Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People

People on the Move - N° 88-89, April - December 2002

Shrines: in the service of incarnating Christ in Asia today

Rev. Fr. Manuel VERGARA, O.S.A.,
V.P. of the University of Iloilo, Philippines

Introduction:

While visiting a shrine in Korea last year, three young Korean students approached us and asked about the significance of the Shrine of the Martyrs in Seoul. Since I could not speak a single word of Korean and was a visitor myself, my brother explained to them the history and the events that led to the persecution. The students listened intently and asked about the Catholic faith, and its history in Korea. I suppose they were Buddhists.

This experience demonstrated the significance of symbols, arts, rituals, liturgical music, liturgy itself, and shrines. Had it not been for that shrine which stood amidst a foreign culture, those students could not have ventured to enter, see, inquire and reflect upon its meaning. There was a movement and a process – a process of inquiry and reflection, which is the starting point of a journey.

Symbols, sacramentals, rituals and shrines are called “doors to the sacred”. (Wagner: 1993). As doors they signify direction, change of location, perspective and even purification. Wagner points out, 

“Symbols make God available to us so that
we may be touched by the divine
presence, or made conscious of that presence within…”

Shrines project images and meaning. The understanding of this projection depends on the clarity of the image and interiorization of the meaning.

The Document, “The Shrine: Memory, Presence and Prophecy of the Living God” (1999), suggests an understanding of the “theology of the Temple” which allowed us the full grasp of the meaning of the shrine. The theology reminds us that the signification of the shrine is biblically based. For example, it gives us three biblical images as our reference: 1) the cosmic temple (cf Ps 19:139); 2) the Ark of the Covenant; 3) the new and definitive temple who is the Eternal Son. The cosmic temple, the Ark, the new temple are biblical images used by God in forging a personal relation with his people. It is a means through which God’s initiative to dwell with his own was and is realized.

Recollection of these past events effects our present experience of shrines or sacred places and give us the real meaning of genuine encounter. In this way, shrines are signs of God’s initiatives to be with His own people.

Shrines as Places of Encounter

The notion of shrine cannot be completed without the pilgrimage to sacred places approved by an ordinary. This encounter engenders an experience of openness, and the pilgrim feels the sense of being accompanied towards new being, towards conversion or renewal. It is a “meeting with the Living God which can take place through the life-giving experience of the mystery which is proclaimed, celebrated and lived”.

When we were novices we had the opportunity of acting as “tour guides” at the San Agustin Museum. We explained and assisted the visitors to appreciate the meaning of religious symbols. While many were just there because they were brought by their own guides, the possibility of an inquiry was not remote and the hope for clarification remained a possibility. Just being there (Dasein) opens chances of reflection.

A religious experience underlines the realization of “what lies beyond the object?” Is there a meaning beyond? Would this bring a transformation? A change in outlook? A search for identity? An affirmation of a commitment?

The relational character of a shrine, the encounter with a shrine, leads one to experience the joy of gathering and the building-up of a faith community.

Ecclesia in Asia emphasizes the aspect of witness so that the homo viator as Augustine calls it, might be led to a new person. There is then, a call for identification between the means and the proclaimer. We can only proclaim Christ if Christ dwells within us. Only then can we share Christ with others (EN).

I. Shrines: in the Service of Evangelisation

“To evangelise is first of all to bear witness…” (EN 26).

Dr. Maggay says that the Asian Church is a potent force for social transformation. But it should be a Church, which is not confined to its four walls, for how could the good news be proclaimed to all if it is boarded within walls?

“It is precisely because the Church has
retreated from the world that the Gospel
now lacks a content. We have allowed the
world to become secularised, and the 
Church’s influence to be narrowed within
the four paltry walls of the local church”.
(Maggay 1994)

Furthermore, some theologians have observed that the Asian Church puts more emphasis on dialogue rather than proclamation (Diwa: 99). But, for the moment, we are not concerned with this prioritization, as long as Christ is the the primary subject of the dialogue and proclamation.

The call for new evangelization requires new directions, advocacies, and new modes of encounter with Christ. Some challenges for advocacy, for instance were outlined in a Summary Report for Justice and Peace held in Thailand last Sept 1, 2001:

1. Advocacy for strengthening democracy and participatory governance;
2. Advocacy for people’s causes, acceleration of development through industrialization, business, modern technology, especially information technology;
3. Advocacy for a development paradigm which is liberating, holistic, for struggle towards a more humane society;
4. Advocacy for “globalisation without marginalization, promoting the ethos of being more rather than having more;
5. Advocacy for inter-ecclesial, inter-cultural, inter-religious communion and cooperation;
6. Advocacy towards a credibility of witness (BEF: 825: July-Aug. 2001).

