I want to share with you a quote from Pope Francis' closing statement at the Synod of the Family.  He stated:
And – apart from dogmatic questions clearly defined by the Church’s Magisterium – we have also seen that what seems normal for a bishop on one continent, is considered strange and almost scandalous – almost! – for a bishop from another; what is considered a violation of a right in one society is an evident and inviolable rule in another; what for some is freedom of conscience is for others simply confusion. Cultures are in fact quite diverse, and every general principle – as I said, dogmatic questions clearly defined by the Church’s magisterium – every general principle needs to be inculturated, if it is to be respected and applied.[2] The 1985 Synod, which celebrated the twentieth anniversary of the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council, spoke of inculturation as “the intimate transformation of authentic cultural values through their integration in Christianity, and the taking root of Christianity in the various human cultures”.[3] Inculturation does not weaken true values, but demonstrates their true strength and authenticity, since they adapt without changing; indeed they quietly and gradually transform the different cultures.

The Pope has summed up what I have been learning here at the Inter Franciscan Mission Program.  Inculturation is the task of every missionary;  Integration of the culture with the teachings of the church.  The result may look different from culture to culture but the message and the implementation of the message is still faithful to the Church.  

Sorry about the delay of this post. I usually try to submit new material on Thursday.  We have been busy here in Brussels with travel and classes.  Last week we received more input on the Mission Theology.  More on that later. Peace  ODE 

Money: Power and Mission

As a main part of the Inter-Franciscan Mission program we have input from missionaries and others in important issues related to mission. Near the beginning of the program Fr. Damian Isabell, OFM spoke to us on Franciscan Missionary Methods Throughout History. He has been a missionary in West Africa for the past 37 years. He introduced us to the writings of Joseph Mattam, and Indian Jesuit and specifically to his article Efficiency and Effectiveness in Mission. (I will put a link for this article at the end.)The first part of this article I used for the title for this installment of the blog. He discusses the use of money to aid the people to whom we are sent in mission. He states that such care can create dependency, a sense of quid pro quo between the people and the missionaries. “I come to church so you should pay to build my house”, “I give you food when you need it so you should come to church”. This “donor-model” kind of mission could lead to a lack of full conversion and lead to a paternalistic style of pastoral care more akin to a feudalistic relationship between the church and the people.

Yesterday, the program was truly blessed with the visit of Michael A. Perry, OFM the General Minister of the Order of Friars Minor. He told us that we are not going on mission. He extorted us to be mission. In this regard I must eschew the whole money and power dynamic. Be with the people in their struggle and difficulties. We have so many advantages today. Many vehicles, internet access, blogs (yes, even this one), cell phone connections that link us to seemingly unlimited information and to the world. They are tools and should be considered as only tools. All these things are good but do they foster faith? I think not. Faith in Jesus grows from physical contact with Jesus. Person to person, face to face. Mattam in his article mentions that older Christians in India would comment to him that they wished for the days when the missionaries would “walk to the villages, stay with the people for a few days at a time, share their meager meal, teach them the Gospel and celebrate the sacraments.” They decry the fact that today they are “Jeep missionaries”. They may see more people in their day but the relationship is poorer because of it. A real lesson and warning. Pay attention to the outcome of the work (It's not about numbers it's about people), stay close to Jesus (Take nothing for the journey.), take my time and be mission.

I promised a close friar friend just before I left the US that I would update him on what is being said today about Mission. So promised kept. Peace ODE

Here is the link I mentioned:

http://www.sedosmission.org/web/en/?option=com_docman&task=doc_details&gid=659&Itemid=34&lang=en

Taste of the USA

Here in the Inter-Franciscan Missionary program, every Wednesday is “Taste of ___” night. So far we have had Taste of India and Taste of the Philippines. The representatives from that country are responsible for preparing a meal. The evening also includes a small presentation of the country. It was my turn last night.

I really could not come up with food that was singularly from the United States so I opted for Cincinnati Chili. I also served Caprese Salad and Apple pie for dessert. For snacks before the meal I served corn chips and salsa, cheese and crackers and Fruit juice with Tequila. I explained that the US is a melting pot and that our food not only is regional but also reflects many countries of our origin since as Pope Francis said so well – we are nation of immigrants.

Have you ever tried cooking a meal in a foreign country? Let me tell you it is an adventure that tested not only my patience but the patience of many shop keepers in and around Belgium. Shredded cheddar cheese- no problem, spaghetti - no problem, hot dogs – problem. Belgians do eat sausages they call “hot dogs” but they are not really what I was looking for. After standing at the counter for twenty minutes, picking up everything that looked like a hot dog only to reject one after the other because there were too small, or too red, or weirder yet coiled. (My record was thirty minutes at the dairy case looking for heavy cream. Don't ask.) Finally found a package that said there were Frankfurters. Yea! In the cart they went. Oh by the way the stores do not offer any bags with your purchases. One must bring your own. Nice idea but I learned a very hard lesson. Luckily, I had enough pockets and hands to carry the things I bought. And the dogs were great, tasted like a hot dog. Imagine that. They were a hit with all the friars. Served of course with Cincinnati chili.

Guess what? Pie as we know it is not made in Brussels so pie pans are not available, at least not in grocery stores. So I had to settle for a spring pan like you would use for making cheese cake. A little weird, imagine a pie with very tall sides. Brussels and the rest of the world is metric. So recipes have to be translated from cups to grams and there was no scale available. So I used equivalencies. I found a small bowl that looked like one cup and made my own measurements. It worked. So after all the improvising and adapting the meal came off well. The chili too was a hit. I warned everyone that it was spicy and was told many times that Indians (There are seven friars from India in the program) like spicy food so there is no need for a warning. I responded that in the US if you don't warn your guests about spicy food some become irate. Welcome to the US.

By the way Belgium waffles here in Brussels are just waffles, but it seems Brussels sprouts are Brussels sprouts every where. Go figure.

Peace.  ODE

Today we heard from Franciscan International. They talked to us about their work. This video was presented and I share it with you in hopes to continue to keep the plight of refugees in you mind and prayers as they are in mine. Peace, Tim. ODE