Chaplain's Reflection
Hypocrites at Home
Hypocrisy makes Jesus as angry as he ever gets (Matt 23:1-12). Strangely, those ancient scribes and Pharisees, the religious leaders, poncing around as gatekeepers rather than a welcoming committee for the poor, blind, lame and unwashed multitudes, have much in common with the modern world.
We recognize such figures in our own time. People who make an art form out of looking good rather than doing good. The arrogant bureaucrat who hounds a lowly applicant because he can; the apparently devout person who wants those less pious to see how deficient they are. Jesus calls out the hypocrisy of laying expectations and regulations on strugglers instead of lightening their burden. That is not his way at all!
He has this to say about them, “Anyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and anyone who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Matt 23:12). Such self-promotion reveals deep insecurity, an inner sense of inferiority, leading some to “big note” themselves to create a façade of their own importance.
Within families too we might encounter those, often men, exalting themselves, trying to be “big frogs in little puddles” at the expense of family. Often under a cloak of respectability, these insecurities lead them to abuse those closest to them. Domestic and family violence in Australia includes physical, emotional, or financial violence and the fear and distress of children witnessing their mother being abused. The roots are abuse of power and the control of one person by another. Overwhelmingly the victims of family violence are women and children. Victims are clearly in need of peace, compassion, and justice.
Our first call is to live God’s love in our families. And then, beyond our families, being aware and prepared to do what we can to prevent and respond to domestic and family violence elsewhere. Our Sale diocese is firmly committed to preventing domestic and family violence while simultaneously fostering a safe and supportive environment for all.
Letter of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops to the People of God
(some key points)
*For the first time, at Pope Francis’ invitation, men and women have been invited, in virtue of their baptism, to sit at the same table to take part, not only in the discussions, but also in the voting process of this Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. seeking to discern what the Holy Spirit wants to say to the Church today.
*The assembly took place in the context of a world in crisis, whose wounds and scandalous inequalities resonated painfully in our hearts, infusing our work with a particular gravity, especially since some of us come from countries where war rages. There is a pressing call to pastoral and missionary conversion.
*A Trinitarian and Eucharistic Love must always remain the ardent heart of the Church.
*The Church absolutely needs to listen to everyone, starting with the poorest, those who have been denied the right to speak in society or who feel excluded, even by the Church; listening to people who are victims of racism in all its forms – in particular in some regions to indigenous peoples whose cultures have been scorned.
*Above all, the Church has the duty to listen, in a spirit of conversion, to those who have been victims of abuse committed by members of the ecclesial body, and to commit herself concretely and structurally to ensuring that this does not happen again.
*The Church also needs to listen to the laity, women and men, children, youth and the elderly, welcoming the voice of those who want to be involved in lay ministries and to participate in discernment and decision-making structures.
*The Church particularly needs to gather even more the words and experience of the ordained ministers: priests, the primary collaborators of the bishops, whose sacramental ministry is indispensable for the life of the whole body; deacons, who, through their ministry, signify the care of the entire Church for the most vulnerable.
*She also needs to be attentive to all those who do not share her faith but are seeking the truth.
Vatican City, October 25, 2023
[In the year until the Second Session of the Synod in October 2024: patience and prayer. There will be a more detailed synthesis of the concrete topics discussed released shortly.]
Deacon Mark Kelly
College Chaplain