Easter blessings in Litmanova

Tomorrow I leave for the little mountain village of Litmanova in Slovakia on the Polish border, site of the 1990-95 Marian apparitions to two village girls. A very peaceful, quiet place without tourists or fanfare - or souvenir stands or Italian style bistro's. In fact, there isn't a single restaurant in the entire village, though there are several small pensions and one small village store.

I've always loved this minor, little known apparition because the Blessed Lady in white came down from her heavenly cloud, walked across the small storeroom where she had appeared to the two shocked young girls of 12 and sat down on a little wooden bench and spoke with them. The bench is still there, covered in plastic, and pilgrims can kiss it. The utter simplicity of the place is so beautiful, and the peace is lasting and profound. There is even a sacred spring with crystal clear water. I've been here a number of times and became friends with the local Greek Orthodox priest who administers the site, a kindly, good man without complications or pretensions. I even contributed the English translation to the official site, which interested readers can access here: Litmanova-Zvir and here at The Byzantine Forum.  No fanaticism here at Litmanova, only simple faith in 'the Lady,' and pious devotion of the old school. Remarkable and inspiring.

In preparation for this triduum of Easter at Litmanova, I started reading Matthew Fox's most recent book, Letters to Pope Francis. It is a book imbued with hope and the promise of a new dawn, as Fox was responding - as we all were - to Pope Francis's warmly human, humble and accessible side in those early days of the springtime of his papacy. The book is well worth reading for its deep, prophetic insights into the possibility of a new Christianity and it offers healing for any of Fox's readers who also read his searing indictment of the Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI years, the powerful, brilliant, indispensable, The Pope's War. 

Sadly, we have all learned since the early days of Francis' tenure as Pope that hope does not reside in the figure of a Pope or in the institution itself. Matthew Fox's dissillusion with Pope Francis, which is profound,  has been most eloquently expressed in his articles on the canonization of Junipero Serra, which can be accessed here at his blog: Matthew Fox. 

It is sad that a reforming pope who has actively sought the perspectives of the faithful would be so blind to the history of indigenous peoples on two continents, and deaf to the protests of indigenous and non-indigenous Christians alike.  And it is sad that, as many nations and peoples await Pope Francis’ encyclical on Eco-theology and Climate Change, he would follow his predecessors’ example in favoring the perpetrators of colonization and genocide over the indigenous peoples of this hemisphere and their living legacy of respect for nature…a legacy that is vital to the survival of the life on Earth as we know it today.

This is a severe blow to the hopes of people looking to a reformed papacy. Granted, Pope Francis is only human like the rest of us and humans err—as he says, he himself is a sinner.  And this decision is a grave sin indeed.

Powerful words for this Easter as we prepare to celebrate the Paschal Mystery of the Crucified and Risen One and as all of us connected to the Resurrected Savior await a new dawn. 

But to end these random thoughts on a note of rebirth, here is a beautiful image sent me by a student today, witnessing to the profound interconnectedness of life and all living things, bound by compassion:

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Matthew Fox's The Pope's War and the Return from Medugorje

I returned from Medugorje this afternoon only to find Matthew Fox's explosive new book, The Pope's War, waiting for me in the mailbox. The timing could not be more providential, coming right on the heels of a week's retreat in Medugorje. I'm now going through three books of very moving testimonies from persons whose lives have been changed by their encounter with the Marian shrine, and they encompass the full range of Christian belief and persuasion. Very inspiring and provocative accounts, which I hope to comment on further. But Fox's book makes the perfect complement for reasons I hope to reflect on at a later time.

At the same time, however, I've been reading the great Russian journalist (murdered in 2006) Anna Politkovskaya's collection of essays, entitled Nothing But the Truth, a harrowing account of her investigative reports from Chechnya and beyond and filled with stores of unimaginable atrocities and human suffering. Somehow this felt providential as well, and perfectly complemented my stay in the Bosnian Marian shrine, since there seems to be a connection between the witness of the Heavenly Mother, crying out for peace and reconciliation,  and the very worst of human depravity and cruelty. You cannot go to Medugjore and simply float in a cloud of euphoria and spiritual consolation. Something about the clear, limpid light of the place uncovers all illusions and forces one to remain grounded on earth where humans do terrible things to one another and corruption and duplicity seem to rule the day - except that the message of Medugorje is that they do not rule the day, the Lady in White through the power of the heavenly Mother/Father of us all and the suffering witness of Yeshua triumph over all.

However, truth telling must also apply to the darkness surrounding the shrine itself, and while I teasingly said in the first posting four days ago that 'the critics are full of shit,' that was only tongue in cheek in reference to my frustration at not being able to find a decent, classy restaurant in the village, despite the insistence of the harshest critics that such places exist. (I wined and dined pleasurably in Split last evening) No, underneath the extraordinary peace and joy of Medugorje darker currents swirl, the same viral currents that orchestrated the assassination/murder of the saintly reformist Pope John Paul I. The destructive evil in the church has reached its tentacles into this Bosnian village as well, and if one loves and cherishes the charism of Medugjorje and treasures it as the locus of Mary's holy manifestation, then one must long for, call for, Nothing But the Truth, so that Medugorje can be cleansed and purified and its precious holy mystery protected from all harm. 

I hope to say more about this later, but for now, here is Matthew Fox:

If you can no longer take the lies and theological deadness of the Roman Catholic church, then do as Jesus said to do: "Shake the dust from your feet" and find another community that nurtures you and where you do not have to give out more energy than you receive back. Be assured there is life after Roman Catholicism, lots of it. Become a 'had it' Catholic if your conscience tells you so. Do not settle for denial of what the truth tells you is really happening in the Vatican church today/ Do not waste your precious time or your soul trying to build up or reform that which your gut tells you is unreformable.

There will be some who, upon praying about it, will be called to stay, and others who are called to move on. Support one another in the overall spiritual vocation of invigorating an authentic spiritual renewal. There is no one path to church renewal. When you pray about staying or leaving, ask yourself the following questions: What does all this have to do with Jesus? With his teachings and life? Is this what Jesus would have me do ? Even if you choose to exit, do not imagine you are "out of the church." You are reforming it from another place of leverage. The church is not a box or even a noun. It is where the Spirit lives and comes alive.

postscriptum; I've decided to have a new button made here in Prague, one with a rainbow sash across it and the words, Gays for the Gospa (the affectionate term used in Medugorje for Mother Mary). I plan on wearing it the next time I visit the village. That should set a few wigs on fire. 

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