Breaking the Word

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Tuesday in the 15th Week of Ordinary Time (II)
Memorial of St. Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Facing the Terrors of the Night

Readings: Isaiah 7:1-9; Psalms 48:2-3a, 3b-4, 5-6, 7-8; Matthew 11:20-24
Picture: CC Cayusa

It’s quite a matter of common sense that one doesn’t do the same things in the night as one does in the day. For example, one needs to switch on the lights at night, but not so much in the day. And one must also be more careful if one chooses to venture out in the dark, especially if one lives in an unsafe neighborhood. Like it or not, one has to adjust one’s behavior according to the time of day.

Something similar is necessary in the spiritual life. Here too there are moments of light and moments of darkness. There are times when God seems close, illuminating our way with the radiance of his smile. And all is bright and cheery. But there are also occasions when, for whatever reason, the divine Sun seems to hide its face, when the road ahead is shrouded in darkness and danger, and our hearts are seized with a sense of foreboding and dread. What can we do to face the terrors of the night?

It is this question that our readings invite us to consider today. For in both readings night has fallen. In the first, the kingdom of Judah faces the desolating darkness of military threat. A formidable foe – consisting of the allied armies of Syria and Israel – is besieging Jerusalem. In the gospel, the night is one of hardness of heart, a stubborn refusal to accept the Word of God. But, as terrifying as the situations may be, all is not lost. When faced with the perils of the night, steps can yet be taken to survive, and even to thrive.

At a time when Ahaz, the King of Judah, might be inclined to panic and to give in to despair, the prophet Isaiah counsels patience and calm. Pay attention, keep calm, have no fear, do not let your heart sink. At a time when the people might be sorely tempted to turn, in desperation, to idolatry and to rely on worldly powers, the prophet counsels steadfast fidelity to the One True God. If you do not stand by me you will not stand at all. As difficult as it may be to carry out, such advice has stood the test of time.

The words of the prophet resonate, for example, with the Rules for the Discernment of Spirits of St. Ignatius Loyola: When one is in desolation, he should strive to persevere in patience. This reacts against the vexations that have overtaken him… (Spiritual Exercises, #131) In time of desolation we should never make any change, but remain firm and constant in the resolution and decision which guided us before the desolation… it will be very advantageous to intensify our activity against the desolation. We can insist more upon prayer, upon meditation, and on much examination of ourselves. We can make an effort in a suitable way to do some penance. When one is in desolation, he should be mindful that God has left him to his natural powers to resist the different agitations and temptations of the enemy in order to try him. He can resist with the help of God, which always remains, though he may not clearly perceive it… (SpEx, # 318-320).

Measures such as these seem also to be what Jesus is trying to help his listeners to take. In the gospel, the darkness faced by the people of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum, are clearly the result of their own negligence and stubbornness. In such a situation, Jesus prompts them to remember the miracles that have been worked in them. In the terminology of the Spiritual Exercises, Jesus is inviting the people to examine themselves, to meditate upon the times in the past when God has smiled upon them, and to allow the feelings evoked by such memories to spur them on to repentance. These are the appropriate activities for a time of darkness.

What measures do we take when faced with the terrors of the night?

2 comments:

AnonymousWed Jul 16, 08:54:00 pm GMT+8
Does St Ignatius' rule apply in every situation?

For example, in the story of the Prodigal Son, didn't he choose to leave his father while feeling good? Didn't he come to his senses and made a decision to return to his father while feeling desolate? If he were to apply St Ignatius' rule quoted here, was he supposed to stick to the decision at the time of consolation (leave his father) and resist the decision at the time of desolation?

Another example: Say, a woman got abused by a boyfriend and chooses to leave him while feeling desolate. Should she resist that decision?
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AnonymousWed Jul 16, 08:56:00 pm GMT+8
Does St Ignatius' rule quoted here apply in every situation?

For example, in the story of the Prodigal Son, didn't he choose to leave his father while feeling good? Didn't he come to his senses and made a decision to return to his father while feeling desolate? If he were to apply St Ignatius' rule, was he supposed to stick to the decision at the time of consolation (leave his father) and resist the decision at the time of desolation?

Another example: Say, a woman got abused by a boyfriend and chooses to leave him while feeling desolate. Should she resist that decision?
ReplyDelete
Replies

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Breaking News: Easter

The fifty days from Easter Sunday to Pentecost are celebrated in joyful exultation as one feast day, or better as one "great Sunday." These above all others are the days for the singing of the Alleluia. The Sundays of this season rank as the paschal Sundays and, after Easter Sunday itself, are called the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Sundays of Easter. The period of fifty sacred days ends on Pentecost Sunday. The first eight days of the Easter season make up the octave of Easter and are celebrated as solemnities of the Lord. On the fortieth day after Easter the Ascension is celebrated, except in places where, not being a holyday of obligation, it has been transferred to the Seventh Sunday of Easter (see no. 7).[R4] The weekdays after the Ascension until the Saturday before Pentecost inclusive are a preparation for the coming of the Holy Spirit. ~ General Norms for the Liturgical Year & Calendar, 22-26

From 36th Jesuit General Congregation

It is our union with one another in Christ that testifies to the Good News more powerfully than our competences and abilities.... In our individualistic and competitive age, we should remember that the community plays a very special role since it is a privileged place of apostolic discernment.... The Jesuit community is a concrete space in which we live as friends in the Lord. This life together is always at the service of mission, but because these fraternal bonds proclaim the Gospel, it is itself a mission. –Companions in a Mission of Reconciliation and Justice (CMRJ), nn. 7-9.

