Words from the Sage

More Encouragement

Give the world the best you have and you may get hurt. Give the world the best you have anyway.

Mother Teresa

No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings.

William Blake

We can do no great things, only small things with great love.

Mother Teresa

If we wait for the moment when everything, absolutely everything is ready, we shall never begin.

Ivan Turgenev

Find a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.

Confucius

I know God won’t give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish He didn’t trust me so much.
Mother Teresa

He who binds himself to joy doth the winged life destroy but he who kisses the joy as it flies lives in eternity’s sunrise.

William Blake

And this above all unto thine own self be true and it shall follow as the day the night - thou can’st not then be false to any man.

William Shakespeare

Dance as though no one is watching

Love as though you’ve never been hurt

Sing as though no one can hear you

Live as though heaven is on earth.

Souza

I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand

Confucius

Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.

Winston Churchill

You must be the change you wish to see in the world

Mahatma Gandhi

When we judge people we have no time to love them.

Mother Teresa

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans.

The moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now.

Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Thoughts lead on to purposes; purposes go forth in action; actions form habits; habits decide character; and character fixes our destiny.

Tyron Edwards

Minds are like parachutes - they only function when open.

Thomas Dewar

Words which do not give the light of Christ increase the darkness.

Mother Teresa

I learned that it is the weak who are cruel, and that gentleness is to be expected only from the strong.

Leo Rosten

Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within the reach of every hand.

Mother Teresa

You will never find time for anything. If you want the time, you must make it.

Charles Buxton

All successful people men and women are big dreamers. They imagine what their future could be, ideal in every respect, and then they work every day toward their distant vision, that goal or purpose.

Brian Tracy

Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat…We must find each other.
Mother Teresa

When Satan reminds us of our past, we must remind him of his future.

Author Unknown

To be free is to put justice, truth and service to others over and above our personal gain or our need for recognition, power, honor and success. When we cling to personal power and success, when we are afraid of losing social status, then we are in some way denying our humanity; we become slaves to our own needs, we are not free.

Jean Vanier

He who knows not, and knows not that he knows not,
is a fool, shun him.

He who knows not, and knows that he knows not,
is a child, teach him.

He who knows, and knows not that he knows,
Is asleep, wake him.

He who knows, and knows that he knows,
Is wise, follow him.

Anonymous

Imagination is more important than knowledge. Imagination is what we could be.

Albert Einstein

Man will occasionally stumble over the truth,

but most of the time he will pick himself up

and continue on.

Winston Churchill

I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who overcomes his enemies, for the hardest victory is victory over self.

Aristotle

Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be.

Thomas a’. Kempis

God is looking for ordinary people empowered by Him to do extraordinary things!

Anonymous

The future depends on what we do in the present.
Mahatma Gandhi

It is not anger that’s the problem. Its getting angry at the right time at the right person in the right way.

Aristotle

Inspiration and genius–one and the same.
Victor Hugo

Kind words are short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.
Mother Teresa

“Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and
you help them to become what they are capable of being.”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“I consider my ability to arouse enthusiasm among people
the greatest asset I possess. The way to develop the best that is in a person is by appreciation and encouragement.”
Charles Schwab

“Experience is not what happens to you; it is what you do with what happens to you.”

Aldous Huxley

“Every blade of grass has its angel that bends over it and whispers, `Grow, grow.’”

The Talmud

‘One word or a pleasing smile is often enough to raise up a saddened and wounded soul.’

Therese of Lisieux

All Rights Reserved Copyright LittleFishPublishing 2001-2009(c) 

Paul is dead…long live Paul

Euthanizing Paul

By

Marion Sinclair-Simpson

My friend Paul was a very dignified person, always well dressed, mannerly and considerate of others. He was also surprisingly hilariously funny. When we would talk on the phone I would laugh until my stomach hurt. He could tell stories about the most ordinary human situations and make them funny.

For twenty one years of his life he had been a priest and a good one. But something was missing in his vocation and so he left to pursue a life outside of the clergy. He became a family counsellor for the next phase of his journey, helping couples learn to really listen and understand each other. By the time I got to know him he was retired but still very active in life.

Paul was an amazing listener. He was full of compassion and encouragement. A priest who knew him labelled him as a “son of encouragement’ and he was. He was friend to people of all walks of life and all ages. Children loved him as much as the elderly. Paul told a close friend once that his only regret in life was that he had not had his own family, yet somehow he became an adopted ‘Grandpa’ to some who knew and loved him some saw him as a spiritual father and some of us simply thought of him as our best friend, there are many of us in that category.

Paul belonged to many groups and associations. He volunteered his time as a hospital volunteer, a counsellor to the elderly and also to the homeless; he also worked for groups that fought to preserve life from the moment of conception to the natural end of life.

For relaxation he loved classical music and at one time trained to be a classical pianist he was a frequent attendee of the Victoria Symphony where he could be transported by the beauty of the music. He was an avid reader and continued to grow in and study his Catholic Christian faith.

Paul was always in a hurry going somewhere and he was known for arriving about ten minutes after everyone else. But he was worth the wait.

Paul lived every moment and loved every moment. His funeral was held on January 30, 2009 and 650 people showed up to pay their respects, the church was filled to capacity. He was small of stature but his heart was large enough to contain the whole world and all the people in it. He showed such compassion for others that he drew people to him. His life was a simple life of showing respect, kindness and encouragement to others and he touched many people with his simplicity. Victoria has become known as a city filled with homeless people and Paul would see many of them on his daily walks about the downtown core. Whenever I was with him he would always give each one some money and some words of kindness. He would tell me little bits about them and their stories, because he didn’t just hand out money he took the time to listen to them and to pray for them and sometimes with them. Will Rogers said he never met a man he didn’t like and Paul exemplified that statement by the way he lived his life.

The prayer of St. Francis exemplified Paul’s life:

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace;

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;

To be understood, as to understand;

To be loved, as to love;

For it is in giving that we receive,

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

And it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen

Paul was kind of like a present that has lots of different wrappings on it. He didn’t divulge information about himself easily, sort of in passing he would let things slip out and slowly I began to build an image of who he was one fascinating layer after another.

The first thing he revealed to me was his past as a Roman Catholic priest, then later he told me he had been a Rector, someone else told me he had actually been a Bishop in his religious order. Paul did not disclose to many people and so I felt privileged when he began to share parts of his story with me. Later in conversation I discovered that he had been an attendee and participant at Vatican ll. He told me a story about a time when he and another priest friend were trying to get good seats for an event that Pope Paul Vl was attending and so they tried to enter in through the back door. As they were both dressed in their clerical garb they were mistaken for participants in the procession that was about to begin, and they were both handed very vibrant coloured robes to place on themselves and then placed in the procession, Paul told me they had the best seats in the house. He never did tell anyone they were in there accidentally. I am sure God was smiling that day.

He and I talked on the phone for hours and met for coffee, met in church, prayed together, had meals and shared bits of our stories with one another. We were prayer buddies and encouraged one another. We supported each other through our various health challenges and concerns about life. I prayed for his intentions and he prayed for mine.

He was always there for me until one day he couldn’t be. On January 6th 2009 we had an Epiphany party for our Charismatic Prayer group and he and I got to sing Christmas Carols with the group, he brought some kind of candy that had white powdered sugar all over it and when I ate it I ended up with powdered sugar all over me. I had to confess to stealing the candy early and he had to confess to bringing the culprits. I drove him home afterwards as I often did. I loved spending time with him he was so gentle, kind and considerate. Modest and dignified in his speech, his dress and in his life. Paul was truly a gentleman in all ways.

On January 8th, Paul was hurrying to a Knights of Columbus meeting and lost his footing as he stumbled on a speed bump. He fell and did not realize but had broken a bone in his neck. The hospital looked him over and sent him home. The next day he was in pain and not able to swallow properly and feeling quite a lot of pain in his head and neck. He went to hospital again, this time they x-rayed his neck and discovered that a bone had fractured and he was transferred to another local hospital for treatment.

Paul loved food. He would read the entire menu every time we went to a restaurant and sometimes he would translate it into Italian, food sounds so much more appetizing in Italian, he took a long time to order and when the food arrived he was in Heaven. He enjoyed every morsel. I think it was his Italian heritage that brought with it this great love of music and food, or maybe it was just part of the great zest and enjoyment he found in everyone and everything in life.

In the hospital Paul was placed in a room with three other people, a large cumbersome and painful neck brace was placed on his neck. He was a small man and this brace caused him great discomfort, he could not move his head, sit up, or turn over. The nursing staff placed cuffs with chains on his wrists and attached them to either side of the bed. He could no longer scratch his nose, bless himself with the sign of the cross when being prayed with, or easily attract the attention of the nurses.

As time went on in the hospital Paul was still not being given any food. He spoke with a long time trusted friend and his former business advisor and told her that he wanted to live and to get better and was looking forward immensely to having a feeding tube inserted in his stomach. Because of the neck brace it was deemed too risky to feed him by mouth as he may have choked. Paul was hooked up to an IV which was supplying him with liquids but no food. He was being given pain killers. Paul contracted pneumonia in the hospital. He now had to have antibiotics intravenously also.

Paul had many visitors. Several priests came to pray with him and he received the anointing of the sick from at least two of them. (This used to be called the Last Rites.) One friend sang with Paul and prayed with him, and Paul asked the friend to help him escape from the hospital and to please take the ‘leashes’ off his wrists. Such an indignity placed on such a dignified man.

Paul received no food at all for fifteen days in the hospital. He pulled out the IV on Wednesday the 21st as he was tossing and turning in pain and the nurse who was ‘attending’ him said, “Well we will not be putting that back in.” And no one ever did. So now Paul had no food and no water. His doctor decided to cease all treatment for Paul because he decided that if Paul survived he would end up in a long-term care facility and according to the doctor Paul would not want that, so the doctor decided for Paul where, how, when and even why he was going to die.

