A recent open-letter from Christopher West has re-inspired me with a longing to know the Truth (cf. John 14:6). The truth of our humanity is revealed in - and by - Jesus Christ. But there is more. Our humanity also reveals a Truth about God - for we are made male and female in the image and likeness of God (see Genesis 1:26-27). The words of West touch upon this truth, this reality; his words also touch upon the truth and reality of our redemption in Christ. And as John Paul II once said: without the reality of the redemption, humanity lacks roots, and has no prospects. These are strong words. They are words that have caused me to grasp for a better understanding of what this truth, this reality, must look like - the truth of our redemption.
The Theology of the Body Discussion: the Pivotal Question
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
what is the dark night of the soul?
Lately I have come across a wealth of material that has used - or rather confiscated - a phrase used by St. John of the Cross: "Dark night of the soul". Many well-meaning authors have used this phrase, this expression, in applying it to some sort of struggle, depression, or other painful occurrence in their life. This is an erroneous understanding, at least in terms of how John used it.
A excerpt from the Introduction from a modern translation of another classic by John of the Cross - the Ascent of Mount Carmel - may help to clarify a proper meaning of the phrase "dark night of the soul":
"John's most famous work, Dark Night of the Soul, has perhaps been his most misunderstood. Many religious and nonreligious people use the title phrase to describe a particularly bad moment in their lives. Perhaps they have been through a divorce, the loss of a loved one, or the loss of a job, and they struggle with despair and depression as a result. Yet this use of the phrase is not what John had in mind.... For John, 'the dark night of the soul' is not simply a time of unrelieved suffering but one of the aspects of God's love."
For John, that "time of unrelieved suffering" is God's way of purifying the soul, bringing it closer to Himself, stripping the soul of worldly attachments in order to grow towards perfect union with God. John wrote the Dark Night of the Soul while he was in prison. The Introduction rightly states:
"John realized that God was in his dark night all along and had been guiding him to direct his will toward union with God."
The "dark night of the soul" is a mystical journey - one in which the soul comes closer to God, grows in union with Him by way of suffering through its purification. Perhaps this is a hard concept to grasp for many. How many souls have traveled this road?
A excerpt from the Introduction from a modern translation of another classic by John of the Cross - the Ascent of Mount Carmel - may help to clarify a proper meaning of the phrase "dark night of the soul":
"John's most famous work, Dark Night of the Soul, has perhaps been his most misunderstood. Many religious and nonreligious people use the title phrase to describe a particularly bad moment in their lives. Perhaps they have been through a divorce, the loss of a loved one, or the loss of a job, and they struggle with despair and depression as a result. Yet this use of the phrase is not what John had in mind.... For John, 'the dark night of the soul' is not simply a time of unrelieved suffering but one of the aspects of God's love."
For John, that "time of unrelieved suffering" is God's way of purifying the soul, bringing it closer to Himself, stripping the soul of worldly attachments in order to grow towards perfect union with God. John wrote the Dark Night of the Soul while he was in prison. The Introduction rightly states:
"John realized that God was in his dark night all along and had been guiding him to direct his will toward union with God."
The "dark night of the soul" is a mystical journey - one in which the soul comes closer to God, grows in union with Him by way of suffering through its purification. Perhaps this is a hard concept to grasp for many. How many souls have traveled this road?
one dark night...
I couldn't sleep - so I decided to create a new blog.
This new blog is a journal. My heart and soul in writing. I anticipate that it will become an outlet, but also a dialogue - a conversation.
"Heart speaks to heart," or so I've heard. If this speaks to anyone: thanks for listening.
-Brian.
http://www.brian-hanson.blogspot.com
This new blog is a journal. My heart and soul in writing. I anticipate that it will become an outlet, but also a dialogue - a conversation.
"Heart speaks to heart," or so I've heard. If this speaks to anyone: thanks for listening.
-Brian.
http://www.brian-hanson.blogspot.com
Friday, October 16, 2009
taste and see
“Taste and see the goodness of the Lord” (Psalm 34:8).
