Oceania is more a state of mind than a place. It is what six former provinces of Christian Brothers are aspiring to become, a complex of islands and oceans, between Asia, Africa and the Americas. Note the stress on oceans (chaos) and remember the first creation story in our Jewish-Christian scriptures. It is that new!
I visited Oceania for two months, moving from two weeks of the Oceania Chapter in Brisbane, a week with Edmund Rice participants in World Youth Day in Sydney, aptly called WYD-ER, as we focused on global justice, a week of meetings on eco-justice in Melbourne, a week in Sydney for some runnng repairs (on myself) and a week in Bangkok, preparing the first training 10-day Workshop on People-centred Ecosystem Management, jointly run by Franciscans International and Edmund Rice International. These visits and meetings were the islands, shaped by the moving oceans “at their priest-like task” (Keats).
Sometimes we are immersed. At the edge of islands, the rhythm of tides ensures we go under, twice a day. But we emerge, full of experiences that give meaning to our days. When we meet, in serious dialogue, it is our immersions that we share. To talk of justice, social justice or eco-justice, requires such total experience of suffering that we can call it ‘immersion’. Those who work for justice remember the suffering, the very chaos where the Spirit is working.
Nice reflection on the experience in Brisbane and with the Social Justice network in Oceania. Good work in Bangkok. Nice post and hope to see more!