Review For Religious Issue 694

Holy Models Religious Growth Lighting the Way
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Review for Religious fosters dialogue with God, dialogue with ourselves, and dialogue with one another about the holiness we try to live according to charisms of Catholic religious life. As Pope Paul Vl said, our way of being church is today the way of dialogue.
Review for Religious (ISSN 0034-639X) is published quarterly at Saint Louis University by the Jesuits of the Missouri Province. Editorial Office: 3601 Lindell Boulevard St. Louis, Missouri 63108-3393 Telephone: 314-633-4610 Fax: 314-633-4611 E-Mail: reviewrfr@gmail.com Web site: www.reviewforreligious.org
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~ gournalof Catholic ~piri~uali~y
eview
for religious
Editor Book Review Editor Scripture Scope David L. Fleming SJ Rosemary Jermann Eugene Hensell OSB
Editorial Staff Mary Ann Foppe Tracy Gramm Judy Sharp Advisory Board Paul Coutinho SJ Martin Erspamer OSB Margaret Guider OSF KathleEn Hughes RSCJ Louis and Angela Menard Bishop Terry Steib SVD
QUARTERLY
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contents
prisms
340 Prisms
holy models
342 The Spirituality of Francis Libermann: A Man Beyond His Time
David L. Smith CSSP presents the embodied spirit of Francis Libermanns spirituality, underlining many instances of how his thought and action is very contemporary.
357 The Love Mysticism of Bernard of Clairvaux and Julian of Norwich

Marian Maskulak CPS shows how Bernard and Julian provide valuable material to ponder for contemporary readers who wish to explore the relationship of love between God and human beings. Personal Reflection / Group Discussion
religious growth
377 Cultivating Mature Relationships in Religious Formation
Chinyeaka C. Ezeani MSHR outlines how religious formao tors can model mature interpersonal relationships and respectful ways of communications that can better prepare candidates for a Christlike way of living and relating.
Review for Religious
390 Operatic Discernment of a Vocation

Daniel J. Heisey OSB suggests that opera, especially Gian Carlo Menottis The Saint of Bleecker Street and Amahl and the Night Visitors, can help someone discern a religious vocation. Personal Reflection / Group Discussion
lighting the way

4O5 Searching for Jesus at Christmas
James H. Kroeger MM treats the nature and purpose of the Gospels, the role of the evangelists, questions of the "historical Jesus," the infancy narratives, and the need for an "adult" faith.
42O Edith Stein, Woman of Light

Carolyn Humphreys~ OCDS demonstrates that the themes most apparen.t throughout Edith Steins life are her integrity, her search for truth, and her complete trust in God.
departments
434 Scripture Scope: Meeting the Prophet Isaiah Again for the First Time 439 Book Reviews 444 2010 Indexes
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I seems appropriate in this final issue of Volume 69 that I acknowledge and pay tribute to Father Philip Fischer SJ who has served this journal for some twenty years. Father Fischer died quickly after being diagnosed with liver cancer just as we were sending the previous issue to the printer. For the staff and for me personally his death has left us with an aching loss as a companion in the workplace and a notable hole in our editorial process. Philip Fischer had amazing editorial skills. He was the one that I depended on for doing the first edits on all our manuscripts. He took real care in preserving a writers style and expression while trying to bring a better clarity and a sharpening conciseness in eliminating repetitions. He double-checked all references, sometimes correcting misinformation and at other times adding the proper data. He made our various writers look good, and I say this from my own experience since he made me in my own writing look better than I ever would have through my original draft. In these latter years, Father Fischer made his own special contribution to our journal through his review of books summed up in what he ritled "book shelf life." From all the various books that we receive from the publishing houses, Father Fischer would quickly scan through each
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book, take notes on a number of them, and then begin to group books into similar themes or subject-matter. Within the weeks more immediate to our publishing schedule, he would construct his own essay on some twenty-five to thirty-five books, relating them in their strengths, referencing occasionally previous works, and adding sometimes his own personal preferences. Over the years, many people have taken the time to express their appreciation of his efforts in book reviews. Philip Fischer died shortly before his eightieth birthday. He would have been celebrating his sixtieth year as a Jesuit. He was a quiet and unassuming man with great intellectual gifts. He generously offered his services as advisor and editor to many foreign Jesuits studying at Saint Louis University in their writing of class essays and term papers. He also was consulted by a good number of people writing books. He seemed to put no restrictions on the time he would spend in helping others beyond his own editorial responsibilities. Over the past twenty years, Father Philip Fischer has brought the Review for Religious to the kind of excellence in style and correctness that our readers have come to expect. In expressing our own debt of gratitude to him, I and the rest of the staff will do our best to continue the legacy which he has left us. Please join us in our own continuing prayers, that Father Philip Fischer, a wordsmith, can be enjoying companionship with the Word forever. David L. Fleming SJ
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P.S. Review for Religious staff and advisory board wish all our readers a most blessed Advent season and Christmas season.
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DAVID L. SMITH
The Spirituality of Francis Libermann:

A Man Beyond His Time
personal witness
. . the Holy Ghost over the bent World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.
--Gerard Manley Hopkins
Since the mid 19th century, Francis Libermanns spiritual teachings have inspired the Congregation of the Holy Spirit. To appreciate his unique spiritual doctrine fully, one must know about the congregations original cradle. Born the son of the Rabbi of Saverne and reared in the study of Torah, the Law, and the Talmud, Libermann was immunized against the philosophical anthropology of his day, the dichotomized worldview of Ren~ Descartes.
David L. Smith cssP has taught for thirty-five years in Duquesne Universitys department of psychology and has also been executive director of its Phenomenology Center. His address is Duquesne University; 600 Forbes Avenue; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15282.
