Fr. Richard Ho Lung - Diary Of A Ghetto Priest THE BREATHTAKING beauty of Jamaica never ceases to astound visitors or locals. I cannot help but feel a deep movement of the Spirit when I gaze upon the majestic mould of the Blue Mountain range from Mavis Bank. Nor can I help but be amazed as I watch the blast of white waves from the ocean against the huge ancient black rocks as we drive towards St. Thomas. From mountains to sea, from rivers to valleys, the magnificent beauty of Jamaica tell me of God's bounteous love as He moulded by hand the obvious untouched shape and contour of our island.
Our people are the same. Though loved by God, we are dramatic in every way. There is a dynamic in Jamaicans that is a bit different from other islands. Though gentle like other Caribbean people, Jamaicans are a rough cutting-edge people.
Jamaica is a frightening and fascinating country.
SELF-DEFINITION
Despite independence, there is not very much self-definition. What I'd like to see in Jamaica is a genuine return to our roots. Charity and kindness are the strongest elements born of a strong Christian tradition, which is being diluted in our country. Listen to the hundreds of revival songs that express the genuine love of God, the rejection of wickedness and the embracement of kindness, the awareness of hell and heaven, the call for justice and righteousness, the elevation of the one true God, Jesus Christ. Revivals like "Mother the Great Stone," "I am under the Rock," "Real, Real", cannot be denied as part of the Jamaican soul. It is Christianity Jamaicanised to the full. Poco, Revivalist, Evangelical, Anglican, Catholic have all been creolised to the soul.
In my own writings of Jamaican worship songs, whether the Mass, songs of praise, offertory or communion songs, they are mento, revival, reggae or even ska. They are now promoted through an American publishing company, Oregon Catholic Press (OCP), and being spread through all Christian denominations. What I'd like to see is our country's churches using our Jamaican music, our sense of the merciful and loving God, and our cry for justice and mercy united with the voice of the Good Shepherd.
FAIRNESS
Our churches need to live out Christ's love for the poor, and all of politics need to hold themselves accountable to God and His word. Then we will have fairness and a sense of concern for the poor man.
I also desire from the bottom of my heart a people who speak and live by truth. We are not an honest people. We say things and do not live by them. In other words, the word does not become flesh. Promises are made and broken. Politicians, businessmen and churchmen need be true to Christ's word and our own words and promises.
We all say we love the poor. Why are we not pouring ourselves out to lift up our forgotten brothers and sisters? I invite you, come and work with our desperately destitute brothers and sisters who live with us. I invite you to go with us from shack to shack in our neighbourhood. I ask you to help our poor all over our country. I ask you to live out your Christian faith in truth.
Finally, I pray that we will all remain in our country and be faithful to our people in our times of struggle. It is the only way to be true to our own individual selves. After all, we were not born in Jamaica by accident.
Fr. Richard Ho Lung is Founder and Superior-General of The Missionaries of The Poor.
