Fundamental Questions from a Reader in China Interested in Eremitical Life

[[Sister Laurel M O'Neal, Praised be Jesus Christ! I am Chinese and live in China. I am seriously considering Eremitical Monasticism, now I decide to visit the Chartreuse in France. I was attracted to Eremitical life and Carthusian way of life by the examples of Desert Fathers. I found your blog by chance and I have to say your articles are great! It brings much edification and inspiration to me! I have some questions. Could you share what draws you to Eremitical life in the form of Diocesan Hermit? Did you consider other forms of Eremitical Monasticism like Carthusian or Camaldolese? I wonder what is life like being a hermit under the provision and guidance of a Bishop? It seems very strange for me because a Diocesan Bishop is not a hermit, he is not even a "monk" (In the traditional usage), how could you live your hidden, solitude and ascetic life under a man who is not a monk? I also wonder, as a hermit, how do you practice the commandment of loving thy neighbour? I am certain hermit loves God, but I am not certain do they love people. Besides, have you ever consider Eastern Orthodox or Eastern Catholic, I think you know the Eastern Christianity always honour hermit, if you ever consider them, why do you remain Latin Catholic?]]

Hi there and many thanks for your questions. I will try to answer them here, but please know that I have written about all but one of them before so will also try to link you to those posts if I can. First, let me say how glad I am you are considering eremitical life with the Carthusians. If you have not yet read An Infinity of Little Hours, you might try it. It can give you a good idea (a kind of snapshot) of the Carthusian life from the perspective of five men who entered in roughly the same timespan; it gives a good sense of the men's personalities and what they struggled with during their first five years of Carthusian life (if they remained for those years). Another is Halfway to Eternity. They are different books and I return to them occasionally as I (sometimes) reflect on Carthusian life and how it differs from c 603 eremitism. There is also a series of small paperbacks under the rubric Novice Conferences on different aspects of Carthusian life: prayer, silence, liturgical seasons, etc. which you might find interesting.

What draws me to eremitical life under c 603? I have come to the conviction that c 603 allows for a sound eremitical life that also corresponds in necessary ways to contemporary life in the church, though when I first read the canon I had never considered eremitical life at all. I had lived as a religious, worked as a hospital chaplain, and was becoming more a contemplative, but I also struggled with chronic illness myself. This was both an opportunity for inner work and prayer and a challenge I needed to work with and through every day of my life. Eremitical Life seemed to be the appropriate context for both of these dimensions (opportunity and challenge). Beyond that, my education was in Systematic Theology and I wanted to continue pursuing that and doing some limited ministry to others, particularly if it could be done via writing. All of these things suggested I needed to live on my own rather than in a community where I would be limited by or to a community horarium, but how to do that in a way that was truly faithful to religious (later, eremitical) life per se? 

At the beginning of the church year, Advent 1983, the Revised Code of Canon Law was published and I read c 603 for the first time early in 1984. It treated solitary eremitical life, not life in a community and listed central elements that either already shaped my life, or could well do if I found I was called to this. One of the things that was compelling to me was the way all of the above elements of my life could work together within this framework to produce a truly fruitful eremitical life. In other words, it looked to me like a God-given grace that answered many of my needs and called me beyond what often looked merely like limitations. It allowed these "limitations" to become opportunities for a new, and unimagined fullness --- meaningful parts of a whole rather than divisive and conflicting parts of some great and incoherent absurdity.

You ask about the Camaldolese and whether I considered them. Well, first remember the only woman's Camaldolese Motherhouse was in Italy. I had no thought at all of moving to another country to pursue eremitical or semi-eremitical life. The monks of New Camaldoli and their spirituality appealed to me more and more as I read about these. I came to know some of the monks and eventually became an oblate with them, however, I made my oblature with a small women's monastery in Windsor, New York I had become aware of during this time. (Ironically, when my diocese was trying to decide what was required to live a healthy eremitical life, the Vicar for Religious and another Sister in the chancery traveled to Big Sur to speak to the prior there. I only learned of this years later after I had become an oblate with the Camaldolese.)  The world of hermits in the Church is a small one!! I remain an oblate with Transfiguration Monastery in Windsor (and within the larger Camaldolese family of New Camaldoli, particularly with Incarnation Monastery in Berkeley, CA); this relationship with the Camaldolese is a good piece of my c 603 identity because the Camaldolese triple good (solitude, community, and evangelization/witness/martyrdom) in my estimation, suits c 603 and eremitical life lived within a diocese/parish very well. 

Regarding your question about hermits and diocesan bishops, one of the wisest things my diocese asked me to do before profession under c 603 was to choose a delegate or Director (not a spiritual director!) who would serve both me and the bishop in the supervision of my life and vocation. S/he would serve as a "quasi-superior" for me. The diocese recognized that hermits may need time with their Director beyond that which a bishop is truly able to give. There is something similarly true regarding a bishop's expertise in such things. As you say, bishops are not hermits (Peter Damian was a notable exception) and are, generally speaking, unlikely to be able to direct a hermit's spiritual life. Most recognize this and some few are well-trained to do this kind of work.

My own delegate (and co-delegate) are both religious women with backgrounds in leadership and formation. One of them was Vicar for Religious in my early years of seeking admission to profession and consecration under c 603; the other was my spiritual director when I discovered c 603. I don't think it takes a hermit to be a spiritual director or delegate to a hermit, but I do think such a person needs to be profoundly prayerful and have a strong background in psychology and spirituality. Expertise in formation (initial and ongoing) is also critical. Meanwhile, bishops are called to supervise c 603 hermits under their purview, not to direct them or their formation. I meet far more often with my Director (delegate) than with my bishops and they typically have turned to her if there is a need. It is a good and effective arrangement. 

All the canonical hermits I know love God and God's good creation which includes human beings. Most hermits simply love people and they love being of service to them and the whole of God's creation. Most of us do some limited form of ministry and have some limited contact with friends and relatives precisely because we love them --- and need such persons to be able to love fully. However, the greater indicator for me of the hermit's capacity for love of others is the reason we live lives of solitude. Solitude is actually the redemption of isolation; it is motivated by love for God, for oneself and for all that is precious to God. I once wrote the following in considering the question of fraudulent hermits and "whom does it hurt?" to profess those who are not really called to this rare vocation. I think it is a good, if an indirect, indicator of the love that must motivate and sustain a hermit if she is to be faithful to her call and empower others to be the persons they are called to be: 

[[Secondly, it hurts those who most need the witness of this specific vocation, namely those who for whatever reason find themselves unable to compete with the world on its own terms: the chronically ill, disabled, and otherwise marginalized who may believe the world's hype that wealth is measured in terms of goods and social status, able-bodiedness, youth, productivity, and so forth.  Hermits say to these people that they are valued beyond all reckoning by a God who knows them inside out. Hermits say to these people that real wealth is measured in terms of love and that one of the most precious symbols of Christianity is that of treasure contained in clay pots, while real strength is perfected and most fully revealed in weakness. To attempt to witness to the truth of the Gospel by living a lie and building it into the foundation of one's eremitical life destroys the capacity of the hermit to witness effectively to these truths. To proclaim the fundamental truth that in Christianity real treasure is contained in clay pots is made impossible if one refuses to be the pot one has been made by the potter to be . . . but claims instead to be something else . . ..]]

