Understanding the mission and meaning of this child

Mary’s Song of Praise on the meaning and mission of the gift of God

(The Gospel According to St. Luke 1)

⁴⁶ And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
⁴⁷     and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
⁴⁸ for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
    Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
⁴⁹ for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
    and holy is his name.
⁵⁰ His mercy is for those who fear him
    from generation to generation.
⁵¹ He has shown strength with his arm;
    he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
⁵² He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
    and lifted up the lowly;
⁵³ he has filled the hungry with good things,
    and sent the rich away empty.
⁵⁴ He has helped his servant Israel,
    in remembrance of his mercy,
⁵⁵ according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
    to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

 

Praying a blessed Christmas for you and yours, as well as a faith in keeping with the meaning and mission of this amazing child!

Conversion to the neighbor, part 2

Conversion is a permanent process in which very often the obstacles we meet make us lose all we had gained and start anew.  The fruitfulness of our conversion depends on our openness to doing this, our spiritual childhood.  All conversion implies a break:  "Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me" (Matt. 10:37).  To wish to accomplish it without conflict is to deceive oneself and others.  But it is not a question of withdrawn and pious attitude.  Our conversion process is affected by the socioeconomic, political, cultural and human environment in which it occurs.  Without a change in these structures, there is no authentic conversion.  We have to break with our mental categories, with the way we relate to others, with our way of identifying with the Lord, with our cultural milieu, with our social class, in other words, with all that can stand in the way of a real, profound solidarity with those who suffer, in the first place, from misery and injustice.  Only through this, and not through purely interior and spiritual attitudes, will the "new person" arise from the ashes of the "old." (page 48)

Gustavo Gutierrez

Spiritual Writings



Conversion to the neighbor, part 1

A spirituality of liberation will center on a conversion to the neighbor, the oppressed person, the exploited social class, the despised ethnic group, the dominated country.  Our conversion to the Lord implies this conversion to the neighbor.  Evangelical conversion is indeed the touchstone of all spirituality.  Conversion means a radical transformation of ourselves; it means thinking, feeling and living as Christ--present in exploited and alienated persons.  To be converted is to commit oneself lucidly, realistically, and concretely to the process of the liberation of the poor and oppressed.  It means to commit oneself not only generously, but also with an analysis of the situation and a strategy for action.  To be converted its to know and experience the fact that, contrary to the laws of physics, we can stand straight, according to the Gospel, only when our center of gravity is outside ourselves (page 48).

Gustavo Gutierrez

Spiritual Writings