3rd Sunday of Advent – Of waiting, of HOPE

By: Sr. M ª Ángeles Calleja Cidoncha, OP
St. Catherine of Siena Monastery
Paterna (Valencia) SPAIN

“Do not trust in princes, beings of dust that cannot save; they breathe out the spirit and return to dust, on that day their plans perish.”

Psalm 145

The words of the psalmist are as forceful as they come. All the more reason why they resonate in the hearts of so many millions of innocent people subjected to the yoke of tyrants and despotic lords of the day, who sow horror through terror and all kinds of abuses.

– Dictators, when are you going to learn that there is only one God, the one who made heaven and earth and has called us all to life?

If the supposed exploits you perpetrate are at the cost of making tears flow in the little and poor of this world, in provoking anger in the young, in destabilizing entire families, in generating misery, illiteracy…you are the spoils of evil and therefore, a caricature of what it means to be a man.

“Go and tell John: the lame walk, the blind regain their sight.”

This is the Good News, without additives, preservatives, or coloring that we demand for the leaders of Myanmar and all those countries whose political and economic leaders use power as a cover for wickedness.

REJOICE: BE JOYFUL!

3rd Sunday of Advent…Of waiting, of HOPE.

I ask myself and I ask you: – Is it possible to make such an invitation without hurting our interlocutors who, with no art or part, have been forced to live in absolutely Dantesque scenarios, such as those suffering in Myanmar?

I look to the right: ethnic conflicts.

I look to the left: military coup d’état with the consequent sowing of terror, massacres, torture.

In the face of such barbarism, millions of human beings have been forced to leave their homes and thus become exiles, labeled as displaced persons.

And I ask again, given such a situation, is it permissible for us to invite the people of Myanmar to rejoice?

Is this not a bourgeois approach, the fruit of the welfare society which, at all costs, strives to be happy, no matter who falls?

The hordes of evil sometimes kidnap our hope, with the aim of sealing our eyes so as not to see the glory of our God; they block our ears so as not to be able to hear words of life; they paralyze our feet to prevent us from running after the one who has been and is our rescue and therefore the reason for leaving behind all sorrow and affliction.

With all that has been argued above, I now respond to the question of the legitimacy of the invitation made above: It is not only possible, but it is urgent to announce that JESUS CHRIST is the JOY for every human being, no matter how he is and wherever he is.

This is not a balsamic ointment for topical use. This would be a prudish, prudish approach.

JESUS CHRIST is your joy, my joy, the joy of the whole cosmos, because he has dressed death in ignominy, reduced to shame and dishonor. Another order of life is possible.

He who formed the eye has given us back our sight to be able to contemplate through our retina a million shades of color, the possibility of rising from our prostrations and to walk with honesty and cooperation the adventure that is proposed to us, that of being re-created, because who has the last word of our life is the Word itself… – How not to announce at all times and on all occasions the best news of all times and societies?

Brothers, there is a HERE AND NOW fruitful of life. It is time to strengthen weak hands, to strengthen wavering knees; to say to the restless: Be strong, do not be afraid. God is coming in person and will save you.

As a Muslim proverb says: God sees a black fly on a black stone on a black night.

Yes! Joy is possible, that which no one has the ability to snatch from us, because it emanates from the very heart of the Father, resounding in our hearts and channeling it through songs of jubilation and praise, because the Lord rescues his little ones.

Blessed are those who are not scandalized by the Good News!

The Catholic Church in Myanmar (also known as Burma) is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. There are around 750,000 Catholics in Burma – approximately 1% of the total population. The country is divided into sixteen dioceses including three archdioceses.

Catholicism has never been easy in Myanmar. The Church first arrived in 1514, but failed to find enduring success.  When Portuguese mercenaries settled in the Kingdoms of Ava and Pegu, they protected the fledging missions.  However they destroyed sacred Buddist temples and artifacts angering the people of the kingdoms.  Thus, their power lasted only a couple decades. The Portuguese-Burmese community had grown to between 4,000 and 5,000 people. With the expulsion of the mercenaries, these people were taken prisoner, exiled and massacred.  Under a new King, they were allowed to integrate, and were given land to live.

 The actual work of evangelizing Ava and Pegu began under the pontificate of Innocent XIII who, in 1722, sent Father Sigismond de Calchi, a Barnabite, and Father Vittoni, of the same order, to Burma. In 1741, Benedict XIV definitely established the mission, appointing Father Galizia as the Vicar Apostolic, and placing the Barnabites in charge of the work.  The Vicar Apostolic, Monsignor Giovanni Ceretti, was appointed in 1845.  About this time, (the year 1845) Catholics of the two kingdoms numbered 2500. Monsignor Giovanni Balma (+ April 5, 1881) succeeded as Vicar Apostolic in 1848, but the war with the British rendered his labours ineffectual, and the mission was abandoned around 1852.

