Sarah Bueter is a service worker with MCC-Honduras seconded to partner organization, ERIC (Equipo de reflexión, investigación, y comunicación).
MCC’s partner organization ERIC (Equipo de Reflexión, Investigación, y Comunicación) a social work of the Jesuits of Honduras, recently facilitated a youth pilgrimage called MAGIS, which brought together youth from around the world to encounter the realities of Central America before culminating at World Youth Day 2019, the largest gathering of youth in the world.
As an MCC service worker seconded to ERIC, I participated in the planning and execution of the MAGIS pilgrimage, which prompted a special opportunity to reflect on the shared richness between Jesuit (an order within the Catholic Church) and Mennonite thought.
Photo S. Bueter
Catholics and Mennonites, a brief overview
Although Mennonites and Catholics are distinct branches of the tree of Christianity, they maintain much in common. In fact, in the past two decades, Mennonites and Catholics have engaged in significant dialogue, most notably documented in the 2003 publication Called Together to be Peacemakers. Most dialogue between Catholics and Mennonites has focused on the wealth of nonviolence and peace teaching that Mennonites offer the Catholic tradition as well as deepening both traditions’ understanding of communion and the Eucharist.
Catholics are rediscovering the importance of peace, not as a normative idea (i.e. how things should be), but that “reconciliation, nonviolence, and active peacemaking belong to the heart of the Gospel (Mt 5:9; Rom 12:14-21; Eph 6:15)” (Called Together to be Peacemakers, 179). Peace plays an important role within the Catholic social tradition, yet remains often underutilized and referred to as the Church’s “best kept secret.” Mennonite theology and praxis point to nonviolence as an expression of lived discipleship. Mennonite peacebuilding practices guide how to live out—not just talk about—peace building. For example, dialogue from the Catholic-Mennonite movement Bridgefolk has been incorporated into Catholic initiatives like the 2016 Pax Christi conference on nonviolence. Peace practitioners and scholars like John Paul Lederach lay new tracks for Catholics to follow. Together, Mennonites and Catholics are pushing theological boundaries on questions of war and peace, such as nuclear deterrence, drone use, and humanitarian aid.
Likewise, as iron sharpens iron, Mennonite theology draws from the deep wells of Catholic thought and tradition. In particular, Jesuits have wrestled with their approach to engagement in the world for centuries and offer a reflection for some Mennonite theologies that view nonresistance as a form of Christian witness, which may imply a resistance to engage in the world. Given that avoidance compromises the exact witness that Christians are called to demonstrate, Jesuit perspectives help elucidate to what extent Christians are called to engage in certain worldly structures, especially if these structures perpetuate sin or involve, so to speak, a “dirtying of hands.”
Taking in a Jesuit approach as practiced in the MAGIS pilgrimage can help to clarify how MCC maintains its nonviolent identity while engaging with the world.
MAGIS
The name of the pilgrimage, MAGIS, stems from the Latin word magis, which translates to more or better. Founder of the Jesuits, Ignatius of Loyola, used this word to describe how an encounter with Christ leads one to live a fuller life, that by knowing Christ, one yearns to follow in his footsteps in a more profound way.
The pilgrimage placed youth in the midst of difficult social realities that Honduras faces: exploitative extractive industries, resource-based conflict, poverty, and migration. Yet more importantly, young people were invited to witness the resistance of Hondurans who act out of faith and love to build up the common good.
The deeply spiritual pilgrimage invited youth to examine how contemplation of God draws them into action. Service in communities was balanced with prayerful reflection, celebrations of the Mass, and daily Examens that prompt reflection on how God is present in our quotidian lives.
Photo D. Duarte
Seeking God in all things
In Jesuit thought, attentiveness toward God shapes one’s attentiveness toward the world, most commonly surmised in the Jesuit phrase “seeking God in all things.” That is, from attentiveness toward God, we become attentive toward the world around us. From a love of Christ, we are drawn to examine Christ in the face of our neighbor. Our desire to love God becomes manifest when we look outward and love the world. In other words, contemplating God leads us to action for our neighbor.
Such a rich understanding from the Jesuits reinforces and strengthens MCC’s own understanding of its mission:
“Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), a worldwide ministry of Anabaptist churches, shares God’s love and compassion for all in the name of Christ by responding to basic human needs and working for peace and justice. MCC envisions communities worldwide in right relationship with God, one another and creation.”
Like the Jesuits’ mission, MCC’s vision connects love of God with the response of love of neighbor. Contemplating God’s love for us propels us to “share God’s love and compassion for all.” Likewise, from this central principle to serve in the name of Christ stems all other operating principles such as MCC’s ecumenical commitments to “build bridges across cultural, political, religious, and economic divides” and to weave “authentic and transparent partnerships.”
The Jesuit practice of “seeking God in all things” also implies a commitment to social justice. In fact, the mission of the Jesuits is “the service of faith, of which the promotion of justice is an absolute requirement.” Jesuits maintain both the individual and the structural view when examining reality: not afraid to uphold human dignity, unafraid to criticize neither the structural sin of a system nor the sin of an individual. And like the Jesuits, MCC remains distinctly committed and concerned with the individual at the same time that it maintains a broad vision that seeks to dismantle structures of oppression.
Working alongside each other in Honduras, MCC and ERIC’s distinct expressions of Christianity complement, invigorate, and challenge each other. The MAGIS pilgrimage provided the opportunity to engage in thoughtful reflection and action to respond to the difficult realities in Honduras. MCC’s ecumenical engagement will continue to sharpen its own understanding of its mission. Who is Christ, where is he found, and what is our response to his call? Maybe ask the pilgrims.
Photo D. Peláez