Paul the most genteel man I have ever known was going to be starved and dehydrated to death while antibiotics to treat hospital contracted pneumonia were withheld. This happened in Canada where there are laws against Euthanasia, Section 229 of the Criminal Code of Canada,

229. Culpable homicide is murder

(a) where the person who causes the death of a human being

(i) means to cause his death, or                     

(ii) means to cause him bodily harm that he knows is likely to cause his death, and is reckless whether death ensues or not;

(b) where a person, meaning to cause death to a human being or meaning to cause him bodily harm that he knows is likely to cause his death, and being reckless whether death ensues or not, by accident or mistake causes death to another human being, notwithstanding that he does not mean to cause death or bodily harm to that human being; or

(c) where a person, for an unlawful object, does anything that he knows or ought to know is likely to cause death, and thereby causes death to a human being, notwithstanding that he desires to effect his object without causing death or bodily harm to any human being.

R.S., c. C-34, s. 212.

I suppose I am naive to the ways of the world and when I hear about people starving to death or dying for lack of water or medicine I connect in my mind with countries that are far away and poverty stricken. Certainly it affects me and touches my heart and saddens me that in this world that is a world of plenty for some there are others completely lacking in the basics. As a Christian this pricks at my conscience and nags at my soul. But I never thought euthanasia would be something I would witness personally and be helpless to stop and certainly not in Victoria, BC Canada.

One of Paul’s nurses told me that the family had made the decision that Paul would not want to be a burden to anyone. She said this in his room within his hearing. She continued to explain that with technology today, “We can keep a body alive forever, but what is the point in that? He wouldn’t want to live like that and be a burden to others.”

Paul was never a burden he was always a delight. Everyone’s face lit up when they saw him coming. One lady commented to me after his funeral when we were talking about him glowingly, “For a celibate man Paul sure had a lot of girlfriends.” and he did. We all loved him because we knew all he wanted from us was whatever we wanted for ourselves. He had no hidden agenda, he accepted us and appreciated us and that is how we reciprocated.

At the hospital I spent a lot of time with him and so did many other people and we were all shocked by the neglect, lack of compassion and complete disregard shown to this beautiful holy man of God. For example when the night shift nurses came in to strip the bed and change him they would ask me to wait outside, which was fine, I wanted to respect Paul’s privacy and any dignity he was being afforded. But I could hear the staff talking to one another about their lives while ignoring Paul, and then as they moved him he was moaning and groaning loudly with pain. I am sure they would have shown a sack of potatoes more compassion. Or then again perhaps not.

My daughter was angry about what was happening to Paul, she said to me, “Why are they killing Paul?” and I couldn’t answer that. I could only try to be with him and give him as much comfort as I could. I was told that the person who holds power of attorney over another person is the only person who can decide if a person is going to continue to be treated with compassion and care and allowed to live. Unfortunately Paul chose someone who on first hearing of his accident called to find out the state of his finances, so that makes me question whether this person who stands to inherit from Paul’s estate truly made a decision in love or a decision for money.

Power of attorney’s usually come into effect when a person can no longer make their own decisions. When Paul first came into the hospital he asked for food through a feeding tube, as a temporary measure until the broken bone in his neck healed. He also stated clearly that he wanted to live three times that seems pretty clear to me. Paul had expressed his desire to other visitors of his desire to leave the hospital and recuperate in his own home.

His family and doctors disregarded all these statements although they were all made aware of them. A lesson to learn here is not to give power of attorney to anyone who stands to profit by your death. Another lesson is that if you write out a “Living Will’ or “Advance Directive” be very clear and specific about what your actual intentions are. If Paul for example stated that he did not want to live in a ‘long term’ care facility in his mind did that mean he did not want to be in a hospital bed for ten years while he withered away? Was Paul’s vision of what he was saying the same as his doctor’s? I do not believe so. Some people write in their living wills that they do not want ‘extraordinary measures’ used to keep them alive. Define ‘extraordinary measures’ to a faithful pro-life Catholic as Paul was food, water and medicine are seen as basic necessities for life. Perhaps to Paul’s non practicing non Christian family food through a tube, water and medicine seem ‘extraordinary’. So if you decide to write a Living Will make sure you have a lawyer go over it with you and define the terms. I also heartily recommend that you choose a person who knows and understands your faith and your beliefs to hold power of attorney, a person who will not profit from your death, and a person who cares about you as a human being and wants only what you would want for yourself.

Watching Paul die was excruciating for me, but he was living it. He was clutching at his head as he was suffering from mini-strokes caused by dehydration, his lips were cracked and covered in sores from lack of moisture, the inside of his nose was cracking, his chest was causing him great agonies as the untreated pneumonia allowed the phlegm to grow and expand and make each one of his breaths more painful and laboured. He often clutched at his empty and starving stomach and moaned with pain. His body was experiencing involuntary spasms from the starvation. He would grab his head and scratch at it furiously and sometimes he would try to pull off the neck brace. No one shaved him at the hospital and his whiskers were growing and he was itching a lot with the lack of hydration and the neck brace pressed against his head, face and neck. He was not bathed. His breath became quite rancid as none of the nursing staff cleaned out his mouth and the combination of lack of water, diseased lungs and no hygiene were quite apparent as the air in his hospital room became filled with the diseased air being expelled from his lungs.

I spent several nights at his bedside. The nurses rarely looked in. They talked at their nursing station about their lives. They were enjoying life in contrast to Paul being deliberately deprived of his. Whatever comfort I could offer him through holding his hand, praying, placing cold compresses on his brow or moisturizing his dry and scaly skin I did. I even trickled water into his throat from a straw. Not enough to keep him alive because I don’t have the skills to insert an IV but hopefully enough to give a small amount of comfort. No matter what I did it wasn’t enough because he wanted to live and I lacked the power to give him back his life. Another friend of Paul’s called one of the relatives and told him that Paul was strong and fighting hard to live and would the family please reconsider the decision to euthanize Paul. The nephew said “The decision has been made.” Paul’s friend said “Please come and see your uncle,” The nephew stated that he would not be coming again to visit except for the funeral.

To die of starvation and dehydration is a cruel and agonizing death. Add on top of that untreated pneumonia and the pain and suffering of his body was beyond agonizing. One night I brought my daughter with me to the hospital to see Paul. He opened his eyes and looked pleadingly at her while pointing to his chest. She took this to mean, “I hurt.” My daughter is studying to be a doctor and so witnessing this happening to the gentlest soul imaginable was horrifying to her. But it was important to her to come and pray for him and to touch him and let him know that she loved him and wanted him to get better.

Sadly without food for fifteen days, without water for four days and being deprived of antibiotics for hospital contracted pneumonia the only thing that could have saved Paul was a miracle. His family did not change their minds, his doctors did not heed Paul’s wishes or requests and he died. Paul died against his wishes, against his spoken and expressed desires, against everything he believed in about the value of life taught by the Catholic faith. The laws of Canada did not save him, the medical personnel who take oaths to “do no harm’ did not save him, the family he trusted with his life did not save him, Paul is dead. A beautiful light has been extinguished and the world is a little bit darker as a result of my friend, spiritual father and encourager extraordinaire Paul no longer being a part of it.

As John Donne stated so eloquently “Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.” We are all diminished because of what has been done to Paul, we must all speak out against this practice or we could be the next person that this happens to.

DO NOT GO GENTLE INTO THAT GOOD NIGHT

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Dylan Thomas

All Rights Reserved Copyright LittleFishPublishing 2001-2009 (C)

True Love Lasts

Love is Eternal

By

Marion Sinclair-Simpson

Love is a beautiful mystery. It can be a light in the eye of the beloved, a touch of the hand, a wink of reassurance from a friend that says, “I am on your side.” When it is spoken by a child to a parent it can melt a heart.

Love is the topic most written about by authors, most philosophized about by philosophers and most misunderstood and misinterpreted by most mortals.

St. Paul talks a lot about love in 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 he attempts the impossible - explaining love. It is natural for him to do so. He is a highly educated leader, an expert in the Law, who was transformed physically and spiritually when he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. Paul changed from a legalistic moralist into a poet espousing love, he met Jesus face to face and he was forever changed. Love changes hearts, minds and spirits.

Sometimes when a person experiences the amazing emotions that come with being in love there is a need to explain the feeling, to perhaps try to understand it, they may even try to share their happiness with others, by speaking glowingly about the object of their affections.

To love is to be in a state of grace, while filled with and surrounded by peace and at the same time experiencing transforming joy. We are filled with the hope that this beautiful and amazing experience will transform and comfort us eternally. When we experience love we know that it is the highest state a human being can aspire to. It encompasses and heals while transporting us to the greatest happiness a human being can ever know.

Being in love and loving is gift. Being loved and choosing to return love is a privilege and an honour. When another person informs us that they love us, are indeed ‘in love’ with us, it causes happiness, the kind that can only be described as pure joy. It causes feelings of reciprocation and so the love between the two enamoured of one another grows.

Love is the purpose that we were created for. Experiencing reciprocal love with another person is the highest honour we can bestow. To be open to give and receive love and to allow that love to grow in our hearts is an amazing gift that we give to ourselves and the loved other.

St. Paul tells us that no matter how amazingly gifted and talented we are in other areas of our lives without love it is all meaningless. He examples preachers who have the greatest gift of inspiring others, but cautions if they preach without loving those they are preaching to, and if they have no love in their hearts, then their words are hollow. He tells us that we can have so much faith in our hearts that we can move mountains, (pretty impressive you say), apparently moving mountains without love as the motivation is an empty (as well as presumably exhausting,) gesture.

Even if we sell or give away everything we own including even our own bodies as some kind of sacrifice, it means absolutely nothing if the motivation is not rooted in love.

Interesting. Our motivations are important and the wrong ones bring undesired results. But how do we know for sure what it is that motivates us? Perhaps we believe our intentions are good; alternately maybe we know that they are not; but we believe that God can bring good out of anything so we let Him sort it out.  But Paul clearly states that anything we do that is not rooted in love is useless, pointless and fruitless.

Jesus talks a lot about vines, He refers to Himself as the Vinedresser who cuts away the dead wood, (the vines that do not bear healthy fruit), so that healthy new shoots can come forth. Fruitlessness means that we are still acting in our old ‘human ‘ natures, trying to do things on our own merits and not acting from our new ’spiritual’ inspirations. As long as we cling to our old ways of behaving we will not produce fruit or another word would be blessings.

Sometimes I go ahead trying to do good works for God, and they fail. At these times I have to embrace humility and examine the motivation behind these ‘good works’. Quickly it becomes apparent to me that these works were inspired by human nature, perhaps the desire to be liked, or thanked by another, and did not originate in the desire to be obedient to the impulse of the Holy Spirit working inside me to witness and share God’s care for that person in that situation.