The way I personally live this vocation for others includes allowing them to share in any insights, wisdom, or examples that come from my life. I write and accompany others in spiritual direction or on their way to eremitical profession and consecration under c 603. I also teach Scripture at my parish (and, since ZOOM, to those who are interested from beyond my parish boundaries). I write/give reflections or homilies to various communities. But the life itself is lived for others to remind them of the unique dignity of the human person in covenant with God. God wills to dwell with us; we are made to dwell with God, and to do so together --- even in solitude. This is what true Divinity and true humanity consist of. Eremitical Solitude is not about isolation but communion; so are humanity and divinity about communion. The poverty, chastity, and obedience of the Evangelical counsels each point to and empower one to become an expression of the human person whose only completion comes in and with God for the sake of God's own will and for the whole of God's creation. To give one's life for such a purpose is, as I understand it, an act of love.

Your last question is about remaining a c 603 hermit in the Latin or Western Church when the Eastern Church has a stronger history of honoring eremitical life. It's a great question and not one I have ever been asked here before. At the same time, while my spirituality and theology often happen to tend toward the Eastern Church, I have never considered changing Churches in this. I remain impressed with c 603 and the fact that it honors solitary eremitical life in a way the Eastern Church has never really done. As I understand it, a connection with a monastery is a prerequisite of eremitical life in the Eastern Church. At the same time, I recognize that to be able to return to a monastery when one can no longer live alone with God is important, and something c 603 cannot protect. Even so, C 603 allows the solitary hermit to find the resources she personally needs to live a healthy eremitical life --- which could well result in the best of both worlds, so to speak.

Sorry, no links yet! As soon as I have time to add the labels for those links I will.

Responses to Questions about Friends, Family, Wills, "the World" and Similar Questions

[[. . .I've read some of your notes on friendships and the importance of them, but since you said only clients or your director ever come visit you, do you never have visits with friends? And I haven't seen any mention of family. I feel in an eremetical life it would be hard to see family, because they are such a connection to life on earth, memories, attachments, and not the looking forward to life in Heaven. Do you have any family you ever see? (I hope I'm not trying too much). . . A bit more Memento Mori related-what will happen to the few things you do own when you die? Do you write out a will just like a non-hermit? And is it more fitting to the vow of poverty to rent or own your living space? If you rent, you obviously can't claim it as yours, but if you own it, it may be more confusing to the vow of poverty if you're not having to pay for it forever. ]]

Hi there, I have cited part of your email to respond to what you said about family and memento mori. First, I now have only my sister and niece living. We see each other rarely --- a function of distance and finances!! When we have been able to get together, it has been wonderful; in those cases, I go to where my sister lives and we spend time together talking, watching her favorite movies, eating favorite dishes, and even going to Disneyland! One thing I know is that loving family, communicating with them in whatever way one has available (including occasional visits, internet, phone calls, etc), thinking about and praying for them, and remembering life at home, do not need to detract from life with God or from looking forward to eternal life with God.

One of the things you may have gathered from earlier posts or emails is that I do not refer to everything outside the hermitage as "the world". Instead, while I do live within my hermitage embracing and moving toward "the silence of solitude," and while God draws me more and more deeply into intimacy with him, what has often denigratingly been called, "the world," is more accurately defined as that which is resistant to Christ, resistant to love, and tending to reject the God who is the source and ground of all creation. My family is not necessarily part of "the world" in that sense any more than I am or a convent or hermitage is part of the world in the way you use the term. Moreover, God dwells with and in them, just as he does with anyone I know in "life on earth". It is important to recognize that what we call heaven is less a place "out there somewhere" than it is a state wherein the very life of God is shared with us and also (importantly) through us. We don't know what that final sharing will be like once God is "all in all" and there is "a new heaven and a new earth," but we do know that life here shares in the One's life who is Emmanuel, God with us, and one day will do so fully.

I am not pulled away from life with God by my loves, memories, friendships, and so forth; they do not necessarily detract from my life with God, i.e., my life in heaven or what Mary Coelho, in writing about the Gospel of John, calls "eternity life". Quite often these things can mediate God's presence/love to me and turn me towards God more fully and intimately. I recognize this is a different perspective than that which is often associated with "contemptus mundi" or similar dated monastic motives; I also note the need to cultivate the silence of solitude that allows the hermit to spend quality time with God alone. At the same time I recognize that my own heart is marked and marred by "the world" in the way this phrase might be most familiar to you; if I speak so easily about "leaving the world" in entering a convent or "returning to the world" when leaving the convent or hermitage behind perhaps, I will never recognize the way I have closed "the world" up inside the hermitage right with me. That would be the real and blind tragedy!!

Speaking to Parish During the Pandemic

As for visits with friends, yes, I see friends from the parish on Fridays for coffee after Friday Mass as often as I can. Another friend and I travel a short way to Church each Sunday morning. I also see good friends and others in classes I teach each Thursday morning. I no longer play violin or see the friends I saw once a week in orchestra (effects of a broken wrist), nor do my Dominican friend and I go out for coffee after Sunday Mass because she no longer travels this way each week. Still, I occasionally go out for a meal with another Sister or meet via ZOOM with my former pastor (a good friend and in many ways, the (slightly) older brother I never had) as well as with other good friends I see all too rarely! There are no hard and fast rules in this regard except that my life with God is something I must and do take care to give priority, and it is actually richer and fuller to the extent my eremitical solitude is seasoned with such life-giving relationships. Were that to shift, I would need to change whatever it took to make sure friendships, etc., contribute demonstrably to my eremitical life with God.

So, what happens to the things I own when I die? Some will be gifted, others sold, and a lot will probably simply be thrown away. Every person in the church preparing for public profession is required to make up a will before that day and to keep it updated as needs change. Also, since diocesan hermits need to support themselves, and since for me that means a theological library, clothes, furniture, music, computer and equipment for ZOOM, etc. I have a small household of "stuff" to get rid of at some point. Other kinds of provisions are also my responsibility, insurance, DPOAH, and so forth. Whether it is more fitting to rent or own, I can't say. But since I cannot own, I must rent. I would prefer to own (or to have a secure hermitage on church property) --- I would like to own a hermitage (I would actually love to have a tree house as we see on the TV show, Treehouse Master), but it has never been possible. Poverty implies living simply, of course, but for me personally, I define it mainly or primarily in terms of my dependence upon God alone as the sole source of strength, meaning, and validation of my life. So long as I truly put that first and continue to grow in it, everything else tends to fall into place --- no matter the material or financial circumstances.

From the Desert Fathers and Mothers: The Hermit's Need for Human Relationships in Achieving Genuine Holiness (Reprise)

 

[[Sister Laurel, you wrote once about hermits not separating themselves from people to pursue personal holiness, but I thought that was what being a hermit was all about. Could you address this question again or repost what you wrote?]]

Sure, I can repost one of the articles I have written on this; I think it is the one you are asking about. It was based on two things, 1) a quote from the Desert Abbas and Ammas, and 2) a central element of c 603 that says we live this life for the sake (salvation) of others. Together they provide a perspective on eremitical life that precludes selfishness even in the name of seeking personal holiness, and which contributes to notions of eremitical solitude as a unique but very real form of community. Here is that post. If it leaves you with questions, please get back to me.

[[When one desert father told another of his plans to “shut himself into his cell and refuse the face of men, that he might perfect himself,” the second monk replied, “Unless thou first amend thy life going to and fro amongst men, thou shall not avail to amend it dwelling alone.”]] (Sayings of the Desert Fathers and Mothers)

I think this Desert apothegm is fascinating and especially important because it explicitly forbids one to move into solitude and away from others merely in some attempt to perfect oneself. This flies in the face of the way many conceive of eremitical life as well as the way some would-be-hermits describe the vocation. But it should not surprise anyone who carefully reflects on the Great Commandment and the interrelatedness of its two elements, love of God and love of neighbor. Especially it should not surprise those who live eremitical life in the name of the Church; we know the communal nature of our eremitical solitude --- nuanced and rare as it may be. 

