Monthly Archives: April 2017

What does it mean to truly experience Easter; what is the Easter spirit?. The question is essential, because for a Christian there is a risk of idealization and of forgetting that our faith is concrete. In the chapel at Santa Marta on Monday morning, 24 April, in the first Mass Pope Francis celebrated after the Easter celebrations, he outlined the path to be followed: to go along the paths of the Holy Spirit without compromises, witnessing to the truth with courage and frankness.

Understanding this life plan requires a passage of mentality, freeing oneself from the snares of realism and adhering to the freedom of the Spirit. This is what Jesus explained to Nicodemus in the well-known Gospel narrative of the nighttime visit (Jn 3:1-8), which the Pontiff analyzed in the days liturgy.

This Pharisee, the Pope said, was a good man. He was restless; he did not understand. His heart was in its darkest hour. However, this darkest hour was different from that of Judas, because this dark hour led him to draw near to Jesus, while that of Judas led him to distance himself. When Nicodemus went to Jesus to ask for explanations, he received a response that he did not understand. It almost seemed as if Jesus wanted to complicate things or embarrass him. Indeed, Jesus replied: truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus asked: How can a man be born anew?. It seemed, Francis noted, rather ironic, but it is not so. It is instead the expression of great interior torment. Thus, Jesus explained that it entailed a passage from one mentality to another, and with much patience, with much love, He helped this man of good will in this passage.

The Pontiff reflected on Jesus response, asking, what does it mean to be born of the Spirit? What is the meaning of you must be born anew. The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the Spirit?. The Pope then emphasized a perceptible air of freedom contained in this message.

It is a difficult discourse, however, and in order to better understand it, the Pope suggested, the first reading enlightens us. In the days reading from the Acts of the Apostles (4:23-31), there is indeed the finale of a narrative that the liturgy proposed throughout Holy Week. The story of the healing, by Peter and John, of the lame man who had been brought each day to the Temple Gate called Beautiful, to ask alms. The reading of this episode sheds light on the discussion with Nicodemus, Francis explained. He pointed out that all the people were there at Solomons gate; they had seen and were astonished. It was that very sentiment more than a sentiment: that state of mind which makes the Lord present in us. Astonishment. The encounter with the Lord leads to astonishment.

In response to this, the leaders, the high priests, the doctors of the law, were scandalized and, knowing that the miracle had been performed in public, asked themselves: What do we do?. The same thing happens, the Pontiff stated, when Jesus heals the man born blind. Then, those who were present asked: What can we do to cover this up? Because people have seen, people believe, we have proof.... How can this be hidden?. Indeed, they had seen that lame man who, according to the narrative, danced for joy in order to make them understand that Jesus had healed him. The doctors of the law agreed to call the two Apostles and to tell them to speak no more, to preach no more. Peter, who had denied Jesus three times, responded: No! We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard. And thus, we shall continue.

This is the detail that clarifies everything. The two words that John later uses to begin the first letter: what we have seen and heard. It is, the Pope indicated, a matter of concreteness. The concreteness of a fact. The concreteness of faith. The concreteness of the incarnation of the Word.

In this context, the Pontiff continued, the leaders want to enter negotiations in order to reach compromises. But the Apostles, do not want compromises. They have courage. They have frankness, the frankness of the Spirit. It is a frankness that means speaking openly, with courage. Therefore, Francis explained, this is the point: the concreteness of faith. A conclusion which involves every Christian. Indeed, Francis recalled, at times we forget that our faith is concrete: the Word became flesh, he did not become an idea: he became flesh. For this reason, when we recite the Creed, everything we say is concrete: I believe in God the Father, creator of heaven and earth; I believe in Jesus Christ, who was born, who died.... They are all concrete things. The Creed does not say: I believe that I must do this, that I must do this, or that things are for these.... No! They are concrete things. And the concreteness of faith leads to frankness, to witnessing to the point of martyrdom, which is contrary to compromises or the idealization of faith. One might say that for those doctors of the law, the Word did not become flesh: it became law. For them it was only important to establish: one must do this up to this point and no more; one must do this.... And thus they were trapped in this rationalistic mentality. However, the Pope cautioned, this mentality does not end with them. In fact, many times in history, the Church that condemned rationalism, enlightenment, is also one that fell into a theology of can and cannot, up to this point, up to that point, and forgot the strength, the freedom of the Spirit, this being born anew of the Spirit which gives you the freedom, the frankness of preaching, the message that Jesus Christ is Lord.

According to this key understanding, the Pontiff emphasized, one can also understand the history of persecution. Indeed, the first reading states: The kings of the earth set themselves in array, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord his Anointed for truly in this city there were gathered together against thy holy servant Jesus, whom thou didst anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel.

Thus this lesson is still timely: Let us ask the Lord for this experience of the Spirit who comes and goes and leads us forward, of the Spirit who gives us the anointing of faith, the anointing of the concreteness of faith.