While the process of the first evangelisation took place in awareness and structures, the new evangelisation confronts a people who were Christian, but due to secularisation or denial of religion or Christian values, have alienated themselves from the Church (Latourelle: 1990). Shrines can offer shelter and comfort to the alienated and marginalized once again.

The document stressed the three dimensions of shrines, namely: Memory, Presence and Signs of Hope.

a.     Shrine as Memory

As in biblical tradition, shrines are not merely the work of human hands but a witness to God’s initiative in revealing himself to human persons. Shrines are reminders of the salvific work of the Lord.

b.     Shrine as Presence

Shrines are constant reminders of “God’s indwelling-with-men”. As an encounter with God’s presence it is appropriate that there is: a) adequate preparation to see beyond the visible; b) discernment; c) social consciousness and charity.

c.      Shrines as signs of hope

As signs of hope, shrines are reminders:

1. For a call to critique the myopia of more human projects proposed as absolutes;
2. to protest against world presumptions ad ideologies;
3. that Christians have to live in the world while not being of the world.

This socio-prophetic dimension calls for social transformation and reformation so that Christians are able to realize the meaning of their ultimate goal. It is a demand for a constant praxis of charity, solidarity and concern. Shrines are a beacon to pilgrims along the journey, but at the same time they encourage advocacy for justice and peace.

II. Incarnating Christ as the Subject or Focus of Evangelization

Ecclesia in Asia points out that “there can be no true evangelization without the explicit proclamation of Jesus as Lord”. But the problem, as pointed out by the same document is not the subject of the proclamation, but rather the process of the proclamation. Christ is in Asian, and yet he is a “foreigner” in Asia.

Another dimension is the problem of divine manifestation. The document indicates that there is no problem accepting Christ as the manifestation of the divine. The problem lies in the acceptance that he is the only manifestation of the divine.

We visited a Redemptorist Shrine in Pattyat, Thailand last year. The Shrine is artistically and intricately designed and inspired by Buddhist art. One is tempted to think that he is inside a Buddhist temple. However, as one looks at the side walls, one sees the life of Christ as encountered by Thai people, artistically depicted in paintings. At the main altar is Christ drawn by horses atop clouds and leading to a place beyond. A Buddhist would certainly associate this depiction with “nirvana”. A shrine like this would certainly invite other cultures or non-believers to feel at home with the Good News we proclaim. We are challanged with how to make the encounter of our faith with other cultures non-confrontational, so that conflicts and disputes and sensitive issues are resolved through dialogue, ecumenical prayer and witness. (EA)

III. Asia as Locus of Evangelization

Over the past three decades, a renewed consciousness has emerged in the Church in Asia. In the 7th FABC Plenary Assembly held in Thailand last Jan. 3-13, 2000, the bishops explored the theme: “A Renewed Church in Asia: a Mission of Love and Service”, where the participants identified 7 core themes which could be considered as 7 models of the Church in Asia. (Kroeger). 

The Church in Asia is a pilgrim church that expresses its identify as:

1. A Church of the poor and the young;
2. A truly local, indigenous and inculturated church;
3. A church of prayer, interiority, contemplation;
4. A genuine community, i.e., a community of communitie through BEC’s, BHC’s;
5. A participatory church that empowers men and women;
6. A life-giving church with a deep faith in the sacred.

These models are ways of renewing the Church in Asia, as a place where Christ is truly encountered.

Challenges:

1. In Asia, with her rich tradition of spirituality, shrines should be genuine places of encounter with Christ, where the Good News is truly proclaimed, shared and lived. They should be real places of encounter with the Word and the Sacrament.
2. Shrines are appropriate places for inter-religious and ecumenical dialogues;
3. Shrines can promote inculturated liturgies where the “Asianity” of our faith can be experienced;
4. Shrines as witness of unity, harmony and presence, are appropriate places for faith-searching and communion, where the sense of the sacred can be felt and encountered;
5. Shrines can be places of advocacy for authentic human and Christian development;
6. Shrines should be constant reminders of the “Mystery of the Temple”, who is Christ;
7. Marian shrines should evoke a sense of the incarnation of Mary’s values and should lead one to a real encounter with Christ.

As one theologian hopes for a theology that “knows how to walk” (marunong lumakad), knows how to sit (marunong umupo), knows how to kneel (marunong lumuhod) in the sense of a theology, which studies the past, knows how to walk with the poor, and knows how to adore, we, too, by the special way we proclaim Christ, can serve as gabay sa mga lumalakad, ilaw sa mga naghahanap, at daanan ng mga naghanap ng katotohanan, kahinahunan at kandungan ng naliligaw (a guide for those who are walking, a light for those who are searching, and a way for those who are looking for the truth, calmness and rest for those who are lost). For truly, shrines and pilgrimages are places of the experience of and the encounter with the sacred.