{"id":5178,"date":"2017-01-15T15:29:08","date_gmt":"2017-01-15T20:29:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scarboromissions.ca\/?p=5178"},"modified":"2017-01-17T15:03:04","modified_gmt":"2017-01-17T20:03:04","slug":"this-is-our-moment-in-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scarboromissions.ca\/spiritual-reflections\/this-is-our-moment-in-time","title":{"rendered":"This is our moment in time"},"content":{"rendered":"
A reflection by Fr. Robert “Buddy” Smith, S.F.M. (1933-1997)<\/em><\/p>\n We have just ended our yearly celebrations that recall the birth of Jesus. Our belief that the Son of God has become part of human life \u2014 has entered time \u2014 should mean that the Christian has a special appreciation for the events of human history because Christ is not frozen in the past. His final words in St. Matthew\u2019s Gospel, \u201cI am with you always, to the close of the age,\u201d remind us of his living presence through all the events of human history.<\/p>\n History is what we make at this moment. It is the unfolding of God\u2019s plan in the everyday events in the lives of all people. We are all makers of history. And in that task, Christ accompanies us.<\/p>\n Different experiences in different parts of the world help us to appreciate the living presence of Jesus in the midst of what is taking place. We look for God moving through the events of people\u2019s lives. From the vantage point of Canada, as we start a new year, perhaps our world could be likened to a warm day in summer when, on the horizon, clouds take shape and dull rumblings can be heard, rumblings such as the problem of world hunger, the surprising power of multinational (and transnational) corporations over nations and people, the domination of poor countries by well-off countries, the oppression of peoples, the reckless exploitation of natural resources.<\/p>\n Confronting the events of history with the power of the Gospel is the mission of Christ that we are expected to share in today. Most people stay away from an involvement in the serious problems that affect the world because these problems are so overwhelming. It would be like trying to push a freight train into motion. What we have to realize is that the freight train is already moving. The processes that are bringing about change are already going on. We are called to be part of this effort, to get on board, to build a new and different kind of a world than we now have.<\/p>\n If we were to ask the question that the people asked John the Baptist, \u201cWhat then shall we do?\u201d, the first thing would be to become aware of what kind of a world we live in \u2014 this world in which Christ is present. From within the parish or community, a small group of concerned people could take on the responsibility to study problems that affect our world, in distant places yes, but also within our own country; to analyze the root causes of these problems and to search for an effective action that the local or parish community might take on these problems.<\/p>\n Pope Paul VI said in 1971, \u201cIt is up to the Christian communities to analyse with objectivity the situation which is proper to their own country, to shed on it the light of the Gospel\u2019s unalterable words and to draw principles of reflection, norms of judgment and directives for action from the social teaching of the Church.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
The challenge is to join with our brothers and sisters throughout the world who participate in an historical process. To join with them in their struggle is to become an active participant in the same historical process that leads to a real transformation of the world.<\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n