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Jesus needs publicity now and again-
the Bishop said. |
Last Tuesday I went to a conference held by
Monsignor Ovidio Poletto, emeritus bishop of Concordia and Pordenone. Being an
emeritus bishop he was of course retired and told us in no uncertain terms that
he was a “granddad” of 78. He also told
us, since this was the year of faith, he had come there to talk to us about
faith. At this point one would expect me
to say how the Monsignor went into great depth on questions of faith. Did he
heck! And that’s what I like about Italian bishops, they have a language within
a language, the language of physical expression.
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| Expression tells it all |
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| Hands are important. |
It really doesn't matter what they say, but
if the expression is right, they win you over to their side instantly. Words
can only go so far to explain concepts that by their nature have an element of
uncertainty, but again if the expression is right, the uncertainty is replaced
by certainty.
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An attentive audience- eyes as well as ears are needed to understand
the meaning behind the words. |
An expression cannot lie, eyes cannot
conceal the truth; hidden thoughts and the very being of a person emerge into
the light of reality through expression. A speech given from a sheet of paper
is nothing compared to the face to face reality.
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| There is no Christian who has had no doubts... |
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| Or Bishop for that matter. |
He did mention there is no Christian on
earth that has never had a doubt, even Mary had doubts and wondered if all this
was really happening to her. He also mentioned that people marry in church not
just because it is a nice ceremony, but because through the sacrament of
marriage they get a thing called “grace”, an extra help from He who counts. But
then with all things that count there’s a price to pay... have we got the
courage to be followers of Christ today? Maybe we prefer the family to become
as that in France where instead of being Mum and Dad, terms abolished and replaced by, “parent”.
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| Mons.Ovidio with our parish priest- just checking what he's saying is right! |
Paying the price for something that counts in
a society where not only earning a living is uncertain but so many other things
are uncertain is not easy that’s why Jesus needs a bit of publicity now and again.
And here Monsignor Ovidio takes out the cross he had hidden beneath his jacket.
Because when children are killed by bombs and other horrors of mankind we ask “Where
is God” and more than ever now does this, he said pointing to the Cross, need publicity.
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| Last of the publicity spots- he says putting the Cross away. |
And just in passing he mentioned he is in
the fourth stage of life, the stage where you become a beggar because you need
the help of others. He lives in a home for Senior Citizen where at the end of a
lane there is a small building and sometimes the light is on, as it was this
morning... eventually that’s where we all end up, without exception- he was
referring to the Mortuary. And just in case you think it’s worthwhile
economically to be a bishop, think again. He tells us he has a pension of
€1,300.00 and has to pay €39.00 per day where he lives- and he is one of the
lucky ones- the ones who are guaranteed a living- at least for the time being.
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| Sometimes words are not enough. |
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I think he would have made a jolly good pope,
after all he does have Apostolic Succession |