We know too that our formation as hermits generally comes after (and requires) years of life in community, whether religious or parish (along with all of the other forms of community we experience throughout life). Similarly, ongoing formation requires personal work with directors and delegates --- and usually some degree of life in a parish community. It can certainly and especially benefit from extended periods in a monastic community whenever that is possible. (As I have written here before, actual eremitical reclusion today (reclusion is a much stricter solitude than most hermits are called to) is allowed by the Church in only two congregations: Camaldolese and Carthusian, and even in these very rare cases it is important to recognize the community context, supervision, and support this vocation requires and implies.)

The genuine human perfection we call holiness is the wholeness of the reconciled and integrated person who is therefore alive in God and the fullness of his or her personal truth. This implies reconciliation with God, with self, and with all else in God. It implies a profound capacity for compassion, the ability to see Christ in others, and the willingness to spend oneself for the sake of others while becoming more and more completely dependent upon God as the source of our Selves. 

Desert elders knew the desire to seek perfection in physical reclusion by simply turning one's back on people was doomed to failure; it is frequently badly motivated, is paradoxically guided by a spirit of perfectionism and competition which is a betrayal of genuine humility, and can lack the preparation necessary for becoming a hermit and moving into, much less sustaining a healthy eremitical solitude. They knew that solitude is a demanding and dangerous environment particularly so for those unprepared for or not called to it. Even in those who are called to it, eremitical solitude can be the source of illusory and delusional thinking and perceptions -- especially about oneself and God. Thus, the requirement for ongoing direction by experienced spiritual directors and the supervision by bishops and/or their delegates.

The Desert Fathers were convinced that the way human beings come to achieve the necessary experience leading to repentance for sin and amendment of life is through one's ordinary interactions with other human beings. Contrary to popular opinion perhaps, the authentic eremitical vocation is not one where an individual moves into the desert merely to pursue personal or "spiritual" perfection in some sort of "solitary splendor" or in an interpersonal and relational vacuum. One moves into solitude 1) because solitude has truly opened her door to one, and 2) because with the church one discerns this is what God is calling one to and is prepared to live for the whole of her life as the fulfillment of the Great Commandment. Discernment that one is called in this way will include a sense that one is healthy in terms of interpersonal relationships and that one has achieved relative maturity in one's spirituality and Catholic identity. This is a traditional stance. St Benedict, for instance, affirms that hermits must have lived in community for some time and, of course, not be in the first blush of conversion.

I want to emphasize the place of discernment here, not only the discernment we each do on our own but the discernment we do with the Church itself in the person of legitimate superiors and directors, i.e., bishops, vicars of religious, delegates, et al. Part of this discernment, and indeed initial and ongoing formation is meant to ensure that the hermit or hermit candidate's motives are not selfish or otherwise misguided and that solitude has indeed opened the door to this vocation herself. What this means is that the hermit/candidate is responding to a Divine call; the Church will also make sure the hermit/candidate is prepared not only to live in solitude but more, that she will grow and thrive in it in ways that will be a gift to the Church and thus, to others. There are subtleties involved here and nuances that the hermit/candidate may not appreciate until much later and may not be able to determine on her own. It is also important to remember that since a hermit does not do apostolic ministry** the ways she lives her solitude and the meaning her life embodies within and as a result of this solitude are themselves the gift God gives the Church through the hermit. Supervision and discernment (mutual and otherwise) are required not only early on for a candidate not yet admitted to profession but throughout the hermit's life. ***

One of the reasons I stressed the need for supervision and discernment and the way they are ensured is because they are a part of the hermit's integral need for others in her life. Whether we are hermits or even recluses we need others who know us well and are capable of assessing in a continuing way the quality of our vocational life, as well as encouraging and assisting us to grow in our responsiveness to God's call to abundant life. Canonical (consecrated) hermits are called to ecclesial vocations and the Church has the right and obligation to oversee these just as she expects us to continue to grow as human beings; canonical hermits have accepted the obligation to grow and participate in those "professional" relationships which help ensure that. Yes, hermits do grow in light of their experience of the love of God; they grow in authentic humanity and as hermits through their experience of Christ in the silence of solitude and the disciplined and attentive living of their Rule and horarium, but what growth there is in these things is often dependent on the hermit's work with her director and delegate, and also with her interactions and relationships with folks from her parish and/or diocese.

In eremitical (or any other) solitude it is simply too easy to say, "God wills this," or "God is calling me to that," when discernment is done by the hermit alone. In such a situation the temptation is to canonize or apotheosize one's own opinions, perceptions, tendencies, and so forth as the movement of the Holy Spirit. God does not literally speak to us as human beings do but instead does so through Sacred texts, sacraments, prayer, and the fruits of our choices and actions; since we learn to love and be loved in our connection with others, hermits must 1) be well-formed in learning to hear (discern) and respond to God in authentic ways, and 2) they must be adequately supervised and directed in this. This does not mean one meets every week or even every month with one's delegate or spiritual director. "Adequate" means whatever is sufficient to allow the hermit/candidate to grow in her vocation first as a human being called to live from and mediate the love of God (and others) and to do this as a hermit in the silence of solitude.

** Hermits may do some very limited apostolic ministry but are not and cannot be identified in terms of this ministry as are apostolic or ministerial religious. The silence of solitude is always primary and definitive for the hermit's life. Still, while the hermit will certainly seek her own maturation in holiness, she will do this for the sake of others, not as a selfish quest for isolated personal perfection (itself an impossible and self-contradictory quest). 

*** Some have written that the need for direction and supervision cease to be important when the hermit has lived the life for some time. I believe this is a false conclusion. It is true that the nature of direction and the supervisory relationships change with time and maturity, but it seems to me they may become even more critical over time. Whether that is generally true or not, the need for ongoing formation and discernment continues throughout the whole of the hermit's life. Given the thin line drawn above between an isolating, selfish quest for holiness and what is instead an other-centered maturation in holiness, the need for a good spiritual director is actually urgent for a hermit her entire life.

Why Canon 603?

Hi Sister, I found the following questions written to another hermit but I couldn't find an answer anywhere. Could you answer them? Also, I especially wondered if there were no formal or institutionalized forms of eremitical life before 1983. The person writing this question seems to say there was only one traditional form of eremitical life until then and the 1983 canonical form is somehow a perversion or at least a negation of the "traditional form". 

Here is what I read: [[But I do sense and have cited instances noticed, of the division that is being created, plus some detraction even if subtle or recently reworded. Eventhough you state correctly that the centuries-and-into-antiquity style of hermit vocation should not be demeaned, the traditional historic way of hermit life is in effect being negated or presented/treated as illegal by virtue of having the relative recent, diocese hermit path "legalized" by a canon law with procedural structure created by humankind, albeit clerics, but perhaps some who wanted this structure and stature developed, lobbied for and assisted in the creation of the canon law.

So again, to re-cap; my sincere appreciation if you can shed light at least on the reason why a canon law to legalize and make public, organized, and structured a diocese hermit vocation--was determined necessary to begin with, or who promoted the diocese hermit or "by law" type of public profession into the hands of a bishop over private profession in and consecration by God?]]

::Sigh:: I have written about this an awful lot over the past 17 years or so, so let me be brief and point you to past posts. First of all, while one form of eremitical life is called canonical (because it is an ecclesial life that is normative of what the Catholic Church understands such a life to be) and another is called non-canonical (that is, not normative nor appropriately governed as such vocations need to be), this does not mean the second one is "illegal" (nor that those living it are not leading exemplary lives the church respects). Only one person I know of has called the lay eremitical vocation illegal; she did that in a way that tended to demean her own non-canonical vocation and I wrote a piece against this. Later, I had the sense she thought I had said lay eremitical vocations were "illegal".

