Let Us Dream Part I: A Time to ‘See’

 Back in March, we reflected on the Prologue to Pope Francis’ book: Let Us Dream: The Path to a Better Future. We explored some of the big ideas that prompted him to dream, and then write. He ends the Prologue by saying that we need to see clearly, choose well, and act right. This month we will look at Part I, A Time to See.

 So, what would Francis have us ‘see?’ First, last, and ways…real people. Not just numbers but real people, especially the people on the edges. Francis believes that the folks on the edges can convert the rest of us. Their plight jars us out of our indifference, which he calls the ‘other virus.’ Their situations will overwhelm us but need never rob us of our hope. Their plight stirs up a culture of service in contrast to a throwaway culture.

 But Francis is a realist, and he names three attitudes that will offer escapes from really ‘seeing’ someone’s situation. They are narcissism, discouragement, and pessimism. Narcissism is drowning in your own image. Discouragement is seeing only what you’ve lost, and pessimism shuts the door on the future. In a way, he believes that COVID has actually helped us ‘see’ differently. We are beginning to see that those who have been cast aside can become the agents of a new future. The common new project that then arises becomes changing the very way society itself operates. The people on the edge become the protagonists of social change.

 Myopia is selecting what I will allow myself to see. I can then turn away because it’s better not to feel anything. “So-whatism” sets in, which blocks discernment. The media often presents this challenge. It reveals a humanity getting sicker right along with our common home.

 But really seeing stirs up not merely a green energy, it arouses a social energy. Like drops on a sponge, it forms an awareness, not a self-centered ideology which is a lopsided awareness. Francis ends by declaring that sin is a rejection of the limits that love requires. Instead, he calls for an integral ecology, a ‘digging in’ to uncover the deep changes we need to face. Once we ‘see’ properly, the next challenge is to choose. Stay tuned…!