2023/05/15

91. In the Spirit, Part 2

On 31 August 2012, Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, former Archbishop of Milan, died. In an interview shortly before his death, he said, "The Church has been left behind for 200 years" (Corriere della Sera, Italian newspaper). These words are similar to what I wrote in this blog: "The Church remains amidst chapters 17 and 18 of the Book of Revelation" (cf. blog №89). The prophecies the author of Revelation saw, heard and wrote in the spirit have become fulfilled in the Church. 

The unimaginable destructive power of the wars in the 20th century and the terrible sights of the people who survived in the wreckage and many other brutal and tragic experiences, including, of course, Auschwitz, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, have been shared in words and images with people all over the world. The impact of these tragedies has forced people to admit that hell and purgatory they had been taught to "believe in" were, in fact, the reality of this world. As a result, they found themselves not having any reason to "believe in" these things that are real. At the same time, their interest in the Church teaching have faded away. Furthermore, during and after the Second Vatican Council, which is said to have been a historic transformation of the Catholic Church, the Church, which has been comparing itself to the bride of Christ, was embroiled in various sexual abuse cases by the clergy and their cover-ups. The paedophilia scandal was particularly shocking. In these phenomena, we see the face of the Church with no makeup that had been "left behind for 200 years." But inside, some believers try to stay in the Church and somehow confront this reality. 

In the scene in the synagogue in Capernaum in the Gospel of John, many of the disciples stumbled over Jesus' words and drew away, no longer accompanying him. At this point, Jesus asked the twelve Apostles, "Do you also wish to go away?"(John 6:67). In reply, Peter said, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God" (John 6:68-69). These words show that they recognised the "spot" they were in. It was a real "spot" where Jesus was with them and gave them revelations. 

The author of Revelation also recognised the "spot" he was in. But it was the surreal "spot," obtained by being in the spirit and which provides the information of prophecy (cf. blog № 90). We now live in an unprecedentedly particular era, brought about by the informational revolution that has accelerated since the end of the 20th century. We recognise we are in a "spot" where we acquire information via the Internet. We could say that this "spot" is also surreal. In this commonality, we see one ray of hope for us as Christians who remain within the Church and live in the information society. It is the hope that we, like John, who "bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw" (Revelation 1:2), will become able to recognise the "spot" where we see and hear in the spirit, that is, the "spot" in which we collaborate with the Holy Spirit.

Maria K. M.