Mary Jo Leddy Author, Activist, and Refugee Advocate

Transcription

1 Mary Jo Leddy Author, Activist, and Refugee Advocate Mary Jo Leddy (B.A.; B.Ed.; M.A.; Ph.D) is a well-known author, activist, refugee advocate and Director of Romero House for Refugees in Toronto. She is also an Adjunct Professor at Regis College, University of Toronto, an international lecturer and frequent radio and TV commentator, and an active member of the Ontario Sanctuary Coalition and PEN Canada. Leddy was the founding editor of Catholic New Times, an independent national Catholic newspaper. Writings Radical Gratitude (Orbis, 2003) At the Border Called Hope: Where Refugees Are Neighbours (Finalist, Trillium Award 1997) Reweaving Religious Life (Best Book of 1996, Catholic Press Association of America) Say to the Darkness We Beg to Differ (Finalist, City of Toronto Book Award 1988), Memories of War, Promises of Peace Co-author of two books. Author of several hundred articles published nationally and internationally both popular and academic. Education B.A. B.Ed M.A. Ph.D (University of Toronto). Doctoral studies in the area of philosophy of religion with an emphasis on Hannah Arendt s approach to the Holocaust. Honorary Doctorates: L.L.D. (Windsor), D.Lett. (York University), D.H.Litt (Mount St. Vincent), L.L.D. (Waterloo) D.D. (Emmanuel College,University of Saskatchewan) Awards Numerous academic awards and scholarships including: The Governor General s Bronze Medal, the Canada Council Doctoral Fellowship, the Canadian University Presidents Award Outstanding Young Woman of 1978, the Ida Nudel Human Rights Award (1983), the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews Human Relations Award (1987), The Ontario Citizenship Award (1993), several press awards; Order of Canada, Biography adapted from: Mary Jo Leddy Biography, Toronto Quadrennial 2007, World Day of Prayer International Committee and Women s Inter-church Council of Canada, Retrieved on September 4, 2011 from: Captivity and Liberation in North America A reflection written by Mary Jo Leddy for the first week of Lent

2 Lent is a time of endings and beginnings. These are days of liberation... if we can name our own particular form of cultural captivity. We are enchained by a perpetual dissatisfaction that is integral to our economic system; that expands to the extent that it can continue to expand the needs and wants of consumers. This artificially induced craving becomes a habit of being, a perpetual dissatisfaction. Consumerism relies on creating within us the sense that we must always have more, that we never have enough. Most readers of National Catholic Reporter are probably at least a little wary of this message and have made some conscious lifestyle choices toward greater simplicity. However, this perpetual dissatisfaction holds us captive on far deeper levels. Slowly but surely, the message that we don't have enough transmutes and transforms us at other levels of our being: "I don't have enough" becomes "I am not enough" becomes "I am not good enough" To say, "I am not enough" is to acknowledge a generalized sense of powerlessness. It is all those feelings that gnaw away at hopes we have treasured: I can't change the church. I can't change the world. The American dream is shattered. I can't change anyone else or myself for that matter. That's the way things are. To say, "I am not good enough" is to admit to a vague feeling of guilt. It is that feeling that claws at us (and this is particularly true of people on the left) from the inside out: Who am I to say? I've never suffered that way. I should have done more. I could have done more. It must be my fault. It must be America's fault. It must be the church's fault. In other words, the economically induced dissatisfaction in the culture of money not only drives us to shop, it also produces a profound dissatisfaction with one's very self, one's very soul, the core of one's being. It generates within us profound feelings of powerlessness and inadequacy or guilt. Let me suggest that the intrinsic link between the dynamics of the economy, the psyche and the spirit may go some way to explaining the curious situation in which many who live richly and well off, even those who live in the richest and most powerful nation on earth, feel generally powerless and vaguely guilty. It may help shed light on some of the rather perplexing self-hatred and self-deprecation of a good number of people in North America. It may help us reflect on why so many feel there is "not enough" to go around and so are driven to a politics of scarcity in a nation of great material wealth. The connection between the so-called "outer" world of economics and the "inner" life of the self may also offer some insight into why so many people who are relatively

3 well off (in comparison to the vast majority of people in the world) still feel generally unhappy. It is precisely the vagueness of the generalized feelings that flow from this allencompassing sense of dissatisfaction that makes them so debilitating. Real feelings of powerlessness are based on realistic assessments of things in our lives or in the world, things that we cannot change. Through such an assessment we are usually left with a renewed sense of what we can change. Similarly, real guilt, as opposed to vague guilt, can become the source of renewed energy -- both spiritual and psychological. Real guilt locates us as human beings who have the capacity (and power) to do good or ill. The person who feels really guilty is also in the process of realizing that his or her actions have consequences, that life is not inconsequential. However, one can feel overwhelmed by feelings of vague guilt: "I am not good enough." We can feel that we are responsible for all that is wrong with the world or with the church -- and quite unsure whether we can do anything about it, just as we are quite unsure about what exactly we have done to make things go wrong. This lack of conviction about the significance of one's actions can manifest itself in at least two ways. On the one hand, a person may feel paralyzed, unable to do or to say anything. On the other, a person may engage in a frenzy of activity and be perpetually busy. Such busyness usually results from an inability to say no to anything because we are not convinced that it matters whether we say yes to something. If we aren't convinced that the choices we make matter, then we might as well do everything that comes along. Paralysis and hyperactivity are both symptoms of a sense of insignificance and powerlessness. Lent is a time for assuming real guilt and real power. And it is about liberating gratitude. It is the ingratitude that blinds us. Our failure to see what we have on the way to getting more Our disregard for what we step over on the way to somewhere else Our lack of attention to the person by our side on the way to someone else Our dismissal of the good that we do on the way to something greater. All that we take for granted falls through our hands and disappears from sight. And we too fall away from ourselves and from You. We walk by ourselves by the wayside and do not recognize You on the way to something better. Adapted from:

4 Captivity and Liberation in North America, The National Catholic Reporter: Global Perspective, 2004 Feb 06; Retrieved on September 4, 2011 from:

5 Reflection Questions 1. While Mary Jo Leddy seems highly qualified with the impressive biography above, she would likely emphasize the success of one s work lies not in achieving titles and awards but rather in what one has given to others. Explore one of the projects she began in Toronto called Romero House by visiting the website: a) What is Romero House? b) Read the excerpt about Beatrice, a refugee s story, in the Our Vision: Our Founder page. Many refugees who come to Toronto have their own stories of suffering. Not only must they deal with the challenges every new immigrant must face, but also the shadows of their past. How does Romero House serve refugees in ways that are different from the standard model of a social services shelter? 2. Read the Lenten reflection by Mary Jo Leddy. a) What is the three-level message of being that consumerism promotes? Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not? b) In the reflection, Leddy observes many people believe there is not enough to go around, even though we live in a country of material wealth. Do you believe there is not enough? (e.g. there is not enough food in the world to feed everyone) c) Leddy also observes an all-encompassing sense of dissatisfaction. Do you believe that people are generally not satisfied even though they have everything they need? Explain. d) Read Leddy s poem at the end of her reflection and explain what you think Leddy means by challenging readers to adopt a sense of liberating gratitude? 3. How is Leddy s reflection related to the story of Jesus offering living water to the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:13-14) 4. For those studying World Religions, how is Leddy s message similar to the Buddhist teachings about dissatisfaction?