“Enlarge the space in your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; hold not back,
lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes.” (Is 54,2) This biblical image nourished the Catholic church at
the present time, where a synodal assembly is meeting in every continent. An image which is very close to the
concrete experience of Scouting and calls our associations to be first line actors in a Church which is moving,
listening and taking decisions to be faithful to Her identity and mission.
The working document for the continental step is in development, in a language that every Scout can
understand, the three necessary elements to enlarge the tent: “the first are the canvas to protect from the sun,
the wind and the rain, giving limits to a living space for hospitality. They have to be deployed, do that they can
also protect those who are still outside that space, but who feel called to enter. The second structural element
of the tent is made of ropes, holding the deployed canvas. They have to find a balance between the necessary
stretching to prevent the tent from falling and the smoothness to absorb the shaking from the wind. As a
consequence, if the tent swells, they have to be lengthened to maintain the stretching. Finally, the third
element is made of the pegs which anchor the structure to the ground and insure its solidity, but can still be
moved when the tent has to be pitched elsewhere.” So is the Church as it is written in the same document,
“called to be extended, and also to move. In her center you find the tabernacle, that is the presence of the
Lord. The pitching of the tent is provided by the strength of the pegs, that is the foundations of faith that does
not change, but can be moved and pitched in an always new ground, so that the tent can accompany the
people in their walk through history. Finally, in order not to fall, the structure of the tent has to maintain the
balance between the various thrusts and tensions that it is subjected: a metaphor expressing the necessity of
discerning”.
As Catholics in Scouting, we are called to take part in this pilgrimage: so that Scouting does not forget its roots
into the relation to God and for the Church not to lose her vocation to disclose the taste and beauty of the real
life of each person.
Enlarge the space in your tent