In my last post, I mentioned how Catholicism is a very sensual religion. It is sensual by the fact that it seeks to engage all of our senses. It is a curious thing to think about. How can we, human persons – bodily persons – encounter God, who is pure Spirit? In and through our bodies: this is how we encounter God – for this is how God created us. And this is how God intended things to be, according to his design – according to his creation. Perhaps this is what the Psalmist knew, who spoke of encountering God's goodness in terms of “tasting” and “seeing” (cf. Psalm 34:8).
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched – this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:1-3).
This is how John encountered God, who is pure Spirit – through his senses; in a word, it was through his body. And this, too, is how God encountered man! For by the Incarnation, man is able to encounter God. His encounter – as John testifies – is with Jesus Christ, the "Word made flesh" (cf. John 1:14).
The sensual nature of Catholicism is such that it engages our senses. And this is because God created us this way – as sensual beings, as persons with bodies. It is unfortunate how this has become a cause of scandal among many people throughout history, even many Christians. In fact, so much of the confusion and scandal has crept into many minds, many schools of thought, that have – I would say – impoverished our understanding of ourselves, including our understanding of our dignity as human persons, created as male and female in the image and likeness of God – a creation that, to God, is very good (cf. Genesis 1:27, 31).
There is a certain ‘theology of the body’ that exists, by virtue of our very good creation as male and female in God’s image. This is a notion that may seem odd to many persons, even many Christians. It is an “odd statement” to Christians who have given into temptations concerning the confusion and scandals that have crept into Christian thinking throughout history, even if it is unknown to them. “But if the idea of a theology of the body seems odd to us, it shouldn’t if we are Christian – because by virtue of the Incarnation, theology has entered the body through the main door” (John Paul II).
Perhaps we would become uncomfortable to think about a God who had a body. A God who worked and toiled, who sweat like us, who got dirt under his nails like us; who wore clothes – and wrapped himself in warmer clothes when he got cold, like us; who went to the bathroom, like us; who bathed himself, like us; who ate and drank, like us. And who suffered, who felt pain, and bled, like us.
In my last post, I mentioned how Catholicism is a very sensual religion. It is sensual by the fact that it seeks to engage all of our senses. It is a curious thing to think about. How can we, human persons – bodily persons – encounter God, who is pure Spirit? In and through our bodies: this is how we encounter God – for this is how God created us. And this is how God intended things to be, according to his design – according to his creation. Perhaps this is what the Psalmist knew, who spoke of encountering God's goodness in terms of “tasting” and “seeing” (cf. Psalm 34:8).
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched – this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:1-3).
This is how John encountered God, who is pure Spirit – through his senses; in a word, it was through his body. And this, too, is how God encountered man! For by the Incarnation, man is able to encounter God. His encounter – as John testifies – is with Jesus Christ, the "Word made flesh" (cf. John 1:14).
The sensual nature of Catholicism is such that it engages our senses. And this is because God created us this way – as sensual beings, as persons with bodies. It is unfortunate how this has become a cause of scandal among many people throughout history, even many Christians. In fact, so much of the confusion and scandal has crept into many minds, many schools of thought, that have – I would say – impoverished our understanding of ourselves, including our understanding of our dignity as human persons, created as male and female in the image and likeness of God – a creation that, to God, is very good (cf. Genesis 1:27, 31).
There is a certain ‘theology of the body’ that exists, by virtue of our very good creation as male and female in God’s image. This is a notion that may seem odd to many persons, even many Christians. It is an “odd statement” to Christians who have given into temptations concerning the confusion and scandals that have crept into Christian thinking throughout history, even if it is unknown to them. “But if the idea of a theology of the body seems odd to us, it shouldn’t if we are Christian – because by virtue of the Incarnation, theology has entered the body through the main door” (John Paul II).
Perhaps we would become uncomfortable to think about a God who had a body. A God who worked and toiled, who sweat like us, who got dirt under his nails like us; who wore clothes – and wrapped himself in warmer clothes when he got cold, like us; who went to the bathroom, like us; who bathed himself, like us; who ate and drank, like us. And who suffered, who felt pain, and bled, like us.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
the hinge of salvation
“…we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:23).
I realize that Catholicism is a very sensual religion. In fact, the sensual nature of Catholicism – with all her ceremonies, her rituals, her symbols, the sacraments, the “smells and bells” – has indeed been a cause for scandal among many people throughout history. However, it need not be this way, if we can come to grasp the reality, the truth and beauty, of ourselves, who are creatures specifically created this way by God Himself; “God saw all that he made, and it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). That word ‘very’ is decisive: it is not used when God looked at any other part of his creation – the words ‘very good’ are applied only after the creation of mankind. (Perhaps this is so because only mankind was created in the image and likeness of God, cf. Genesis 1:27).
