From the Regional Director of Oceania
The Holy Spirit is always and in all places at work, furthering the mission of God. This morning at 3 AM, I was awake and listening to Hugh Mackay. Hugh, a social researcher here in Australia, has recently published a book, The Kindness Revolution. What he is saying in his book and what Pope Francis is saying in Fratelli Tutti is so much the same that I thought one must have copied off the other!
For me, the Spirit was at work in not only having me awake at 3 AM but also by the similarities I find in the two messages.
I was reminded that the mission of God is not limited to the work of the Pope or the whole Catholic Church. When the Holy Spirit was urging the Pope to write his encyclical on the importance of fraternity for the entire world, Hugh was also being helped by the Spirit to develop his ideas about kindness for his book.
As Hugh said this morning, a revolution does not start from the top. Those at the top are enjoying the current situation. Revolutions always start from the bottom. Everyone, at every level, needs to start working on the revolution so that all of us will become kinder.
At this stage, everyone says, “What can I do about that? This is too big a job for me.”
Hugh’s advice is, “Start small”. Smile at the person you pass on the street.
Help anyone you can. It may be a good friend or someone you meet on a train entirely unknown to you. Be kind. Decide to live kindly.
So often, we have the same reaction when people talk about us being missionaries. We think we have to do something big. The idea paralyses us. Let us follow Hugh’s advice. Start small and be a missionary by being kind.
Fr Trevor Trotter
Regional Director of Oceania
rdoceania@columban.org.au
Related links
- Read more from the current Columban eBulletin