Some forms of eremitical life have been made canonical (normative) for hundreds and hundreds of years --- long before there was a universal Code of Canon Law. These include monasteries or hermitages associated with the Carmelites, the Carthusians, the Camaldolese, and so forth. In the Middle Ages anchoresses and anchorites (women and men) as well as hermits (always men) were supervised by local bishops and practices governing anchorholds including liturgical praxia were developed as were regulations for hermits seeking permission to wear the hermit tunic or preach openly. In such cases, local dioceses had canons (norms) regarding such vocations, despite the lack of a universal code in their regard. So, no, it is not the case that there has been only one kind of hermit living "traditional" hermit life on their own until 1983 when Canon 603 came to recognize the new possibility of consecrated solitary eremitical life.

Bishop Remi de Roo

The Church, however, came to recognize that God had entrusted her with all forms of eremitical life, and she had failed to sufficiently regard the solitary eremitical life as well as it deserved. Perhaps she distrusted these solitary hermits; perhaps she felt they were too hard to regulate or even shepherd. Sometimes, eccentricity replaced authenticity and individuality detracted from one's participation as a member of the body of Christ. (Paul Giustiniani wrote that solitary hermits were no longer valid given Eucharistic and other sacramental changes in the Church.) 

Whatever the reasons (and there were likely many along the lines noted!) when long-solemnly-professed monks discerned callings to live lives of eremitical solitude, they had to leave their congregations and seek laicization so that they might live as hermits because their congregations did not include this option for members in their proper law. About a dozen of these monks came together as lay (or ordained) hermits under Bishop Remi de Roo in BC, who became their bishop protector and eventually gave a very perspicacious intervention at Vatican II regarding how the Church should esteem these vocations. De Roo recognized that this tiny group of men represented the tip of a potentially very large iceberg and wanted the Church to esteem these vocations as they deserved.

During Vatican II seemingly nothing happened as a result of De Roo's intervention --- none of the documents even mentioned eremitical life. Still, in light of the shifts in church life, attitudes, and praxis brought about by Vatican II, the Code of Canon Law needed to be rewritten. Amid this re-writing, the Church added canons 603-605, recognizing solitary hermits, consecrated virgins living in the world, and the bishop's responsibility to remain open to new forms of consecrated life respectively. What the Church has tried to do with Canon 603 is honor the solitary eremitical vocation as a gift of God to the Church. She has come to recognize its importance to her life and she has provided a canonical (normative) way for individuals who feel called to live this way, to be professed and consecrated by God through the Church's mediation. Hermits whose consecration and professions are canonical become Catholic Hermits, meaning they are permitted to live their lives in "the name of the Church" as God has called them to. Such vocations are mutually discerned while such an identity (Catholic Hermit) is a right and obligation entrusted to the person by the Church herself in a public (canonical) Rite of consecration beyond that of baptism. 

I am convinced that by making the solitary eremitical vocation canonical, the church will say to all genuine hermits, whether canonical or non-canonical, that the church esteems such vocations as a gift of God to the world. At the same time, the Church has recognized that this vocation is a difficult one and relatively rare since few human beings will be called (or able) to achieve the fullness of authentic humanity in the silence of solitude. Far more frequent will be those who seek isolation or individualism, who say with Charlie Brown, [[ I love humanity!! It's People I hate!!]], or who are seeking escape in what contemporary culture calls "Cocooning". The reason for Canon 603 is to codify and provide for the supervision of an ecclesial life that is truly given over to love --- the love of God, of self, and of the whole of God's creation. Hermits generally need such a context if they are not to slide into these forms of eremitical "heresy" or even "apostasy". Common knowledge recognizes and reflects this tendency to distortions and selfishness in all of the stereotypes and derogatory notions it holds regarding what constitutes a "hermit". The establishment of stable forms and states of consecrated life is the task of the Church, and C 603 is part of this achievement for those called to solitary eremitical life.

As I think again about "Why Canon 603?" I remember that when I first googled hermits what showed up was a long list dedicated to "hermit crabs". Second, came all of the eccentric or stereotypical references to "hermits" --- misanthropes, psychopaths, social failures, and so forth. Finally, there were a very few references to authentic hermits whose lives witnessed to a serious commitment to God and authentic humanity lived for the sake of the other. Over the past 40 years, C 603 has become part of helping others reconsider the nature of healthy eremitical life and appreciate the importance of the silence of solitude in every life.

Please check the labels to the right of this post to find similar responses. See especially Canon 603 - history.

Feast of Jesus' Baptism (Reprise)

 Of all the feasts we celebrate, the feast of the baptism of Jesus is one of the most difficult for us to understand. We are used to thinking of baptism as a solution to original sin instead of the means of our initiation into the death and resurrection of Jesus, or our adoption as daughters and sons of God and heirs to his Kingdom, or again, as a consecration to God's very life and service --- a new way of being human. When viewed this way, and especially when we recall that John's baptism was one of repentance for sin, how do we make sense of a sinless Jesus submitting to it?

I think two points need to be made here. First, Jesus grew into his vocation. His Sonship was real and completely unique but not completely developed or historically embodied from the moment of his conception. Rather it was something he embraced more and more fully over his lifetime. Secondly, his Sonship was the expression of solidarity with us and his fulfillment of the will of his Father to be God-with-us. Jesus will incarnate the Logos of God definitively in space and time, but this event we call the incarnation encompasses and is only realized fully in his life, death, and resurrection -- not in his nativity. Only in allowing himself to be completely transparent to this Word, only in "dying to self," and definitively setting aside all other possible destinies does Jesus come to fully embody and express the Logos of God in a way that expresses his solidarity with us as well.

It is probably the image of Baptism-as-consecration and commissioning then which is most helpful to us in understanding Jesus' submission to John's baptism. Here the man Jesus is set apart as the one in whom God will truly "hallow his name." (That is, in Jesus' weakness and self-emptying God's powerful presence (Name) will make all things Holy and a sacrament of God's presence.) Here, in an act of manifest commitment, Jesus' humanity is placed completely at the service of the living God and of those to whom God is committed. Here his experience as one set apart or consecrated by and for God establishes God as completely united with us and our human condition. This solidarity is reflected in his statement to John that together they must fulfill the will of God. And here too Jesus anticipates the death and resurrection he will suffer for the sake of both human and Divine destinies which, in him, will be reconciled and inextricably wed to one another. His baptism establishes the pattern not only of HIS humanity but that of all authentic humanity. So too does it reveal the nature of true Divinity, for ours is a God who becomes completely subject to our sinful reality to free us for his own entirely holy one.

I suspect that even at the end of the Christmas season we are still scandalized by the incarnation. (Recent conversations on CVs and secularity make me even surer of this!) We still stumble over the intelligibility of this baptism, and the propriety of it especially. Our inability to fathom Jesus' own baptism, and our tendency to be shocked by it because of Jesus' identity,  just as JohnBp was probably shocked, says we are not comfortable, even now, with a God who enters exhaustively into our reality. We remain uncomfortable with a Jesus who is tempted like us in ALL THINGS and matures into his identity as God's only begotten Son.

