Our faith community has lost a prophet: Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini was a gift to the Church, a prophet and shepherd who led God’s people through God’s Word, in itself a prophetic choice.
The way forward is not to ask people to convert but to under-take conversion ourselves- Fr Martin Cilia
It is no exaggeration to say that he was one of the greatest pastoral figures of our time. Enzo Bianchi, founder and prior of the Bose monastic community and a respected Christian voice in Italy, recently defined him as “a Father of the Church of our age”. And in the words of the American Jesuit priest, peace activist and poet Daniel Berrigan, “a prophet does not make a vow of alienation, but a vow of love”.
This is what Martini did through his writings and preaching. He revealed himself as a contemplative pastor who guided millions of people, giving particular attention to the formation of pastors.
He was no ordinary man and no ordinary priest; he was a special gift to the world and to the Church, as he loved the Church to the point of challenging it.
If our Church is searching for mentors then he is one of them. Like Jesus, he knew that the truth, no matter how hard it is, is the only thing that sets us free.
In his famous last interview he spoke words of truth that in this year dedicated to the renewal of faith are important for us to keep as signposts and to ponder upon.
Cardinal Martini spoke about conversion, insisting that the Church must convert (biblical shuv), make a U-turn. People only make U-turns when they realise they are going in the wrong direction. If we really wish to renew our faith, especially as we are having so much trouble to pass on the faith to our children and to our generation, the way forward is not to ask people to convert but to undertake the journey of conversion ourselves.
Conversion is the first word spoken by Jesus in the Gospel. If we are serious about renewal, no other way should be taken than that of the renewal of the evangelisers themselves. It is a call for discipleship, a call which comes at a price.
People are numb and alienated as they listen to our invitation for conversion, if they do not witness it in the shepherds themselves.
Martini also spoke about the renewal of the Church through the Word of God. This comes to us as no surprise, coming from a bishop who was a biblical scholar and undertook the renewal of his diocese.
Filling the Cathedral of Milan with youths and adults listening to his words, he proposed over and over again the method of Lectio Divina to contemplate Scripture, and Fides ex auditu, as faith comes only from listening to the preaching of Kerygma (God’s Word). Our Church sometimes lacks the Word as the basis of its pastoral programmes.
Martini was no fool; when he was appointed Archbishop of Milan he offered a renewal of faith through God’s Word, keeping his word till the end even as a retired bishop as he witnessed that no prophet can do without the Word. Evangelisation can only be effective if this aspect becomes the foundation on which we build our pastoral programmes: no catechism, dogma or moral teaching can take its place. The latter can only flow, and follow from the Word.
In the end, Martini spoke about the sacraments and the way they are celebrated. He proposed a different model, imagining a more inclusive approach. In the Gospel, Jesus says that in his Father’s house there are many rooms; for sure this is a statement about God’s love and the way that He stretches His heart to embrace everyone.
What Martini proposed is that this is to be shown in our pastoral practices as they must be more in tune with God’s heart.
The community of Christ is not a religion where ritual has the top priority, but a community of faith where people grow spiritually, learn to ask the hard questions of life and where everyone feels welcome and accepted. Christ always creates a community, a body and a place where one can feel at home.
Sacraments are signs of a greater reality and if we really wish that faith is proposed to our secular world we must let our celebrations foster and feed a sense of community where people look forward to come and participate, knowing that what we celebrate is helping them to make a real leap of conversion in their own lives.
In a year in which we are invited to renew our faith, the words of Martini at his deathbed must be taken seriously as they are coming from a prophet who loved God and His Church. He offered us a spiritual roadmap. Only when we admit our shortcoming and follow this road can we really renew our faith and propose our faith to our generation.
ciliamartin@hotmail.com
Fr Cilia is a member of the Missionary Society of St Paul.