From the Fifth Gospel: A Proclamation by the Cristo Redentor do Corcovado,Rio

Leonardo BoffDeixe um comentário

In those days, when He reached 80 years of existence, The Cristo do Corcovado in Rio de Janeiro trembled and revived. What was cement and rock became flesh and blood. Opening His arms, as if He wanted to embrace the world, He opened His mouth, spoke and said:

«Blessed are you, the poor, the hungry, the sick and the fallen down on so many pathways without a good Samaritan to help you. The Father who is also Mother of goodness carries you in His heart and promises that you will be the first inheritors of the Kingdom of justice and peace.

Woe you, wielders of power, who for five hundred years have sucked the blood of the workers, reducing them to cheap combustibles for your machines that produce iniquitous wealth. I will not be the one who judges you, but your victims, behind whom I Myself hid and suffered.

Blessed are all of you, the indigenous of so many ethnic nations, first inhabitants of these very happy lands, who live in the innocence of a life in communion with nature. You were almost exterminated, but are resurrecting now with your religions and cultures giving witness to the presence of the Spirit Creator who never abandoned you.

Woe to those who enslaved you, who murdered you with the sword and the cross, denied your humanity, labeled your cults Satanic, stole your lands and ridiculed the wisdom of your chamanes.

Blessed are you, and I repeat, blessed are you, my Black brothers and sisters, unjustly brought from Africa to be sold as property in the markets, turned into coal to be consumed in the sugar mills, always harassed and dying before your time.

Woe to those who dehumanized you! Justice calls to the heavens until the day of final judgment. Accursed be the slave hut, accursed the cage, accursed the whip, accursed the chains, accursed the slave ship. Blessed be the refuge of el palenque, forerunner of a world of liberated people and of a fraternity without distinctions.

Blessed are those who struggle for the land in the fields and in the city, land to live on and to work and to bring forth from the Earth the sustenance for oneself and all others, for the hungry of the whole world.

Accursed be the large unproductive states that expel those who work it as their own, and murder those who occupy it to have a place to live, to work and to earn the bread for their sons and daughters. I tell you in truth: the day will come when you will be dispossessed. The small earth that will cover you will be an overwhelming weight on your graves.


Blessed are you, women of the people, who have resisted millenarian oppression, who have conquered spaces of participation and freedom and who are struggling for a society not defined by gender. A society where men and women, together, different, reciprocal and equal, inaugurate the perennial alliance of sharing, of love, and of shared responsibility.


Blessed are you, the millions of children lacking everything and thrown onto the streets, victims of a society of exclusion that has lost its tenderness towards innocent life. My Father, like a Grand Mother, will wipe away your tears and embrace you in Her heart because you are Her most beloved sons and daughters.

Happy are the pastors who humbly serve the people among the people, with the people and for the people. Woe to those pastors who dress in fancy clothes, are filled with vanity on television, use sacred symbols of power, extol the Our Father and forget the Our Bread. How many use the staff against the sheep instead of against the wolves! I do not recognize you and will not give witness in your favor when you come in front of my Father.

Blessed are the ecclesiastic base communities, the social movements for the Earth, for a house, for education, for health, for security. Happy are those who, without the need of talking about Myself, assume the same cause for which I lived, was persecuted and executed on the cross. But I came back to continue the insurrection against a world that places more value on material goods than on life, that prefers private accumulation over participation in solidarity and which would rather feed their dogs well than feed hungry people.

Blessed are those who dream that a new world is possible and necessary, with room for all, nature included. Happy are those who love Mother Earth as they love their own mother and respect her rhythms, giving her peace so that she may recreate her nutrients and continue producing all that we need to live.

Blessed are those who do not desist, but resist and insist that the world can be different and it will be, a world where poetry walks alongside work, music joins machineries, where all recognize each other as brothers and sisters, living in the only Common House we have, this beautiful, luminous little planet Earth.

In true, in true I say to you: happy are you because all of you are sons and daughters of joy and you are in the palm of God’s hand. Amen».


Del quinto Evangelio: proclamación del Cristo Redentor del Corcovado

Leonardo Boff5 Comentários

En aquellos días, al completar 80 años de existencia, el Cristo Redentor del Corcovado se estremeció y se reanimó. Lo que era cemento y piedra se hizo carne y sangre. Extendiendo sus brazos, como quien quiere abrazar el mundo, abrió la boca, habló y dijo:

«Bienaventurados vosotros, pobres, hambrientos, enfermos y caídos en tantos caminos sin un buen samaritano que os socorra. El Padre que es también Madre de bondad os lleva en su corazón y os promete que seréis los primeros herederos del Reino de justicia y de paz.