His philosophy had tainted Western thought-categories since the early 17th century. Under the pervasive influence of this philosophy, all things spiritual--mind, soul, and spirit--had become disembodied. The separation of mind and body, spirit and matter, natural and supernatural, and secular and sacred became the coin of the religious and spiritual realms. In many ways, human spirituality had turned into an angelic perfectionism. Libermann in large part escaped this pernicious Cartesian influence, thanks to his early education. Under his fathers tutelage, he would have learned that .. the Hebrew language To understand Libermanns had no word for body, the human body. The uniquely existential and closest Hebrew word is incarnational spirituality, basar, sometimes translated as body, but its we must keep this essential meaning .is Hebrew meaning of flesh. Robinson informs us that in the ancient the human body in mind. Hebrew worldview the flesh-body did not make us separate individuals, but rather connected us in a web or tissue of life to all other human beings. This flesh-body--this animated flesh--is the total human being and the basis for our corporate identity, our solidarity with one another, and especially our common bonding with God. Robinson emphasizes that the ancient Hebrews were interested, not in the body for its own sake, but in its vertical dimension, in that the flesh-body binds us together and binds us Godward. Basar, our animated human flesh, emphasizes our coexistence with others, our bodily
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Smith The Spirituality of Francis Libermann
togetherness with them in the world, and our openness to the Holy Spirit of God. To understand Libermanns uniquely existential and incarnational spirituality, we must keep this Hebrew meaning of the human body in mind. It will sharpen our insight into his passion for social and racial justice, human solidarity, democratic values, and the freedom and dignity of every human being. Pope Pius XII described Libermann as an "outstanding master of the spiritual life." Henry Koren CSSP, after studying his writings intensively for many yeays, did not hesitate to claim that in the sphere of spiritual doctrine he proved himself an authentic pioneer. Koren attributed the originality, universality, and timelessness of Libermanns spiritual doctrine to his ability to transcend the narrow confines of his native Frances romanticism and the selfabsorbed bodily mortifications of 19th-century spirit-uality (1958, p. 157). With his deep convictions about our common human flesh and our God-given solidarity, Libermann was ahead of his time in many ways and in many arenas. He understood that the mission of the Christian community and of the missionary is identical with Jesus mission, namely, the proclamation of the power of Gods unconditional grace to restore all of creation--persons, bodies, and relationships--to wholeness (Volf & Lee; p. 389). Libermanns .spiritual doctrine, always rooted in basar, points us toward the Holy Spirits action in the world of our daily life. Koren never tires of reminding us that it is not enough just to listen to the words or read the texts to discover what truly animates an individual or an organization. We must pay heed to what the French phenomenologist Maurice Merleau-Ponty has called "operational intentionality," the lived and living
motivation of a person or an organization. Koren asks of his fellow Spiritans, what has been and what is the driving force of their founders and of their members? In his unequivocal and oft repeated response, he replies that the Spiritans lived spirituality can best be described as an Evangelical Availability, attentive to the Holy Spirit, manifested in the "concrete situations of life." Libermanns spirituality is contemporary in many ways, precisely because he roots it always in the existential situation. In his insistence upon the "concrete situations of life," we detect echoes of Gestalt Therapys focus on the Here and Now of human experience. The authors of Gestalt Therapy: Excitement and Growth in Human Personality (Perls et al.) encourage this exercise: "Try for a few minutes to make sentences starting with what you are at this moment aware of. Begin with the words now or at this moment or here and now." After presenting this technique for attending to the environment more vividly, they make this comment: "V~rhatever is actual is, as regards time, always in the present. Hence the stress, if we wish to develop the sense of actuality, on words such as now and at this moment" (p. 31). Libermanns constant advice to seek the Holy Spirit "in the concrete situation of our lives" cradles the "here and now" of Gestalt therapy. It grounds the individuals spiritual life in the actual here and now of the existential dialogue of a personal past-present-future. In this context, Libermann reminds us that openness to experience demands detachment from the past.. A Man of His Time Libermann seems to .have been richly endowed with the gift of "reading the signs of the time." For this reason he could consider the clergys failure to keep up
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Smith * The Spirituality of Francis Libermann
with the times to be their greatest fault. During the French revolution of 1848 and the subsequent democratic elections, Libermann, unlike many of his religious contemporaries and superiors at home and even in Rome, did not pine for some mythical golden age. He was prompt to let go of the traditional church devotion to the ancien rggime. He encouraged his men to get out to vote at the dawning of the democratic state in France. On 22 February, thousands of Parisians had taken to the streets to demand suffrage reform. King Louis Philippe lost his nerve and abdicated. After months of chaos and confusion in the parliament and throughout the nation, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, nephew of the exiled great emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, was elected president of the Second RetJublic on 10 December 1848 by an overwhelming majority, 5.5 million votes to his closest contenders 1.5 million. No matter that Louis Napoleon had the reputation of a "cretin" and licentious playboy, the people had spoken and Louiss election held out promise of a more just order for the poor of France. Libermann honored the peoples decision. His sentiments must have resonated also with the goals of the American Declaration of Independence of 1776, "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." In a letter to a friend in 1848, he wrote that he welcomed the revolution, for the royalist government in his judgment was not genuinely concerned for "the happiness of the people." Ahead of his time in the political arena, he took pains to make clear that he saw the downfall of the old regimes as a sign of Gods justice against the autocratic rulers that abused the rights of the common people. These sentiments prompted him to opine that someday the autocratic rulers of Russia would also fall. Even in the life of vowed religious comReview for Religious
munities, he expressed his inclination toward democratic values when he reminded his members that the congregations highest authority rested in the consensus of its membership and not in the Rule or the superiors (letter to Father Gamon, 1848, cited in Koren, 1990, p. 18). In the arena of social and racial justice, Libermann also proved himself to be far ahead of his time. At least 125 years before the Catholic Church adopted its "preferential option for the poor," Libermann had At least 125 years before the made this conCatholic Church adopted its cern the keystone of his life and his "preferential option for the poor," work. When a Libermann had made this Carthusian monk in France wrote concern the keystone of to ask about the his life and his work. purpose of his new congregation, Libermann replied that its general purpose was to preach the good news to the poor, in particular the poor blacks of the missions (letter to Dom Salier, cited by Gilbert, p. 106). Koren points out certain sympathies between the doctrines of Karl Marx and Libermann. In their common concern for the poor and oppressed of society, they in their own ways arrived, at the conviction that individual acts of charity would never suffice to ameliorate the social conditions that spawned poverty and oppression. They both grasped the necessity for the structural and systemic change of social conditions. What was needed to reform society was not a handout but a hand-up. In Libermanns opinion it was not sufficient to teach the
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poor in Africa "how to operate things," but "how things operate" (1983, p..105). Marx equally promoted an intimate link between education and work. Koren tells us that he advocated an "early combination of progressive labor with education" as "one of the most potent means for the transformation of the existing society into the new society of universal brotherhood" (Selected Works, 2, 38, cited in Koren, 1990, p. 106). In some ways, Libermanns values so closely matched some of Marxs that today he might well be condemned as an enemy of capitalism, or besmirched with the tag of socialist, promoting class warfare Koren tells us that Libermann experienced a profound gratitude over the downfall of the privileged classes of the rich, "that bourgeois aristocracy" which he calls "the legal establishment . . . which worships money and tramples on the interests of the poor .... God has overthrown their idol" (cited in Koren, 1990, p. 107). Libermann is not speaking here in the voice of a political or economic reformer; he echoes the Hebrew prophets of old. "Hear this, you who trample the needy to do away with the humble of the land.. . The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob, indeed, I will never forget any of their deeds" .(Amos 8:4,6-7). In the realm of personal spiritual direction, Libermanns principles far transcended the common orientation of his contemporaries. As we shall soon see, his style of spiritual direction closely resembled in many ways the nondirective and client-centered approach of the 20th-century American psychotherapist Carl Rogers. But Libermann was not just a man ahead of his time. He was a man beyond his time: he had no desire to be first in anything, except for. love of God and service to others. He was beyond his time because his message and his approach rested solely upon the action of the Holy
Spirit. He taught us to be like a feather in the wind or the sail of a ship responding to the breath of the Holy Spirit. It is in a pervasive docility to the Holy Spirit that we find the source of Libennanns flexibility and notable lack of rigidity in his spiritual doctrine. His natural disposition to allow others to be themselves anticipated and prefigured Carl Rogerss client-centered counseling by at least a hundred years.
