Teoria do Perdão e Reconciliação

ELEMENTOS BÁSICOS DA TEORIA DO PERDÃO E DA RECONCILIAÇÃO

Por Pe. Leonel Narváez Gómez, imc

10 de Abril de 2006

PRÓLOGO

A Fundação para a Reconciliação desenvolve seus projetos de intervenção social e investigação na Colômbia, contribuindo assim com os esforços que cidadãos e cidadãs realizam para o advento da paz no mundo. Hoje a Colômbia partilha com a República irmã do Brasil planos metodológicos e linhas de investigação, e avança-se na organização de uma rede latino-americana de informação e cooperação no campo do Perdão e da Reconciliação interpessoal, comunitário e social.

Em Bogotá (Colômbia), populariza-se uma experiência de Perdão e Reconciliação interpessoal denominada ESPERE (Escolas de Perdão e Reconciliação), como uma contribuição importante em favor da construção da Paz na Colômbia. A violência social e a violência armada semearam raivas e rancores na vida dos colombianos, rancores que devem ser compreendidos e tratados pelos diferentes conhecimentos que procuram imaginar mundos possíveis de amizade e solidariedade, de justiça e paz, mundos em que a vida cotidiana possa ser vivida sem duelos.

A novidade da Fundação para a Reconciliação consiste na introdução de um método de trabalho referente ao Perdão e à Reconciliação interpessoal, que reforça poderosamente os planos de mediação, arbitragem e conciliação, trabalhando de forma direta ódios, rancores e desejos de vingança que, quando não tratados, chegam a converter-se em sementes de novos e mais graves conflitos.

Speaking Our Minds...

4th Sunday Ord. Time - Year B.

Speaking Our Minds...

Most people do not hesitate to speak their minds when the occasion calls for it. Parents, for instance unhesitatingly correct their children. Husbands and wives peak out whenever the welfare of the other is concerned. Friends do the same. Of course it is easy, and still, much good can come from doing so, to speak our minds. We take such daily "speaking out" in stride.  However, this is not the case when it comes to speaking out in God's name; we almost forget our prophetic calling which we received during baptism. This Sunday's readings remind us of this solemn heritage. How do you feel about "speaking your mind"? As a prophet, what makes you exercise your heritage?

Thought of the Day...

“There are five balls we juggle in life: family, friends, health, work and spiritual life. Remember, of these five, only work is made of rubber. The rest are made of glass. Don’t drop any of them. They are fragile. Handle with care.”

CHRISTIAN MORALITY AND CONSCIENCE.

Introduction.

Gal. 3, 10-11: For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.”

1. Who are we?

2. Who is a Christian?

3. What is moral and morality?

4. What is conscience?

5. What is the foundation of morality and conscience? etc...

To talk of Christian morality and conscience should be clear from the beginning that we are investigating or talking of a theme in Christian perspective. We take for granted a world where someone other than ourselves knows the final word, who in revealing his own intimate secrets makes us known to ourselves. This Divine revelation by no means dispenses us from personal reflection and quest. However we would not assume the terms involved. Definition of them helps us to understand better the matter: Christian, morality, and conscience:

LOVE: ISN'T BLIND, NO FEAR AND NOT POSSESSIVE...!

LOVE: ISN'T BLIND, NO FEAR AND NOT POSSESSIVE...!

1 John 4, 16-18: God is love.

Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

This is how love is made complete among us so

that we will have confidence on the Day of Judgment:

In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love.

But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.

The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

 

        

 

Mostly people confuse love with possession. It's easy to see why; it's built into the fundamental assumptions of our culture. "You're mine," says the popular song, "and we belong together." Hardly anyone stops to question the sentiment.  As soon as we feel love, we immediately attempt to possess. We speak confidently of my boyfriend, my wife, my child, my parent. We feel justified in holding expectations about those people. We consider that perfectly reasonable. Why? Because all our concepts of love ultimately derive from romantic love and romantic love is furiously, frantically possessive. We want to be with our lover, to have them to ourselves, to feel their eyes on us, to consume their minds and bodies...to possess them.

            So strongly do we equate love with possession that we may even feel if someone doesn't want to possess us, they don't really love us. Yet I would argue that what we call romantic love is not love at all. It's a kind of emotional storm, an overpowering, thrilling attraction - but it isn't love.  Because real love isn't possessive. It can't be. We'd all agree that love involves giving, not taking. Yet the desire to possess actually springs from the lover's own need — the need for approval from the beloved, for support from a parent, for straight A's from a child, for status, for financial security - for something.

            A possessive lover is overly focused on what he's getting, not what he's giving. The lover may dignify his dependency with the name love, but it's a lie. How can you really love somebody when you're dependent on them for things you need? That isn't love, that's just manipulation to keep the needed stuff coming your way. Robert Palmer sings about being "addicted to love," but nobody really is. People are addicted to their needs. And love isn't the same as need. It just isn't.  

            Of course, a loving relationship will produce interdependencies. But all too often, the pleasure of freely giving changes to a fear of possibly not getting. It's just that this person - your husband, your girlfriend, and your child is suddenly so important to you. You worry about what's going to happen. What they're going to do. And at that moment, love stops. People sometimes wonder if they're feeling real love. These same people never wonder if they're sexually aroused, or sad. Then what's the problem about recognizing love? Most often, because they're sensing a conflict: they're feeling the depth of their need, not the heights of their love.  

            There are ways to know real love. It feels calm. It's steady, and it can easily last a lifetime. It's nourishing people grow under its influence. They become who they really are, and now what someone expects them to be. Real love isn't blind; on the contrary, people feel understood, accepted for who they really are. It's healing. People recover. So whenever you hear that love is blind, or love can't last, or love is destructive, you can be sure that you're hearing a description of lust, or desire, or need. And it's an accurate description, because needs really are transient and destructive.