God is love. He is the One who inspires all works of love. He is the One who deserves all praise and thanksgiving. He is the light inside of us. When we experience human love it didn’t originate in our minds or hearts, He placed that spark of love inside our frail and battle scarred hearts.

We have to make the choice using the gift of our free will, to accept that love and allow that spark to be fanned into an amazing flame in our hearts, or to ignore it, deny it, neglect it and allow it to die.

Love is gift. We all need more of it. It takes life to the highest heights. Paul tells us that we must strive for love. Above everything else in life, there stands love.

When we are afraid of loving and being loved we need to heal. Keeping love at a distance at those times is like refusing the medicine to cure what ails us. Love heals, love grows, love endures.

Love never gives up. Love is eternal. The cure for every broken heart is allowing love to heal the wounds.

Paul tells us what he believes love to be, interestingly he begins with the virtue of patience. He then extols the value of kindness. Love is mannerly, and truthful. Love perseveres, always. He speaks of faith, and hope together with the greatest virtue of all which is love. The most amazing thing about love is that it is eternal. Forever. True love lasts.

 Copyright Little Fish Publishing 2001-2009 All Rights Reserved

For reprint information contact littlefishpublishing@gmail.com

Who is going to save our Church?

“Who is going to save our Church?

 Not our bishops, not our priests and religious.

It is up to you, the people. You have the minds, the eyes, the ears to save the Church.

Your mission is to see that your priests act like priests, your bishops, like bishops, and your religious act like religious.”
—-Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen,
before the Knights of Columbus, June 1972

Longing for Love Searching for Purpose

 Longing for Love

Searching for Purpose

 By

Marion Sinclair-Simpson

Our deepest inner spiritual longing is to be reunited with the One who created us and to be healed and become whole through the uniting of our fragile temporal human beings with His perfect eternal beautiful deity.

Christian Spirituality changes us from the inside out. When we open ourselves to receive Jesus we invite Him inside our sacred spaces. Gently and lovingly He uncovers our hurts and our fears, and the healing process begins. The world is corrupt and selfish filled with arrogance and pride and we must not deny that we have been affected, tainted by our exposure to the corruption, that has been eroding our Christian values tiny bit by tiny bit until we begin to question whether sin is really sin. We hesitate to correct our brothers/sisters who we know are actively sinning as we are all too aware of our own sinful natures.

The world tells us that we should not judge others, (which is of course biblical, “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:5) (NIV). We are aware above all things that we are flawed. We are creatures – created beings. We recite in liturgy, “Lord, I am not worthy to receive You but only say the word and I shall be healed.” Temporarily at least we are healed of our unworthiness until the next anticipated reception of the Eucharist. (It is good that we don’t receive lightly that we do contemplate the immensity of the sacrament.)

As we receive Jesus inside our beings we are transformed mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually.

When we contemplate scripture we meditate on the life of Christ. We also meditate upon the lives of the saints that followed Him. We desire to be made holy as Christ is holy - impossible for man – only possible with an outpouring of God’s grace. Jesus tells us that there is only One who is good that we have all fallen short of the glory of God. The only way for us to find redemption and to become good is through uniting ourselves to Christ who mediates with God for our salvation this is accomplished by the work of the Holy Spirit sanctifying us, teaching, and prompting us forward on our journeys towards salvation.

John 15:5 - “…He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” Jesus tells us that He is the Vinedresser and He has to cut away all that is in us that is dead, all our old mindsets, unhealthy behaviours and unproductive habits must be cut out of us so that new ideas, healthy habits and life producing conduct can take root and grow. Holding on to what is familiar blocks the work of renewal that Jesus needs to do to enable our growth.

Suffering is the antecedent to growth. Growth comes through surrender to the plan of Christ for our lives. We die to self in order to live for Christ; this sacrifice enables our holiness, a task that is impossible when we are trying to stay in the familiar. No growth can be accomplished without pain. Our sanctification demands suffering. The cross must be endured. As Jesus was nailed onto the cross we must nail our narcissistic human desires onto the cross.

To truly embrace Christ as He embraced us we must embrace the sufferings of others. To open ourselves up to know, experience and carry the pain of others forces us from self-focus to focusing on God and others which is the beginning of the maturation process. As stated in Christian Spirituality, Themes from the Tradition, “Christian growth holds in balance the two great commandments of love of God and love of neighbor. To the degree that we can look outside of ourselves toward another we learn our connectedness to everyone else who is created, like us, in the image of God. By the continued acts of “forgetting the self” we recognize, in those very acts, others and the Other.”*

*Christian Spirituality, Themes from the Tradition, p61, Lawrence S. Cunningham and Keith J. Egan, Paulist Press 1996.

The process of becoming can be described as an unfolding of our selves as we journey which causes us to meditate on our lives and experiences including our relationships with God, ourselves and others.  At the end of the process we know more fully who we are and why we are here and most importantly we realize our dependence on the One who created us and cares for us. Being fully one with God brings us into our true purpose and as we grow in Him and He grows in us we reach and teach others lovingly, as Christ reaches and teaches and loves us completely.

Spiritual maturity is the fruit of dying to self and embracing the unknown future which God has envisioned for each of us. He has prepared the path. We must seek it and with all diligence persevere until we have the surety that this is indeed the path He has prepared for us and not the false one of our own vanities.

Spiritual maturity comes through trial and error when we let go of the familiar and allow God to reach us in new and unexplored ways - when we decide to take the road less traveled. Personal integrity is when we choose to do that which we know is right for God, for others, ourselves and all of creation. When we decide to take responsibility and to do the right thing no matter if anyone else chooses the same path that we do we are honouring ourselves and our God. Our Christian witness and loving example may one day be the light of Christ to those who are still walking in the darkness. To be more compassionate to others through deed and example is to follow in the footsteps of Christ. The more we imitate Christ and allow Him to use us the more others are drawn to the light in us that emanates from His Spirit indwelling our beings and permeating every aspect of our humanity and spirituality.

It is only possible to please God when we have earnestly sought Him and allowed Him to speak to us through prayer, scripture, sacraments and contemplation. The Rule of Benedict teaches us to “Listen with the ear of our hearts”.  I am a Charismatic Catholic Christian and spirituality to me is very much about being open to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit of paying attention to His still small voice and observing His work in my life and the lives of others. We cannot have a relationship with any human being of any depth if we don’t spend time listening to them and the cry of their hearts. How much more so do we have to shut out the world and take time to be silent before our God to hear what He is actually saying to us?

Christian Spirituality can be defined in as many ways as the human beings who have experienced it. It can be described as a relationship with God, ourselves, others and God’s creation, and I also believe that to have an authentic Christian spirituality we must be walking with the Holy Spirit, not to would be foolishness. As St. Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:10-18:

‘Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His power. Put on the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints.’

This world is filled with temptations and distractions designed to draw our focus away from God. The luxuries that we have can become blockages to spending time alone with God. Our souls are longing to spend time being refreshed and infilled with the Spirit of God but our minds, hearts, human spirits and bodies get entangled in the busyness of the world we live in and the constant noise about us deadens us to the realization that God is speaking and His still small voice will not be heard above the cacophany of daily life, the TV, Internet, the traffic, the phone, the worries of life. Yet He calls us to stop and listen.

“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” (Psalm 46:10)

Once I had a Spiritual Director who was a gentle priest who taught me by example the value of listening. He allowed me to speak while he listened attentively and prayerfully. Through that experience I came to realize the value of having a person who paid absolute attention to me. Before we began Fr. David lit a large candle which was placed on a table in the room. There was a peacefulness enveloping us even before we began to pray to invite the Holy Spirit into the conversation. Talking through my problems in a caring, accepting environment helped me to find the solutions I was seeking. Because of his attentiveness I felt valued.

Fr. David cared enough to listen and it made a difference in my life. Now I try to quiet my own thoughts and words to pay attention to what God is saying to me, what others are saying to me and how I can use that gift of listening to enhance the quality of my relationships. Sometimes I listen to the problems of others and pray for them and care for them and realize that I have not taken time to deal with my own problems. I have not taken time to listen to the voice within that also needs to be heard. Loving myself is a struggle for me.

Loving God’s creation, planet earth and all that inhabits it is a daunting task. Taking care of our environment is vitally important - the earth is not self-sustaining - we must be good stewards because we are only tenants God is the owner. As God declares in Genesis: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth” (Gen. 1:26-28).

This statement alerts us to the great responsibility that has been placed upon all of us to love and protect our planet and all that inhabits it. When we are doing this we are obeying God’s instructions.

Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179), who was an abbess, a prophet, a mystic visionary, a healer and a theologian who lived during the middle ages, has said that “Everything that is in the heavens, on the earth, and under the earth is penetrated with connectedness, penetrated with relatedness.” This truth was revealed to her in a vision in which she saw the Universe in the form of an egg with everything inside the egg dependent on all the other parts. We are all part of God’s great cosmic plan and vision. We must always be mindful of this great truth.

Inclusiveness to me means that all people are welcomed under the broad umbrella of Jesus Christ’s true Gospel. Sinners of all genders, races, income levels and states of life are welcome. We are all sinners. Jesus said we have all fallen short of the glory of God. Even a good man sins seven times a day. So all of us are works in progress.

Also I believe that inclusive means that no-one is excluded – all are welcome. The mentally handicapped, the physically disabled, racial minorities, gays and lesbians, transgendered persons and the poor all area invited to eat at God’s table. In a neighbourhood church that I used to attend it was not the case that all are welcomed. There are poor people standing outside in the cold who are not invited in to celebrate. A woman who was crying loudly one day was escorted out because she was disturbing the service. Women are not allowed to read the Gospel or preach homilies. It is a patriarchal church where women are not included in the decision making process. We are patronized but not included.

