Nick Routledge@nick_routledge
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@jesuits_ireland @Pontifex 3/ "It is the dimension of time wherein man meets God. Time is the presence of God in the world of space...It is a moment in time - the Messianic end of days - that will give back to man what a thing in space, the Tower of Babel, had taken away." ~ Heschel @Pontifex

A full-length study of the resemblances between Metz and Francis would be fascinating, but I will limit myself to one theme: a comparison of their perspectives on time. Metz stresses the importance of “Messianic time,” while Francis urges a pastoral theological imperative: “Time is greater than space.” What Pope Francis understands by time’s priority over space is not always crystal clear. The aphorism is one of four pastoral theological priorities adopted by Jorge Bergoglio as provincial of the Jesuits, and then as archbishop of Buenos Aires, by way of guidelines toward the common good. He stresses, first, the priority of time over space; second, the priority of unity over conflict; third, the priority of reality over the idea; and fourth, the superiority of the whole over the parts (that is, the whole is more than the mere sum of the parts). But it does appear that the first of these principles has an especially strong significance for him. Michael Kirwan S.J.
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A full-length study of the resemblances between Metz and Francis would be fascinating, but I will limit myself to one theme: a comparison of their perspectives on time. Metz stresses the importance of “Messianic time,” while Francis urges a pastoral theological imperative: “Time is greater than space.” What Pope Francis understands by time’s priority over space is not always crystal clear. The aphorism is one of four pastoral theological priorities adopted by Jorge Bergoglio as provincial of the Jesuits, and then as archbishop of Buenos Aires, by way of guidelines toward the common good. He stresses, first, the priority of time over space; second, the priority of unity over conflict; third, the priority of reality over the idea; and fourth, the superiority of the whole over the parts (that is, the whole is more than the mere sum of the parts). But it does appear that the first of these principles has an especially strong significance for him. Michael Kirwan S.J.

In Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis asserts that to begin “processes that build up a people in history” is a more important task than to occupy positions (espacios) of power, or possession of land or wealth (nos. 223, 224). He remarks that “time governs spaces, illumines them, and makes them links in a constantly expanding chain, with no possibility of return.” Likewise, in his World Youth Day homily in Rio de Janeiro in 2013, Pope Francis declares, “God is real. He manifests himself today. God is everywhere.” He reiterates the historical nature of this revelation: Time initiates processes, and space crystallizes them. God is in history, in the processes. We must not focus on occupying the spaces where power is exercised, but rather on starting long-run historical processes. We must initiate processes rather than occupy spaces. God manifests himself in time and is present in the processes of history. This gives priority to actions that give birth to new historical dynamics. - Kirwan
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In Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis asserts that to begin “processes that build up a people in history” is a more important task than to occupy positions (espacios) of power, or possession of land or wealth (nos. 223, 224). He remarks that “time governs spaces, illumines them, and makes them links in a constantly expanding chain, with no possibility of return.” Likewise, in his World Youth Day homily in Rio de Janeiro in 2013, Pope Francis declares, “God is real. He manifests himself today. God is everywhere.” He reiterates the historical nature of this revelation: Time initiates processes, and space crystallizes them. God is in history, in the processes. We must not focus on occupying the spaces where power is exercised, but rather on starting long-run historical processes. We must initiate processes rather than occupy spaces. God manifests himself in time and is present in the processes of history. This gives priority to actions that give birth to new historical dynamics. - Kirwan

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Nick Routledge@nick_routledge · 17 Feb 2021

@psyche_the_mag Beautifully elucidated. And then we have the further ontological layering of a ‘messianic architecture’ to time, Judaism’s essential gift to humanity.

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