The Vast Expanse Between the Good Life and the Holy Life - A Reflection by Father Donald Haggerty

 

The vast separation between the good life and the holy life is always far more than we realize. The difference is not evident simply in the exterior activity of life. The generous accomplishments of a good person may outshine the limited works of the holy person. What distinguishes the holy person is the interior quality of a soul seeking God, and this is often not seen so visibly. The good life will always be observable to some degree, but whether or not a life is truly holy can easily be concealed in its essential truth. The most important acts of a holy life take place in secret, within quiet depths of the soul. And these most important acts are the offerings it makes for others. There is no great love of God unless a soul is great in offering itself for others. And this begins in the intensity of its prayer, where God alone sees.

The word holiness ought not to be tossed about too lightly, as though the reality were easily reached. There is a danger that an overworked and casual evocation of holiness as the goal of life reduces the immense challenge of giving all to God to a manageable habit of steady, low-cost generosities. Dorothy Day kept on her bedside table a striking phrase of Dostoevsky that conveys, by contrast, the starker reality of a true offering: “Love in action is a harsh and dreadful thing compared to love in dreams.”  It is precisely the harsh and dreadful nature of sacrificial love that makes such love and the offering that accompanies it most fruitful for the salvation of souls.

A task in prayer that must be repeated with regularity: to search for the deeper solitary region of the heart where a single word spoken in silence has more impact on our soul than hours of replete eloquence taking place at the shallows of life.

 ~ A Reflection by Father Donald Haggerty, ‘The Contemplative Hunger’

Check out Fr Haggerty at Ignatius Press HERE.

On Thomas Merton

A comtemplative Thomas Merton

"Perhaps the central theme of all of Merton’s writings is contemplation.  What he stressed over and again in regard to this crucial practice is that it is not the exclusive preserve of spiritual athletes, but rather something that belongs to all the baptized and that stands at the heart of Christian life.  For contemplation is, in his language, 'to find the place in you where you are here and now being created by God.'  It is consciously to discover a new center in God and hence at the same time to discover the point of connection to everyone and everything else in the cosmos.  Following the French spiritual masters, Merton called this le point vierge, the virginal point, or to put it in the language of the fourth Gospel, 'water bubbling up in you to eternal life.'” - Father Barron

There are many Merton quotes that provide a gateway into contemplation and yet he is the first to warn us that very few come to true contemplation in isolation or where great stress has been placed on self, whether that is self-acceptance or self-esteem. It is not about feeling good about oneself nor finding your own way on your own terms. The following is from the chapter, Freedom Under Obedience in, Seeds of Contemplation:

The most dangerous man in the world is the contemplative who is guided by nobody. He trusts his own visions. He obeys the attractions of an interior voice, but will not listen to other men. He identifies the will of God with anything that makes him feel, within his own heart, a big, warm, sweet interior glow. The sweeter and the warmer the feeling, the more he is convinced of his own infallibility. And if the sheer force of his own self-confidence communicates itself to other people and gives them the impression that he really is a saint, such a man can wreck a whole city or a religious order or even a nation. The world is covered with scars that have been left in its flesh by visionaries like these.

Are you coming into or going out of focus?

Focus in life is everything.

focus fo·cus (fō'kəs): to adjust a lens or instrument to produce a clear image. To converge on or toward a central point of approach or way of looking.

Have you ever lost focus?

There are no 'sidelines' in life; we are always in motion, even standing still we are coming into focus or we are going out of focus. There is no fixed or static place lacking movement as if on the ‘sidelines’. 

We can often be coerced into thinking we have been regulated to the 'sidelines' and thus deny the “interconnectedness” of living a life lived in responsibility - in focus. 

Interconnectedness is the human mimetic dynamic and choosing to participate is the beginning of prayer entering into the realm of holiness and conversion.

Some nuggets to focus on:

In his book, Dostoevsky: Language, Faith and Fiction Rowan Williams wrote that a holy image or 

icon not only reveals the mystery it portrays; it reveals what is hidden in the person who is confronted by it.

Søren Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher, poet, theologian, social critic and religious author once said, 

The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays.

The great 20th century theologian Karl Barth is famous for saying, 

Courage is fear that has said its prayers.

François Fénélon, Archbishop and spiritual director of many, writes:  

There is nothing in me that preceded all his gifts and that could have served as a vessel to receive them. The first of his gifts, the basis of all the others, is that which I call my own "I": God has given me this "I"; I owe him not merely everything I have but also everything I am.... Everything is a gift, and he who receives the gifts is himself first of all a gift received. (cited by von Balthasar 1986, 152)

Remember, if out of focus there is always prayer.

Trials? or rather offers of Invitation

It is a repeated observation of St. John of the Cross that God frustrates souls in a preliminary trial when he intends to draw them closer in love. Here a pattern is noted, calling for our insight. No doubt we need to understand the Providence of God differently.