A Hundred Years before Rogers For instance, empathy plays a central role in Rogerian psychotherapy. It also played a major role in Libermanns life and in his spiritual doctrine. Rogers tries to describe what occurs in the most satisfactory therapeutic relationships. He writes: "It is the counselors function to assume, insofar as he is able, the internal frame of reference of the client, to perceive the world as the client sees it, to perceive the client himself as he is seen by himself" (1965, p. 29). The effective therapist must suspend all personal assumptions about the interior life of clients and refrain from imposing any external frame of reference upon them, while trying to convey to them an empathic understanding. It would appear that Libermanns personality was richly endowed with this gift of empathy. Boniface Hanley OFM indicated this special talent when he wrote that "Libermann was a negotiator par excellence. One of the things that contributed to his success in any transaction was his delicate courtesy" (p. 24). One of Libermanns closest collaborators, Father LeVavasseur, often remarked on his keen and delicate sensitivity toward others. He recalled his extraordinary ability in his dealings with others to imagine how he would feel if he were treated as he planned to treat them.
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It is amazing how this ability to mentally exchange places with other people reflects basic Rogerian principles. For example, Rogers postulates that "every individual exists in a continually changing world of experience of which he is the center" (1965, p. 483). This postulate closely mirrors the central role that "the concrete situation of the individual" plays in Libermanns spiritual doctrine. A Rogerian corollary of the previous postulate states, "The best vantage point for understanding behavior is from the internal frame of reference of the individual himself" (1965, p. 494). In his own life and teachings, Libermann fully embraced this axiom. This gift of empathy, Libermanns extraordinary capacity to understand the other person by entering the personally experienced world, is intimately linked with another concept of Rogerian psychotherapy, unconditional positive regard. Rogers describes this condition of therapeutic change as follows: "When the therapist is experiencing a warm, positive, and acceptant attitude toward.., the client, this facilitates change. It involves the therapists genuine willingness for the client to be whatever feeling is going on in him at that moment" (1961, p. 62). Relating to the client within this attitude, the therapist allows the client to be. It is an attitude of total acceptance of the clients experiential world, without any condemnation of what the client may be experiencing. For Rogers this attitude means "an outgoing positive feeling without reservation, without evaluation" (1961, p. 62).
Unconditional Positive Regard Keeping in mind this description of unconditional positive regard, we canonly stand in awe before Libermanns spiritual genius when we read these words of his:
The uncomfortable feeling we can have when we are with people who think and judge differently from ourselves, who despise us and have no time for us, can easily make us stiff and timid, with the result that we are gloomy, evasive, and awkward when we are with them. This can give a very bad impression and put people off our religion. We must love everybody, whatever they feel about us or our religion. (letter to LeBerre, 1847, cited in de Mare, p. 376)
Libermanns attention to his "uncomfortable feelings" reminds us of Rogerss focus upon the essential importance of accepting all our competing and conflicting feelings if we wish to attain to a wholesome state of bodily (organismic) congruence. Intimately bound to Roge~-ss therapeutic principle of unconditional regard for the client is his principle of acceptance. He defines acceptance as "a warm regard for him asa person of unconditional self-worth--of value no matter what his condition, his behavior, or his feel ings. It means a respect and liking for him as a separate person, a willingness for him to possess his own feelings in his own way" (1961, p. 34). Libermanns writings abound in examples like this Rogerian attitude of acceptance. His close associates commented on feeling at home and at ease in his company. Without doubt his generous capacity to accept others as they were, to let them be themselves, contributed greatly to the healing power of his spiritual direction. He encouraged self-acceptance and acceptance of others. He always advised individuals who were anguishing over their faults and imperfections in words like these: "Bear gently, patiently, and most peacefully--as best you can--your needs and your infidelities. Etch deeply in your heart that Jesus and Mary tolerate them with
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sweetness and kindness, and that their love for you is always the same" (Libermann, pp. 5-6). He alwhys advised people who sought his advice to strive for tranquillity and serenity in their spiritual lives, and he recommended as a general rule that all harshness and rigidity toward oneself should be rejected as a temptation. Some religious people have been suspicious of "self-acceptance," rejecting it as an invention of secular humanistic psychology. Vitz, for example, parodies humanistic psychology and blames its "selfist" theories for the narcissism of our age. Unlike Rogers and Libermann, who believe in He always advised people the essential goodness of human beings, Vitz stands who sought his a~vice more in the Calvinist trato strive for dition of gloom and doom, and does not so believe. It is tranquillity and serenity obvious from Libermanns in their spiritual lives. advice that self-acceptance is central to his doctrine of spirituality. Over and over he urges us and encourages us in the strongest terms to treat ourselves always in a calm, gentle, peaceful, and self-accepting fashion. His language is never hard, harsh, severe, judgmental, or condemnatory. All selfrejection or self-hatred is foreign to his spirit. Only in the heart that is at peace with itself can the Holy Spirit be free to do its work. The acceptance of others is a correlate of this selfacceptance. When the gentle angel of self-acceptance swoops down to slay the dragon of self-negation, it simultaneously opens its arms to embrace and affirm