Thus, Jesus words to Nicodemus echo once again: Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born anew. The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the Spirit. One who is born of the Spirit hears the voice, follows the wind, follows the voice of the Spirit not knowing where he will end up. Because he has chosen the option of the concreteness of faith and being born anew in the spirit.

Thus, Pope Francis concluded with a prayer: May the Lord give us all this Easter Spirit, to go along the paths of the Spirit without compromise, without rigidity, with the freedom to announce Jesus Christ as He has come: in the flesh.

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Faith is concrete - L'Osservatore Romano

Pope Francis celebrates his morning Mass April 24 in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae at the Vatican. (CNS photo/L'Osservatore Romano)

Christian faith is belief in the concrete work of God and leads to concrete witness and action by believers, Pope Francis said.

The Christian creed details concrete events because "the Word was made flesh, it was not made an idea," the pope said April 24 during his morning Mass in the chapel of Domus Sanctae Marthae.

"The creed does not say, 'I believe I must do this, that I must do that' or that 'things are made for this reason.' No! They are concrete things," such as belief in God who made heaven and earth or believe in Jesus who was born of Mary, was crucified, died and was buried, the pope noted.

The concreteness of faith "leads to frankness, to giving witness to the point of martyrdom; it is against compromises or the idealization of faith," he said.

Pope Francis reflected on the day's first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, which recalled Peter and John's release after they were imprisoned by the Sanhedrin following the miraculous healing of a cripple.

Noting their courage in the face of persecution, the pope said that their defiance of the Sanhedrin's order not to preach in the name of Jesus was an example of the concrete nature of faith, "which means speaking the truth openly without compromises."

The "rationalistic mentality" shown by the Sanhedrin, the pope added, did not end with them, and even the church at times has fallen into the same way of thinking.

"The church itself, which condemned rationalism, the Enlightenment, many times fell into a theology of 'you can do this and you can't do that,'" forgetting the freedom that comes from the Holy Spirit and gives believers the gift of frankness and of proclaiming that Jesus is Lord, the pope said.

"May the Lord give us all this Easter spirit of following the path of the Spirit without compromise, without rigidity, with the freedom to proclaim Jesus Christ as he came: in the flesh," Pope Francis said.

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Faith leads to freedom, not compromise, pope says at morning Mass - My catholic standard

On social media, youths are seizing the memes of production to prove that continental philosophy isn't just an academic abstraction.

During his final year of high school, Myles was voted "Comedian of the Year," an accolade he received for being an admin on his school's Facebook meme page. Under his careful curation, inside jokes and gossip ran rampant, earning him the title.

Now 18 and studying journalism, Myles is a part of the growing movement of teenagers worldwide creating and sharing their own esoteric, leftist political memes on Facebook, Reddit, and Tumblr. "I love the way memes can brilliantly explain a huge political issue in a simple way," says Myles.

Read More: Why We Need to Trust Teens to Teach Each Other Sex Ed

"I mean obviously memes aren't the be-all and end-all of political engagement, but they can often help explain and engage young people in a discourse that they get shut out of. I once saw this great meme from Sassy Socialist Memes that epitomized a really thoughtful criticism of economic rationalism.

"It was one of those 'funny because it's true' moments."

There is much dispute and criticism around the use of so-called dank memes in the political arena; some feel they are overbearingly layered with irony, or prone to re-appropriating theory out of context. On the flip side, as Myles points out, they make political theory digestible. Memes are also undeniably accessible and democratic: memers make content on their own terms, and in doing so seize "the means of production."

Images courtesy of Facebook/SassySocialistMemes

"A lot of people don't have time to write a whole article or make a whole stand-up special really getting into the grit of political conversations," agrees Susie, 18, an English Literature student and LGBTQ activist. "But most people have time to make a meme.

"Also, a lot of political meme culture I follow incorporates stuff that I already know about, or values I already have, so it's nice to have like an in-joke with a lot of peoplewhich is where a lot people find the fun in it."

"Like the political cartoon, which goes back two centuries to Punch magazine in the 1850s, political memes are a way for people to look at politics but to look at it askance, a little bit off centre, and that is pleasurable," writes Professor Marshall of Deakin University. "They offer a sense of personal connection and a way to instantly show your interest in an issue from a slightly removed point of view."

James*, 27, is an admin for Crunchy Continental Memes, a Leftist philosophy meme page. "If there's a takeaway for young people or activists looking at our page, it's that that continental philosophy isn't just academic abstraction," he says. "It can inform and reinforce leftist political practice in a really vital way."

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The whole thing does sometimes conflict with his worldview, though. "The problem with being an admin is that you end up seeing other people less as individual comrades, and more as potential engagements with your content, so the 'average' memer you see fades into an amorphous multitude whose only function is to reward your toil with precious likes."

Susie (not an admin) isn't worried about that. "Tagging a mate in a meme helps ease into a chat, you know?" she says over Facebook. "Memes are the opener now I guess lmao but that seems pretty good to me."

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How Meme Culture Is Getting Teens into Marxism | Broadly - Broadly