The British had begun to assume control of Burma in 1824. After 60 years of war and struggle they succeeded in establishing it as a British Empire possession.  The Congregation of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary having withdrawn from the mission, the vicariate was placed under the control of the Vicar Apostolic of Siam in 1855. At this date the kingdoms of Ava and Pegu contained 11 priests and 5320 Catholics. 

Myanmar officially received independence in 1948. Ever since, internecine warfare between the ruling government and ethnic minorities (who often consist of Christians) has plagued the country.  Catholicism is rare among the majority of Burmese ethnic group. Conversion from Buddhism to Catholicism is very difficult in Myanmar, where the Buddhist faith is heavily integrated into Burmese nationalism. Basically, if you convert then “you betray your nationality.”   Of Myanmar’s overall population, slightly more than 1 percent are Catholic, and most of them belong to marginalized ethnic minorities. Economically disadvantaged even by Burmese standards, their faith further estranges them from mainstream society. And yet this faith has endured through hunger, hardship, and a succession of largely-repressive governments.  Not until 2017 did the Vatican finally manage to establish formal diplomatic relations with Myanmar.  In November of that year, Pope Francis made a pilgrimage to the country.

“The future of Myanmar must be peace, a peace based on respect for the dignity and rights of each member of society, respect for each ethnic group and its identity,” the pope said as he stood next to Myanmar’s civilian leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate whose own reputation has suffered for failing to speak out against the killings. Francis said that respect for rule of law and the democratic order “enables each individual and every group — none excluded — to offer its legitimate contribution to the common good.”

On Feb. 1, 2021, the Burmese military (also known as the Tatmadaw) seized power in a coup d’état, arresting both state counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and president Win Myint.  Catholics who demonstrated against the coup have been closely watched by the military. Additionally, Catholics inhabiting regions with a history of armed resistance now find themselves in a “seriously life-threatening” predicament. Recent months have seen the military attack both Catholic and Protestant churches with lethal force.

The Catholic Bishops of Myanmar have been pleading for a “humanitarian corridor,” so that many thousands of displaced persons can receive shelter and food. Officials from the United Nations have said that mass death from starvation is a potential outcome.

In more stable times, the foremost service the Church in Myanmar provides is education, including the education of disabled children. Among additional services, the Church also looks after many disabled adults, particularly those who were maimed by landmines during the nation’s protracted conflict which some have called the “world’s longest-running civil war.”

RESOURCES

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250920/burmese-soldiers-invade-catholic-cathedral-detain-archbishop 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church_in_Myanmar

Reflection for the Second Week of Advent

Month for Peace: Myanmar

Isaiah’s vision of the peaceable kingdom is a veritable litany of promises. Impossible things will happen to those who are faithful, to those who believe. What are we to make of these glorious promises when our brothers and sisters in Myanmar are mired in suffering? Their agony challenges the imagination of those of us who live in safety, those of us who have plenty – more than enough – to eat and drink, those of us who sleep in warm, soft beds every night, comforted by the quiet. 

Can we let go of our stereotypes of human and beast who have always lived as traditional enemies? Picture a wolf and a lamb, a leopard and a kid, a calf and a young lion, a cow and a bear. Visualize these traditional enemies enjoying – not just tolerating – but enjoying each other’s company. 

Can you see a little child, a little, innocent child walking among these beasts, petting them, talking to them, taking sheer delight in them with absolutely no fear or apprehension? This is God’s dream for God’s family.

This peaceable kingdom promised by the prophet Isaiah is the Reign of Justice. “If you want peace, work for justice.” This was the simple but profound declaration of Pope Paul VI in his message for the Celebration of the Day of Peace in 1972. It holds true even more today.

The people of Myanmar know the struggle of dealing with traditional enemies. They are being tortured and terrorized and killed by forces that threaten them constantly. Their needs are overwhelming – not just physical, but spiritual, emotional and psychological. 

We, the international Dominican Family, embrace them as our brothers and sisters. They are kin to us and we to them. Where do we begin to work for justice? We begin within ourselves, each one of us. Can we name and claim the wild beasts within our souls: envy, violence, anger, revenge?  On the other hand, that isn’t all there is within us, any more than only wild beasts dominate our land. We have inside the deepest core of who we are, the gentle ones: compassion, generosity, love, gratitude. They’re all together in each human being. How do they get along with each other? Do they truly enjoy the company of one another? That depends on the presence of that innocent child, the Christ, whom we invite into our inner world to walk among the creatures that vie for our attention.

Each one of us is a microcosm of the planet we inhabit. Each one of us holds the power to create or to destroy, reach out or to invite in. Each of us is called to work for a justice that gives birth to peace.

Our family in Myanmar needs us and we need them. They need our awareness of their situation. They need our funds to rebuild their lives and most of all they need our fervent prayers to sustain them in this crisis.

Can we dedicate this Advent Season to the restoration of both the Reign within and the Reign outside? Can we claim our place in the Family of God?

by Mary Ellen Green, OP
Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa