One often hears that Pope John XXIII convened the 2nd Vatican Council in
order to refresh the Catholic Church; 'open wide the windows' is quoted. It
leads me to think of the air in Europe in 18th, 19th and 20th century. The
revolutions: French, Bolshevic, Spanish; WW I and II; millions of souls in
prisons and gulags, just to name the
major events. In all of these human endeavors at making the world more 'just'
tens of millions of people were killed. Each of the events mentioned brought
destruction of churches, monasteries and synagogues; things of beauty and value
were stolen or destroyed; priests and nuns were killed, exiled, deprived of
their flocks.
In other words, the air outside the windows was filled with the stench of
rotting bodies, gunpowder, grey dust of destroyed cities, human tears and
misery, and most of all, fear. Who, in
their right mind, would want that to enter the Mother Church, the Bride of
Christ. I've read about John XXIII and some of his writings- he was definitely
a man of sound mind, holy soul and love for our Church and for the world.
Having lived my first 15 years in the heart of Europe I thought about the
open windows. We opened them to let in the fresh air (summer and winter), we
closed them when the sun shined directly on them or the flies would come in (no
screens, no air conditioning),we kept them closed in foul weather, after floods
that bred clouds of mosquitos, during a forest fire to keep out the smoke. When
grown-ups got together, as soon as politics entered the conversation, the
windows were closed and speakers were often reminded to keep down their voices-
the children might hear and repeat to a wrong person; any one passing by might
hear...
No, the Good Pope John XXIII did not want the Holy Roman Church to be
'refreshed' by the murderous worldly air. He knew his church to be strong,
holy, beautiful, profound, and brimming with the Truth, the
Life and the Way. The world has been throwing
centuries-long, vicious tantrums in its attempt to erase God from the
hearts of men. John XXIII, God's faithful servant, told his flock not to be
afraid. Let the world hear what we talk and sing about; let the world see the
paintings, the architecture, the sculptures, the colors.
Bring the world to the manger so the
fearful can gaze on the infant God- their fear will vanish as they hold the
Holy Child and coo lullabyes.
Bring the world to the foot of the
cross so the suffering, lost, confused souls can see what the Man endures; 'misery loves company'- no better companion
to the lonely, tortured, forgotten, hurting people than the Christ on the
Cross.
Bring the world to the empty tomb on Easter Sunday so the discouraged,
dreary, cinical men may be astonished, awed and exhilerated to know that death
is not the end.
Bring the world to the Upper Room so the battered, timid, defeated souls
may be filled with the Love of God, the
Holy Spirit who will breath new life, courage and joy into them.
Only then will they, the faithful, be ready to be sent out to share these
treasures with the world mired in sin. Now, that is an excellent reason to open
the windows and allow those unwilling to come in through the open doors, to
take a peek at the beauty, goodness and truth contained within.
A final picture to leave with the reader: On Corpus Christi the faithful in
Poland build four altars in their town or village. The high Mass is celebrated
by processing from one altar to the next. At each altar a reading from one of
the Gospels is proclaimed (hence the four altars). The entire route is usually
about a mile long and along that route the streets & sidewalks are swept
and washed clean. Most windows are opened and decorated with flowers.
Tapestries, oriental rugs, laces, embroidered works and holy paintings are hung
out so that the great outdoors/cathedral proclaims the beaty and glory of God.
Let's open the windows-not to let in the worst and meanest the world has to
offer, but to generously show how bountiful God's gifts are to all who are
willing to see, to hear and to cherish His love.
Written by InHisService
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