A SPIRITUALITY
OF THE HEART
IN THE SERVICE
OF EVANGELIZATION
Nicholas Harnan,
Introduction
In
the Conclusion to his book, "A
Bishop
Cuskelly followed the above principles of adaptation faithfully and
courageously and moved our
THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES:
Adaptation
is not necessarily a good thing. In fact some kinds of adaptation involve
unhealthy forms of compromise and dilution. To protect ourselves from such
aberrations when we are confronted with the challenge of change we need to
immerse ourselves in the Gospel teaching of Jesus. Here we find the directions
and vision needed for our journey into the future. If we identify some of the
key elements in the vision of Jesus we find that they all begin and end with
the foundational notion of the REIGN OF GOD. This was the bedrock of Jesus'
teaching and way of life. It must be recovered and honoured in any attempt to
discern our way forward. Simply stated it means that God is now with us, in the
heart of the world and in our own hearts, where a plan has been set in place
and is now in the process of unfolding. The Church and all its ministries
including, religious life, are in the service of this powerful movement of God's
Spirit in the world. Therefore all events and changes can be taken up by God
and used for his own salvific purposes. This presents us with the Gospel
challenge of reading the Signs of the Times. How is God moving in our world and
in the hearts of
PARADIGM SHIFT:
One
powerful phenomenon affecting all our lives has to do with Change. We are living
through a period of profound change. It has been described by the prophets and
commentators on our times as a Paradigm Shift. It would seem that an Old Order
is coming to an end and a New Order is trying to break through. It would appear
that we are in a transitional stage which can be a period of confusion and
uncertainty but it can also present us with a moment of Kairos - an opportunity
to present the Good News in a fresh and contemporary context. I leave it to
other more informed experts to elaborate the finer points of this
phenomenon. I just want to take the
opportunity to point out possible dangers in the process as well as new
opportunities to give new meaning and vigour to our Mission and Charism.
A SEARCH FOR AUTHENTIC SPIRITUALITY:
It
would appear that in leaving the Old Order we are trying to leave behind such
oppressive phenomena as Patriarchy, Hyper-Institutionalism, Mechanistic Models
of Human Interaction, Closed Systems etc. In trying to actualize the New Order
some of the following values are trying to break through: A greater sense of
SELF AWARENESS (Self-Appropriation); A reaction against all forms of
Objectivization (treating people as Objects), Challenging the Privileges (and
secrecy) of the Old Institutions, as well as a Search for Authentic
Spirituality. We do not have time to go into further detail in this matter
except to say that it would be most unwise to dismiss these factors in the
mistaken belief that God is not able to work great things for the advancement
of his Reign and the welfare of His Human Family through these changes. Already
we have witnessed profound changes in powerful institutions where in sweeping
away the old order power dramatically changed hands from a privileged few back
to the people. One has only to think of the former Soviet Empire, Eastern
Europe, South Africa, Philippines, to mention just a few. But there is one
characteristic of the New Order which could have special significance for our
Chevalier Family. That is the search for an Authentic Spirituality.
WHY A SPIRITUALITY?
One
of the primary consequences of this attempt to move into a New Order is a
tension between Organized Religion and what people describe as a Personal
Spirituality. It would seem that people in reaching for more personal meaning and
validation of their humanness (Self-Appropriation) now feel that the Churches
are not able to resonate with this deep and existential hunger. In fact it is
often stated that the Churches have left the people rather than the other way
around. In an editorial to "Priests & People" Jack Dominian, an
English Catholic psychiatrist has this to say: "...the most pressing
challenge facing the Church today is to work out a spirituality which really
takes into account the way human beings have developed in our sophisticated
western society. We lack an authentic contemporary voice. This is not to say
that spirituality must ape the latest fashion but it has to speak to our world
in a language which recognizes where people are for most of their waking lives,
whether it is at work, in marriage and family or in the harsh realities in the
lives of the new poor." Teilhard de Chardin also identified a fundamental
lack of recognition of the human dimension in our Christianity when he says:
"The greatest objection brought against Christianity in our time, and the
real source of the distrust which insulates entire blocks of humanity from the
influence of the Church, has nothing to do with historical or theological
difficulties. It is the suspicion that our religion makes its followers
inhuman".