It is interesting to note that when Paul speaks about our redemption in Christ, he speaks about the redemption “of our bodies” (Romans 8:23). Why didn’t he speak about the redemption of our soul, our spirit? Perhaps it is because Paul knew something that those who are normally scandalized by our “natural sensuality” do not know, and that is this: our bodies make up an important part of who we are as persons – as human persons – created in the image and likeness of God. Our bodies are not some sort of additional add-on, or some sort of shell in which our souls are trapped. As Christians, we believe in the resurrection of the body (cf. John 6:44; 1 Cor 15:13-18). This is because the completion of our redemption – which gives way to completion of our salvation – will be the complete restoration of our creation as human persons, who were from the beginning created male and female in the image and likeness of God (cf. Genesis 1:27). Perhaps this is why Paul speaks about the redemption “of our bodies”.
Our flesh is an important part of our creation, of what God noted to be “very good”; it will not be done away with. Indeed, “the flesh is the hinge of salvation” (cf. CCC 1015). “We believe in the God who is the creator of the flesh; we believe in the Word made flesh in order to redeem the flesh; we believe in the resurrection of the flesh, the fulfillment of both the creation and the redemption of the flesh” (cf. CCC 1015).
Hopefully we can begin to understand why Catholicism is indeed a sensual religion. God created us this way. Perhaps we can begin to reclaim our very good creation, understanding ourselves, and how God intended things to be. This will be a theme I hope to take up again for my next entry. Until then, I’ll end this current entry with this: it is really only in the light of the Word made flesh (cf. John 1:14) that we can come to see and understand our own flesh – to see it as God sees it; to see ourselves, as God’s creatures, as he sees us.
I realize that Catholicism is a very sensual religion. In fact, the sensual nature of Catholicism – with all her ceremonies, her rituals, her symbols, the sacraments, the “smells and bells” – has indeed been a cause for scandal among many people throughout history. However, it need not be this way, if we can come to grasp the reality, the truth and beauty, of ourselves, who are creatures specifically created this way by God Himself; “God saw all that he made, and it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). That word ‘very’ is decisive: it is not used when God looked at any other part of his creation – the words ‘very good’ are applied only after the creation of mankind. (Perhaps this is so because only mankind was created in the image and likeness of God, cf. Genesis 1:27).
It is interesting to note that when Paul speaks about our redemption in Christ, he speaks about the redemption “of our bodies” (Romans 8:23). Why didn’t he speak about the redemption of our soul, our spirit? Perhaps it is because Paul knew something that those who are normally scandalized by our “natural sensuality” do not know, and that is this: our bodies make up an important part of who we are as persons – as human persons – created in the image and likeness of God. Our bodies are not some sort of additional add-on, or some sort of shell in which our souls are trapped. As Christians, we believe in the resurrection of the body (cf. John 6:44; 1 Cor 15:13-18). This is because the completion of our redemption – which gives way to completion of our salvation – will be the complete restoration of our creation as human persons, who were from the beginning created male and female in the image and likeness of God (cf. Genesis 1:27). Perhaps this is why Paul speaks about the redemption “of our bodies”.
Our flesh is an important part of our creation, of what God noted to be “very good”; it will not be done away with. Indeed, “the flesh is the hinge of salvation” (cf. CCC 1015). “We believe in the God who is the creator of the flesh; we believe in the Word made flesh in order to redeem the flesh; we believe in the resurrection of the flesh, the fulfillment of both the creation and the redemption of the flesh” (cf. CCC 1015).
Hopefully we can begin to understand why Catholicism is indeed a sensual religion. God created us this way. Perhaps we can begin to reclaim our very good creation, understanding ourselves, and how God intended things to be. This will be a theme I hope to take up again for my next entry. Until then, I’ll end this current entry with this: it is really only in the light of the Word made flesh (cf. John 1:14) that we can come to see and understand our own flesh – to see it as God sees it; to see ourselves, as God’s creatures, as he sees us.
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