We are puzzled by one who is holy as God is holy and, as the creed affirms, "true God from true God" and who, even so, is consecrated to and by the one he calls Abba --- and commissioned to the service of this Abba's Kingdom and people. A God who wholly identifies with us, takes on our sinfulness, and comes to us in smallness, weakness, submission, and self-emptying is really not a God we are comfortable with --- despite three weeks of Christmas celebrations and reflections, and a prior four weeks of preparation -- is it? In fact, none of this was comfortable for Jews or early Christians either. The Jewish leadership was upset by JnBp's baptisms generally because they took place outside the Temple precincts and structures (that is, in the realm we literally call profane). Early Christians (Jewish and otherwise) were embarrassed by Jesus' baptism by John --- as Matt's added explanation of the reasons for it in vv 14-15 indicates. They were concerned that perhaps it indicated Jesus' inferiority to John the Baptist and they wondered if maybe it meant that Jesus had sinned prior to his baptism. And perhaps this embarrassment is as it should be. Perhaps the scandal attached to this baptism signals to us we are beginning to get things right theologically.

After all, today's feast tells us that Jesus' public ministry begins with a ritual washing, consecration, and commissioning by God which is similar to our own baptismal consecration. The difference is that Jesus freely accepts life under the sway of sin in his baptism just as he wholeheartedly embraces a public (and one could cogently argue, a thoroughly secular) vocation to proclaim God's sovereignty. The story of the desert temptation or testing that follows this underscores this acceptance. His public life begins with an event that prefigures his end as well. There is a real dying to self involved here, not because Jesus has a false self that must die -- as each of us has --- but because in these events his life is placed completely at the disposal of his God, his Abba, in solidarity with us. Loving another, affirming the being of another in a way that subordinates one's own being to theirs --- putting one's own life at their disposal and surrendering all other life possibilities always entails a death of sorts -- and a kind of rising to new life as well. The dynamics present on the cross are present here too; here we see only somewhat less clearly a complete and obedient (that is open and responsive) submission to the will of God, and an unfathomable subjection to that which human sinfulness makes necessary precisely so that God's love may be exhaustively present and conquer here as well.

Christmas 2023 - New Year's 2024 and the Canticle of the Turning

I have posted this in the past at points when I have experienced something in the day's liturgy that speaks directly to me in a way that lets me know God is present and active, and intimately so. I have written in the past that my spiritual director and I have been doing a particular kind of inner work that leads to the healing of various forms of personal woundedness. There have been moments in the past 7.5 years where I have experienced significant healing and the sense of newness that comes with that and I have written about this occasionally --- the last time with the publication of "Classical Gas" which so well-reflected the way I was feeling. 

This Christmas/New Year's has been the same kind of season: a time of great promise and the realization of that promise achieved in unimaginable ways. God's grace and a lot of hard work (made possible via Grace!) have achieved the deepest and most fundamental healing Sister Marietta and I have been working towards. As a result, the language of Mary's Magnificat has been strong in my mind, along with the promise associated with Paul's letter to the Romans, and also this song that so beautifully echoes the Magnificat. (Because some of my own experience is the result of trauma (childhood and young adult) whose deepest effects reach into the present, many lines in this song speak to me vividly; today it was, [[. . .Your mercy will last from the depths of the past to the end of the age to be.]] God is doing something new (kainetes) in our world with the Christ Event; God is doing something new in (and through) us in Christ. 

Unimaginable healing and growth can come to us when we let the Spirit of the Risen Christ and his Abba work in us in this way. He does not spurn our weakness; instead, it is in and through our weakness that God's power is perfected! (2 Cor 12:9) Through the transformation of that same weakness into the medium of God's grace, our own brokenness can become the astonishing revelation of God's wisdom and justice. Let us open our hearts to God's creative presence in ways that resonate with Mary's song and with this Canticle of the Turning as well! 

My thanks again to Sister Michelle Sherliza, OP for the wonderful video version of this song.

New Year's Day 2024

Some will remember posts on the two Greek words used to speak about newness, particularly kainetes or kaine which refers to the qualitative newness that comes when God heals, renews, and gives us a place to stand in God's life. It contrasts with the form of newness (neos) that is used to refer toa situation like getting a new pair of shoes --- something that is new today and old tomorrow and doesn't really remake us or our future in substantive ways. Our celebration of Christmas is the celebration of God, together with Jesus and his family, beginning something brand new in our world, namely, God's own assumption of a  personal place in space and time. He does this so that he might be the God who dwells with us and in and through us is allowed to touch and recreate the whole of reality so that God might be all in all. This is our vocation. It is also what constitutes us as truly human. At the same time, it constitutes God's own will and destiny. 

I am getting ready to teach Romans this year (Jan-June) and I am anticipating the Spirit of God bringing newness to birth in the lives of those who are participating in the class. Romans will surprise and even shock folks in some ways --- especially if they have tended to hear it in short elections at Mass, or if their notion of salvation is too-highly individualized. One of the most striking things that Paul teaches the early Church is precisely that our God-willed destiny is not about going to heaven, and even less about existing as a disembodied soul after death, but instead is about being part of the new heaven and new earth that will come when God is all in all. As noted above, it is the whole of reality that is recreated, a process that began especially with Jesus' resurrection (the climax of the Incarnation of God in Jesus' life) and the victory of God over godlessness, sin, and death.

We have so focused on "getting to heaven" that many of us have disregarded and even participated without care in the destruction of God's good creation --- as though salvation is an "us and God only" affair. Similarly, Christians have treated God's Chosen People as though God has changed his mind and rejected them, rather than recognizing God's election has been extended to us and to all the nations in the world. We tend to treat the Risen Christ as though he is still locked in his tomb (though we may exchange a tabernacle for a rock-hewn cave here) rather than alive and active in the Holy Spirit everywhere and for/with everyone.

As we begin this new year, we might first take note of what we think we know about God, ourselves, and the future we look forward to -- usually without asking mature and searching questions. How many theological words do we use routinely without ever asking what they really mean? How many know, for instance, that heaven is not so much a place, but a euphemism for God's own self and that it can thus refer to God's own life shared with us? Christian Theologians will recognize that a central task of their work is guarding the docta ignorantia future (the "learned unknowing" of the future). 

Rahner wrote that the "critical role of theology is to resist closure with regard to the future, to recognize what we do not know". (cf. Theological Investigations, vol XII, "The Question of the Future") Christian humility involves this kind of awareness --- though, too often our teachers may have failed to give us a real sense of this. When coupled with a radical trust in God's promise we can enter our world with greater hope and commitment to work in Christ and the power of the Spirit toward that new heaven and earth God so yearns for. While we cannot do this ourselves alone, science tells us time is short and prudent action is urgent; our faith tells us the choice is a critical one (in every sense of the term critical!!).

All good wishes for a fruitful and truly New Year!!

Born in Littleness and Vulnerability: Jesus, God-With-Us

Celebrations of Christmas this year have been bittersweet, both in the larger conflict-fraught world, and here at Stillsong. Many parishioners at St P's have been searching for ways to participate, to worship and celebrate liturgies, and hear homilies that are truly life-giving. Some have gone to other parishes, and others attend Mass some Sundays at a nearby college. All but a few of our small daily Mass community have ceased coming as pre-Vatican II sensibilities replace a vibrant faith life  -- a response that is both completely understandable and very sad. Many have simply given up on the Church as unresponsive and geared toward clericalist retrenchment. The pain of loss is palpable and the hunger for genuine community and a liturgy that can be prayed is a hunger that today is only occasionally met at St P's. 

To be able to come together then Christmas morning for Mass at a nearby chapel was wonderful. We were a small group. That brought resonances of the early church and its house churches for me. There was no choir except ourselves, which was wonderful because everyone sang their hearts out! (Because we were so few, Father asked if we felt up to singing and there was a unanimous "Yes!!") And so we celebrated the feast, a small community of faith gathered around a creche and God's altar.  It is Christmas and God comes to dwell with us in littleness and vulnerability --- both His and our own!! We came together to pray in our own pain, loss, and hopefulness; and today --- we also came together in our joy at God's presence amongst us and the way it draws us together and then sends us out to proclaim the Gospel in our own weakness and vulnerability.