others. Rogers stated that, close to an openness to our own inner and outer experience, there emerges an openness and acceptance of others. To make his point, he quotes from Maslow about self-actualizing individuals: "As the child looks upon the world with wide, uncritical, and innocent eyes, simply noting and observing what is the case,.., so does the self-actualizing person look upon human nature both in himself and in others" (cited in Rogers, 1961, p. 174). Gracious Acceptance of Others Expressions of this gracious acceptance of others, just as they are, abound in Libermanns spiritual writings. He vigorously insists: "Put down as a fundamental principle in the matters of direction: one must not constrain or cramp the one being directed. Refrain from prescribing too many rules" (pp. 13-14). In his spiritual direction he approached others with great flexibility and rejected all legalistic attitudes. He took great pains not to impose his own will or personal preferences upon others, but inclined rather to respect individual differences. We can say that Libermanns spiritual doctrine of unconditional acceptance spared him from all tendencies toward an idealized perfectionism. Once again, he was at least a hundred years ahead of his time. In the 1940s and 1950s, the renowned neo-Freudian Karen Horney developed the concept of the "idealized self." She describes this "idealized self" as "what we are in our irrational imaginations, or what we should be according to the dictates of neurotic pride" (p. 158). This idealized self is impossible of attainment, for it is based upon the illusion that a finite being can be perfectly complete. Libermann had anticipated this psychoanalytic insight in 1846 when he warned against "ideal perfection." For
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the success of our endeavors, he urged that we learn to modify our views and to flow with the circumstances of the actual situation: otherwise we are always stumbling over obstacles and opposition (Libermann, pp. 51-52). A Man Beyond His Time The record indicates that Libermann was a man with a message ahead of his time. His vision did, indeed, transcend his own constricted time and place. While most of the Western world gloried in its own cultural imperialism, he wrote to his missionaries in Africa that they should "forget about Europe and its customs, its ways of thinking" (cited in de Mare, p. 351). He wanted his missionaries to identify with "the Blacks" and not form them in the European model. A good century before the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act of the 1960s in the United States, Libermann expressed his conviction that black people are in every sense equal to the white and that they are equally children of God "with the same nobility of soul .... In short, color does not in any way denote inferiority" (letter to M. Percin, 1845, cited in de Mare, p. 377). We may recall the words of a powerful curial cardinal at the time of Vatican Council II when the Declaration on Religious Liberty was being debated: "Error has no rights." With this bon mot, he hoped to squelch the churchs belated recognition of religious liberty for all. In light of current church teaching, Libermanns position was certainly more prophetic than the cardinals. In 1846 he wrote: "It is difficult to appreciate how important this tolerance is. There is no way in which people will always agree" (letter to Lossedat, 13 April, cited in de Mare, p. 367). Most striking are the words from one of Libermanns letters quoted earlier. In 1847, he wrote
that people "must be given complete freedom to think and act as they want. No man on this earth is capable of forcing the will, the conscience, or the intellect of others (letter to LeBerre, 8 September 1847, cited in de Mare, p. 376). Libermanns vision embraced many of the values we hold close to our hearts today. He cherished and advocated for religious tolerance, racial justice, human dignity, liberty, and solidarity with all the poor and oppressed of the world. He could see far because of his total availability to the Holy Spirit. It may be a little hagiographical to say so, but he was not only ahead of his time, but a man with a message beyond time, His spiritual wisdom constantly reminds us that we never labor alone in some ideal situation in some perfect world. It is only under the brooding of the Holy Spirit that the groaning of creation is stilled and the wounded heart of the world healed. With Libermann we pray, "Come, Holy Spirit, and renew the face of the earth."
References
Bierman, J. (1988). Napoleon III and His Carnival Empire. New York: St. Martins Press. De Mare, C. (ed.). (2002). Spiritan anniversary diary (1703-2003): An historical overview published by the Generalate of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit as part of the celebrations of the Spiritan year (February 2002-Pentecost 2003). Rome: Congregazione dello Spirito Santo. Donnelly, D, (2003). A Universal Call. [Review of the book Housing Heavens Fire: The Challenge of Holiness]. America, 188 (7), 32-33. Gilbert, A. (1983). You have laid your hand on me: A message from Francis Libermann for our time (M.L. Fay, trans.). Rome: Spiritan Research and Animation Centre. Hanley, B. (n.d.). TO the ends of the earth: Francis Libermann. [Brochure reprinted from The Antonian]. Pittsburgh: Holy Ghost Fathers. Horney, K. (1950). Neurosis and Human Growth: The Struggle Toward Self-Realization. New York: bV.W. Norton.
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Smith The Spirituality of Frands Libermann
Koren, H. (1958) The Spiritans: A History of the Congregation of the Holy Ghost. Louvain: Editions E. Nauwelaerts. (1990). F~says on the Spiritan charisnt and on Spiritan history. Bethel Park, Pennsylvania: Spiriths Press. Libermann, F. (n.d). Simplified advice (EX. Malinowski, trans. & ed.). (Available from the Holy Spirit Provincialate, 6230 Brush Run Rd., Bethel Park, Pennsylvania 15102). Unpublished booldet. Perls, E, R. Heffenline, & P. Goodman (1951). Gestalt Therapy: Excitement and Growth in the Human Personality. New York: Dell. Malinowski, F.X. (n.d.). The Holy Spirit in Francis Libermann. Unpublished manuscript. Robinson, J. (1952). The Body: A Study in Pauline Theology. Philadelphia: Westminster Press. Rogers, C. (1942). Counseling and Psychotherapy: Newer Concepts in Practice. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. (1961). On Becoming a Person: A Therapists View of Psychotherapy. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. (I 965). Client-Centered Therapy: Its Current Practice, hnplications, and Theory. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Vitz, P. (1977). P~ychology as Religion: The Cult of Self-Worship. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans. Volf, M., and M. Lee (2001). The spirit and the church. In B. Hinze & D.L. Dabney (eds.), Advents of the Spirit: An Introduction to the Current Study of Pneumatology. Milwaukee: Marquette University Press.
Forerunner
If even He Was made perfect By what He suffered, Why do we expect To be exempt? This is no easy path We have begun But, ah, the Trailblazer We have in Him.
Teresa Burleson
MARIAN MASKULAK
The Love Mysticism of Bernard of Clairvaux and Julian of Norwich
~f~
lian of Norwich (1342-c.1416) has been recognized r her Trinitarian and Christocentric mysticism as well as for her maternal imagery for God. While these placements are certainly accurate, I believe that more attention needs to be paid to the love mysticism in her spirituality. After all, Julian herself came to understand that love was precisely the meaning of her revelations,l As Joan Nuth writes, "If Julians teaching can be summed up in one word, that word is love.2 I find it instructive to examine how her treatment of love compares with that of someone who is considered a "classic guide" for love mysticism--Bernard of Clairvaux3 (1090-1153). Scholars of mysticism generally agree that Bernard stands out among Christian writers of his time as one who cultivated a spirituality of love and affective mysticism.