Women are allowed to run most of the organizations in the church in the capacity of unpaid volunteers. However our opinions are not sought when policy making decisions are made by the hierarchy of the church. My church preaches that it honours women yet the words are not backed up with actions. The church I belong to is not inclusive. In fact I would describe it as an exclusive boys club which I can presently never be fully a part of because of my gender. I am a woman God made me this way and I am happy with my gender but if I felt that God was calling me to serve Him more fully by becoming a priest I would have to leave my church and pursue this calling in another church. The Catholic Church teaches that women cannot be priests because Jesus was a man and not a woman. So using this logic if Jesus had come as a woman all priests would now be exclusively women? No! Because women would have understood that we are all one in Christ. Our sexual appendages or lack thereof speak nothing of our worth to serve God in the capacity of priest, only God’s call in our hearts and our own willing spirits should be deciding factors in this matter. The calling God places in our hearts which we discover through much time in prayer and discernment cannot be ignored. And indeed must not be ignored. If need be we must remember the words of the psalmist that we must obey God not man.

Historians have discovered that the gospels themselves have been tampered with to downplay the teaching and preaching roles of women in the ministry of Jesus, and in the early church. There has even been evidence uncovered that the gospel of John may have been authored by Mary Magdalene and that she indeed was the ‘disciple Jesus loved’. More information can be found with regard to the discovery of manuscripts uncovered by archaeologists in 1945 by clicking on this link www.nag-hammadi.com  Nag Hammadi is the name of the town where the papyrus documents written in the Coptic language were discovered.

I believe the voice of Mary Magdalene has been muted, as I have experienced my own voice being muted, it makes it difficult to feel part of an organization that is male dominated. God has given me a voice and it is important that I use my voice to serve God and my fellow human beings in whatever capacity God calls me to. I am a woman who is in love with Jesus. Jesus loved women, He honoured them, He restored to them the dignity that had been stolen from them for many centuries by the men who held power over them and yet when He left it didn’t take very long for the church to go back to its old ways, as it says in Proverbs 26:11 “As a dog goes back to its vomit, [so] a fool repeats his stupidity.” It is always so much easier to please people by reverting to the old familiar ways. Jesus was too radical for them when He was on earth and apparently the Gospel as it really exists is too radical for the church leaders of our day.

The church teaches that priests cannot marry because Jesus was not married and yet we know that this is a man made teaching that does not have its origin in God or Christ or the Holy Spirit. God said in Genesis, “It is not good for man to live alone.” I believe that the many scandals that have come about recently are only the tip of the iceberg because man made teachings have been set above the laws and I dare say the will of God. No the church I attend is not inclusive it claims to be but has definitely fallen short. A woman attending the Catholic Church today has no greater voice than Mary Magdalene whose voice was taken from her by scholars and church leaders uncomfortable with her true role in the Gospel of Christ. When we hear about Mary Magdalene today she is chiefly credited with being the woman who had seven demons exorcised from her.

I do not like the word ‘feminist’ because I believe that labels limit people, both the person using the label and the person who accepts the label. I think of myself as a person who values all people especially those whose voice is taken from them. The unborn have no voice, the elderly, the homeless, the mentally ill, the poor, the imprisoned, the unemployed and those whose opinions differ from the hierarchy. To be an independent thinker in a patriarchal organization is to risk expulsion. Yet not to speak, not to think, is not to live and worse is not to love. Jesus came for the downtrodden and the marginalized and He loved them to His death.

“Christian feminists, particularly Catholic feminists, have a heavy burden because of the ways in which theology and church structures of ministry, leadership, authority, and decision making still block the fullness of human flourishing among women. Some have found Christianity, pre-eminently the Catholic Church, so hopelessly sexist and oppressive that they have moved outside or beyond it for their spiritual survival. Other committed feminists are working for the transformation of the churches from the inside out, so that the liberating gospel can be handed down to the next generation, to our daughters as well as our sons. This sort of Christian feminism has become for an ever-increasing number of women and men a very clear and compelling sign of God’s abiding presence in the church and in the world.” **

Michael Downey, Understanding Christian Spirituality, p133, Paulist Press, 1997

Downey uses the term “liberating gospel’ and I prefer to think of myself that way as being a person who chooses to work towards liberating myself and others, all the others who are oppressed so perhaps the term ‘liberator’ is preferable to the word ‘feminist’ as all of us who are truly called to live the Gospel of Christ are not interested in only one segment of the downtrodden obtaining freedom from oppression but are working towards the goal of making the actual Gospel of Christ a lived reality in our lives, our homes, our workplaces and surprisingly, yet of great necessity, also in our churches and places of worship.

Jesus loved all people, men, women, tax collectors, sinners, lepers even the thief on the cross experienced the inclusive love of Christ. There was no hierarchy with Jesus it was ‘love one another as I have loved you’ and somehow sadly that message has been lost in the sad and desperate need to cling to the old ways, the old ways that didn’t work, the old ways that Christ spoke so vehemently against, the old ways that crippled the souls of those who followed them.

“How we view and understand ourselves, very much depends on how we view the larger reality or realities to which we belong, and without which our lives are seriously deprived, humanly and spiritually. Our isolationism, our sense of separation which our patriarchal consciousness cherishes so stubbornly, is our greatest anomaly. It pitches us into that alienation and loneliness that breeds so much despair, destruction and spiritual emptiness in our world!” *

*Diarmuid O’Murchu, Reclaiming Spirituality p85 The Crossroads Publishing Company, 1998.

I would like to belong to a church where my opinion matters and my voice is heard. The church is called the Bride of Christ and I think that the bride should be in preparation for the return of the Bridegroom and she needs to do a lot of soul searching about why she is in such disarray. Could it be that the Holy Spirit is speaking through the pain of the people, the disenfranchised and marginalized people who have been hurt and excluded by the hierarchy?

“Unless it receives a new blood transfusion from matter, Christian Spirituality may well lose its vigour and become lost in the clouds” Teilhard de Chardin “. Could it be that the ‘new’ blood will be the voices of the many faithful and called women who are waiting to be heard? Paul the apostle tells us in Galatians “It is through faith that all of you are God’s children in union with Christ Jesus. You were baptized into union with Christ, and now you are clothed so to speak, with the life of Christ Himself. So there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles, between slaves and free people, between men and women: you are all one in union with Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are the descendants of Abraham and will receive what God has promised.” (Galatians 3:26:29).  So Paul clearly states that race, state of life, imprisoned or free, male or female none of these are barriers – we are all equal in the eyes of Christ. Inclusiveness means no one is left outside in the cold, the Spirit speaks through all of us.

A truly Christ based church would give voice to all those called to membership. In a truly inclusive church which practices real Christian Spirituality my voice would be heard, cold and hungry people would be invited into the warmth and people who are crying in pain would be comforted and not put outside with their pain unanswered.

Holiness is the quest for wholeness, which we can only find when we are immersed in God’s will for our lives. Wholeness is when we are living our true God given purpose. We can only come to find this purpose when we have experienced sanctification through our relationship with Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit coming into us and filling us, teaching us, purifying us and setting us apart for God’s purposes. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said; “If you would lift me up you must be on higher ground.” We all know that there is no-one higher or with more influence and accomplishment than the Holy Spirit. “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8). To me this scripture defines holiness because when we are acting in these ways we are walking with God and more than that, pleasing God as we journey.

I know a man who tries to be holy. (Sometimes I am that man.) He rushes from here to there to witness the gospel to others. He is always on the move. He believes he has a limited time on the earth to accomplish the work of God and must work at a frenetic pace to do all he can in the time allotted to him. How often we fall into this trap! We believe that we must rush around - we become human doings and forget that God called us human beings. We are so busy doing what we believe God wants when we have not taken time to pray and ask Him what He wants. It is arrogance masked in self-deception to anticipate God’s desires before taking time to be alone with Him in silent contemplation and allowing Him to teach us and show us what it is He actually desires of us.

Holiness is a state of life, a grace filled life. Human beings can only achieve holiness through being united to Jesus and being infilled with grace from the Holy Spirit who dispenses all graces. No one can be holy when separated from God and holiness dissipates when sin enters into our hearts. To remain in a state of grace we must remain united to Christ. We must become one with Him. Seeking Him with all of our hearts, and obeying whatever call He places on our lives. We were born for service and we must live our lives in service of God and others for this is God’s will for us. Praying at all times for all things with the right attitude trusting in God’s goodness and His providence. Praising and thanking God for everything we experience believing that whatever happens in our lives is God’s will for us.

Sometimes we think we are holy already and know from past experiences we have had what God requires of us. We put aside the truth that God is constantly remaking us that we are on a journey and as long as we are on the earth we are changing and growing. God tells us in Isaiah 43:16 “I am going to do something new. It is already happening. Don’t you recognize it? I will clear a way in the desert. I will make rivers on dry land.” God is Creator, He is innovator, He is miraculous, and He does not repeat Himself. When we are looking to the old ways of doing things, He is not there, when we are looking ahead to see what is coming, He is not there, “The Lord was not in the wind or the earthquake or the fire” (1 Kings 19:12). Where was He then? He was the still small voice.

To experience holiness we have to be submissive to God’s will, we have to search the scriptures and know them, we must pray without ceasing, we must study and learn, we have to be thankful, we have to be earnest and persistent, we must exhibit faith and we have to become comfortable with silence. God is in the silence.

Cunningham, Lawrence S. and Egan, Keith J., Christian Spirituality, Themes from the Tradition, Paulist Press, 1996 p61

Downey, Michael, Understanding Christian Spirituality, Paulist Press, 1997, p68

Fox, Matthew, Illuminations of Hildegard of Bingen. Sante Fe: Bear and Company, 1985.

Downey, Michael, Understanding Christian Spirituality, p133, Paulist Press, 1997

O’Murchu, Diarmuid, Reclaiming Spirituality,p85, The Crossroads Publishing Company, 1998

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre, Reflections on Happiness, Lecture given by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin in Peking, 28 December I943, www.users.globalnet.co.uk

Emerson, Ralph Waldo, The Complete Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson - Volume VII - Society and Solitude (1870) New York, Sully and Kleinteich

All Rights Reserved LittleFishPublishing 2001-2009 ©

Salvation Defined

SOTERIOLOGY (SALVATION)

By

Marion S. Simpson

Soteriology is the branch of theology which is concerned with salvation. The word itself comes from the Greek word soterion which translates as salvation and from soter which translates as either saviour or preserver[1] and logy which also originates from the Greek language (logia) and translates as word or discourse. [2]

Sorteriology as defined by Gregory Higgins, author of Christianity 101 is the work of Jesus and is pertaining to salvation. [3] Higgins focuses attention on the soteriological concepts found in the New Testament, particularly the undisputed teachings of St. Paul. Higgins notes that the writings of Paul do not contain a wealth of information to do with Jesus’ life as in the biographical sense, but instead focus more intently on the death and resurrection of Christ.

