Glenmary Columnist Turns Jubilee Themes Into a Model for Lifetime Spirituality 

CINCINNATI (December 9, 1999)Ê"The jubilee themes of fallowness, forgiveness, liberation and justice call for an ethical practice that begs for a response on the personal, communal and structural level," writes Glenmary Father John Rausch in the Winter issue of Glenmary Challenge. He draws upon these jubilee themes to outline a lifetime spirituality for believers who want to "deepen their faith and, with the Holy Spirit, renew the face of the earth."

In "Jubilee Spirituality: A Fresh Approach to Spiritual Growth for the New Millennium," Father Rausch shares concrete examples from the lives of Glenmary priests and brothers and the mission parishes where they serve to illustrate ways that all believers can "turn patterns of oppression into pathways for new beginnings." Father Rausch, an economist living and working in Appalachia, writes a syndicated column for 22 Catholic newspapers on issues of faith in the marketplace and offers workshops on jubilee spirituality and other justice-related topics.

In developing the jubilee theme of liberation, Father Rausch points out that "we who have been freed are challenged to liberate others."  Thus Glenmary Father Bob Bond repairs old computers and donates them to after-school programs for needy kids in Andrews, N.C. For those born into poverty, computer skills offer a path for liberation. "'Let my people go' (Ex 5:1) in this instance," says Father Rausch, "translates into helping people gain the skills to earn their livelihood in this technological society."

In adapting the agrarian jubilee image of fallowness to our modern context, Father Rausch challenges contemporary believers to acknowledge the reality that "humanity is dust and breath" (Gn 2:7) and to allow the "human land to lie fallow." Citing the statistic that Americans now work 163 hours--an extra month--more per year than 25 years ago, he invites all Christians to begin now to "practice a personal sabbath." That might mean taking a regular prayer-walk, making time for a real vacation, or developing a regular hobby.

Father Rausch also builds a fresh understanding of jubilee forgiveness on the call in Leviticus 25 to cancel monetary debts. Jubilee spirituality, he says, invites believers to "transform life's disappointments (aging, personal limitations, etc) through self-acceptance, letting go and recognizing everything--health, property, life--belong to God."

Jubilee justice, he says, recognizes the limitations of material goods and "seeks to share things so everyone has enough." Reducing the use of energy cuts pollution and preserves the environment for the common good. Limiting TV addiction lessens the desire for frivolous consumption and saves resources. Giving alms to the needy recognizes the claim of the poor on superfluous wealth and counters greed.

As the jubilee year begins, Father Rausch suggests certain phrases which focus the type of spirituality he is proposing: "time for," "time with," "free of," "return to," "allow for." These are the kinds of phrases one might consciously incorporate into jubilee prayer and reflection.

Father Rausch's article also includes a schematic grid (page 7) arranging jubilee themes with the three levels on which response is demanded: personal, communal, societal. He invites all Christians to examine this grid to determine how they already incorporate aspects of jubilee spirituality into their own lives and where they may have some gaps that call for further reflection.

Glenmary Challenge is a quarterly magazine published by Glenmary Home Missioners, a society of priests, brothers and lay coworkers serving the spiritual and material needs of small towns and rural areas in Appalachia, the South and the Southwest.