Fr Damian Howard, provincial of the Jesuits in Britain, came to the parish of Christ the Eternal High Priest at Gidea Park on 10th June 2023 to lead a study day entitled ‘Serving Christ in a Hostile Environment’.
The study day began with an examination of the encounter of Jesus with the ‘woman who was a sinner’ in Luke 7. It was pointed out that the poor welcome afforded to Jesus in the house of Simon the Pharisee amounted to a deliberate snub. This was indeed a hostile environment, both for Jesus and for the woman. Nevertheless, she welcomes Jesus, and in ways that might seem scandalous, washing his feet with tears and drying them with her hair. The words of Jesus clearly name the problem. The hostile environment has not stopped him from speaking the truth. Fr Damian comments on the painting of Peter Paul Rubens.
In the second part of the study day Fr Damian explained the teaching of Pope Francis in Laudato si about the single crisis faced by the world, that of making judgements exclusively with a ‘technocratic paradigm’ (101). Possession and control are paramount, as we seek to wring out whatever we can from the world. Jesuit principles are helpful in discerning a way forward which includes the ‘revolution of tenderness’ and a promotion of non-violence. The exploitation implicit in the technocratic paradigm can give way to new ways of doing things.