A presentation Brother died as I was preparing to write this week’s column. As in any family, when a member of a religious order dies there is a flurry of activity: the undertaker is called, arrangements are made, obituary details are assembled and a homily for the Requiem Mass is carefully penned.
On this occasion a former student got in touch to remind us of one of the late brother’s favourite scripture passages. It was a piece from St Paul’s letter to the Romans: “Do not model yourselves on the behaviour of the world around you, but let your behaviour change, modelled by your new mind. This is the only way to discover the will of God and know what is good, what it is that God wants, and what is the perfect thing to do” (Romans 12:2).
I was reading the passage as I watched the most moving moment of Pope Francis’ visit to Sarajevo last weekend. During a poignant ceremony in the city’s Sacred Heart Cathedral, the words of St Paul found a remarkable practical expression.
A religious brother, a priest and a religious sister gave testimonies of how they were tortured during the Bosnian war. Each struggled with their emotions as they recalled their mistreatment and abuse.
The priest, now suffering with multiple sclerosis, described being tortured almost to the point of death. Several of his colleagues did not survive the horror. The Franciscan brother became choked up as he described the kindness of a Muslim woman who smuggled him some bread for nourishment. The sister recounted the terror of being held by Arab militants and refusing to convert to Islam even at gunpoint.
Despite their experiences, the three survivors had the ‘new mind’ mentioned by St Paul in that letter to the Romans – each one spoke about pardon and forgiveness and the hope that their captors are now on the path to goodness.
Gestures have become the hallmark of his pontificate and, on this occasion, a clearly moved Pope Francis bowed to kiss the wrist of one of the survivors.
He was also characteristically blunt: “A consecrated who doesn’t know how to forgive isn’t needed”, he said. In other words, the ‘new mind’ is not an optional extra. It’s at the very heart of the experience of being a Christian.
And though not planned as such, the moving personal testimonies of those religious at last weekend’s encounter in Sarajevo’s cathedral could well become the iconic moment of this Year of Consecrated Life.
Sunshine in Sarajevo
Pope Francis’ visit to Sarajevo last weekend took place under beautiful sunshine. The pleasant weather was a stark contrast to conditions during Pope John Paul’s 1997 visit.
On that occasion a blizzard descended during an outdoor Mass and the aged Pope trembled visibly in the plummeting temperatures. The wind knocked over the altar microphones and an aide did his best to steady the Pontiff who soldiered on regardless.
The snow storm cleared as suddenly as it descended and the sun was shining as the Pontiff released the doves of peace at the end, a metaphor perhaps of brighter days ahead.
Face to face reconciliation
The work of reconciliation is a slow process but there was a small sign of progress during the visit of Pope Francis to Sarajevo last week.
One of the Pope’s engagements was an ecumenical and interreligious gathering attended by Orthodox, Jewish and Muslim representatives.
The fact that the meeting took place at all was significant. During his visit in 1997, Pope John Paul had to meet the faith leaders separately as they could not agree to meet in one room together.
In a city once known as the ‘Jerusalem of Europe’ on account of its religious and ethnic diversity, it was a small but encouraging development.