In our country, religion and culture has been very closely intertwined. Our skyline is still a battle between domes, steeples and high-rises, street corners are adorned with saints, and we hang feast decorations in streets. So it is hard to fathom the great split that exists between religiosity and praxis, especially in the paradigmatic change that is taking place in Malta.
The Church in Malta at times appears busy and alienated with the illusion of a staunchly Catholic Malta, without realising the great tsunami that is taking place around us. So much time, energy and money is used on such things as feasts without realising that very few of those who enjoy these celebrations have actually made the Christian faith a choice to which they adhere.
In front of such great and rapid social change there are different attitudes that a Christian can adopt. There is the militant way: an attitude that takes an aggressive stance. It confronts changes and sees secularity as a threat to religion and to society and tries to react to relativism by becoming more rigid and by fighting back and becoming not only critical but bitter towards society.
There is another attitude, that of assimilation and compromise, of accommodating oneself to the situation and to live the Christian life in the private sphere and try to compromise with society and its values. Instead of having a community whose faith has the power to change the world we find a situation in which the world is changing the Church.
Renewal must happen from within, otherwise we run the risk of becoming irrelevant
The third option is hard to take, as it is a road less travelled. It calls on Christians to pay the price of discipleship by being prophetic in many ways. In such a culture, Christians are called to voice their beliefs not only as individuals but as a community of believers, who make Christianity a way of life reflected in their lifestyles.
In our liberal environment where the lobby of other voices and ideology is so strong, we as Christians are called to be salt and yeast of the earth and to change society not by lobbying and putting pressure but by conviction and witnessing. We are being called to pay the price of discipleship and learn first and foremost to support each other and to make drastic choices that give witness to the beauty of Christian life.
We are called to voice our beliefs not by condemnation but by conviction, even if this goes against the belief accepted by the majority.
Christians must witness the Gospel of Christ by proposing a new way of being and of living. Only such Christianity can have the authority and power to speak to today’s culture.
This style of Christianity is indeed hard to find. The sad reality is that all these changes have found a weak Christian community which lacks formation and depth. Renewal must happen from within, otherwise we run the risk of becoming irrelevant.
The Gospel of Christ needs to be proclaimed, not only by its bishop but also by a faith community deeply rooted in the Word of God, and together in this time of challenge. The calling is for deeper faith, for relevant celebrations that radiates beauty, simplicity and depth, and a heart for the poor and the needy.
To remain relevant in such a changing world, the Church must take drastic measures in order to create the soil in which such witnessing communities can flourish and themselves be a means of evangelisation.
Fr Martin Cilia is a member of the Missionary Society of St Paul.
frmartincilia@gmail.com