 Rev. John Michael Hanvey is part of
the T.H.O.M.A.S. TeamDuring Lent I was privileged to be part of a day of reflection on the Passion of Christ, led by the Irish theologian Enda McDonagh, along with the images of the Crucifixion by the Irish artist Hughie O’Donaghue. The place where all this happened was in the heart of Soho, London where all sorts of passions are acted out. My whole weekend seemed to be one of opposites or maybe ‘contraries’ meeting in me, or were they really contraries? The strong images of the suffering Christ in the paintings were just as real in the streets of Soho where that same passion was being re-enacted time and time over in the loneliness and desperation and hedonism of all that happens there. Then on Sunday Solemn Latin Mass at Brompton Oratory with beautiful music that touched my soul, and erudite preaching that left me still thirsty like the woman at the well. Then lunch and hospitality at my friend’s church, an intercultural Anglican Church in Battersea, where at one moment I was joining in the pre lunch games that the youngsters were involved in, then talking to a Lady i.e. the wife of a Lord, about stray dogs and Battersea Dogs’ Home – with an arranged visit next time I’m in London. Then home on Monday and a conversation with a 22 years old guy from Euston to Wigan – about relationships, jobs and spirituality. Today back at T.H.O.M.A.S. and the drop-in, where the daily images of the Passion are always present. The many young people who come to us do have potential, but very often their minds and their hopes have been fractured by life and the whole set up of children’s homes, hostels and not really belonging lead to a sort of living despair where many, if not into hard drugs, are fuelled by large amounts of alcohol and cannabis; affecting health and behaviour, constantly being thrown out of their accommodation and experiencing an inner as well as an obvious outer disintegration and the long term consequences of casual sex. There have been quite a few documentaries recently on binge drinking. This sort of drinking can be the most deceptive of all, because if you’re not drinking every day, you can kid yourself that there is no real problem. The fact that when you do drink, you get arrested, or end up in A & E or lose accommodation, or get sacked are often part of the denial system of the binge drinker, denying to themselves that these are really problems. They are accepted as just part of the street scene. It’s all part of the illness of meaning where there is no longer a conscious connection with the deeply human and the deeply spiritual and life is narrowed down to a dull and grey experience, only deceptively, alleviated by returning more and more frequently to alcohol. Often these young people are difficult to reach – the normal arrogance of youth with the feelings of indestructibility are very difficult to break through, and not even the ever present death of their friends affects their addiction. I guess we have to say thank God for rehab – and this is no easy ride, either for clients or staff. From the spiritual perspective I feel we all see that divine beauty present in all these young people, but as the prophet Isaiah said of the suffering servant, this divine beauty is almost hidden from view because of suffering and inner desolation. I guess at one level I didn’t need to go down to London to reflect on the images of the passion, I see them daily, and I also have a mirror at home. But I still need to hear and see in theological reflection, music and art, and in the beauty of the liturgy, the image of that broken body that had asked to be born and who is always, no matter how hidden ‘…lovely in limbs and lovely in eyes not his.’ (Gerard Manley Hopkins) |