Saul, (before the change of name to Paul,) was a well educated Roman citizen, an avid proclaimer of the Law but after his experience on the road to Damascus he no longer insisted on strict obedience to the Law as the highest authority. His metanoia experience opened his eyes both physically and spiritually. Instead of seeking punishment for those who transgressed the Law he experienced and taught the transforming grace of God. Paul came to the awareness that the Law cannot justify; only the Blood of the Redeemer could justify sinners before God.

The price of our redemption was at the cost of the life of Jesus. Paul recognised this and taught others that they had been bought with a price; therefore he admonished them against sinning;

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

‘Don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and who was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourselves but to God. He bought you for a price. So use your bodies for God’s glory.’[4]

Paul speaks of the obedience of Christ to God which conquered for all time the power of sin and death. Jesus didn’t come to earth to be exalted but to be struck down, He put Himself on the cross in our place. Paul tells us that the ‘fullness of God’ [5] was inside Jesus and through Jesus God was able to be reconciled to all creation, because of the Blood of Christ that was willingly shed for all humanity on Calvary.

Higgins concludes his chapter on the role of soteriology in the New Testament and early church with a quote from Hebrews, ‘In any event, the Letter to the Hebrews presents Christ’s death as the definitive and final sacrifice and “the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him” (Heb. 5:9)[6]

Romans 6:20-23

‘When you were the slaves of sin, you were free from righteousness. What did you gain from doing the things that you are now ashamed of? The result of those things is death! But now you have been set free from sin and are the slaves of God. Your gain is a life fully dedicated to Him, and the result is eternal life. For sin pays its wage – death; but God’s free gift is eternal life in union with Christ Jesus our Lord.’[7]

In Soteriology in the Patristic Church Higgins quotes Clement of Rome (d. ca. 101) ‘Through Him the eyes of our heart were opened. Through Him our unintelligent and darkened mind shoots up into light. Through Him the Master was pleased to let us taste the knowledge that never fades.” [8]

Higgins believes that this ‘soteriolological metaphor’[9] which uses illumination helps to show that everything to do with the life and ministry of Christ had a part in the saving work that happened on the cross, and that the crucifixion alone was also only a part and not the whole saving act to set humanity free.

It is hard for us to imagine how immeasurably God loves us. Yet I believe the quotation below from Saint Irenaeus, one of the Early Church Fathers comes very close to describing it.

“Because of His measureless love,” [Irenaeus] writes, “He became what we are in order to enable us to become what He is.” [10]

THEODICY AND SOTERIOLOGY

Theodicy relates to the study of God using reason to try to understand the existence of evil. I struggled with this chapter in the book The Shape of Catholic Theology by Aidan Nichols as I received the impression that those who were quoted by Nichols were blaming God for all the evils in the world. Which caused me to wonder if people start with a false concept of God how can they ever understand the existence of evil?

For example reading the quotation Nichols uses by St. Thomas Aquinas:

”It seems that God does not exist; because if one of two contraries be infinite, the other would be altogether destroyed. But the name ‘God’ means that His is infinite goodness. If, therefore, God existed there would be no evil discoverable; but there is evil in the world. Therefore God does not exist.’

Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologiae Ia, q. 2, a. 3.[11]

This assumption borders on the childishly ridiculous, Aquinas makes the presumption that there would be no ‘evil discoverable’ if God were infinitely good. He arrogantly assumes in a perfect world there would be no evil. We would have a perfect God (okay we do have that), we would be perfect human beings (ouch not quite there yet), because of the fall of Adam sin entered into the world, an event predated by the sin and pride of Lucifer who tried unsuccessfully, to make himself equal to God. (See Isaiah 14:12-15, Rev:12:7-9) Lucifer was subsequently with his band of equally pride filled fallen angels thrown down to earth, sadly consequently sin reared its ugly head in our once perfect world. Is it God’s fault that Lucifer rebelled?

If free will exists on earth it certainly exists in heaven. God is always good, loving and merciful. We human beings have been told by Jesus that we are not to judge one another, (sorry Thomas Aquinas) and yet we quite freely believe we have the right to pass judgement on God. Hypothesizing that somehow with all our earthly and human limitations we could do a better job than the Creator of all that is and was and ever will be. The origin of sin entering into our world came with the rebellion of Lucifer and his angels who were cast out of Heaven. Sin originated with Lucifer and subsequently manifested itself in Adam.

Sin entered into the world and God was not surprised He already had a plan, an amazing wonderful Master plan, as Nichols states ‘if in theodicy we could clear up the problem of evil to our complete satisfaction, then there would be no need for salvation as presented in the Christian revelation.’[12]

Romans 8:28-30

‘We know that in all things God works for good with those who love Him, those whom He has called according to His purpose. Those whom God had already chosen He also set apart to become like His Son so that the Son would be the first among many believers. And so those whom God set apart, He called; and those He called, he put right with Himself, and He shared His glory with them.’[13]

2 Corinthians 5: 20-21

‘Here we are, then, speaking for Christ, as though God Himself were making His appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf: let God change you from enemies into His friends! Christ was without sin, but for our sake God made Him share our sin in order that in union with Him we might share the righteousness of God.’[14]

Jesus is no ordinary man He is fully human and fully divine, He has a human nature and a spiritual nature. He took on the sins of humanity and His shed blood on the cross bought our redemption from our own sins. He battled satan and He defeated satan. Colossians 2:15 ‘And on that cross Christ freed Himself from the power of the spiritual rulers and authorities…”[15]  Christ battled the human rulers and the spiritual rulers and defeated both by His sacrificial and atoning act on the cross.

‘Sick, our nature demanded to be healed; fallen, to be raised up; dead, to rise again. We had lost the possession of the good; it was necessary for it to be given back to us. Closed in the darkness, it was necessary to bring us the light; captives, we awaited a Savior; prisoners, help; slaves, a liberator. Are these things minor or insignificant? Did they not move God to descend to human nature and visit it, since humanity was in so miserable and unhappy a state? ^{71’ [16]}

Augustine of Hippo believed that sin is the absence of good and is rooted in free will One of the hypotheses espoused by Augustine’s followers is the “principle of plenitude” [17] which ultimately sees everything good and bad, health and sickness, life and death, everything that is real and everything that happens on earth as part of the ‘universal harmony’ [18]and that only God can hear this harmony. The implication being that sin is the discord that spoils the enjoyment of the universal harmony.

Romans 8:18

‘I consider that what we suffer at this present time cannot be compared at all with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.’ [19]

St. Irenaean’s theodicy saw the world as a place of suffering where the ‘human spirit was refined by fire’ [20] He believed that there is a natural evil in the world which humans need to struggle against to grow and so come closer to God. His theodicy once again would implicate God as being responsible for the evils in the world. A belief which would seem to be at odds with his statement that certainly bears repeating because of its profundity:

“Because of His measureless love,” [Irenaeus] writes, “He became what we are in order to enable us to become what He is.” [21]

Without sin there could be no salvation. Sans sin we could not know how truly loving, forgiving and gracious and deserving is the God we worship. Only a loving fully involved parent would place themselves in the way of great harm to protect their beloved offspring. To paraphrase Jesus in John 15:13 ‘There is no greater love than to sacrifice one’s life, one’s entire being for another person’. When Jesus said “yes” to the Father it was to accept the ultimate sacrifice of His righteousness in payment for the unrighteousness of all humanity.

John 3:16-17

‘For God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not die but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to be its judge, but to be its saviour.[22]

Current Contemporary Soteriology

Social Understanding of Salvation This can be seen as rebellion against the traditional awareness of salvation as something for each individual and something to be experienced after we die, so not really relevant or current in our day to day lives. The social understanding can be found in Liberation Theology, Black Theology, Feminist Theology etc., seeing salvation as liberation from oppression in the world. Salvation being perceived as holistic, ‘at one with the universe’ and has sometimes included the ecology of the earth.

Pluralistic Understanding of Salvation

Denies the exclusive salvation by Jesus Christ and expounds the theory that other religions have a hidden or anonymous Christ. Salvation is experienced as ‘an actual human change, a gradual transformation from natural self-consciousness to a radically new orientation centered in God and manifested in the ‘fruit of the Spirit’” [23] in contrast to the Christian belief of salvation bringing personal reconciliation with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Theological Understanding:

Some churches in the Protestant Reformation emphasized faith alone salvation Theologian, (Dietrich Bonhoeffer who was ultimately executed in a Nazi concentration camp for his unwavering beliefs in Christ’s life saving mission,) condemned the secularization of religion and attempted to refocus salvation on giving the glory to God that was due to God. ‘Cheap grace means the justification of sin without the justification of the sinner. Grace alone does everything they say, and so everything can remain as it was before. ‘All for sin could not atone.’ Well, then, let the Christian live like the rest of the world, let him model himself on the world’s standards in every sphere of life, and not presumptuously aspire to live a different life under grace from his old life under sin…. ‘[24]

Existentialist Soteriology

This soteriology is not based on Jesus redemption of sinners but upon the individuals’ existential decision made before God. This theory proposes that salvation is a way to live an authentic existence by self committing to God and expecting everything will come from and be provided by God with no effort from the individual. It proposes that this will set individuals free from attachments to all things material and so be detached to completely serve God with no distractions.

Secularization Theology

Secularization is as suggested by the name a way of excluding God from our lives. It wraps itself in the illusion that it is a ‘mature form’ of sanctification and emphasizes the independence of the individual. The person learns to affirm their own self worth, with their own abilities they go and serve the world on their own terms. They attempt to transform themselves into their own version of Jesus while refusing to accept the need for an intimate relationship with God. (an unrighteous righteousness)

In Conclusion

Salvation was God’s Master plan. The sacrifice, suffering and death of Christ enables each one of us who accepts this gift of salvation, to receive inside of us Christ Himself. Through the sanctification of the Holy Spirit we are transformed. Without the cross, indeed before the cross we were removed from God, after the resurrection, ascension and descent of the Holy Spirit which was imparted to those in the Upper Room on the first Pentecost, and subsequently all those baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, God came to dwell inside us. How can anyone describe God as aloof or accuse Him of participating in or creating sin? When He loves us so much He offers to dwell within us to teach us, to help us, to guide us and to love us from the inside out and the outside in?

