Jesus' prayer did not say, "... that I may go to Your Kingdom..." but the prayer says, "... Your Kingdom come..."
This was made explicit when Prof. Dev Manti, blasted us for being partial in our take on formation. We spoke of the formator, formee and the whole dynamics between them. He said all the while you speak of relationship with God and the Spirit. How then is the Kingdom established, if all the while you are lost in relating to God alone?
I think we need to define who the 'other' is. In stages of initial formation, say till our practical training, the immediate other (from the perspective of the formee) is primarily the formator. But not exclusively!! There are also the other persons whom he interacts with: the staff members, the domestic helpers, the oratory youth and even occasional visitors and strangers. The 'other' at that stage is not primarily the general public, the wide 'field of apostolate'. Now if the formee, is assisted to relate to each of these people (formators, staff, domestic helpers, immediate neighbours, visitors) as people, not as higher or lower, not as differentiated, then he is on the right path. Of course, this will be 'learnt' mostly by the way the formee sees the formator relating to each of these groups, individually as a group as well. It is the same with regard to relationship with God.
Once this is achieved (the formee has learned to relate to EVERY people holistically) the formee takes it wherever he goes. He will replicate that mode of relationship - a human being meeting another human being.
Where then does the dimension of taking the side of the marginalised happen?? By the very act of treating everyone as a human being, we are already taking sides!
I think we need to define who the 'other' is. In stages of initial formation, say till our practical training, the immediate other (from the perspective of the formee) is primarily the formator. But not exclusively!! There are also the other persons whom he interacts with: the staff members, the domestic helpers, the oratory youth and even occasional visitors and strangers. The 'other' at that stage is not primarily the general public, the wide 'field of apostolate'. Now if the formee, is assisted to relate to each of these people (formators, staff, domestic helpers, immediate neighbours, visitors) as people, not as higher or lower, not as differentiated, then he is on the right path. Of course, this will be 'learnt' mostly by the way the formee sees the formator relating to each of these groups, individually as a group as well. It is the same with regard to relationship with God.
Once this is achieved (the formee has learned to relate to EVERY people holistically) the formee takes it wherever he goes. He will replicate that mode of relationship - a human being meeting another human being.
Where then does the dimension of taking the side of the marginalised happen?? By the very act of treating everyone as a human being, we are already taking sides!
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