Ay de vosotros, dueños del poder, que desde hace quinientos años chupáis la sangre de los trabajadores, reduciéndolos a combustible barato para vuestras máquinas de producir riqueza inicua. No seré yo quien os juzgue, sino las víctimas que hicisteis, detrás de las cuales yo mismo me escondía y sufría.

Bienaventurados todos vosotros, indígenas de tantas etnias, habitantes primeros de estas tierras risueñas, que vivís en la inocencia de la vida en comunión con la naturaleza. Fuisteis casi exterminados, pero ahora estáis resucitando con vuestras religiones y culturas dando testimonio de la presencia del Espíritu Creador que nunca os abandonó.

Ay de aquellos que os subyugaron, os mataron por la espada y la cruz, os negaron la humanidad, satanizaron vuestros cultos, os robaron las tierras y ridiculizaron la sabiduría de vuestros chamanes.

Bienaventurados, y repito bienaventurados, vosotros, mis hermanos y hermanas negros,violentamente traídos de África para ser vendidos como piezas en el mercado, hechos carbón para ser consumido en los ingenios azucareros, siempre acosados y muriendo antes de tiempo.

¡Ay de los que os deshumanizaron!.La justicia clama al cielo hasta el día del juicio final. Maldito el barracón de los esclavos, maldito el cepo, maldito el látigo, malditas las cadenas, maldito el navío negrero. Bendito el refugio del palenque, adviento de un mundo de libertos y de una fraternidad sin distinciones.

Bienaventurados los que luchan por la tierra en el campo y en la ciudad, tierra para vivir y para trabajar y sacar del suelo alimento para sí, para los otros, para las hambres del mundo entero.

Maldito el latifundio improductivo que expulsa a los que lo trabajan como propio y asesina a quien lo ocupa para tener donde vivir, trabajar y ganar el pan para sus hijos e hijas. En verdad os digo: llegará el día en que seréis expoliados. La poca tierra que os cubra será un peso abrumador sobre vuestras sepulturas.

Bienaventuradas sois vosotras, mujeres del pueblo, que resististeis contra la opresión milenaria, que conquistasteis espacios de participación y de libertad y que estáis luchando por una sociedad que no se defina por el género. Una sociedad en la que hombres y mujeres, juntos, diferentes, recíprocos e iguales inauguraréis la alianza perenne del compartir, del amor y de la corresponsabilidad.

Benditos vosotros, millones de menores carentes de todo y lanzados a las calles, víctimas de una sociedad de exclusión que ha perdido la ternura por la vida inocente. Mi Padre, como una gran Madre, enjugará vuestras lágrimas y os estrechará contra su pecho porque sois sus hijos e hijas más queridos.

Felices los pastores que sirven humildemente al pueblo en medio del pueblo, con el pueblo y para el pueblo. Ay, de aquellos que visten trajes vistosos, se llenan de vanidad en las televisiones, usan símbolos sagrados de poder, exaltan al Padre Nuestro y olvidan el Pan Nuestro. ¡Cuántos no usan el cayado contra las ovejas en vez de usarlo contra los lobos! No los reconozco y no daré testimonio en su favor cuando se presenten delante de mi Padre.

Bienaventuradas las comunidades eclesiales de base, los movimientos sociales por la tierra, por el techo, por la educación, por la salud, por la seguridad. Felices ellos que, sin necesitar hablar de mí, asumen la misma causa por la cual viví, fui perseguido y ejecutado en la cruz. Pero resurgí para continuar la insurrección contra un mundo que da más valor a los bienes materiales que a la vida, que privilegia la acumulación privada sobre la participación solidaria y que prefiere dar alimentos a los perros antes que a las personas hambrientas.

Bienaventurados los que sueñan con un mundo nuevo posible y necesario en el cual todos puedan caber, naturaleza incluida. Felices aquellos que aman a la Madre Tierra como a su propia madre y respetan sus ritmos, dándole paz para que pueda rehacer sus nutrientes y siga produciendo todo lo que necesitamos para vivir, para nosotros, para toda la comunidad de vida y para las futuras generaciones.

Bienaventurados los que no desisten, sino que resisten e insisten en el sueño de que el mundo puede ser diferente y lo será, un mundo donde la poesía camine junto al trabajo, la música se junte con las máquinas, y todos se reconozcan como hermanos y hermanas, viviendo en la única Casa Común que tenemos, este bello y luminoso pequeño planeta Tierra.

En verdad, en verdad os digo: felices vosotros porque sois todos hijos e hijas de la alegría, pues estáis en la palma de la mano de Dios. Amén».

