By Miriam Hogan, O.C.D.
Jacques Maritain made the statement that, “the means are the end in the process of becoming.”1 As I reflect upon what is called the pedophile crisis that remains an open wound in the Boston Diocese and in other areas of our Catholic Church today, I find myself drawn to remember this statement. Further, with a deep love for the Church, I ask myself how does this apply to my daily prayer? In other words, what aspects of our Carmelite tradition can help us to integrate our prayer life and personal desire to grow in holiness with the scandal in our Church today ? 2
Certainly, the Dark Night and redemptive suffering are great and valuable parts of our tradition. Yet, what also seems especially helpful now is the simple yet profound Practice of the Presence of God.3 It strikes me further that this kind of religious experience is very similar to Maritain’s philosophical principle. We can be aware of all the scandals and all the difficulties that are being published and yet choose to remain a friend of the Risen Christ. One way of doing this is to invite Christ into our consciousness and into our daily activities.
Someone once asked me, “Can contemplation be taught?” My immediate reaction is, “I don’t know. It is a free gift of God but one that God desires to give to everyone.” St. Teresa of Jesus, who highly recommended developing an intimate relationship with Christ, was especially aware that that it is not always an easy task. Given the reality of what many are calling a “Church in Crisis”, today, I would like in this article to present three aspects of our Carmelite Spirituality that seem especially helpful as we seek to grow both as individuals and as a church.
St. John of the Cross
First, we have as a guide St. John of the Cross who had keen insight into the process of purification, individually and communally, and the positive aspects thereof. St. John was famous for the line, “and on the mountain...nothing!”4 He encouraged everyone who is serious about contemplative life to cling neither to sensory nor to spiritual things, not to favorite places, persons or ceremonies. For it is by “faith and not by any other means”5 that the soul is joined to God. One can almost imagine him ever so gently saying to good people today, but “your faith is not in the Bishop or in the Cardinal. Your faith is in Jesus Christ.”
St. Teresa of Jesus
Second, we have the example of St. Teresa of Jesus to remind us to focus on the person and the life of Jesus. Anyone, who has read even a small amount of the writings of St. Teresa can’t miss this point. In fact she held that no matter how high the spirituality is, it always needs to be grounded in the Incarnation. Here I would like to add that it is helpful to focus on the whole of the Christ life, not just the favorite elements. For example, we are all very familiar with the gentle, loving peaceful (politically correct?) Jesus. These are the aspects that we find so often emphasized in songs. All of this is good, but the Gospel also presents us with an angry Jesus, and a Jesus who tells things like they are. Perhaps in this current crisis we all need to grow in understanding the fullness of the Christ life as it is recorded in scripture.6 People are angry, both men and women, about what has happened and what needs to take place to prevent such abuse from occurring in the future. Here, I would like to suggest that we need to bring our anger before Christ in our prayer and allow it to unite with His own. The wisdom of the younger generation, “What would Jesus do?” seems especially appropriate. To further clarify this point here, I do not mean a fundamental “knowing” what Jesus would do in a given circumstance but rather a humble prayerful asking of the question, and sincerely listening for an answer before acting in good faith upon what is presented, even though one still may still make a mistake.
Blessed Lawrence of the Resurrection
Third, as Carmelites we are reminded by the example of Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection to embrace “the sacrament of the present moment.” This is the practice that I think closely resembles Jacques Maritain’s principle that “the means are the end in the process of becoming.” To phrase it another way, heaven is not just some far off distant place that we earn by doing a certain predetermined amount of good deeds, but it is God’s presence within us moment by moment. In this presence, we may recognize that which is sinful and unjust in ourselves and others, but we may also recognize that which is good and positive in ourselves and others, and that which brings joy and peace.
Recently, concerning the siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, there was an article in the On-line edition of the New York Times stating: “Saheeya Khamees, a Muslim woman, who said her son was one of the gunmen deported to Cyprus today, came to thank the Virgin Mary for protecting him and to ensure that the church ‘is safe.’”7 This was a good reminder to me that, in spite of all that we have to be upset about in our American Church, we can also be grateful for those who have reached out to the victims and for those that, like the prophets in the Old Testament, have had the courage to confront the problems. My own belief is that, if like Brother Lawrence, we embrace the Christ within us, then we can enter more fully into Christ’s redemptive work in our own time and circumstances. In the end, it is my conviction that we will experience both a renewed and purified Church in the measure that we use the means of prayer and good works in working through the present crisis, both as individuals and as faith communities.
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NOTES
1Jacques Maritain (1882—1973) was a French philosopher whose writings continue to have a great influence upon Moral and Political Philosophy. The Person and the Common Good, Man and the State, and Principles of Humanist Politics are among some of his many works. cf. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/maritain/
2The desire to write on this particular subject came from my Email correspondence. I am from New England and am the oldest of thirteen children. Friends and associates have expressed their pain with all that has been reported and it is my desire not to offer some unique insights but to share with others my trust and prayers that God will bring good out of the present moments of pain and purification we are undergoing together in our church.
3This spiritual classic can be found on the Internet at: http://www.ccel.org/l/lawrence/practice/htm/i.htm#i
4The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross, trans. Kieran Kavanaugh, O.C.D., and Otilio Rodriguez, O.C.D. (Washington, DC: ICS Publications, 1973), p. 67. This quote is from the center of St. John’s famous sketch of Mt. Carmel and the exact words that he used are translated: “The path of Mount Carmel the perfect spirit nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing and even on the Mount nothing.”
5ibid., p. 628
6To give some examples, here are a few of the more somber scripture references that refer to Jesus and that are seldom celebrated in song or sermon today. (millstone) Matt. 18:5-7, Mark 9:41-43, Luke 17:1-3 (money changers) Luke 19:45-47, Mark 11:15-18, Matt. 21:12-14, John 2:13-18 (Woe) Luke 11:52, Matt. 23:13-15, Luke 10:13-15, (you are not of God) John 8:47 Here, I am not suggesting that we need to use any of these passages in songs, etc., but that we need to bring them into our consciousness, and use them to help us grow in the healing process.
7Alan Cowell and Joel Greenberg New York Times On-Line article published May 10, 2002.
This article was first published in the Fall of 2002. Pennsylvania instead of Boston is perhaps the needed edit. We pray that God be with all who have suffered abuse and help those who are working to see this dosn't continue.