There
are possibly many factors involved in generating this great hunger for an
authentic spirituality but I suspect that both Jack Dominian and Teilhard de
Chardin have both identified the primary reason why people are drifting from
organized Christianity in an attempt to find a more authentic affirmation of
the human condition. It would seem that after many centuries of powerful
institutions which were needed to give direction and support to people both in
the secular and religious sphere, there is now a reaction against such
depersonalization. With the rise in consciousness of people's subjective worlds
and the awareness that in the past people were forced to submit to external
authority structures, people are in search of a quality of RELATIONSHIP which
admits of greater personal autonomy and a more meaningful recognition of their
interior worlds. In other words, people are looking for a better quality of
recognition as PERSONS. People are desperately craving for AN AFFIRMATION OF
THE HUMAN CONDITION. People are looking for a quality of RELATIONSHIP which
results in a more HUMANIZING PRESENCE. This is what people seemingly find in
their spiritual quest. They find a God (or a source of value) intimately
involved with the human condition and experience. They enter into a
RELATIONSHIP which affirms their essential goodness as human beings, which
gives meaning to their everyday existence, after so many years of trying to
measure up to externally referenced directives. They find this in what they
term - a Spirituality. It is a WAY of RELATING at a deep and personal level to
God (or their highest principle) in themselves, in their neighbour and in their
world. On the other hand Organized Religion places its emphasis elsewhere as
can be seen from one description -: "A unified system of beliefs and
practices concerning Sacred things which unite those who adhere to them into
one single community".
From
a study of the life and teaching of Jesus it would seem that this tension
between Organized Religion and a more personal value system or spirituality was
also present in his time. In fact we have many incidents in the life of Jesus
where he rebuked the religious leaders of his time for their failure to RELATE
to the heart-felt needs of the people. Much to the horror of many of his
contemporaries he put people well before religious laws and even held up
religious outcasts as being closer to the reign of God than many of the
religious elite. While Jesus did respect and practice religious observances, nevertheless,
he did not identify them with the reign of God. For this he pointed to his own
Heart and to the hearts of people. He clearly diagnosed the serious defect in
the religion of his time. It would seem that in all organizations or
institutions, where the emphasis is often placed on power and control, the
relationship dimension is often impoverished. This seems to have been the
situation in the Jewish religious world of Jesus' time. Time and again Jesus
emphasized the relational dimension over the cultic or religious structures.
(See the parable of the Good Samaritan). In fact what Jesus seemed to be alert
to was the qualities of the heart, an openness to the human condition and the
struggles of people. In short what Jesus tried to establish was a Paradigm of
Compassion, A Culture of KINDNESS, A Primary or Foundational Spirituality. What
Jesus appears to be alerting us to is the location of the reign of God - within
the heart of the human person. For Jesus all attempts at evangelization must
first be grounded in the heart of the person. In other words, for a Religion to
have heart it must be solidly grounded on a foundational spirituality which
opens the person and the human family to the primary location of God - in the
heart of the person and in the heart of the community.
A FOUNDATIONAL SPIRITUALITY:
Amidst
the upsurge in interest in Spirituality an attempt is being made to distinguish
between what is termed A Foundational Spirituality, which is common to all
human beings and emerges from the essence of the human condition, and a type of
Cultic Spirituality, which is applied to those spiritualities emerging from the
varying Religious Traditions. This distinction comes from a laudable desire to
break down the crippling barriers set up by certain historical forces, both
secular and religious, and to reach out in solidarity to the whole human
family. It was born out of collaborative enterprises which involved people from
many different religious traditions and none, who wished to serve the best
interests of people in an enlightened manner. It was a shock to some of the
religious traditionalists to learn that some of the most dedicated people in
the enterprise had no religious allegiance and, in fact, many claimed not to
believe in God. Yet they were committed to a spiritual vision for the human
family and claimed to have a spirituality. I myself worked with a psychiatrist
who was of Jewish origin and who claimed to be an atheist. Yet for me he was
the most Christ-like figure I have ever encountered. He was, for me, a living
model of what might be termed, A Foundational Spirituality. Describing his
qualities might be the most practical way of describing this type of
Spirituality. He believed passionately in the ultimate betterment of the human
family. He had a vision of universal solidarity of the human race where we
could live together and promote growth and justice for everyone. He never
accepted a private fee for his medical services. He spent his life working for
the criminally insane or in neglected areas of the mental health services. His
compassion for the person who endured mental and emotional suffering was
outstanding. If Jesus met him he would undoubtedly say, "Leo, you do not
realize how close you are to the Reign of God". He had great admiration
for Pope John XXIII. He admired some of the writings of Pope John Paul II. He
read our
The
key to the quality of his spirituality lay in the quality of his presence to
his own human condition and to the human condition of the global family. He was
able to offer to everyone who crossed his path a most profound AFFIRMATION of
the Human Condition. This is the most Christ-Like gift anyone can receive for
reasons which will become clear later. Unconsciously he is honouring the
primary law of God, Our Creator by his ACCEPTANCE of the sacredness of the
human condition. He is unconsciously but radically following the example of
Jesus Christ who offered the most profound validation of the human condition.
He is unconsciously a co-creator with God in bringing about the reign of God.