Trials do not reflect a sign of disfavor with God. Rather, the reverse is indicated. God is offering an invitation, even if it hardly seems so. He is teaching, even if it seems a harsh lesson. It may be a hard truth to accept that God’s greater love is proven by the prevalence of trials we could not foresee, and by their lingering despite every plea for their removal. It is a rare soul that learns not to be surprised at this.

There are indeed many shocks in what can seem to be God’s rough treatment. Perhaps it is not unusual that we attempt to persuade God to be more gentle in his manner. It appears sometimes that nothing moves God  in this regard. More love for God, for example, rather than overcoming a trial, will seem on occasion to extend the duration of the time of trial. But at the end of the day we face always the same question. Would we prefer to love less if it meant not to suffer?

- Father Donald Haggerty from his book, Contemplative Provocations

Here is another great meditation from the book by Father Haggerty:

We may know that God will not allow himself to be apprehended easily, but sometimes we forget the complimentary truth. Once he is known to some degree, he will not permit us to keep at a distance on limited terms, maintaining a prudential respect. He is a hidden God, but when he deigns to show himself, he demands afterward our passionate pursuit.

St Clare of Assisi - "gaze upon, consider, contemplate, as you desire to imitate"

In one of the letters St Clare wrote to Lady Agnes of Prague:

"Look upon him who became contemptible for you, and follow him, making yourself contemptible in this world for him. Your Spouse, though more beautiful than the children of men, became for your salvation the lowest of men, was despised, struck, scourged untold times throughout his entire body, and then died amid the suffering of the cross.... Gaze upon him, consider him, contemplate him, as you desire to imitate him. If you suffer with him, you shall rejoice with him; if you die with him on the cross of tribulation, you shall possess heavenly mansions in the splendour of the saints, and in the Book of Life your name shall be called glorious among men" (2LAg 19-22).

 In a letter celebrating the 800th anniversary of Clare's birth, Pope John Paul II wrote: 

If Catherine of Siena is the saintly woman full of passion for the Blood of Christ, the great St Teresa is the woman who goes from "mansion" to "mansion" to the threshold of the great King in the Interior Castle and Therese of the Child Jesus is the one who, in Gospel simplicity, travels the little way, Clare is the passionate lover of the poor, crucified Christ, with whom she wants to identify absolutely.

Clare and Francis DVD

Check out this great film exploring the lives of St Clare and St Francis From Ignatius Press:

Produced under the sponsorship of the Franciscan Order, Clare and Francis was shot on location in Italy by Italian film company Lux Vide—the producers of Saint Rita, Pope John Paul II, and St. John Bosco. It is unique among films on Francis because of its historical accuracy and its authentic spirit of joy and piety that Francis was known for, as well as the major role played by Clare, who is given equal stature with Francis.

Clare (Mary Petruolo), the daughter of a patrician family, and Francis (Ettore Bassi), the son of a rich merchant, leave it all to follow Christ. Francis renounces his inheritance to live the Gospel in poverty. Clare reads deep into his heart and decides to follow him, leaving her home and family to give herself as the bride of Christ. Both found major religious orders and together they inspired many to follow their radical call to live the Gospel, and their impact has reached across the centuries to change the world.

Sr Ilia Delio wrote a fabulous book Clare of Assisi: A Heart Full of Love,and as one reviewer wrote: 

This tiny book is filled with words of wisdom about the first Franciscan woman, Clare of Assisi. In particular, it examines Clare's dedication to poverty as a way to live with and through Christ, and to achieve union with Him. Clare lived knowing that attachments to material possessions can stand in the way of Love and of the gospel life. Ilia Delio's book is filled with scholarship and intelligence, yet it gets to the heart the true meaning of this great saint's life: Clare is a model of a life lived only for Love of God. There are many sources for biographical sketches of Clare, but this book is deep and meaty in its examination of her spiritual legacy. It is a must-read for those desiring to understand Clare's understanding of the Franciscan way.

On this feast day of St Clare I would encourage all to explore one of these listed or any number of other great resources to enter into the profound spiritual ways of poverty, humility and joy - the essentials of the Franciscan life through the mirror of St Clare and St Francis.

Time to come on out of the shadow - The Legend of Bagger Vance (Part 1 of 2)

One of my favorite movies is The Legend of Bagger Vance. I know the theology or spirit of the movie followed a loose thread, as one reviewer said, golf was played a foot from Alice's looking glass, however I found numerous scenes memorable and worthy of contemplation.

I do not play golf and yet, like Robert Redford said in making this movie, the game of golf makes for a great metaphor for life. So like this movie, as any good spiritual or mystical movie, it challenges us on many different levels. In this post I wish to draw out an aspect of being human that is often overlooked.

A very brief story-line: A down-and-out golfer, Rannulph Junuh (Matt Damon), attempts to recover his game and his life after returning from World War I. With the help of a mystical caddie, Bagger Vance (Will Smith) he eventually returns to the game, but has no enthusiasm for the sport or life. Bagger helps Junuh find his way back to both.