            But love is something else entirely. An emotion of deep caring that asks nothing in return, an emotion that is fulfilling without any expectation at all, is so rare that most people in our society can't imagine it. They can't imagine feeling it, or receiving it. They may even come to believe it doesn't exist. But it does.  And it's the best thing there is. And as Paul puts it in 1st Corinthians 13:4-8 - Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres.

ALLAMANO - A FATHER IN THE FAITH OF INNUMERABLE CHRISTIANS

BLESSED JOSEPH ALLAMANO FOUNDER OF THE CONSOLATA FATHERS, BROTHERS AND SISTERS.     A short biography and some aspects of the spiritual doctrine of Blessed Joseph Allamano     PRESENTATION I am happy to have a chance to present this small book on the life and spirituality of Bd. Joseph Allamano, whom many of us Kenya Christians rightly consider as our Father in the Faith. When Bd. Joseph Allamano founded the Consolata Missionaries, he wanted them to continue the missionary activity of Card. Massaia (a Capuchin, born in the same area as Bd. J. Allamano) in Ethiopia. However, for various reasons (political, etc.), his desire could not be fulfilled. As a consequence, we, people of Kenya, especially those living in the Central part of our Country, benefited. His missionaries came to Murang'a, Nyeri, and later went also to Meru, Embu, and Marsabit. They were the first to preach our Faith in these areas, so that their Founder and Father can rightly be considered as the Father in the Faith of the people living there.

Feast of Blessed Joseph Allamano 2014 - CANADA

On Monday February 17, 2014 a Family day was observed in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan. On the same day the Consolata Missionaries in Toronto gathered to celebrate the feast of blessed Joseph Allamano.

All the Consolata Missionaries, staff, benefactors and friends came together to celebrate the Founder’s passing to the glory of God.

Mass was celebrated at 1:00pm with full attendance at the Chapel. After Mass, the community convened in the hall for lunch.Fr. Michael Mutinda, the main celebrant, was joined by Fr. Jose Fernandes, the local Superior, Fr. Peter Turrone, Fr. Sosimi Atandi, Deacon Yair Morales, Deacon Joseph Afryie, a Permanent Deacon of the Archdiocese of Toronto. Three other priests working in the archdiocese of Toronto also joined for the celebration of mass.

In his homily Fr. Michael emphasized on the mission of blessed Joseph Allamano, an Italian Diocesan priest of Turin who founded Consolata Missionaries. His work is the work we are all called to do.

From the gospel reading, the acronym word STAND became a theme that Fr. Michael accentuated on. The word stand gives us interest to talk about: in this modern society where by it seem every thing is falling: spirituality, morality, love, economy, missions, etc. Jesus in his life used the word stand as a precedence of healing. Stand, take your mat and walk, your faith has healed you; little girl, stand etc. The Blessed Allamano shares this in deep experience. He was in deathbed when he recovered miraculously and stood up to found our congregation. Let us also stand in different ways!

S - serve with simplicity: as Consolata, we are called to serve the poor too as Jesus did (the charism) but always with simplicity. “The good must be done well without noise,” says Allamano.” Our service is not doing miracles but doing the ordinary in extraordinary way”.

T - teach by testimony. Pope Paul VI says, the modern world will listen more to witnesses than teachers and would listen to the latter if only they are former! We are all called to give testimony of holy life to all. Holiness is the first and foremost vocation and teacher to convert souls. “First saints then missionaries”, says Allamano. He adds, the aim of our congregation is to sanctify ourselves then others.

A - announce: announcing is a consequence of holiness. We don't need words to announce the glory of God, as much as we need to live it! In the book of the Prophet Isaiah 66, it is said: "they will announce my glory to the nations." This is our biblical theme as Consolata missionaries.

N - news and novelty of life: the Bospel should never leave anyone unchanged! We cannot come out the church the same as we went in if really the Gospel has impart in our lives. The poor cannot remain the same if really theY have the good news.

D - depart and deliver: Jesus proclaimed deliverance to the captives... today we need to deliver what? sin, forgiveness, unity, love, mission, vocation, and how? Now depart and deliver, our Mass is ended!More than ever, there are a lot of works to be done in the field of evangelization. There are now over one billion people who are part of the great Catholic communion to which we belong.

If we were to describe the most common color or complexion of the members of our Church it would be brown. If we were to look on a map to locate were most of the Consolata missionaries in the world lived, it would be in the regions where there is great physical or material poverty. If we were to describe the economic status of most of the world's Catholics, most of us would live in poverty.

Most of the world's baptized Catholics owe their faith to great missionaries who have left their families, friends and comfort zone, and through their vow of obedience, they follow their superior’s directions and sweep through the globe to preach the Good News about Jesus. Faith in Jesus Christ circles the globe largely as a result of the heroic efforts of missionaries to endure profound hardship to bring the good news of salvation to the world and even to die. Yet we live in a world that is very hostile toward religion of all kinds. Christianity in particular, some might argue, bears the repercussion of this discrimination and outright persecution.

The days of the martyrs are not long gone, but instead happening now more than before. Recently, two Salesians priests were murdered. Let us continue to pray for all men and women who are suffering these atrocities for exercising their fundamental human right to express and practice faith.

Blessed Joseph Allamano was such a missionary. Due to his failing health, he wasn’t able to travel out of Turin, but this did not stop or discourage him to be a missionary. His deep faith and desire to spread good news compelled him to establish missions that started to send their missionaries to Africa and eventually spread to all the continents. His work laid the groundwork for the spread of the Catholic faith in over twenty-five countries and give consolation to thousands of people in the globe.

 

Paul Mageto