We need salvation because in our humanity we are incapable of saving ourselves. God saw this and created a plan. I believe it to be a very good plan.

‘Soteriology, the doctrine of salvation, must be the grandest theme in the Scriptures. It embraces all of time as well as eternity past and future. It relates in one way or another to all of mankind, without exception. It even has ramifications in the sphere of the angels. It is the theme of both the Old and New Testaments. It is personal, national, and cosmic. And it centers on the greatest Person, our Lord Jesus Christ ‘ [25]

The Science of God - Theology

How Theology Serves Revelation

By

Marion Sinclair-Simpson

Aidan Nichols, author of ‘The Shape of Catholic Theology’ commences the rather daunting assignment of explaining the theological task by stating that ‘the task of theology is the disciplined exploration of what is contained in revelation.’ [1] He then informs us that these terms must be explained to be understood.

Revelation itself is no small matter to explain but Nichols does so by boldly stating ’We are committed from the start to the position that at the origins of the Church, an authentic revelation of the one true God took place’ [2] So we are aware from this statement that revelation is God revealing Himself to us in our dual roles of Christians and theologians. Nichols then succinctly describes Theology as ‘a ministry carried out in the service of revelation’ [3]  Nichols believes that theologians are ‘consecrated’ to the interpretation of revelation. This means that it is a sacred, hallowed and noble task that the theologian undertakes when he/she embarks on their ministry; and so the call to be a theologian must consequently be lived with a profound degree of conscientiousness and faithfulness to the task at hand.

The author lists five categories of Theology which he believes all have a part in helping theology serve revelation beginning with:

Fundamental Theology – What is our faith based on? Fundamental theology helps us to help others by explaining why we believe what we believe when they experience doubts or have questions regarding the faith.

Historical Theology – What has been passed down to us through history? Historical theology helps us to understand Jesus’ life, the times He lived in and how knowledge of His teachings have been passed on and preserved by the Church through the centuries.

Systematic Theology – How to explain all revelation as an organized unified whole? Systematic theology is organizing the teachings of the Bible and the Church into categorical systems. A way of taking what appears separate and showing the unity of all the parts.

Moral Theology – What is the implication of the revelation towards how we should live? Moral theology is learning about morality. Nichols describes it as ‘a way to show people how they might be growing personally in relation to God and their neighbor.’  [4] (The implication being that when one is in relationship with God it affects our behaviors in a positive way and consequently we will become more aware of right and wrong, good and evil, sin and virtue and not only aspire to but also live to the highest Christian moral standards.)

Practical Theology – How will this impact our current understanding? Practical theology is the relevance we find that religion has in our work, social and private lives.

Nichols informs us that ‘Theology is bound up with revelation and is a form of service by some individuals on behalf of the whole Church.’ [5]. The primary sources of revelation are Scripture and Tradition. In fact Nichols stresses this point by telling us that ’Scripture and Tradition are the font of theological knowledge.’  [6] He further elucidates that to become theologians we must be willing to undertake the search to read and understand, both Old and New Testaments, we must learn of Church traditions, such as studying the liturgy (this pertains to church services, rites, ceremonies, prayers and sacraments) He recommends that we read and learn about the Early Church Fathers. Nichols further emphasizes the importance that we know and understand the creeds of the Church, and also develop an appreciation for Christian art and architecture. He believes our faith will grow when we listen to the witness of other believers. To become theologians it is necessary for us to have a good grounding in all these areas.

Our faith is what has carried us thus far on our journeys, and our faith will often help us to discern what we believe to be the truth found in theology and also what we believe to be a contradiction or departure from truth. To help us in our quest for understanding we also have the teachings of the magisterium to guide us. So through the implementation of Scripture, Tradition and Christian experience, (both our own and that of other Christians), while also benefiting from what Nichols terms ‘the teaching office of the Bishops’  [7] we come to the realization that theology is intertwined with revelation which itself is accompanied by God’s grace which is generously imparted to both the individual seeking the truth of revelation and also to the Body of Christ as a whole which is similarly seeking.

Theology as Disciplined Exploration

Theology is described by Aidan Nichols as ‘an exploration of what is not at first obvious, even to someone who knows and accepts the faith of the Church.’ [8] He tells us that the ‘exploration which is theology has to be disciplined exploration.’ [9] For discipline to take place there must first be structure, a theological methodology. Nichols describes that methodology as being ‘two-fold’; firstly we come with a philosophical question which revelation throws light on. It is stated by the author that each culture comes to explore revelation with some previously formed convictions pertaining to what is real.

‘One cannot conceive anything so strange and so implausible that it has not already been said by one philosopher or another’. Rene Descartes  [10]

So using that which is already known to us we investigate the sources of revealed truth using Scripture and Tradition, our own experiences as a Christian, the teachings of the Pope and Bishops and philosophical principle.

“Philosophy is man’s quest for the unity of knowledge: it consists in a perpetual struggle to create the concepts in which the universe can be conceived as a universe and not a multiverse. This attempt stands without rival as the most audacious enterprise in which the mind of man has ever engaged: Here is man, surrounded by the vastness of a universe in which he is only a tiny and perhaps insignificant part – and yet he wants to understand it”  William Halverson [11]

We begin our search for truth with philosophy which means ‘The love and pursuit of wisdom’ [12] we then look to theology which means ‘The disciplined study of religious questions, such as the nature of God, sin, and salvation’ [13] we can conclude that both these areas of study are in one way complimentary and in another contradictory yet necessary one to the other – to study theology without knowledge or attention towards philosophy would be to attain only a part of the whole revelation being sought after.

Nichols names three other elements to be used in our disciplined exploration of revelation a) sources, b) aids to discernment and c) philosophical principle. He recommends that we ‘interrogate the sources of revelation, Scripture and Tradition, using our aids to discernment, Christian experience and magisterium, and we come up with a theology, a disciplined or ordered exploration of what is contained in revelation.’  [14]

Aidan Nichols I believe succeeds in providing a working definition of the theological task. He introduces us to the five categories of theology (fundamental, historical, systematic, moral, and practical theology) which he states will help us to embark on the theological task.

Revelation is from God and Nichols is of the opinion that theology is ‘essentially concerned with revelation.’ [15] He emphasizes the importance of using philosophy alongside theology and states that ‘Philosophy has to help theology to get started by showing the basic compatibility of revelation with human rationality’.  [16] The Church is the primary witness of revelation and Scripture and Tradition are primary sources in seeking revelation. Nichols emphasizes how important our own gift of faith is in the process of discernment and recommends that we also learn from the teaching office of the Bishops.

Theology is exploring revelation using disciplined methodology. The author tells us ”we interrogate the sources of revelation, Scripture and Tradition, using our aids to discernment, Christian experience and magisterium, and we come up with a theology, a disciplined or ordered exploration of what is contained in revelation.’ [17] Philosophy has an important part to play in the theological task, ‘theology calls on philosophy to help deal with such issues as the existence of God, the problem of evil, the possibility of revelation, and the nature of the claim that the actual revelation we have is historically well grounded.’ [18] Without philosophy, theology would as Aidan Nichols states ‘not get off the ground’  [19] so we learn the vital importance of philosophy in our quest of a disciplined exploration of revelation.

Theology has been described as ‘faith seeking understanding’ and I believe that all Christians must seek a deeper understanding of our faith. Faith without reason is blind, and reason without faith is dead. We can never truly know God as He is infinite and beyond all imagining and we are finite and fallible but I take comfort from the scripture, “Seek the LORD while he may be found. Call on Him while he is near.” Isaiah 55:6 [20] it says to me that God wants us to seek after Him and learn of Him. It is exciting to embark on the theological task and thanks to this very detailed and thorough explanations provided in Nicholls’ working definition I now know which tools I have to sharpen and employ to aid me and carry with me on my journey of a disciplined exploration of revelation.

 [1] Aidan Nichols The Shape of Catholic Theology, The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota, 1991 p32

 [2] Ibid, p33 [3] Ibid, p32,[4] Ibid, p34[5] Ibid, p34[6] Ibid, p34[7] Ibid,  p35

 [8] Ibid,  p35, [9] Ibid,  p35

 [10] Rene Descartes  [10](1596 - 1650), ‘Le Discours de la Methode,’ 1637

 [11]William Halverson A Concise Introduction to Philosophy (1967. Random House, Inc., p. 18ff)

 [12] Philosophy.” The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. Answers.com 13 Nov. 2008. http://www.answers.com/topic/philosophy

 [13] Theology. (n.d.). The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. Retrieved November 12, 2008, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/theology

 [14] Nichols, p36 [15] Ibid, p33[16] Ibid, p37[17] Ibid, p36 [18] Ibid, p37

 [19] Ibid, p37

[20] Isaiah 55:6 NKJV Blue Letter Bible.1996-2008, 9 Nov 2008

http://www.blueletterbible.org/search/translationResults.cfm

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Catholicism in Crisis

Archbishop John Michael Miller, Coadjutor Archdiocese of Vancouver Speaks at University of Victoria on the topic of “I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel”

Intellectual Vapidity Challenged by Faith, Reason and Tradition

On October 28^th, 2008 the University of Victoria welcomed Archbishop John Michael Miller from the Archdiocese of Vancouver where he serves as coadjutor. The Archbishop gave a talk which was primarily aimed at educators of Catholic youth and Catholic youth themselves. The Archbishop had been invited by the University Catholic Chaplaincy. The topic was “I am not ashamed of the Gospel”

Archbishop Miller began by saying that he was originally a Basilian Father and that the main charism or gift of the Basilian Fathers was education. The Archbishop strongly believes that parents have the responsibility as the original educators of their children to teach them about their faith. He offered the opinion that this is much more challenging now than it is ever has been because of the times we are living in.

The Archbishop informed us that his intention was to offer us a few points for consideration while proclaiming the need for and benefits of a truly Catholic education. At one point in his talk he opined that the church in the past twenty or so years had failed to form a generation of Catholics in their faith properly. That for a time people became involved in more feeling than thinking and consequently the intellectual side of our faith has suffered as a result. He believes that the great falling away of faith we see in the church has to do with the lack of knowledge about the Catholic tradition. He stresses that it is important that each church member is aware of the root and origin of church teachings and beliefs. We must know why we believe what we believe in order to successfully give an account of our faith to non-believers.