Marian Maskulak CPS, assistant professor of Theology and Religious Studies, writes again from St. Johns University; 8000 Utopia Parkway; Queens, New York 11439. <maskulam@stjohns.edu>
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Maskulak The Love Mysticism
In fact, Louis Dupr~ credits Bernard with defining, in the West, contemplation as love.4 In their introduction to Julians Showings, Edmund Colledge and James Walsh identify two connections between Julian and Bernard: understanding contemplation as "the working of mercy and grace, desire and fulfillment," and focusing on Gods desire for human beings,s This article demonstrates that a number of other love-related themes in Julians Sbo~vings can be linked with several of Bernards writings, namely, On Loving God and selected sermons on the Song of Songs. Both authors speak with great abandon in describing Gods first, gratuitous, and universal love, and both use strong imagery to portray the love and mutual desire between God and the human being. Both also characterize true love as including self-knowledge and absence of fear. I believe that the correlations are sufficient to rank Julians love mysticism with Bernards. This is not to say that the love spirituality they advocate is the same or that there is any simple correspondence to be found. Nor is their manner of expression the same. While Bernards thoughts are often clearly punctuated with scriptural verses or references, there are very few of these in Julians Sbozvings. This lack seems attributable to Julians time and place, for in 1409 the archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Arundel, placed regulations on preaching and theological teaching, and forbade written copies of English translations of the Scriptures. Julian, however, does incorporate several scriptural themes, often by way of allusion, and refers to events like the annunciation and Jesus passion and death. After examining both authors, I maintain that that the quality of Julians love mysticism is no less than Bernards.
Brief Historical Context Bernard and Julian were two extremely diverse persons living in vastly different times. It will help to situate them historically. Well educated, Bernard lived as a Cistercian monk from the time he was twenty-one until his death at sixty-three. He advocated monastic Bernard and Julian reform, founded sixty-eight were two extremely monasteries, was engaged in political, church, and theodiverse persons living logical disputes, supported in Vastly different times. the Second Crusade, and left some 3,500 pages of letters, treatises, and sermons.6 Interestingly, the 12th century witnessed a proliferation of literature dealing with love, not only in the secular West, but also in the worlds religions.7 Two centuries later, Europe was smitten with the Black Plague, the Hundred Years War, and numerous other state and ecclesiastical conflicts. From this very different sociohistorical world comes the voice of Julian, about whom there is very little biographical information. At the age of thirty she had sixteen revelations, which included bodily visions of the crucified Lord, words formed in her understanding, and spiritual visions (ST 7, LT 9). As an anchoress, she spent the next twenty years reflecting on these revelations, which she recorded in a short and long text of her single work, Showings (LT 51). Although she refers to herself as "a woman, ignorant, weak, and frail" (ST 6), Julian demonstrates knowledge of the Latin Vulgate and the classical spiritual writings. It is not known where she received her education or where she had access to such
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writings, but the possibilities are not lacking. There was an Augustinian friary on the same street as her anchorhold adjoining the Church of St. Julian. Norwich also had a Dominican, a Franciscan, and a Carmelite friary as well as a Benedictine cathedral priory.8 A Cistercian abbey, Sibton, about thirty-seven miles outside the city, was within the diocese of Norwich and held estates in about ten parishes in Norwich. The Experience of God Although their mystical experiences of God greatly differ, the first correlation between these two authors is precisely the importance of experience for both of them. Although Bernard engages in some speculative thought, Jean Leclercq points out that "for Bernard, everything begins and ends with experience and, in between, experience is the object of reflection.9 From a specifically mystical perspective, Grace Jantzen also notes the importance of experience for Bernard. She writes that "the mystical is no longer confined to the meaning of Scripture... nor to an intellectual progress, but is extended to experience .... We have in Bernard a clear recognition of the mystical as experiential: it is a shift in meaning whose resonances are with us still.~ Julian also engages in speculative thought, but all her reflection is on the experience of Gods sixteen revelations to her. She repeatedly notes that this was what she saw or heard, or this was what was shown to her or what came to her understanding. A look at the mystical experience of each shows that, ironically, the well-known, charismatic, highly active, prolific Cistercian writer experienced Gods presence almost imperceptibly, while the fairly obscure English woman experienced Gods presence quite dramatically. Both, however, were convinced of
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having experienced the divine presence. Moreover, rather than placing emphasis on themselves, both Bernard and Julian focus on the God of their experience. In one of his sermons, Bernard describes his mystical experience as follows: "I tell you that the Word has come even to me... and that he has come more than once. Yet, however often he has come, I have never been aware of the moment of his coming. I have known he was there; I have remembered his presence afterward; sometimes I had an inkling that he was coming. But I never felt it, nor his leaving me.1~ Bernard has no explanation as to the how of the Words coming or going, but knows that, when present, the Word stirs his sleeping soul and moves, soothes, and pierces his heart. The warmth of Bernards heart indicated the Words presence, and as proof of the Words power he states that his faults were purged and he experienced the goodness of Gods mercy. These affects became dim and cold when the Word left him, and Bernard describes his soul as being sorrowful until his heart would warm again, signaling the Words presence. In the Words absence, Bernard longed for his return.~2 While secondary mystical phenomena such as visions seem to be absent in Bernards experience, their startling prevalence characterizes Julians. Julian herself remarks on the lifelike vividness of her visions, especially those of the crucified Christ (LT 12, 16, 17). Although she never received any more visions after the sixteen revelations (certainly, these would last anyone for a lifetime!), Julian gives proof of having at least one more experience of a spiritual understanding given to her some fifteen years later while pondering the Lords meaning in the revelations. She was told, "Know it well, love was his, meaning. Who reveals it to you? Love. What did