With the poor, we can learn what hope and courage mean.... In our communities and apostolates, we hear the call to rediscover hospitality to strangers, to the young, to the poor, and to those who are persecuted. Christ himself teaches us this hospitality. –CMRJ, nn. 15-16.

At the heart of Ignatian spirituality is the transforming encounter with the mercy of God in Christ that moves us to a generous personal response. The experience of the merciful gaze of God on our weakness and sinfulness humbles us and fills us with gratitude, helping us to become compassionate ministers to all.... For us Jesuits, compassion is action, an action discerned together. Yet we know that there is no authentic familiarity with God if we do not allow ourselves to be moved to compassion and action by an encounter with the Christ who is revealed in the suffering, vulnerable faces of people, indeed in the suffering of creation. –CMRJ, nn. 19-20.

(T)he Society must respond more decisively to the Church’s call for a new evangelization, giving special emphasis to ministry to and with the young and with families.... A special gift Jesuits and the Ignatian family have to offer to the Church and her mission of evangelization is Ignatian spirituality, which facilitates the experience of God and can therefore greatly help the process of personal and communal conversion. –CMRJ, nn. 22-23.

In many societies, there is an increased level of conflict and polarization, which often gives rise to violence that is all the more appalling because it is motivated and justified by distorted religious convictions. In such situations, Jesuits, along with all who seek the common good, are called to contribute from their religious-spiritual traditions towards the building of peace, on local and global levels. –CMRJ, n. 28.

Pope Francis has emphasized the fundamental connection between the environmental crisis and the social crisis in which we live today. Poverty, social exclusion, and marginalization are linked with environmental degradation. These are not separate crises but one crisis that is a symptom of something much deeper: the flawed way societies and economies are organised. The current economic system with its predatory orientation discards natural resources as well as people. For this reason, Pope Francis insists that the only adequate solution must be a radical one. The direction of development must be altered if it is to be sustainable. We Jesuits are called to help heal a broken world, promoting a new way of producing and consuming, which puts God’s creation at the center.... The multifaceted challenge of caring for our common home calls for a multifaceted response from the Society. We begin by changing our personal and community lifestyles, adopting behaviour coherent with our desire for reconciliation with creation. – CMRJ, nn. 29-30

From 35th Jesuit General Congregation

From General Congregation 35

By sending us to 'those physical and spiritual places which others do not or have difficulty reaching,' the Pope entrusts to us the task to 'build bridges of understanding and dialogue,' according to the best tradition of the Society, in the diversity of its ministries.
- Decree With Renewed Fervor and Dynamism, n. 6

To be missioned to this work 'at the New Frontiers of our times' always requires that one also be rooted at the very heart of the Church. This tension, specific to the Ignatian charism, opens the way to true creative fidelity.
- Decree With Renewed Fervor and Dynamism, n. 13

In every mission that we carry out, we seek only to be where (Christ) sends us. The grace we receive as Jesuits is to be and to go with him, looking on the world with his eyes, loving it with his heart and entering into its depths with his unending compassion.
- Decree on Identity, n. 15

For ultimately, there is no reality that is only profane for those who know how to look. We must communicate this look and provide a pedagogy inspired by the Spiritual Exercises, that carries people - especially the young - into it.
- Decree on Identity, n. 10

Our ministries of proclamation of the Word and the celebration of the Life of Christ in the sacraments continue to be fundamental for our mission and our lives together as Jesuits.
- Decree on Mission, n. 19

The complexity of the problems we face and the richness of the opportunities offered demand that we engage in building bridges between rich and poor and establishing advocacy links of mutual support between those who hold political power and those who find it difficult to voice their interests. Our intellectual apostolate provides an inestimable help in setting up these bridges, offering us new ways of understanding in depth the mechanism and links among our present problems.
- Decree on Mission, n. 28

Jesuit community is not just for mission, it is itself mission.
- Decree on Mission, n. 41

In this global context it is important to highlight the extraordinary potential represented by our character as an international and multicultural body. Acting consistently with this character can not only enhance the apostolic effectiveness of our work but in a fragmented and divided world it can witness to the reconciliation in solidarity of all the children of God.
- Decree on Mission, n. 43

Faith in Jesus Christ teaches us that self-realization comes from self-giving and that freedom is not so much the power to choose as the power to order our choices toward love. At the same time, love for Jesus Christ and the desire to follow him call us to trusting commitment. Commitment to the Word Incarnate cannot be separated from commitment to the concrete manifestations of the Word that are at the center of our lives, the Church and the Society which exists to serve the Church.
- Decree on Obedience, n. 19