For months now I have been reflecting on the name Emmanuel and the idea that ours is a God who wills to dwell with us. He wills this as his own deepest yearning and destiny. I have written that Emmanuel describes all of this and that it is also a good way to describe our own vocations to authentic humanity. We too are meant to be those with whom God dwells. To be Emmanuel, that is our nature and destiny, God-With-Us. As the reading from Hebrews reminds us, God has been revealed (made known and real in space and time) in partial and fragmentary ways, and now in Jesus, he will be revealed in fullness. Once again we have a chance to recommit to and continue this vocational task ourselves. From the perspective of Jesus' nativity, as brothers and sisters in Christ, we will also grow in grace and stature as God comes to dwell within us more and more fully. With and in Christ we allow ourselves to become more and more transparent to his presence and to authentic humanity, more and more Emmanuel ourselves.

Peace to all of you who read here. I wish you a wonderful Christmas season!! 

Sister Laurel O'Neal, Er Dio

Diocese of Oakland

A Lullabye for the Infant Jesus

 I spoke with a Franciscan friend this afternoon about Christmas plans. She shared that, partly to mark the 800th anniversary of St Francis and the Creche, her house was using the above carol (and the same version) to conclude their evening prayer. Susan believes that trumpets are more suited to Easter; for Christmas we need lullabies!! I love the Celtic sound and the minimalist accompaniment done by Yo Yo Ma who supplements the drone of bagpipes. All good wishes for this Christmas Feast. May it truly be a time of nativity, new birth and new creation for us all. 

Wexford Carol

Good people all, this Christmas time,

Consider well and bear in mind

What our good God for us has done

In sending his beloved son

With Mary holy we should pray,

To God with love this Christmas Day

In Bethlehem upon that morn,

There was a blessed Messiah born.

The night before that happy tide,

The noble Virgin and her guide

Were long time seeking up and down

To find a lodging in the town.

But mark how all things came to pass

From every door repelled, alas,

As was foretold, their refuge all

Was but a humble ox’s stall.

Near Bethlehem did shepherds keep

Their flocks of lambs and feeding sheep

To whom God’s angels did appear

Which put the shepherds in great fear

Prepare and go, the angels said

To Bethlehem, be not afraid

For there you’ll find, this happy morn

A princely babe, sweet Jesus, born.

With thankful heart and joyful mind

The shepherds went the babe to find

And as God’s angel had foretold

They did our Saviour Christ behold

Within a manger he was laid

And by his side the virgin maid

Attending on the Lord of Life

Who came on earth to end all strife.

There were three wise men from afar

Directed by a glorious star

And on they wandered night and day

Until they came where Jesus lay

And when they came unto that place

Where our beloved Messiah lay

They humbly cast them at his feet

With gifts of gold and incense sweet.

Irish Version 

(Carúl Loch Garman).

Ó, tagaig’ uile is adhraigí

An leanbh cneasta sa chró ‘na luí

Is cuimhnígí ar ghrá an Rí

A thug dár saoradh anocht an Naí.

’S a Mhuire Mháthair i bParrthas Dé,

Ar chlann bhocht Éabha guigh ‘nois go caomh,

Is doras an chró ná dún go deo

Go n-adhram’ feasta Mac Mhuire Ógh.

I mBeithil thoir i lár na hoích’

Ba chlos an deascéala d’aoirí,

Go follas don saol ón spéir go binn

Bhí aingle ‘canadh ó rinn go rinn.

“Gluaisig’ go beo,” dúirt Aingeal Dé,

“Go Beithil sall is gheobhaidh sibh É

‘Na luí go séimh i mainséar féir,

Siúd É an Meisias a ghráigh an saol.”

Gaudete Sunday and the Sacrament of Anointing (Revised)

 Each year on this Sunday we celebrate the Anointing of the Sick; we did NOT do so this morning. I missed it for I am always really moved as we each come forward and stand in a semi-circle in front of the whole assembly while facing the altar as the priest moves to each of us, lays on hands, prays, and then comes to each of us again anointing us on forehead and hands. I ordinarily come forward because I live with chronic illness and because I want to remain open to God bringing good out of whatever suffering is involved --- including whatever deep healing (God) will accomplish within me.

In the past I have felt keenly my need for healing, but too, my compassion for all those who stood in front of our brothers and sisters in Christ and implicitly proclaimed our vulnerability and need for one another and the prayers of each and all. We each have our own story of personal suffering, brokenness, illness, and neediness --- and we also have our significant stories of the Christ who comforts and strengthens us in every difficulty. I don't know the details of all of these stories -- though yes, I know a few; in every case, however, I know how moving it is to witness to the Gospel in weakness and brokenness and how inspiring to stand silently with others who, though tacit about what the details of their vulnerability involve,  say clearly with their presence that they trust in God, trust in the Sacraments, trust in the support of the ecclesia and cannot, in fact must not, do otherwise.

We each come to this Sacrament looking for God to work miracles -- "acts of power" as the NT puts it ---  whether or not there is physical healing. We come as supplicants looking for God to transform our weakness into a complex canvas at once flawed and sacred, a Divine work of art, Magnificats proclaiming the One who is sovereign and victorious over the powers of sin and death even as (he) embraces and transforms them with his love and presence. It is especially significant that we do this on the day proclaiming the greatness of JnBap who is the greatest of "those born of women" and who prepared the way of the Lord who, [[Strengthen(s) the feeble hands, (and) make(s) firm the knees that are weak, say(s) to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not! Here is your God, he comes with vindication; with divine recompense he comes to save you. Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared; then will the lame leap like a stag, then the tongue of the mute will sing.]] (Isaiah, today's first reading.)

Through the years I have written of a vocation to chronic illness -- a vocation to be ill within the Church, to bear our illness in Christ and (thanks to James Empereur, sj) of the sacrament of anointing as a prophetic sacrament of commissioning and call. This is what we have celebrated at St P's on this Gaudete Sunday: brothers and sisters in Christ who came forth together in their vulnerability and need in order to be strengthened in our witness to Christ and help inspire the faith and prayer of the entire assembly. Physical healing is not necessary for the effectiveness of this sacrament (though we certainly open ourselves to it) but the increasing ability to bear our illness in Christ --- the ability to trust in and witness to the God whose power is perfected in weakness and who puts an end to fear and deep insecurity is the real vocation here. 

All of this becomes especially meaningful in light of Gaudete Sunday with its strong notes of hope and joy. It is also critically important because the sacrament of anointing (or of the sick) is a vocational sacrament. As I noted last week, Paul's theology recognizes such a vocation to suffering precisely because as Christians, we are not preparing to escape to heaven, but rather are called to be those who allow God in Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit to be Emmanuel here and now. The God of Jesus Christ has determined he will be God-with-us as he recreates heaven and earth so that ultimately he might be all in all. Today we celebrate the joy we know because of this divine will and the hopefulness we trustingly hold despite our suffering. As Isaiah reminds us, such trust can lead to strong hands capable of touching others with compassion and gentleness; likewise, it can result in "knees" that support us as we try to stand tall in our own truth --- glorifying God and singing our lives with a joy that comes when we truly know and entrust ourselves to his creative love.

