Enlarge the Tent
- Fr. Tim Boyle
- May 4, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: Jan 31
Back for a second series, Fr. Tim Boyle will speak on The Art of Accompaniment, picking up on the theme from the Synod preparation document "Enlarge the Tent."
2023/2024 Dates:
Monday, September 18, 2023 - "The big four issues the church will discuss in Rome.. and what does it mean to "Enlarge the Tent"
Monday, October 16, 2023 - “A petrified Church..how did we get here?
Monday, November 20, 2023 - “What unbelievers can teach us about mystery of God”
Monday, January 22, 2024 - “Zacchaeus.. the first of Many Seekers.. and why they don’t want to join”
Monday, February 19, 2024 - “Finding the Real Presence of God outside the church”
Monday, March 18, 2024 - “Mother Maria of Russia .. on uniting the Cross and the Sword”
Monday, April 15, 2024 - “Flourishing .. not just maintaining the Faith”..
Watch the videos of the gatherings
In a society that preaches absolute freedom and levels everybody and everything in the name of equality, Catholics often feel like they are living in a desert where there are no points of reference (values) that can secure a path.
Addressing a sense of disorientation and a lure to remembering the "old good times" (the cucumbers in Egypt! ~Numbers 11:5), Fr. Tim Boyle guided us to rediscover a sense of belonging and safety.
As Christians who pass their days on earth, but are citizens of heaven (Letter to Diognetus), as nomadic people, we find shelter in the tent of the Church: a moving tent that follows us in our journey, a tent that is secured on the rock of God's trustworthiness, on Jesus, the "amen", the faithful and true witness (Revelation 3). Fr. Tim reminded us that the word 'amen' actually comes from Aramaic and indicates the "peg" that nomads in the desert use to secure the tent, so it means 'a stable support', a reliable foundation for faith.
From this newfound sense of security, Fr. Tim's art of accompaniment led us to "meet" with the people living in this 'desert'. Here, where neighbors are few and far between and life can hang upon a water bag and a crust of bread, it is natural that people should help each other by providing rest and food and drink for the traveler. An example of nomadic hospitality is found in the story of Abraham (Genesis 18:1-10), who, by welcoming three strangers, hosted angels without knowing it (Hebrew 13,2).
During our seven gatherings journey in 2024, Fr. Tim introduced us to 'outsiders' like Zacchaeus and Maria Skobtsova, and thus he helped us let go of our fears and choose, wager on hospitality, on enlarging the tent: "Finding God in a stranger translates into the possibility of divine in every stranger."
As human beings, we share our fragility and the uncertainty of your condition on earth: and as Christians we can recognize the icon of Christ in each and every travel companion. By welcoming others into our tent we share with them the stability of a trustworthy God whom we are walking to encounter (our 'destination'), a God who welcomes everybody and loves everybody, a God who wants to make us partake in His joy (John 15:11) and therefore enlarges His tent for us to be with Him.
Written by Cristiana C. for Faithfully, https://www.catholicyyc.ca/blog/fr-tim-boyle-enlarge-the-tent
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