He fulfills the acid test of being a follower of Jesus Christ in that "...
by his fruits you will know him". The fact that he was not able to say
"Lord, Lord", was due to a very painful personal and family
experience in an Eastern European country noted for its catholic religious
practice.
A SPIRITUALITY OF THE HEART:
What
has all this to do with our charism or even with Jesus Christ? The short answer
is that it has everything to do with our Christian vocation. What the present
challenge to organized religion is calling us to is a re-evaluation of the
primary truths of our Christian Religion. The present turmoil is awakening in
people a deep longing for an affirmation of their humanity which has roots reaching
back to the origins of the human race. People sense that they are in need of
rescuing but not at the expense of their innate sense of value. For them
organized religion has missed the point of their anguish and deep insecurity.
What might be going on?
It
would seem that the human race has great difficulty in accepting its humanity.
This is the primary task of all interventions by the behavioral sciences to
heal people's traumas and emotional difficulties. On a theological level
theologians have identified this deep-seated and at times unconscious rejection
of the human condition as a consequence of Original Sin. God created us in his
own image and likeness and found us to be very good. The obvious response to
this tremendous generosity was an ACCEPTANCE of our basic created state. The
flowers, for instance, accept their innate goodness and are perfectly innocent
in the eyes of God. Jesus asked us to consider the flowers. For him they have
the secret of the reign of God. However, when it came to us, we being
incarnated spirits, we had the capacity to visualize an alternative version of
who we could be (in the Tree of Knowledge) and said " No" to the
human condition that came from God. Through this radical act of disobedience
and rejection of our humanity SIN came into our world. With it also came into
the human psyche a deep insecurity and existential shame. We were and are in
dire need of REDEMPTION. Then God asked his Son, Jesus, to abandon the security
of his Godhead and enter into the Heart of our humanity. From this deep core of
our humanness Jesus said the YES for us and saved us from ourselves. This is
the most reassuring event in the history of the human race. But the existential
reassurance of this great event is still being sought as an antidote to a deep
unconscious insecurity in the human psyche. People frantically search for this
affirmation in so many different directions many of them destructive and
self-defeating. It is their hope that such an assurance could be found in the
claims of the Good News preached by the Christian Churches. But, as we have
seen, organized religion seems unable to address these deep existential needs
for more and more people. It is for this reason that people in the western
world are seeking an experience which will place the validation of their
essential goodness and humanity before all else. THIS
This
is precisely what a Spirituality of the Heart has to offer. It offers the
greatest validation and affirmation of the human condition possible. The YES to
our human condition comes directly from the human HEART of God our Creator and
is spoken directly to each human heart. It opens up a RELATIONSHIP of exquisite
compassion and affirmation between God and the human family. If one is imbued
with a Spirituality of the Heart then the approach to Evangelization takes on a
very different direction. It starts in the heart of each person where the WORD
of GOD is struggling to break through. That word is a powerful affirmation of
the essential goodness of God's special creation, "You are my son/daughter
in whom I am well pleased." It is a celebration of the wonderful PRESENCE
of God in the transforming work of his Reign in the depths of each person which
we sometimes call the HEART.
CONCLUSION:
A
Spirituality of the Heart offers an approach to Evangelization which is very
much in keeping with the spirit of the age. The approach is based on such
primary theological truths as:
ˇ The Sacredness of Creation
and in particular the Sacredness of the Human Person with all the complexities
of the Human Growth process and the evolution of the subjective world of the
modern person. This is a relatively recent phenomenon and one which the Church
and other institutions are struggling to recognize.
ˇ The Redemptive intervention
of Christ in addressing the serious wound inflicted on the human psyche by
Original Sin. A Spirituality of the Heart approach to evangelization ensures
that in RELATIONSHIP with people this wound is not touched insensitively by a
legalistic or impersonal approach but, on the contrary, the AFFIRMING spirit of
Jesus pervades all encounters. This calls for a greater sensitivity towards the
wounded psychological world of the person.
ˇ The Reign of God is at work
in the depths of
Wherever
we gather, in community or in local church, we work with all agencies to
establish a Paradigm of Compassion where people are empowered to grow into full
humanness and authentic development.
Unfortunately,
there are too many examples of communities intensely engaged in cultic
religious exercises but with a sad legacy of oppression and stunted development.
There
are already in existence certain practical applications of what has been
described above. One has only to think of such excellent programmes as Life's
Healing Journey, Cor Novum, certain retreats based on a Spirituality of the
Heart as well as the heroic attempts to establish Small Christian Communities
or any Christian enterprise where energy is directed towards releasing the
Spirit living in the Hearts of People. In our future discussions it is hoped
that we will continue to share new apostolic endeavours with one another which
will further develop and enrich our Charism and our Gift to the world.