Second Sunday of Advent: Waiting Upon God in Hope

During the past month, I have been reading NT Wright's, Into the Heart of Romans in preparation for Bible study on the book of Romans. Wright's work is an intense "deep dive" into the 8th chapter of the letter, the heart of the book and perhaps the most sublime piece of all Paul's writing. I am anticipating this study being full of surprises and challenges for our class, especially in two areas: first, the ultimate promise of Jesus' death and resurrection and the sending of the Spirit is NOT a disembodied eternal life in heaven, but the eventual coming of a new heaven and a new earth in which God, in the language of Revelations, is all in all. NT Wright has rather famously said, [[the goal of our lives is not life after death, but life after life after death]]. 

This leads to a theology where the goal of life is not "getting to heaven" but instead to an ongoing commitment to a world where the creator and covenant God dwells with and through us as he did in and through Jesus. The second related area of surprise and challenge is a shift in our theologies of suffering. Ordinarily, we think of suffering as the result of estrangement from God; intimacy with God is marked by peace and the absence of suffering. However, in this theology where we are on the way to a new heaven and new earth, we suffer with and in Christ in the power of the Spirit as we live in love and hope so that we might demonstrate the full content of the Gospel to others. These two shifts have repercussions for our faith all along the line, not least in terms of ethics, character development, our commitment to God's good creation, the way we approach life in this world, the idea of vocation, any suffering that comes our way, etc. The climax of Romans 8 is expressed in two statements, 1) Therefore there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, and 2) Nothing at all can separate us from the love of God. We are called to live our lives in light of these related affirmations.

During the rest of Advent, I will try to write a bit more about Wright's reading of Paul's theology and some of the implications. For now, I want to focus on the fact that Paul has reworked his Jewish faith in terms of the God of creation and covenant who is fully revealed in Jesus as Emmanuel. We believe in a God whose greatest desire is to dwell with us and who, in Christ's life, death, and resurrection, has begun the complete recreation of heaven and earth. This means that the human vocation is to live a covenantal life with God so that in and with us in the power of the Spirit God may be glorified in his creation --- the WHOLE of God's creation. 

At a time when Christians often treat reverence for creation as something far down any list of priorities because their sights are set on heaven (some even suggest destroying this world to initiate the end times and get them to heaven more quickly!), Paul's vision of God's will and intentions may be a shock. Those embracing a dualistic spirituality where heaven and a disembodied existence leaving material bodies behind forever will be similarly astounded when this vision is revealed to be contrary to both God's will for his creation and humanity's ultimate destiny. For those who suffer in various ways and who tend to associate suffering only in conjunction with personal sin and a lack of intimacy with God, or who may believe that because one suffers one must not pray well enough or must have a deficient spirituality, this alternate vision will also be a surprise. After all, it means we are invited to understand our present suffering as part of an inestimable vocation to be images of God's presence in our world in, with, and through God's Christ and the power of the Spirit. 

Today's readings focus on images related to these "new" theological ideas. Even so, I was struck as I listened to them just how infrequently homilists take them seriously or preach on them. For instance: [[According to his promise we await new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness (God's justice-making presence, especially when embraced by human beings) dwells.]] (2 Peter 3:8-14) God is doing something new and is doing it in our midst.  Importantly, God depends upon our cooperation for the fruits of the new creation begun in Jesus' death and resurrection to be fully realized. God desires that new heaven and earth where, through Jesus' death and resurrection, God dwells with, in, and through us as Emmanuel.

Waiting is rarely easy and Advent puts a significant accent on waiting. But we are not called merely to wait passively; instead, we are called to wait upon, and even more specifically, to wait upon God. Of course, we wait for God's will to be completely accomplished in our world, yet we do this by waiting upon God in the sense of serving him and his will until the "final" day. We are those who do the will of God in this world as we anticipate the coming of the new heaven and new earth. This means our waiting is active and full. In waiting we act to let God make us the people God calls us to be. This means we act to steward our world in the way the Creator God wills and always did will us to steward it.  It means we commit freshly to allow God to be Emmanuel, and to make us more and more into those who are Imago Dei for one another and for the sake of the whole of God's creation. 

Already, because of Christ's death and resurrection, our world is not the same as it was before the Christ Event. And now, we are asked to claim our vocation to work with God freshly -- as he brings that changed world to an unimaginable completion. It is not a medieval disembodied heaven we are working and living towards. It is a new heaven and a new earth. We are called to participate in that recreation and completion NOW by glorifying the God of creation and covenant in this world. Reclaiming that vocation by stewarding his creation and suffering with and in Christ is something we embrace in hope remembering that in light of Jesus' death and resurrection, there is no condemnation, and too, that nothing at all can separate us from the love of God. 

First Sunday of Advent (Reprise)

All good wishes on this first Sunday of Advent! "Adventus" is a season where we prepare to see the surprising ways God works in our lives, where we are especially cognizant of the choices that allow God to be active deep within our own hearts and within our larger world; it is where we learn to look more closely and attentively at everything within and around so that we are prepared to respond as fully as possible to this God of newness and surprises.

For many of us there is a paring down to the essentials to make all this possible. We also take greater care and time with our own self-inventory, our own inner work --- especially as that allows the life of God to move through and fill us. And of course, we make sure there is sufficient silence to truly hear the movements of our own hearts and the God who would be Emmanuel by taking up complete residence there. These are the really essential "preparations for Christmas" which put shopping and other things we also must do in their proper place.

I find it awesome to consider that the God who would "tent" among us has chosen my own heart and soul, my own mind and body --- with all of their flaws and weaknesses --- to reveal the fullness and perfection of Divine love made manifest in Christ. But through the past months I have watched the greening of new life nascent within me; I have seen it where I thought it could never be and sometimes where I thought it had been quenched forever. Ours is a God of newness and life and we are called to allow these to spring up within us wherever they will. He is faithful beyond telling and does not disappoint. So I am reminded that the season begins with a single candle in the darkness. It will end with a blaze of light and warmth -- and especially that of the light of Christ within us --- if only we allow it.

 May these weeks of preparation see the kindling of new life and light even when it begins with a small and sometimes stuttering flame in the midst of great darkness. Especially, may we all come to know more intimately the surprising God of newness who takes up residence and "tents" within and among us in Christ; He is the God who treasures our poverty and weakness and transforms and transfigures these into the mangers and lamps of his life and love.

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel!

Miserando atque Eligendo: A Mercy That Does Justice as it Creates a Future (Reprise)

Quite often this blog is a way in which I work out theological positions, especially in terms of the nature and charism of eremitical life, the relation of Gospel and Law (often canon law!!), or of mercy and justice. In reflecting on Friday's readings from 1 Sam and Mark I was reminded of Pope Francis' jubilee year of Mercy and of his coat of arms and motto: Miserando atque Eligendo. In 1 Sam David shows mercy to Saul despite Saul's commitment to killing him and is deemed by Saul to be worthy of Kingship by virtue of this act. An act of mercy is presented as having the power to change Saul's heart as nothing else does. The lection from Mark deals with the calling of the twelve. Together they represent a single pastoral impulse, a single imperative, the impulse and imperative also marking the entirety of Francis' Episcopacy and Pontificate and this Jubilee year of mercy as well: Miserando atque eligendo.

Francis translates the first word of his motto as a gerund, "Mercifying". He sees his episcopacy as being about the mercification of the church and world; the motto as a whole means "To Mercify (to embrace wretchedness) and to Call". This can even be translated as, "I will mercify (that is, make the world whole by embracing its wretchedness in the power of God's love) and (or "and even further") call (or choose) others" who will be commissioned in the same way. Francis speaks of the meaning of his motto in his new book, The Name of God is Mercy . He writes, "So mercifying and choosing (calling) describes the vision of Jesus who gives the gift of mercy and chooses, and takes unto himself."  (Kindle location 226) This is simply the way Francis chose to be a Bishop in Christ's Church; it is certainly the face God turned to the world in Jesus and it is the face of the shepherd we have come to associate with the Papacy. It is the way the Church is called to address and transform our world, the way she is called to literally "embrace wretchedness" and create peace and purpose. Mercifying and calling. It is the Way into the future God wills for everyone and everything.

