Freedom Egg. Image from Serene is My Name, Not My Life!
Today is Easter Sunday 2014. Amidst the chocolate-covered marshmallows, cute, fuzzy chicks and bunnies, springtime dresses and hats, and jelly beans, I want to take a moment to consider on this blog the recent news of the Vatican’s seeming reversal on liberation theology by welcoming Rev. Gustavo Gutierrez with open arms. Huzzah!
Before I even had an inkling that Communist or Marxist points-of-view existed, I was exposed to the social teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. I had begun my formal education at a Catholic school in the Philippines, so the principles and teachings of the faith are huge influences on me. I was a teen when I became aware of liberation theology, the Communist movement in the Philippines, and the nationalist fervor that served to answer the social, political, and economic inequities in Philippine society. My drive for social justice is not fueled simply by my formative years in a poor, developing nation or by purely political or intellectual philosophies. The heart of my desire for justice is born from religion. Roman Catholicism, to be exact. Liberation theology, to be even more specific.
Like many, I try to follow the path to God, a path of love and righteousness, by following a path of social justice. Because of this, the Easter story, to me, is a story of liberation from oppression. Christ’s Resurrection is humanity’s redemption. Like Rev. Gustavo Gutierrez, I hope to live a life that embodies my Christian faith.
It’s a path that is fraught with temptations and difficulties, yes. But it is also a way of life that is full of purpose and meaning.
Happy Easter!
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