Experiencing Mourning and Loss

Leonardo Boff1 comentário

Loss and mourning inexorably belong to the human condition. All of us are subjected to the unbreakable law of entropy: everything wears down slowly; the body debilitates, the years leave their mark, illnesses uncontrollably take away our vital capital. Such is the law of life, that includes death.

But there are also ruptures that break the natural flow. These are the losses produced by traumatic events such as betrayal by a friend, loss of a job, loss of a loved one due to divorce, or to sudden death. Tragedy is also part of life.

It represents a big personal challenge to face these losses and still nourish resilience, this is, to learn from the crises. Especially painful is the experience of mourning, because it reveals all the power of the Negative. Mourning possesses an intrinsic characteristic: it demands to be endured, crossed, and positively overcome.

There are many specialized studies about mourning. According to psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, her experience and overcoming consisted of several steps.

The first is denial: confronting the paralyzing event, the person exclaims in a natural way: «It cannot be», «it is a lie.» Disconsolate cries erupt that no single word can express.

The second step is the rage that exclaims: «why me? It is not fair what has happened.» It is the moment when the person sees the uncontrollable limits of life and does not want to accept them. It is not uncommon to blame one’s self for the loss, for not having done something, or for having left undone what had to be done.

The third step is characterized by depression and an existential vacuum. We close ourselves into our own shells and take pity on ourselves. We resist remaking ourselves. Here all warm embrace and all words of consolation, conventional as they may sound, take an unsuspected meaning. It is the yearning of the soul for meaning, and to know that the guiding stars have only darkened, but not disappeared.

The fourth step is self strengthening, through a species of negotiations with the pain of the loss: «I cannot succumb or totally withdraw; I have to endure all this pain to take care of my family, or until I get my degree.» In the middle of the darkest night, a ray of light is seen.

The fifth appears as a resigned and serene acceptance of the unavoidable fact. We end up incorporating into our existential journey the wound that left the scar. No one exits a period of mourning as he entered it. The person is forced to mature and experience the fact that the loss is not total, but that it always brings some existential gain.

Mourning is a painful journey, and therefore, it has to be experienced. Let me offer an autobiographic example that would better clarify the need to undergo mourning. In 1981 I lost a sister with whom I had a special bond. She was the youngest of the sisters of 11 brothers. As a professor, one morning around 10 am, in front of her students, she let out an immense cry, and fell dead. Mysteriously, at 33 years of age, her aorta vein had ruptured.

The whole family, coming from different parts of the country, was disoriented by this fatal shock. We cried plentiful tears. We spent two days looking at photographs and, saddened, remembering the facts of the life of our beloved little sister. The other members of the family could go through this mourning and loss. I had to leave shortly thereafter for Chile, where I had to hold conferences for all the friars of the Southern Cone. I left with a broken heart. Every talk was an exercise in self-overcoming. From Chile, I continued to Italy where I had to deliver talks on the renovation of religious life for everyone in the congregation.

The loss of my beloved sister tormented me as an unbearable absurdity. I started to faint two or three times a day, without any physically obvious reason. I had to be taken to a physician. I told him about the drama that was going on. He understood everything and told me: «you have not buried your sister yet, nor have gone through the necessary mourning; as long as you do not undergo your period of mourning and do not bury her, you will not get better; something of yourself died with her and that needs to be resurrected.» I canceled all the other programs. In silence and in prayer I went through my mourning. When I was back home, in a restaurant, as we remembered our beloved sister, my theologian brother Clodovis and I wrote in a paper napkin something that we later put in a memorial card:

«There were thirty three years, as the years of Jesus/Years of much work and suffering/but also very fruitful/ Claudia was burdened with the suffering of others/In her own heart, as a rescue/She was as clear as the mountain fountain/Loving and tender as the flower of the field/She knitted, step by step, and in silence/ A precious brocade/She left two little ones, strong and beautiful/And a husband, proud of her/Happy you, Claudia, because the Lord, when He was back/He found you standing, working/Lamp alight/And you fell in his lap/For the infinite embrace of Peace.»

Among her papers we found this phrase: «There is always a meaning of God in all human events: it is important to discover it.» Until today we continue searching for that meaning, that only in faith can we divine.

Do Quinto Evangelho: proclamação do Cristo do Corcovado

Leonardo Boff18 Comentários

Na quarta-feira, dia 12 de outubro, o Cristo do Corcovado, símbolo do Rio, celebra 80 anos de sua construção. Foi a ocasião para elaborar o seguinte texto:

Naqueles dias, ao se completarem 80 anos de existência, o Cristo do Corcovado estremeceu e se reanimou. O que era cimento e pedra se fez carne e sangue. Estendendo os braços, como quem quer abraçar o mundo, abriu a boca, falou e disse:

“Bem-aventurados sois todos vós, pobres, famintos, doentes e caídos em tantos caminhos sem um bom samaritano para vos socorrer. O Pai que é também Mãe de bondade vos tem em seu coração e vos promete que sereis os primeiros herdeiros do Reino de justiça e de paz.

