Portuguese Fr José Tolentino Mendonça in his spiritual exercise provoked the gathering to listen to the thirst of those living on the periphery. Fr. Tolentino highlighted that- keeping our eyes open in order to see what is happening in the world is essential to the spiritual life. He reminded that the voice of God should always confront us with the primordial question: ‘Where is your brother’?”
As reported by Vatican Radio, Fr. Tolentino remarked that “Jesus understands those who live on the periphery. He was born in a periphery of Bethlehem, not in the city. He lived in Nazareth a name so insignificant that it is one of the rare places in Palestine that was never named anywhere in the Old Testament. And improbable Galilee became the chosen place for the proclamation of the Kingdom of God. Further, he added, “Choosing the periphery is in the DNA of the Christian. In every era, and in every place, that is where Christians encounter and re-encounter Jesus. Thus, Christianity is a peripheral reality. For the Church, the periphery is not a problem but a horizon.”
Fr. Tolentino concluded his remarks by reminding that only by moving out of itself can the Church discover a new missionary ardor. In this way, the unheard of happens: only by moving out of herself can the Church rediscover herself.