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he reveal to you? Love. Why does he reveal it to you? For love" (LT 86). In the years that followed her revelations, Julian most likely felt Gods presence or absence much the same as other Christians. In fact, Gods felt presence or absence was the subject of her seventh revelation, where in quick, repeated succession Julian alternately experienced the comfort of Gods presence followed by the heaviness of Gods absence. In this way God taught her that it is God who keeps one whether in sorrow or joy (LT 15). As noted above, Bernard also recognizes the distinction between feeling Gods presence and absence, but provides no rationale as to why this happens. He comments, however, that one cannot attribute the desire to seek God to Gods absence since God is always present.13 God as the Source of Loving God Despite the contrasts in their mystical experience, both Bernard and Julian recognize that God desires to be loved by human beings. Echoing 1 John 4:10, Bernard succinctly states that God is the cause of loving God, and ought to be loved beyond measure.~4 Bernard supports this position by distinguishing between four degrees of human love. The first degree entails loving oneself for ones own sake, or what Bernard calls bodily love. Bodily love can be extended to love of neighbor in the community. When people learn that God is the author of their existence, they start to seek Gods help out of need and thus begin to love God, marking the second degree of love. As they approach God repeatedly out of need, Gods self is gradually revealed through their prayer, reflection, reading, and obedience. In this familiarity, they begin to experience Gods sweetness and pass to the third degree,
loving God for Gods sake. In addition they freely love their neighbor as belonging to God. Bernard believes that the fourth degree of love, marked by loving oneself for Gods sake and willing only what God wills, is very rare on earth. He writes, "To lose yourself as though you did Both Bernard and Julian not exist and to have no sense of yourself, to be recognize that God desires to emptied out of yourself be loved by human beings. and almost annihilated, belongs to heavenly not to human love.~5 Should people be admitted to such a union with God, they are soon called back by the distractions and cares of life, and by love for their neighbor. To love in the manner of the fourth degree is to become like God. Bernard uses beautiful imagery to describe how human love that is free of self-will "dissolves" and is poured into Gods will. His analogies include a drop of water in wine which seems to disappear while taking on the wines flavor and color, a red-hot iron that cannot be distinguished from the fire, and air suffused with sunlight so that it seems to be light itself. In all three analogies, the substance itself seems to disappear, yet it remains in another form. Bernard submits that something similar takes place in the human being in becoming more like God. Although martyrs partly received this grace, as seen by their being unmoved in their great love of God in the midst of bodily torment, he believes that this kind of love is only possible in a spiritual and immortal body, subject to the spirit in all things. It cannot be obtained by human effort, but is in Gods power to give as God pleases.~6 As for the greatness of Gods love, Bernard
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affirms that even those who are weighed down in sin can turn back to God, not just in the hope of mercy, but with the aspiration to be the Words bride,my Although Julian is fond of "numbering" some of her insights in list style, she does not do so with love. Rather, she repeatedly emphasizes that God greatly loves even when humans sin (LT 40, 61, 82), and that God desires human love. The extent of Gods love is perhaps best portrayed when she states that, if Jesus could suffer more, he would do so--because of his great love. From this perspective, Julian concludes that there is nothing that God would not do for humans out of love (LT 22, 24). Also, God holds the same love for the least soul to be saved as for the soul of Christ (LT 54). As with Bernard, she recognizes that God is the cause of loving God. She speaks of this in terms of God being the ground or foundation of human seeking of God (LT 41; 86). Julian delineates three longings in God: God longs to teach people to know and love God, longs for their personal presence, and longs to fill them with bliss (LT 75, 31). God rejoices in human beings and desires that human beings also take joy in God (LT 11, 30, 36). While Bernard asserts that it is easier to love in return when one knows that one is loved,ms Julian stresses that knowing how greatly the Trinity rejoices in human beings will cause them to likewise rejoice in God (LT 68).
Human Desire Not only do Bernard and Julian discuss Gods desire for human love, but both take into consideration the role of human desire. Bernard writes that the greatest good is that of seeking God, and that "God is sought not on foot but by desire." 19 Furthermore, finding what one desires
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only enhances desire. He illustrates this by noting how desire continually prompts people to seek material things and positions that are finer, higher, or better. Rather than enjoying what they have, they anxiously want something more or else fear losing what they already have. This Not only do Bernard and Julian is a never ending process since no discuss Gods desire for material posseshuman love, but both take sions ever fully satisfy them. Bernard into consideration the role states that, after of human desire. attaining everything attainable and still finding themselves dissatisfied, people who desire the greatest good would ultimately seek what they still lack, God. He realizes, however, that, because of the shortness of life, temptations, and insufficient strength, this scenario is impossible. For this reason he wishes that people would be satisfied with reaching their desires in thought alone rather than in actual experience, for the mind is quicker than the senses. In this way they would learn more quickly that God causes human desire and God alone satisfies that desire.2 But this desire will be fulfilled only when they attain their glorious body in heaven. Here it is helpful to note that Bernard delineates three phases for the body. The earthly body helps the soul to love God, the dead body brings peace, and the glorious body brings completeness. Bernard views the body as a good companion to the good spirit and maintains that the soul would not want to be perfected without the body that has served it well. Those who have
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assumed their glorious bodies burn fiercely with love for God for Gods sake alone. Nothing holds them back. These are forever intoxicated with love, immortal life, and the torrent of Gods delight "in the most passionate and most chaste embrace of Bridegroom and Bride.21 Using the language of Augustine, Julian states that the soul will find rest only in God (LT 5, 26, 68). Along with Bernard, she counsels that created things are too small to satisfy peoples desire, and that everything that falls short of God will never satisfy human beings. She agrees that God is the source and fulfillment of desire, for God reveals to her: "I am he who makes you to love; I am he who makes you to long; I am he, the endless fulfilling of all true desires" (LT 59, 36, 41). Julian adds that, in itself, seeking God also pleases God and is as good as beholding God, if this is Gods will (LT 10). Exemplifying Bernards statement that finding what one desires does not end but only increases desire, Julian admits that she saw God and yet sought God; that she had God, and yet still wanted God. From her own experience she recounts that the more the soul sees of God, the more it desires God (LT 10). Julian believes that this desire will be fulfilled in heaven, and like Bernard she uses strong imagery to describe this culmination of desire. At that time we will know ourselves clearly and wholly possess God, and "endlessly hidden in God, truly seeing and wholly feeling, and hearing him spiritually and delectably smelling him and sweetly tasting him.., we shall see God face to face, familiarly and wholly" (LT 43).
