My favourite memory of a Victorian football match is of a little rover, legs pumping and bouncing the ball, running down the field, wrong-footing one giant defender and going through another, finishing in the goal square and kicking the winning goal just as the siren sounds. And all of us suddenly on our feet in delight, shouting, ‘You little bewdy!’ (You can see it happened a long time ago.)
The memory came back on reading Pope Francis’ intention for December: that people may rediscover the beauty, goodness, and truth of the Gospel which gives joy and hope to life.
Now, let’s be honest, we don’t normally associate beauty, goodness and truth with exuberant joy and hope. Beauty, perhaps – the view from a mountain over the sunlit valleys below or hearing a wonderful performance of a Mozart concerto, may bring us joy and take us out of our gloom. But not quite the beauty of ‘you little bewdy’! Goodness doesn’t quite do it, either.
Meeting a really good person does certainly give us hope, but it is lower key and deep. And truth is more like the rock we stand on in the middle of a quick flowing stream. We are relieved to stand on it, but our immediate thought is of where we can jump to next.
But the footy match nails beauty, truth and perfectly in a single moment. In a second we are all on our feet, our hands hurtling towards heaven, breath let out in a great shout, celebrating a wonderful feat by the most unlikely player on the field. And suddenly the game is won; our team is for the moment on top of the world; nothing can beat this moment; all things are possible. That is beauty in neon lights, the goodness of something totally unexpected, and the truth of our passion suddenly revealed. And what joy, what hope!
There are times when we find this in the Gospel. In a word, a story, we touch God’s love, have a new and lovely world opened to us, and see clearly. For a moment joy and hope abound.
That is what Pope Francis prays for – that we may experience and later live out of those moments where goodness, truth and beauty appear in our lives, and where we cannot but celebrate and live in hope. When being one of Jesus’ fans at the big game of life suddenly turns magic and changes our lives.
For more about the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, and to find the Pope’s monthly prayer intentions, go to www.clicktopray.org.au.