Ai de vós, donos do poder, que há quinhentos anos sugais o sangue dos trabalhadores, reduzindo-os a combustível barato para vossas máquinas de produzir riqueza iníqua. Não serei eu a vos julgar, mas as vitimas que fizestes atrás das quais eu mesmo me escondia e sofria.

Bem-aventurados sois vós, indígenas de tantas etnias, habitantes primeiros destas terras ridentes, vivendo na inocência da vida em comunhão com a natureza. Fostes quase exterminados. Mas agora estais ressuscitando com vossas religiões e culturas dando testemunho da presença do Espírito Criador que nunca vos abandonou.

Ai daqueles que vos subjugaram, vos mataram pela espada e pela cruz, negaram-vos a humanidade, satanizaram vossos cultos, roubaram-vos as terras e ridicularizaram a sabedoria de vossos pagés.

Bem-aventurados e mais uma vez bem-aventurados sois vós, meus irmãos e irmãs negros,violentamente trazidos de Africa para serem vendidos com peças no mercado, feitos carvão para ser consumido nos engenhos, sempre acossados e morrendo antes do tempo.

Ai daqueles que vos desumanizaram. A justiça clama aos céus até o dia do juízo final. Maldita a senzala, maldito o pelourinho, maldita a chibata, maldito o grilhão, maldito o navio-negreiro. Bendito o quilombo, advento de um mundo de libertos e de uma fraternidade sem distinções.

Bem-aventurados os que lutam por terra no campo e na cidade, terra para morar e para trabalhar e tirar do chão o alimento para si, para os outros e para as fomes do mundo inteiro.

Maldito o latifúndio improdutivo que expulsa posseiros e que assassina quem ocupa para ter onde morar, trabalhar e ganhar o pão para seus filhos e filhas. Em verdade vos digo: chegará o dia em que sereis espoliados. E a pouca terra da campa será pesada sobre vossas sepulturas.

Bem-aventuradas sois vós, mulheres do povo, que resististes contra a opressão milenar, que conquistastes espaços de participação e de liberdade e que estais lutando por uma sociedade que não se define pelo gênero, sociedade na qual homens e mulheres, juntos, diferentes, recíprocos e iguais inaugurareis uma aliança perene de partilha, de amor e de corresponsabilidade.

Benditos sois vós, milhões de menores carentes e largados nas ruas, vitimas de uma sociedade de exclusão e que perdeu a ternura pela vida inocente. Meu Pai, como uma grande Mãe, enxugará vossas lágrimas, vos apertará contra o seu peito porque sois seus filhos e filhas mais queridos.

Felizes os pastores que servem, humildemente, o povo no meio do povo, com o povo e para o povo. Ai daqueles que trajem vestes vistosas, se envaidecem nas televisões, usam símbolos sagrados de poder, exaltam o Pai Nosso e esquecem o Pão Nosso. Quantos não usam o cajado contra as ovelhas ao invés de contra os lobos. Não os reconheço e não testemunharei em favor deles quando aparecerem diante do meu Pai.

Bem-aventuradas as comunidades eclesiais de base, os movimentos sociais por terra, por teto, por educação, por saúde e por segurança. Felizes deles que, sem precisar falar de mim, assumem a mesma causa pela qual vivi, fui perseguido e executado na cruz. Mas ressurgi para continuar a insurreição contra um mundo que dá mais valor aos bens materiais que à vida, que privilegia a acumulação privada à participação solidária e que prefere dar os alimentos aos cães que aos famintos.

Bem-aventurados os que sonham com um mundo novo possível e necessário no qual todos possam caber, a natureza incluída. Felizes são aqueles que amam a Mãe Terra como sua própria mãe, respeitam seus ritmos, dão-lhe paz para que possa refazer seus nutrientes e continuar a produzir tudo o que precisamos para viver.

Bem-aventurados os que não desistem,mas resistem e insistem que o mundo pode ser diferente e será, mundo onde a poesia anda junto com o trabalho, a musica se junta às máquinas e todos se reconhecerão como irmãos e irmãs, habitando a única Casa Comum que temos, este belo e irradiante pequeno planeta Terra.

Em verdade, em verdade vos digo: felizes sois vós porque sois todos filhos e filhas da alegria pois estais na palma da mão de Deus. Amém”.