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Universality of Gods Love and Self-Knowledge Both writers indicate, to an extent, Gods universal love. In his treatise On Loving God, Bernard extends his discussion of love to include unbelievers who are able
to witness Gods generous love in such gifts as food, sun, and air as well as in the gifts of human dignity, knowledge, and virtue, all of which work together to confess Gods glory. For Bernard it is inconceivable that unbelievers should not recognize that all the abovementioned gifts come from God. Indeed, he asserts that it is inexcusable for unbelievers not to love God with all their heart, mind, and strength, which for Bernard means loving God with all one is, knows, and does. It is inexcusable because unbelievers know themselves, and such knowledge results in their recognition that they owe God everything, including their own dignity, knowledge, and virtue. This, in turn, leads them to concliade that God is the author of everything.22 This seems a rather strong assertion in todays world, where atheism abounds, but Bernard was most likely thinking of Jews, Muslims, and pagans, all of whom accepted belief in God or gods. Bernard extends his understanding of the universality of Gods love to all creation when he states that love is the eternal law that creates and governs the universe.23 In her writing, Julian stresses that the revelations were given to her in order to make the comfort of Gods love known to all. At times she uses phrases such as "fellow Christians," "all mankind which will be saved," or "all mankind" for whom Jesus was sent, or "all the souls which will be saved in heaven" (LT 8, 40, 51, 53). Yet at other times she clearly says that God desires to draw home by love all humankind in general, and that Gods merciful comfort is plentiful enough for all (LT 75, 79). Like Bernard, Julian points out the goodness of all creation, which God made out of love (LT 5, 11, 57). Both authors also speak of self-knowledge. For Bernard, self-knowledge is clearly peoples first step
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Maskulak * The Love Mysticism towards recognizing their own dignity, and their sinfulness as well: it makes humility and conversion possible.24 Julian directly relates knowing oneself to knowing God. In fact, because the soul is so deeply grounded in God, she believes that people come to know God before knowing their own soul. Yet they must also desire to know their own soul and to seek it where it is, that is, in God. Whether they are seeking to know God or themselves, the Holy Spirit leads them to know both God and their own soul in one (LT 56). Creation and Re-Creation Another strong correlation between both writers is their emphasis on the immensity of Gods love for human beings, shown not only in their creation but also in their re-creation through Jesus self-giving on the cross. Bernard asks how, in ones smallness, one can love God who loves so generously. No one can really perceive iust how .much God deserves to be loved, and people owe their whole self in return for their creation. And Bernard holds they were not only "made" in creation, but also "remade" through redemption. They owe their whole selves twice over. As already noted, Bernard counsels loving God without measure, but recognizes that even this is Gods gift and persons can love God only according to their capacity. To love God more requires Gods help.25 Julian also stresses that human beings were first made in the likeness of the Trinity and then remade through Jesus passion and death (LT 10). Emphasizing that God has loved humankind from eternity, Julian elaborates on the mutual love and indwelling of God in the soul and the soul in God (LT 53). The soul is so united to the Creator that there can be nothing between the soul
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and God. The soul is kept whole in the endless love of God, who loves even the least soul as much as the soul of Christ. In his translation of Sbozvings, John Skinner highlights the unity between the soul and the Creator by speaking of it as being "oned with the Maker.26 In this mutual indwelling, Julian sees no difference between God and human substance (that is, that which is of God). She distinguishes between substance and sensuality (that which relates to being human), noting that human substance is in God and God is in human sensuality (LT 53, 54). It seems that Sbo~vings presents a more holistic approach to the human person than Bernards writings, or, as Grace Jantzen states, Julian integrates the body into her spirituality.27 She views the soul as "a created trinity," united to the Creator, and known and loved from eternity. In this unity, both body and soul help each other until the person reaches full stature (LT 55). Intimate Love This notion of union or "oneing" between the soul and its Creator leads to a consideration of the imagery which these writers use regarding the love .relationship between God and the individual. Bernard uses the erotic language of the bride and bridegroom found in the Song of Songs. His sermons on this book are replete with images of human love and intimacy. Insisting that God loves for no other purpose than to be loved, he states that the bridegroom is love and asks for love, and only in love can created persons respond to their Creator. All is given when one loves with all ones heart. With overtones of Julians description of the soul united to the Creator, Bernard writes that such love "is nothing other than holy and chaste love, love sweet and tender, love as tranquil as it is true, mutual, close, deep love,
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which is not in one flesh, but which joins two in one spirit, making two no longer two but one.28 Julian never explicitly refers to the Song of Songs, but she does use language that evokes the love and intimacy found in that text. For example, she pointedly states that God rejoices to be Father, Mother, and Spouse of the soul, which is Gods beloved wife. "And in the joining and the union he is our very true spouse and we his beloved wife and his fair maiden.., for he says: I love you and you love me, and our love will never divide in two" (LT 58). She also refers to God as the lover who desires that persons see themselves bound to God in love as though all that God has accomplished was done for themselves alone. Julian concludes that, when everyone looks at God as their lover, a strong bond of unity is created among people (LT 65). Other words that might indicate the influence of the Song of Songs are Julians statement that God is pleased when a soul approaches "naked, openly, and familiarly" (LT 5). It can be noted that Bernard also counsels approaching God confidently, as a friend,29 but Julian emphasizes Gods courtesy and familiarity rather than that of the human being (ST 16, 24; LT 5, 7, 40, 48, 52, 53, 58, 61, 73, 77). An echo of the poetic descriptions in the Song of Songs may be detected also in Julians statement "Glad and merry and sweet is the blessed and lovely demeanor of our Lord towards our souls, for he saw us always living in love-longing, and he wants our souls to be gladly disposed towards him, to repay him his reward" (LT 71). Like Bernard, Julian uses the metaphor of embrace, but she does so with reference to clothing, describing Jesus as wrapping himself about human beings and never leaving them (LT 5).