He touched on abortion and opined that no-one can say “I am a good Catholic and I am pro-choice” to acknowledge that they are in favour of abortion is to admit their own ignorance on what the church teaches about abortion and what abortion actually entails – (the intentional killing of an unborn human being). He explained that when someone declares themselves to be in favour of abortion they have in fact excommunicated themselves from church teaching and are therefore no longer a member in good standing with the church. 

Archbishop Miller frequently and liberally quoted Pope Benedict stating that the Pope himself had declared that there must be a close relationship between the Gospel, education and the church, adding that a place to encounter the living God would be in Catholic educational institutions. Miller believes that education is ultimately a question of communicating Christ – which is the transmission of truth. (I am the Way, the Truth and the Life) John 14:6

Foremost among these truths is that we are created in the image and likeness of God and Christ is the perfect model of our humanity. He is our exemplar after whom we pattern our own endeavours and to stress this point Archbishop Miller quoted from Gaudium Et Spes. (Translates to Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World one of the highlights and great accomplishments of the Second Vatican Council.)

“The truth is that only in the mystery of the incarnate Word does the mystery of man take on light. For Adam, the first man, was a figure of Him Who was to come, namely Christ the Lord. Christ, the final Adam, by the revelation of the mystery of the Father and His love, fully reveals man to man himself and makes his supreme calling clear. It is not surprising, then, that in Him all the aforementioned truths find their root and attain their crown.”[1]

Miller states that tradition has concentrated on moral virtue and character, also on social conscience and desire for justice and a love and concern for the marginalized. Another dimension of tradition is the intellectual heritage which the Catholic Church proclaims to the community. Nowadays Miller believes that the intellectual heritage is not being proclaimed and that in our modern age we need to experience a ‘healing of the mind’. The Catholic intellectual tradition is over 2000 years old and we would as a church benefit from serious, sustained and intellectual thinking. Archbishop Miller expressed concern about moral relativism which has had a negative impact on the belief in absolute truth.

To disprove the theory that ‘everything is relative’ we can ask the question “Is it true to state that there is no absolute truth?” If this statement is indeed true, then that proves there is something that is absolutely true the statement itself. If a relativist posits the statement that there are no absolute truths, it can be discounted by asking if they are absolutely sure of that statement. People who profess that ‘there are no absolutes’ are in themselves professing a belief in an absolute by their very own words.

This can be seen as semantics but both John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI have spoken out strongly against ‘moral relativism’ Benedict calls it the ‘major evil facing the church’ and John Paul stated: “There is the tendency to consider that relativism is the attitude of thought that corresponds better to democratic political forms, as if knowledge of the truth and adherence to it were an impediment. In reality, truth is often feared because it is not known. Truth, exactly as Christ revealed it, is a guarantee of genuine and full freedom for the human person,” the Pope stated “Without being rooted in the truth, man and society are exposed to the violence of passions and to open or hidden conditioning.”

We need God, faith and reasoned arguments as to why we believe what we believe to counteract the world’s apathy. Relativism: is any theory holding that truth or moral value is not universal or absolute but may differ between individuals or cultures. As Catholic Christians we are called to believe in absolute truths such as that God created the Universe, that Jesus is Son of God and Son of Man, that we believe in One Triune God, consisting of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, that Jesus was fully divine and fully human, that Jesus was born lived as a man, was crucified and was raised from death after which he ascended into Heaven. We believe in the sanctity of life from the moment of conception until the moment of natural death. As Catholic Christians we respect the dignity of all human beings including our own dignity.

Archbishop Miller states that the Catholic faith must be thought about and those thoughts must include God and have a spiritual dimension. Catholicism is not anti-intellectual – many great thinkers came from the Catholic tradition. If we think about that we can quickly recall the names of Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Dionysus, Gregory the Great, Socrates etc., Miller informs us that the Catholic tradition finds its seeds in Judaism and Roman law; Greek philosophy etc., shaping the intellectual and moral life of the West where the church borrows from other cultures sometimes rejects sometimes accepts but always purifies to fit in with Catholic teachings. In the first centuries of the church we will find the cornerstones of intellectual traditions and they show respect for cumulative traditions from other cultures. It is important Miller stresses for us to listen to those who have come before us such as the early church fathers, and to learn about canon law and traditions.

According to Archbishop Miller tradition is alive and continues to grow. Customs, rituals organizations and living traditions must be honored. In order to reclaim intellectual tradition he recommends we read classic texts for example those containing Theological, Philosophical, Cultural and Literal content. Tradition also includes scriptures, creed, rituals, sacraments, liturgical calendars these would be considered foundational elements. Other traditions though not considered foundational are also beneficial these include catechesis, religious drama, fiction, poetry, philosophy. Some components of Catholic tradition are wisdom, insight, and fidelity to our beliefs. The church assumes responsibility to keep tradition alive and does so through schooling and people committed to their faith and the propagation of the faith.

Three foundational themes that Archbishop Miller detailed are:

Conviction of truth, truth pursued, arrived at and communicated. Catholic tradition believes in searching for truth wherever it may be found both in the material world and the spiritual world.

Faith and reason, knowledge of life and God. Revelation of God and ourselves which should be complimentary and not contradictory. The admonition is given to the practicing scholar to remember always that God is love and “creative reason “ (A phrase coined by Pope Benedict)

Sacramental principle. Catholic tradition celebrates Christian feasts. Liturgy helps us to understand who we are. God came into the world to help us know Him, to know His world and ultimately know ourselves in relation to Him.

The intellectual tradition according to Archbishop Miller “Opens the world to a sacramental world. God’s transcendence is at the heart of all human activity.

Archbishop Miller ended his talk by saying that Catholics have inherited a 2000 year old tradition of intellectual accomplishments and approaches. We are all enriched by the immersion of our faith in the intellectual traditions of the church and we are responsible to hand on this treasury of intellectual tradition to the current and future generations of Catholics.

After the talk there were some questions for the Archbishop and as he answered these it became apparent that he has concerns for the current generation and future generations of young Catholics. He spoke of the current “intellectual impoverishment’ that we are experiencing he believes caused by a lack of true formation in the faith. He said that some people are, “intellectually vapid” when it comes to explaining the reasons for their faith and therefore incapable of teaching others what they themselves are unaware of. He believes that we have an entire generation of Catholics who were not formed intellectually. Because they never learned the Aristolean or Scholastic way of intellectual reasoning, which involves a certain rigour of thought with integrity at its centre and helps the Catholic faith make sense out of our world. He offers the hope that Catholic secondary schools have time to form the minds of the current generation of young people.

Archbishop Miller also mentioned that globally Catholicism has halved in the last 20 years. That caused me to wonder could this possibly be entirely because of the lack of intellectual faith formation or could there be other contributing factors?

Obviously we have a great apostasy in our faith, and we must ask where have all the people gone? Why have they lost the need and or desire to attend church? Why do they feel that they do not need the church community to be in relationship with God? Why have some people even abandoned their relationship with God?

‘Intellectual vapidity’ while sounding quite condemnational is probably an accurate way to describe the ordinary person who is more used to reading columns in a newspaper and internet blogs, than pages of hard to read, difficult to understand (if you are not a scholar,) church dogma which is oftentimes written by Theologians. Perhaps simplifying the teachings by writing them in a more conversational tone would be a good beginning towards change and inviting back those who have wandered off? People need to feel included and welcomed. No-one likes to be talked down to. There is such a wealth of knowledge in church history and tradition that should be accessible to each church member not simply those among us who choose the life of a scholar.

“What is urgent is the evangelization of a world that not only does not know the basic aspects of Christian dogma, but in great part has lost even the memory of the cultural elements of Christianity.” Pope John Paul II [3]

Intellectual study and growth are beneficial to all but that is not the only way to bring the people back to the pews. Jesus told us what is required we must pray and worship God giving Him thanks for all things, we must love God above all others and acknowledge our complete dependence on Him, we must evangelize and spread the Gospel, feed the hungry, share what we have, visit those in hospitals and prisons, forgive those who have injured us and do it all for the glory of God. Not so that mankind will think well of us, but so that God receives the glory, for He is the light inside of us that inspires all good.

Transcendent Spirituality

Transcendent Spirituality

By

Marion S. Simpson

We are human beings with hearts, minds and seeking spirits. If we are to be true to ourselves and the call that has been placed in us we must feed each part of our beings. We need fellowship and intellectual stimulation; we need to know what we believe and who we believe in and also why we choose to. We need to be doers of the Word and not just hearers.

As we read in Understanding Christian Spirituality by Michael Downey we surmise that Downey attempts to define religion by adopting the definition of Friedrich von Hugel as stated in The Mystical Element of Religion, he informs us that ‘humans are intrinsically religious’ von Hugel believes that religion has various elements: and these elements are:

Institutional – it brings structure and is made visible (word & sacraments

Intellectual– thought and reflection clarify our understanding of the sacred

Mystical – speaking of the dimension of spiritual life as experience

(Definitions paraphrased)

Von Hugel believes that each of these elements must be present and also interactive.

 “Because we are not pure spirits in our spiritual quest, we need structure, tradition, and community.”  Downey (p25) The repeated theme is that we must engage all of the elements to become balanced in our quest for deeper knowledge.

The institutional element gives us structure and has been developed over time. Becoming part of the institution brings us into a community that has formalized our religious traditions. The institution provides us with sacred texts and teaches us about other sacred elements of our faith. There we participate in the reception of Holy Eucharist. Our spirits and our intellects receive nourishment through the institution, as we fellowship and work with others our call to service finds fulfillment.

Knowledge and reason are important elements in our search for religious truths. We must never accept without questioning, because that would be to deny our own intellect. For us to follow we must know and believe that what we are being taught is truth. Often this means sifting information and filtering out the banal to find the truths at the centre of our quest for true Christian spirituality.

The mystical element is the most difficult to describe because it has to be experienced. Mysticism can be described as having spiritual insight. Seeing with the eyes of our spirits. Our faith is often built on the stories of the experiences of others. Many of the saints had visions that we read about and are edified by. It is mystical for us to put our hands together and pray to an unseen God and receive answers to our silent prayers. Mysticism transcends knowledge and reason and can elevate our faith to the level of the divine.

