28 May 2014 – Wednesday of 6th week of Easter – John 16:12-15

       We hear Jesus tell us about how he is sending us the Holy Spirit – called the Spirit of truth – to lead us and guide us to all truth.  We hear the word “truth” being bantered about all the time all around us, don’t we?  We hear some say: “I want the truth to come out” or “I am hear to speak the truth.”  Sometimes what we think is the truth can be our own perspective or how we see things, even though we don’t want to admit it.

        When I was look at the readings for the day, I came across the name of a Frenchman who died in this date back in 1950 – his name is Marc Sangnier.  In 1894, Sangnier founded a movement called “Le Sillon”.  That French title would be translated as “The Path” or “The Furrow” in English.  Le Sillon was a religious and political movement that aimed to bring Catholicism into dialogue with the reality of the world around it, to provide a religious alternative to Marxism and the anti-clerical labor movement that were drawing a lot of the youth and young adults away from Catholicism in France and in the rest of Europe.  Sangnier was inspired by the groundbreaking social justice encyclical Rerum Novarum that Pope Leo XIII in 1891, which called for the Catholic Church to address the major social issues going on in the world.  In fact, Sangnier’s movement, which became very popular, seemed to have the approval of many bishops and even Pope Pius X.  However, some traditionalists in the Church began to see the movement as too Republican and too modernist, criticizing the movement for what it saw as an emphasis on the opinions and the ideas of ordinary Christian lay people rather than the Church Magisterium and hierarchical authority.  A papal letter condemned the organization in 1910, after which the movement dissolved itself. Sangnier retreated to the sidelines. Although he still promoted the cause of democracy and social justice, his voice never regained the prominence it once had.  It is interesting – this is a person and a movement that I had never heard of before. However, our history of faith is full of many men and women who responded to God’s call and who tried their best to serve where God is calling them.  Many of the saints and theologians who influenced the development of the faith were condemned or judged harshly in the own day.  It is only through the lens of history that we can see the positive influence that they had. How is God sending us out in the world?  How is the Holy Spirit working in our lives?