The Mission of the Movement
one
In his book The Great Divorce C. S. Lewis paints a remarkable image of Hell.
‘It seems the worst city,’ I volunteered, ‘and that’s what I can’t understand. The parts of it that I saw were so empty. Was there once a much larger population?’ ‘Not at all,’ said my neighbor. ‘The trouble is that they’re so quarrelsome. As soon as anyone arrives, he settles in some street. Before he’s been there twenty-four hours he quarrels with his neighbor. Before the week is over, he’s quarreled so badly that he decides to move. Very likely he finds the next street empty because all the people there have quarreled with their neighbors—and moved. If so, he settles in. If by any chance the street is full, he goes further. But even if he stays, it makes no difference. He’s sure to have another quarrel pretty soon and then he’ll move on again. Finally, he’ll move right out to the edge of the town and build a new house. You see, it’s easy here. You’ve only got to think a house and there it is. That’s how the town keeps on growing.’ ‘Leaving more and more empty streets?’
Hell, according to Lewis is a place where people voluntarily live isolated and alone so that they can do whatever they want and not be bothered by another person. It is the perfect description of hell because we are not designed to go through life alone, nor were we meant to live in such a way that we could do whatever we want – without being bothered by the needs of any other person. Self-centered, isolated and alone. That is hell. That is why Radical isolation is death for individuals, families and society both psychologically and spiritually. We need others to supply the gifts and talents we don’t have and we need others to constantly draw us out of self-absorption, self-centeredness and help us grow in all the virtues, especially charity. Living alone and always being able to do what you want will destroy you.
two
We need to share life with other people so that we can do two things for each other: enrich one another by our complimentary gifts and stretch one another in virtue by our complimentary weakness and annoyances.
First, when we share life with others, and by this I mean spending time doing the things of life together, we enrich one another. Why is this? Because no person has all the gifts, all the insights, all the ideas, and no person has everything they need to become the most excellent human they could be. By spending time together, I gain from your insight, experiences, gifts and generosity and virtue.
Second, because every person is different – we also highlight one another’s weaknesses. When you do everything alone, you always get to do what you want to do. But when you share life with others – it becomes difficult - because every other person has their own ideas which very often contradicts yours. Just think how hard it is to get a group to agree on a restaurant or a plan for the day - which is precisely the opportunity to bring out the best in each other. All these differences in ideas, likes and dislikes, agendas – these are all the opportunities for us to get over ourselves, grow up and learn to live like mature humans who are not self-centered but other centered – you know – charitable.
God designed us not to live alone so that we could just do whatever we want. That is the beginning of hell on earth and it is the path to hell after earth. God designed us to share life together so that we could enrich each other with our gifts and stretch one another to grow in virtue by our weaknesses and differences.
three
We have constructed a world in which everything is controlled and planned so that we never need or might be bothered by another human.
We have forced air heating and cooling that keep our homes at 71 degrees year-round. No need to gather around a fireplace for warmth in the winter or front porches to feel the cool breeze in the summer. We all carry with us our personal entertainment centers - our phone and laptop - so that we can isolate and watch or do whatever we want – alone. We are now able to work from home, in a remote area, on a mountaintop or desert. We all have our own cars so as never to be bothered by other people on a train or a bus or walking down the street. We have Instacart and Door-dash so that we don’t have to bother with people in stores, or by helping one another prep or clean up a meal or even go to a restaurant. Heck – we have Google and You-tube so that if we ever have a question we never have to bother with another human for an answer or help. I think the sign over the entrance to this city read: “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.”
four
On Christmas Day, 1969 then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who became Pope Benedict the XVI predicted our future when he saw:
Men in a totally planned world will find themselves unspeakably lonely. If they have completely lost sight of God, they will feel the whole horror of their poverty.
Immediately following this prediction Cardinal Ratzinger also predicted the hope for something entirely new. He said: Then they will discover the little flock of believers as something wholly new. They will discover it as a hope that is meant for them, an answer for which they have always been searching in secret.
Where will those who have lost sight of God find the little flock of believers? It probably won’t be in a Church or a retreat or a conference or Podcast or video about God and faith and religion – because the people who need God usually don’t know they need Him, so they don’t go looking for Him on their own.
They will find the little flock of believers where they live and share life with others when we have done two things:
First – when we have made the commitment to share life with a small group of people consistently, that is habitually, where we live – a small group with whom we are friends and with whom we integrate our faith.
Second – this is the place where we invite those who have lost sight of God to one degree or another.
And what will those people discover in us – people of hope and friendship and joy and deep faith and unconditional love. And they will discover it as a hope that is meant for them, an answer for which they have always been searching in secret.
five
The Mission of the Movement of the Holy Family is that everyone has a group of family and friends with whom you share life and integrate your faith so that you can enrich one another by your gifts and stretch each other by your weaknesses. And this is the very place where you invite those who have lost sight of God so that they too may share in your joy. This is how we transform the culture.
We need to make the commitment to share life with a small group of people who enrich and annoy us. We need to do this consistently, regularly, that is habitually. We can only habitually do something with the resources habitually available to us. That is the home, or wherever we live.
And that is why the Church was born in the home and the Church in crisis today will be reborn in the home.
Jesus prayed for his disciples “I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they may also be in us, that the world may believe...” John 17:20-21
Lord, help us to be one, to come together with others in your Name, that the world may come to believe