Transubstantiation is the greatest divine and mystical mystery. The bread and the wine are transformed into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. We don’t see the transformation physically but we accept and believe in the authenticity of this miraculous spiritual occurrence. “Blessed are those who do not see and yet believe.” John: 20:29

Downey endeavors to define “spirituality” in general terms as being “ the deep desire of the human heart for personal integration in light of levels of reality not immediately apparent, as well as those experiences, events and efforts which contribute to such integration.” (p26) Also he cautions that not all expressions of spirituality are authentic, and so are unable to lead to personal integration and human flourishing. Therefore he would seem to recommend for us to exercise caution and employ spiritual discernment in our search for authentic spirituality.

In an attempt to define my own journey towards a deeper relationship with Christ and the church, the tools I have found most beneficial are scripture. “Seek Me while I may still be found.” Learning to listen to Jesus. “This is My own Beloved Son, listen to Him.” Searching scriptures to understand the real character of Jesus in an effort to emulate what he lived. I find great comfort when I spend time before the Blessed Sacrament meditating on the amazing gifts that He has left all His followers with, the Eucharist, the Holy Spirit, enumerable graces and spiritual gifts. I also love to pray and spend one on One time with God. Someone said once that prayer is talking to God and meditation is hearing from God. I like to do both.

I believe that we are body, mind and spirit and that we have to care for and nourish each part. My body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. My mind is the part of me that can understand concepts and search out truths to share with others, the part where I can make the decision to strive for a higher awareness of Christian spirituality; my spirit desires to go deeper, to search for greater truths. My heart is the part that loves and seeks a deeper relationship with Jesus through the integration of knowledge, structure and fellowship while also embracing tradition.

As Rowan Williams, The Wound of Knowledge: Christina Spirituality from the New Testament to St. John of the Cross (Boston: Cowley, 1991) stated so eloquently:

“And if ‘spirituality’ can be given any coherent meaning, perhaps it is to be understood in terms of this task” each believer making his or her own that engagement with the questioning of the heart of faith which is so evident in the classical documents of Christian belief…The questioning involved here is not our interrogation of the data, but its interrogation of us…And the greatness of the Christian saints lies in their readiness to be questioned, judged, stripped naked, and left speechless by that which lies at the center of their faith.”

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Mary and Jesus the new Adam and Eve

Mary and Jesus the new Adam and Eve

By

Marion S. Simpson

In the beginning of the Bible in the book of Genesis we read the story of creation and we learn about the creation of our human parents Adam and Eve.  We have all heard the story and probably felt anger at them for their slowness to learn the ways of God their stupidity at being easily fooled by the cunning serpent.  Perhaps, we think if we had been in their place we would have acted differently, made better choices.  However, it is not our place to judge our parents but to try only to learn from them.  Their mistakes can be turned into the blessing of wisdom in our own lives.

The name Adam means ‘mankind’ in Hebrew and the name Eve means ‘the mother of all human beings’.

Everything that God created He is heard to exclaim over, “It is good!”, but when he created man, in the form of Adam God realizes “It is not good for man to live alone.” and so God then created Eve

So in the beginning God created man first and then created the woman to help and comfort the man.  Everything in the garden was lush and beautiful.  The food was plentiful, the scenery magnificent and the air filled with the scent of the abundance of flowers.  The gentle breezes carried the sound of birds singing and praising their Maker.  All was perfect.  Enter the serpent.  Now Adam had been specifically told he could eat of any of the trees except the tree which gives knowledge of that which is good and bad.  Adam was warned if he ate that fruit he would die the same day.

The serpent was cunning and filled with envy of these people who were so loved by God.  He wanted to put enmity between them and God and so he approached Eve when she was alone and he began a conversation with her.  The first thing he does is put doubt in her mind.  He says, “Did God really tell you not to eat fruit from any tree in the garden?”

Eve responds that they can eat from any tree except one.  God had told them not to eat the fruit or even touch it, or they would die.  The snake then accuses God of lying!  He tells her that neither she nor Adam would die.  Then he goes on to say that God is trying to prevent their becoming like God by forbidding them to eat the fruit.

Left alone to her own devices, Eve begins to think about the tree and how wonderful it would be to be as wise as God.  She took some fruit and gave some to Adam.  They immediately began to experience fear.  Their actions had brought them to the awareness of their nakedness.  They were filled with fear as to what God would do to them when He discovered their disobedience.

God does discover their disobedience and has to pronounce judgment against firstly the snake, his punishment is that now he has to crawl along the ground on his belly and eat dust as long as he lives.  God also says this to the snake.  “I will make you and the woman hate each other; her offspring and yours will always be enemies.  Her offspring will crush your head, and you will bite their heel.”

The judgment upon Eve is that she will have pain and trouble in pregnancy and childbearing.  She is now subject to her husband in all things.

Adam’s punishment is that he has to work and sweat to make the soil produce anything until he returns to the soil when he dies.  God tells him that he was created from dirt and will return to dirt.

Now parents do not enjoy punishing their children.  It makes a parent glad to bless their children, to speak blessings and love to them.  But sometimes for their own good a loving parent has to chastise a child.  That was unfortunately what God had to do.  However before Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden God Himself made clothes for them.  He knew their needs and helped them with them.

When I was little and I heard the story of Adam and Eve in Sunday school it never made sense to me.  Firstly, a talking snake, pretty scary, secondly if a snake talked to me … see my dust!!!  I couldn’t understand why because they did one little thing wrong they were thrown out of the garden.  It made me a little scared of my own parents.  One little thing and out I go.  Definitely caused some insecurity in my childhood.

As I have grown in age and wisdom I realize that Adam and Eve actually committed several grievous sins in God’s eyes.  There was the sin of listening to the serpent (the deceiver). There was the sin of doubting God’s word, the sin of avarice - wanting to have what God has and wanting to be the same as God.  There was the sin of unbelief in God’s word, “If you eat this fruit you will surely die.”, and there was the sin of disobedience.  God had given them specific instructions not to eat that particular fruit from that tree and warned them of the consequences.

Nowadays the serpent, sometimes called Satan, still uses the same old ploys to get us to disbelieve our God.  He plants seeds of doubt in our minds, he whispers lies about God in our ears, and he sows seeds of confusion along the paths of our life’s journeys.  He is a counterfeiter.  He is incapable of creating anything but chaos.  God is the Creator of all that is and was and ever will be.  God is good.  He is holy.  He is faithful and true.

We live in a world where the serpent is still using his tired old tricks.  He is still telling us that we can be equal with God.  He uses words like self-reliant, self-made, and self-focused.  Really it’s just the same old, same old.  As long as we are focused on anything but God, Satan is happy.  His function has always been to do evil.  To destroy God’s good plans for our lives.  To distract and discourage.  To plant seeds of doubt.  “Am I really lovable?”  “Would God really choose and use me?” 

The destroyer will leave you alone when you tell him to.  He has no power over you that cannot be destroyed by God’s holy word.  Throw scripture at him and he will leave.  Praise God and he will leave.  Worship God and Satan will cringe in fear and sneak away.  Pray for your enemies and he will bolt out of the room.  He is incapable of anything good and cannot stay in the presence of goodness.  Keep your heart pure and your mind focused on God and God will keep you safe.

Now God has a plan to redeem us all.  It is an excellent plan and it reverses the roles that were originally given to a man and a woman.  God placed Eve under the subjection of her husband because she had tempted him to sin. She also had to suffer in childbirth as an atoning pain for her actions.  Adam now had to work for the food that he and Eve would need for survival.  They lost the comfort of paradise where everything was pain free and freely provided.

God’s new plan involves a new Adam and a new Eve.  The new Adam is as we all know Jesus, the first born Son of God and also Jesus often referred to Himself as the Son of Man.  The new Eve is Mary the Mother of Jesus.  Except now the roles are reversed, Mary is created first.  Mary comes into the world before Jesus and Jesus cannot come into the world unless His Mother proves her obedience and submission before God.  People talk about Jesus humbling Himself to be born of a woman but first the woman had to humble herself before God and accept His offspring inside of her.

In the creation of the new Adam and the new Eve the woman is created first and her act of obedience allows Jesus to enter into the world through her womb.  He has to be obedient to His parents and take instruction from them.  He is dependant on them for food and shelter.

Now God’s new plan is revealed, the new Adam, who is Jesus the Christ, proves His obedience unto death.  The new Eve proves her obedience by her acquiescence in allowing the sacrifice of her only Son for the salvation of humankind.  Mary is often credited only with her obedience in allowing God to implant Jesus into her womb but Mary’s sacrifice is much greater than that.  Her life was spent knowing that this child, the apple of her eye, would one day have to suffer greatly and die for the remission of the sins of humanity. 

Mary knew that she was greatly honoured to be called the Mother of the Lord but the honour came at the price of the great sacrifice that she had to endure.  She was with Him every step of the way; she was at the foot of the cross she suffered as He suffered.  Mary’s heart was filled with unbearable anguish that only parents who have seen their children suffer know.  Hard as it was for her to endure, she stayed with Him at the foot of the cross until He died.  He had been deserted by all but one of His disciples but his mother stayed until the end.  Mary’s torment enduring her Son’s anguish must have been unbearable and yet she continued to pray, she continued to watch, she continued to believe in the goodness of God.  Mary has enduring faith in a loving God who honours the faith of His chosen ones.  Mary remained faithful to the end.

Adam and Eve are both dead.  Jesus and Mary are both alive in Heaven.  Jesus ascended into Heaven in front of many witnesses.  Mary’s body and soul were assumed into Heaven and so knows no earthly corruption. 

When the disciples James and John asked Jesus if they could sit on His right and left in Heaven and Jesus told them that it was not for Him to decide those places but only for God in Heaven, they were being presumptuous.  Obviously those places would be reserved for His mother and father.  The two people that God honoured above all other human beings by His act of choosing them to be the earthly parents of His only Son Jesus.

Jesus and Mary work together in Heaven unceasingly for the salvation of souls.  Mary is not relegated to a secondary role in Heaven.  Her obedience and her great love for all of her children cause her to urgently petition the Father for our salvation.  She works in co-operation with Jesus to facilitate His mission.  As she worked during her tenure on earth to help Him achieve God’s purposes for His life she continues this mission in Heaven.

Marion S. Simpson

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