When David Livingstone travelled through southern Africa in the 1880s he came upon a large lake which he called the Lake of Stars.
Our relationship to others is crucial to out life in the world. We are social beings. We are interconnected through family and friends. Often this is taken for granted. But we are also connected to “other” the people around us we do not know. This other is the one we may a family member, or could simply be an ephemeral other.
We have people living in failed states who don’t have the most basic needs met of a human. Basic education and health care are for the elite and no one else. Perhaps these have a right to be angry and seen on television. But they won’t be seen. The scandal is hidden, there is no voice heard.
Change that is growth is wonderful to watch. We see children getting older and achieving in school; we see gardens grow. If the garden is for vegetables we can eat the resulting harvest. If we have flowers and shrubs we see the seasonal progress and natural beauty and design.
We are facing a dilemma. As I mentioned in the last blog post, we are able to communicate in such a way now that our world becomes smaller and smaller. But at the same time we are more and more isolated. What has happened within the Catholic Church is an inverse to what is around us.