Paul too saw that mercy was the way God creates a future. He writes in his letter to the Romans, [[Or do you hold his priceless kindness, forbearance, and patience in low esteem, unaware that the kindness of God would lead you to repentance?]] In other words it is the kindness or mercy of God, God's forbearance and patience that will create a way forward --- if in fact we take that mercy seriously. What I saw as I read that line from Paul was that Divine mercy is always about creating a way forward when our own actions close off any way of progress at all. God's mercy draws us out of any past we have locked ourselves into and into his own life of "absolute futurity". Let me explain. Often times I have written here that God's mercy IS God's justice. Justice is always about creating and ensuring a future -- both for those wronged, for society as a whole, and for the ones who have wronged another. Justification itself means establishing a person in right relationship with God and the rest of reality; it indicates that person's freedom from enmeshment in the past and her participation in futurity, that is in God's own life. Mercy, which (as I now see clearly) always includes a call to discipleship, is the way God creates and draws us into the future. What is often called "Divine wrath" is just the opposite --- though it can open us to the mercy which will turn things around.

Divine Wrath, Letting the Consequences of our Sin Run:

Wrath, despite the anthropomorphic limitations of language involved, is not Divine anger or a failure or refusal of God to love us. Rather, it is what happens when God respects our freedom and lets the consequences of our choices and behavior run --- the consequences which cut us off from the love and community of others, the consequences which make us ill or insure our life goes off the rails, so to speak, the consequences which ripple outward and affect everyone within the ambit of our lives. Similarly, it is God's letting run the consequences of sin which  lead us to even greater acts of sin as we defend or attempt to defend ourselves against them, try futilely to control matters, and keep our hands on the reins which seem to imply we control our lives and destinies. But how can a God of Love possibly allow the consequences of sin run and still be merciful? I have one story which helps me illustrate this.

I wrote recently of the death of my major theology professor, John Dwyer. In the middle of a moral theology class focusing on the topic of human freedom and responsibility John said that if he saw one of us doing something stupid he would not prevent us. He quickly noted that if we were impaired in some way he would intervene but otherwise, no. Several of us majors were appalled. John was a friend and mentor. Now, we regularly spent time at his house dining with him and his wife Odile and talking theology into the late hours. (It was Odile who introduced me to French Roast coffee and always made sure there was some ready!) Though we students were not much into doing seriously stupid things, we recognized the possibility of falling into such a situation! So when John made this statement we looked quickly at one another with questioning, confused, looks and gestures. A couple of us whispered to each other, "But he LOVES us! How can he say that?" John took in our reaction in a single glance or two, gave a somewhat bemused smile, and explained, "I will always be here for you. I will be here if you need advice, if you need a listening ear. . . and if you should do something stupid I will always be here for you afterwards to help you recover in whatever way I can, but I will not prevent you from doing the act itself."

We didn't get it at all at the time, but now I know John was describing for us an entire complex of theological truths about human freedom, Divine mercy, Divine wrath, theodicy, and discipleship as well: Without impinging on our freedom God says no to our stupidities and even our sin, but he always says yes to us and his yes to us, his mercy, eventually will also win out over sin. John would be there for us in somewhat the same the merciful God of Jesus Christ is there for us. Part of all of this was the way the prospect or truth of being "turned over" to our own freedom and the consequences of our actions also opens us to mercy. To be threatened with being left to ourselves in this way if we misused our freedom --- even with the promise that John would be there for us before, after, and otherwise --- made us think very carefully about doing something truly stupid. John's statement struck us like a splash of astringent but it was also a merciful act which included an implicit call to a future free of serious stupidities, blessed with faithfulness, and marked by genuine freedom. It promised us the continuing and effective reality of John's love and guiding presence, but the prospect of his very definite "no!" to our "sin" was a spur to embrace more fully the love and call to adulthood he offered us.

How much more does the prospect of "Divine wrath" (or the experience of that "wrath" itself) open us to the reality of Divine mercy?! Thus, Divine wrath is subordinate to and can serve Divine mercy; it can lead to a wretchedness which opens us to something more, something other. It can open us to the Love-in-Act that summons and saves. At the same time it is mercy that has the power to redeem situations of wrath, situations of enmeshment in and entrapment by the consequences of one's sin. It is through mercy that God does justice, through mercy that God sets things to rights and opens a future to that which was once a dead end.

Miserando atque Eligendo, The Way of Divine Mercy:

What is critical, especially in light of Friday's readings and Francis' motto it seems to me, is that we understand mercy not only as the gratuitous forgiveness of sin or the graced and unconditional love of the sinner, but that we also see that mercy, by its very nature, further includes a call which leads to embracing a new life. The most striking image of this in the NT is the mercy the Risen Christ shows to Peter. Each time  Peter answers Christ's question, "Do you love me?" he is told, "Feed my Lambs" or "Feed my Sheep." Jesus does not merely say, "You are forgiven"; in fact, he never says, "You are forgiven" in so many words. Instead he conveys forgiveness with a call to a new and undeserved future.

This happens again and again in the NT. It happens in the parable of the merciful Father (prodigal son) and it happens whenever Jesus says something like, "Rise and walk" or "Go, your faith has made you whole," etc. (Go does not merely mean, "Go on away from here" or "Go on living as you were"; it is, along with other commands like "Rise", "Walk" "Come",etc., a form of commissioning which means. "Go now and mercify the world as God has done for you.") Jesus' healing and forgiving touch always involves a call opening the future to the one in need. Mercy, as a single pastoral  impulse, embraces our fruitless and pointless wretchedness even as it calls us to God's  own creative and meaningful blessedness.

The problem of balancing mercy and justice is a false problem when we are speaking of God. I have written about this before in Is it Necessary to Balance Divine Mercy With Justice? and Moving From Fear to Love: Letting Go of the God Who Punishes Evil. What was missing from "Is it necessary. . .?" was the element of call --- though I believe it was implicit since both miserando and eligendo are essential to the love of God which summons us to wholeness. Still, it took Francis' comments on his motto (something he witnesses to with tremendous vividness in every gesture, action, and homily) along with the readings from this Friday to help me see explicitly that the mercification or mercifying of our world means both forgiving and calling people into God's own future. We must not trivialize or sentimentalize mercy (or the nature of genuine forgiveness) by omitting the element of a call.

When we consider that today theologians write about God as Absolute Futurity (cf Ted Peters' works, God, the World's Future, and Anticipating Omega), the association of mercy with the call to futurity makes complete sense and it certainly distances us from the notion of Divine mercy as something weak which must be balanced by justice. Mercy, again, is the way God does justice --- the way he causes our world to be transfigured as it is shot through with eschatological Life and purpose. We may choose an authentic future in God's love or a wounded, futureless reality characterized by enmeshment and isolation in sin, but whichever we choose it is always mercy that sets things right --- if only we will accept it and the call it includes!! Of course it is similarly an authentic future we are called on to offer one another -- just as David offered to Saul and Jesus offered those he healed or those he otherwise called and sent out as his own Apostles. Miserando atque Eligendo!! May we adopt this as the motto of our own lives just as Francis has done, and may we make it our own "modus operandi" for doing justice in our world as Jesus himself did.