LIVING WITH UNCERTAINTY

Fr Billy Swan

It seems like a huge understatement to say that we are living in uncertain times as a Church here in Ireland. Every parish, every religious community and every diocese across the country is grappling with social and ecclesial change that is happening at a faster rate than we can process. Despite our best efforts to get ahead of the curve, uncertainty arises in new and unexpected ways. This is partly explained by the downsizing of the Church but also because of the fluid and changing social circumstances in which we live.

For many of us, this uncertainty is unwelcome and energy draining. If only things were more stable and the future was clearer, how better we would be! Faced with uncertainty and even running away from it, we can also drift into nostalgia about the past when things were more ordered and we knew what to expect.

Here I offer a few thoughts on the uncertain times in which we live.

These reflections do not intend to spiritualise or minimise the considerable challenges that uncertainty brings. Rather, I try to see uncertainty as a friend and not a foe; a source of life instead of something that saps our energy and an opportunity instead of a problem. Above all, this article asks how God is calling us to be and how to grow in these uncertain times.

First, when we look back on the early Church, what strikes us immediately is the lack of certainty faced by the early disciples. There were little structures, buildings or money. Many faced the uncertainty of surviving at a time of persecution. But while they lacked certainty, they had abundant faith and hope. This is a key lesson for us today. The Church has lived with uncertainty since the very beginning. But when she faced it with faith and relied on the power of hope, she was at her best. Despite the uncertainty, the Church grew. Similarly, our faith today is the rock on which Christ is re-building his Church. If we had all the answers, then we wouldn’t need the Lord to help us and guide us. But that would be our Church, not his.

Second, facing uncertainty is impossible on our own. It must be done by us together. That’s where community comes is, coming together, belonging, discussing, listening and discerning. The best way to go forward and respond to evolving situations is always together. The wisdom is in the group. In this sense, uncertainty builds community and builds Church. No matter how grave the situation we face, creative solutions emerge when we are united in charity and prayer. In the One, we are one.

Finally, this time of uncertainty for the Church is a time to purify what our collective vocation as Church is meant to be. In Deus Caritas Est, Pope Benedict XVI clarified the Church’s vocation as threefold - the right worship of God, proclaiming/teaching the Gospel and serving the poor. At this extraordinary time, every parish, diocese and religious community would do well to reflect on its mission in the light of these three fundamentals. Maybe, just maybe, some of the breakdown currently underway might lead to a breakthrough and renewal of the Church – a Church closer to its true vocation to glorify God, to share the precious gift of faith and to find new, loving and creative ways to be on the side of the poor and most vulnerable.

Our prayer is that as we face these uncertain times, we might learn to trust the Lord who is with us; that facing uncertainties together, we might grow closer as community and that change serves to clarify and purify our collective vocation to be salt of the earth and light of the world.