November 1, 2010
In Christ's name, open roads Gospel
Take a journey without knowing where it leads! No thank you! Not for me. I'm not the adventurous type. Yet, for thirty years, from England via the Congo and more recently Malawi, I roll my hump in a blind trust.
Anywhere, I know a brother or sister in Christ's name receive me. It is He who draws the path. It IS the gospel that I proclaim somehow in French, English, Kiswahili and Chichewa. I am not an adventurer in search of a bullshit story. I try to be guided by Him who cracked open the horizons of the unknown.
With the exception of economic development, I do not see any difference between Africa and here. The human heart is the same everywhere. Fear rubs dreams of easy success. The reality remains mysterious, or even intangible. The journey of emotions going in all directions and often stops before the impassable walls of hatred, rebellion or distress. There is also the impulses of generosity, unconditional hospitality, love and forgiveness. One day, Jesus tells us, a rich man was partying every day. A poor man named Lazarus had nothing to eat. But they died, and an impassable gulf separated them. Neither he nor his brother knew not listen.
is the drama, and despite the undoubted progress means of communication, we avoid dialogue and s'obstinons maintain erroneous beliefs. The abyss is not elsewhere than on earth among nations powerful and technologically underdeveloped countries, between knowledgeable and ignorant, to the holders of power weapons and victims, between ideologically opposed political systems, between religions, between neighbors and even within our own families.
How then fill those chasms? In Christ's name, open paths of the Gospel. Open is to dare to trust the unknown. The roads are for life. In this, there is a call to offer our vulnerability so that together we were fighting evil. Jesus is the perfect example of the full opening to the Father's will. His path leads him to death on a cross from which gusted unimaginable love of God and a life of eternity. We all carry this mission to reach the door of our fears to dare take the road of hope. This is especially true that our church is undergoing a deep crisis. This is no time to hide. Instead, more than ever, we live in faith and love, perseverance and gentleness. 
In England, the Congo or Malawi, I had to learn everything starting with the languages and customs. I seem to have done so little. The key is No very start walking, walker, wheelchair or even dream about. Whatever! There are disabled and sick who are a long way to bridge the injury of misunderstandings, blunders, of indifference or blindness. I do not know where I'm going but I'm still going because I know that Jesus leads me, even beyond death.
Father Serge St-Arneault, M. Afr
text published in the journal of information and reflection of the diocese of Trois-Rivieres, Trois-Rivières Church - November 2010, page 2
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