are emptying them, transforming them into interesting museums where people have stopped joining other people to pray together and to worship together in order to build and heal relationships. Our church is about relationships. Our Church is the Body of Christ where people take good care of one another. This is the main reason why we come to church.
Love and Peace,
Fr. Bernardino Andrade
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