The Mystery of Rome : 28th Week of the Liturgical Year, October 9-15, 2011

Romans chapters 1-4; Luke, chapters 11-12

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When I wrote these Reflections, I did not know I would be in Rome when they were read. Re-reading them, I think nothing could prepare me better for the trip.

Rome presents a mixed image of the Church. What impresses tourists—the magnificent buildings, precious works of art, the regal pomp and splendor, are a distraction, if not a challenge to faith. The recorded reaction of Jesus to the magnificence of the Temple buildings in Jerusalem—the historical predecessor of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome—was: “You see all these? Truly I tell you, not one stone will be left here upon another.” Clearly, he wasn’t impressed. Probably no city on earth has been the site of more ecclesiastical mismanagement and mendacious maneuvering than Rome. Rome is a place of visible corruption and invisible mystery.

We mustn’t forget the mystery. It is because he is Bishop of Rome that he has the added task of keeping all the bishops united. Rome is a symbol of unity because both Peter and Paul died there, united in faith despite differences in charism that should have divided the Church. The pope gets his special importance from Rome, not Rome from the pope.

Rome is a symbol of unity and a source of division, even while faith in the papacy keeps those divisions from dividing the Church. Current Vatican policies have caused outrage in the Irish government, brought Austrian priests to the verge of schism, evoked protests from priests and theologians in Ireland, Germany, Australia and America. At Vatican II, Archbishop D’Souza of India denouncd the centralization of power in the Vatican and the “letter that kills” when canon law is rigidly applied throughout the world. “Love is endangered,” he said, “by the present practices of the Roman Curia.” The examples he listed have all been repeated within the past year. Lord Acton’s words return: “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Then we read Sunday’s prayer: “Make love the foundation of our lives. Send us your Spirit, the source of unity.” We read that Mass is (should be, can be) an experience of the peace and unity of the “wedding banquet of the Lamb.” As people “called to belong” and “called to holiness,” we find the readings urging us to faith and hope in the “end time,” when all divisions will be overcome.

We see the Church—all of us—urged to be the “sign of Jonah” by living in a way that cannot be explained unless Jesus is alive and living in us. We are reminded that, to guide the Church into the way of love, each one of us must first strive to learn the heart of Christ in prayer.

It comes down to each one of us. We are the Church. If we seek union of mind, heart and will with the Father “in Christ” and by the Holy Spirit, we will be united with God and one another. In love.

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