To set the scene for this clip, the stubborn and frustrated Junuh, after being humiliated in the first round, finally decides to listen to Bagger:

Fix your eyes on Bobby Jones... Look at his practice swing, almost like he's searchin for something... Then he finds it... Watch how he settle hisself right into the middle of it, ... feel that focus... He got a lot of shots he could choose from... Duffs and tops and skulls, there's only one shot that's in perfect harmony with the field... One shot that's his, authentic shot, and that shot is gonna choose him... There's a perfect shot out there tryin' to find each and every one of us... All we got to do is get ourselves out of its way, to let it choose us... Can't see that flag as some dragon you got to slay... You got to look with soft eyes... See the place where the tides and the seasons and the turnin' of the Earth, all come together... where everything that is, becomes one... You got to seek that place with your soul Junuh... Seek it with your hands don't think about it... Feel it... Your hands is wiser than your head ever gonna be... Now I can't take you there Junuh... Just hopes I can help you find a way... Just you... that ball... that flag... and all you are... seek it with your hands.

Sometimes we need to stop thinking or at least stop thinking that we alone are doing the thinking.

If you can put yourself in the scene, close your eyes, breathe and surrender to the 'focus' which Bagger seems to be engaging us ... to sense a feeling of being formed, as if being invited into a process of formation. Can you slip out of your head and allow yourself to be "in your body" in this way of being formed? 

In the movie, Bagger, by way of a model, Bobby Jones, is getting Junuh to sense a spirit which, as with Jones, chooses him ... chooses us. It is our task to open up to this "authentic" spirit allowing it to indwell in us - to transform us - to drive out all the noise and distractions of our past and culture to bring us to a new birth...

James Alison, from Prayer, a Case Study of Mimetic Anthropology, has written that gesture, language and memory are not only things which "we" learn, but it would be more factual to say that through this body being drawn into life, molded and shaped by the gesture, language and memory of the social-cultural other that an “I” is formed. And that it - "we" are in fact one of the symptoms of that social other. So in fact we are not autonomous as we so often fantasize, but in fact we are the clay by which the social other comes to create us by their gesture, language and memory. 

This is why we often feel our human condition is caught up with the many voices in our heads - reeling in and out of various disguises, distractions and noises. It is why we are restless. Bagger goes on to tell Junuh that each one of us has "something that's ours and ours alone. Something that can't be learned... something that's got to be remembered." 

... something that's got to be remembered... Contemplating on this draws me right back into the Eucharist and Jesus saying to each of us, "Do this in remembrance of me." (Lk 22;19) What is it about memory? 

Like Bagger says, the Real or Authentic Other chooses us - (in)forms us just like in Isaiah 64:7, "Yet, LORD, you are our father; we are the clay and you, our potter: we are all the work of your hand." And John 15:16, "It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit..." This bedrock of faith - of being part of and formed by and chosen by Something Greater than the social-cultural other is our entrance into becoming this new creation not run by the social-cultural other but by the Indwelling Spirit of God.

A story I heard at a spiritual retreat seems a good fit here: 

A young mom and dad recall the events immediately following the birth of their second child. At the time, the couple already had a three-year-old son. As soon as the newborn was brought home from the hospital, the three-year-old son asked to hold the smaller child. But when the infant was put into his arms, the boy would ask that he be left ALONE with the baby. Understandably, the parents were unsettled and didn't think this was a good idea.

Anyway, a few months went by and still the three-year-old insisted that he wanted to be alone with the baby. The parents put it off as long as they could, hoping that the older kid would forget, but his demands just got more and more persistent. Finally, they agreed to leave the two very young children in a room alone for a few minutes. Standing just outside the room, they listened for anything out-of-the-ordinary, while their son was FINALLY alone with the baby, and this is what they heard:

The three-year-old said to the newborn: 

"Tell me what God is like, cause I'm starting to forget."

Going back and using the metaphor of golf, Bagger repeats that there is "somethin' we was born with... Somethin' that's ours and ours alone... Somethin' that can't be taught to ya or learned... Somethin' that got to be remembered... Over time the world can, rob us of that swing... It get buried inside us under all our wouldas and couldas and shouldas... Some folk even forget what their swing was like."

There is a deep and authentic connection to God that we are seeking and to find that we must finally get out of the way, get out of our heads so to seek that place in our soul, so to hear being chosen by God. This ... this 'surrendering' ... this 'obedience' ... this 'letting go' is needed to counter our human condition that the world buries us under causing us to stumble and forget that we were made to receive ourselves through God, and allowing His Indwelling Spirit to form us into His Instruments spreading love and forgiveness to others.

So the question is: Which other are we being guided by?

In Part 2 (link here) I wish to explore memory and how it can help us come out of the shadow.