In cooperation with Bishop Geoffrey Robinson and his publisher, John Garratt Publishing, we have pleasure in presenting the end chapter meditations from his book which has created so much interest around the world. Today the reflection comes from Chapter Eight.

"Free and Responsible"

We grow in moral and spiritual stature when we do two things together:

• seek to act according to God's truth and goodness, despite the cost to ourselves,
• and take personal responsibility for our actions.

It is possible to move beyond a subjective understanding of goodness to a more objective understanding of what God's goodness asks of us, but it involves a serious and never-ending search, both for individuals and for the whole human race.

We should spend our whole life in this search, while also constantly making decisions and acting on the basis of our present and inadequate understanding of that goodness.

The relationship between our conscience and God's goodness should be a constant, humble and loving dialogue.

We should constantly remind ourselves of six levels of moral living:

Superiority and Vengeance

• The pointless and endless cycle of revenge

Justice without Mercy

• An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth

The Usefulness of Others to Ourselves

Respect for Human Dignity

• Respect for Life and Physical Integrity
• Respect for the Relationships that Give Life Meaning
• Respect for Material Possessions
• Respect for Good Name

Love as You Love Yourself

Love as God Loves Us

There is no one on this earth who cannot fall back to the lowest level at any moment, but there is also no one who is not capable of rising to the highest level.

Credit: These meditations are taken from the end of chapter reflections in Bishop Geoffrey Robinson's book, Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church — Reclaiming the Spirit of Jesus, published by John Garratt Publishing. We thank Bishop Robinson and John Garratt Publishing for permission to reproduce these meditations on Catholica Australia.

Bishop Geoffrey Robinson who has degrees in Philosophy, Theology and Church Law, was Auxiliary Bishop in the Archdiocese of Sydney from 1984 until his retirement in 2004. In 1994 he was elected by the Australian Bishops to the National Committee for Professional Standards, coordinating the response of the Catholic Church in Australia to revelations of sexual abuse, and from 1997 until 2003 he was co-chairman of this committee..

We welcome your thoughts in response to Bishop Robinson's reflection in our forum.

©2007 Geoffrey Robinson

[Sunday Reflections Archive]