Maternal Imagery Far more than spousal imagery, Julian uses the image of a loving, caring, compassionate, and nurturing mother to depict Gods love. She frequently applies the image of motherhood to Jesus as one who loves his children, bears them to endless life, feeds them with himself, leads them into his breast through his wounded side, watches over them, and washes and heals them with his blood (LT 58, 59, 60, 61). Without giving any indication of purposely doing so, Julian provides us with an excellent example of how language about God is analogical. While she notes a number of similarities between Jesus and human mothers, she clearly identifies how Jesus as mother goes beyond the ordinary human conceptions of motherhood. For Julian, the word mother can be applied truly only to Jesus (LT 60). Even if she is not trying to provide a lesson on analogical language about God, perhaps she is indeed making her case for using maternal imagery for God by showing how it exceeds human categories. It is known that maternal imagery to describe God and Christ was popular among 12th-century Cistercian monks. In his Sermon 9 on the Song of Songs, Bernard quotes its first verse as saying "your breasts are better than wine." Noting that the speaker is not identified, Bernard consecutively attributes these words to the bridegroom, the bride, and the grooms companions. Associating the bridegroom with Jesus, Bernard speaks of the grace, joy, sweetness, and milk of consolation that flow from the bridegrooms breasts.3 In a letter Bernard writes: "Do not let the roughness of our life frighten your tender years. If you feel the stings of temptation.., suck not so much the wounds as the breasts of the Crucified. He will be your mother, and
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you will be his son." Interestingly, Bernard also applies the image of mother to "Moses, Peter, Paul, prelates in general, abbots in general, and more frequently himself as abbot,3~ but he does not develop the mother image for Jesus as fully as Julian does. Perhaps it is because, in this analogy for love, his focus is on the child more than on the mother. He writes that, although children ought to love their parents, they are more inclined to honor them; in fact, some only love their parents out of concern for their inheritance. Unquestionably, Bernard sees the bond of bride and bridegroom as the epitome of love, stronger than the bond between parents and children.32 No Place for Fear Attesting to the greatness of Gods love, Bernard asserts that one who loves God has nothing to fear, even if one has been an unfaithful lover. Every soul, no matter what its condition, whether filled with anxieties or trapped in sin and error, can turn back to God to find not only mercy and forgiveness, but even hope to be the bride of the Word. The fact that one is created in Gods image should allay any fear. Confidence and freedom accompany a love which, in the words of 1 John 4:18, casts out fear.33 Although Julian does not speak directly about the sense of freedom enjoyed by those who love without fear, she often implies it. She writes of Gods pleasure when a person approaches unafraid, in simplicity and trust. Sinners need not fear, for much to her amazement Julian discovers that in God there is neither anger nor blame (LT 13, 45, 46, 49, 50). Except for "reverent fear," which causes us to flee from harm and to seek God, Julian asserts that fears are not from God and
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should be avoided. Her overriding message is that God is so good, merciful, and compassionate that, like a child confidently running to its mothers arms, one need not have any fear in approaching God (LT 48, 61, 74). Reward The notion of reward as related to love is also found in each authors writings. Bernard states that God ought to be loved without seeking reward, for true love finds reward in what it loves. Therefore, one who asks for any reward other than God does not love God. Gods love rewards human love, and God is our eternal reward.34 Agreeing that God is our eternal reward (ST 16, 20; LT 41, 81, 82), Julian elaborates on the concept of reward. In an unexpected twist, she asserts that human beings are Jesus reward for his acts of salvation (ST 12, LT 22, 31). In an even bolder declaration, she maintains that Gods love rewards human love, human beings will be rewarded and God is ,our eternal reward. for the pain they suffered from sin. When speaking of those who are sorry for their sins, confess them, and perform the required penance, she writes, "And as sin is punished here with sorrow and penance, in contrary fashion it will be rewarded in heaven by the courteous love of our Lord God almighty, who does not wish anyone who comes there to lose his labors" (ST 17, LT 38, 39). God also rewards human beings for their patient waiting until they are able to leave behind the pains and woes of this life (LT 64).
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Summary Comparisons While classifying mystics might hold some advantages, it also has the drawback of focusing attention in certain directions. Julian of Norwich, known for her Trinitarian and Christocentric mysticism, as well as her referring to God as mother, provides a case in point. Since Bernard of Clairvaux is known for the primacy of love in his mysticism, I have used several of his writings as a standard, so to speak, against which to measure Julians love-texts and show how central love is in Julians mysticism. While Julian and Bernard both present their own experiences and perceptions, their treatments of the love of God also display much in common. Despite diverse styles, they both speak of this love with great abandon. In strong and compelling language, both describe Gods immense love as given first, and gratuitously, to all. They give firm assurance that God loves human beings and seeks their love. They portray the love between God and the human being in strong and beautiful imagery, pointing out the mutuality of desire that this involves. Both Bernard and Julian show that peoples self-knowledge is important for their knowledge of God, and that absence of fear characterizes true love. Bernard certainly deserves his position of prominence in the church and his title of "doctor mellifluus" for his achievements in expressing a mysticism of love, but Julian, too, displays an experienced teachers mastery of love mysticism. From the depths of their own experience, prayer, and reflection, these spiritual writers offer much to those who wish a better understanding of the love relationship between God and human beings.
Review for Religio~s
Notes l Julian of Norwich, Showings, trans. Edmund Colledge and James Walsh (New York: Paulist Press, 1978), Long Text 86. Hereafter, in parent.heses, Long Text will be designated as LT, and Short Text as ST. 2 Joan M. Nuth, Wisdoms Daughter: The Theology of Julian of Norwich (New York: Crossroad, 1991), p. 169. 3 Bernard of Clairvaux: Selected Works, trans. G.R. Evans (New York: Paulist Press, 1987), Preface by Ewert Cousins, p. 5. 4 Light from Light: An Anthology of Christian Mysticism, 2nd ed., ed. Louis Duprfi and James Wiseman (New York: Paulist Press, 2001), General Introduction, pp. 7, 10. s Colledge and Walsh, Showings, Introduction, pp. 26, 107. They also find her dependent on Bernards fellow Cistercian William of St. Thierry, in her discussion of the godly will and God as mother. 6 Evans, Bernard, Introduction by Jean Leclercq, pp. 16-17, 30. Y Evans, Bernard, Preface by Cousins, in pp. 5-7. 8 Norman P. Tanner, The Church in Late Medieval Norwich, 1370IY32 (Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 1984), p. 19. 9 Evans, Bernard, Introduction by Leclercq, p. 31. 10 Grace Jantzen, Power, Gender, and Christian Mysticism (United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 1995), p. 126. n Evans, Bernard, "Sermons [on the Song of Songs]," Sermon 74, pp. 254-255. 12 Evans, Bernard, Sermon 74, pp. 255-256. is Evans, Bernard, Sermon 84, pp. 274-275. 14 Evans, Bernard, "On Loving God," 1.1, 6.16, 6.22; "Sermons," Sermon 83, p. 274; Sermon 84, 275-276. is Bernard, "On Loving God," 8.23-10.27, 14.38, 15.39. 16 Bernard, "On Loving God," 10.27-11.30. i~ Bernard, Sermon 83, pp. 270-271. 18 Bernard, "On Loving God," 3.7. 19 Bernard, Sermon 84, p. 274. 20 Bernard, "On Loving God," 6.18-6.21. 21 Bernard, "On Loving God," 11.30-11.33; see also Bernard, Sermon 83, p. 271. 22 Bernard, "On Loving God," 2.6, 5.14. 23 Bernard, "On Loving God," 12.35.
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24 Bernard McGinn, "The Human Person as Image of God: II. Western Christianity," in Christian Spirituality: Origins to the Twelfth Century, ed. Bernard McGinn and John Meyendorff (New York: Crossroad, 1985), p. 324; Bernard, "On Loving God," 2.3-2.4. z~ Bernard, "On Loving God," 4.5-6.16. 26 Julian of Norwich, Revelation of Love, trans. John Skinner (New York: Doubleday Image Books, 1996), p. 55. 27Jantzen, Power, p. 156. 2s Bernard, Sermon 83, p. 274. 29 Bernard, Sermon 83, p. 271. 3o Bernard of Clairvaux: On the Song of Songs, vol. 1, trans. Kilian Walsh, The Works of Bernard of Clairvaux (Spencer: Cistercian Publications, 1971), pp. 55-58. 3~ Caroline Walker Bynum, Jesus as Mother: Studies in the Spirituality of the High Middle Ages (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1982), pp. 117, 115. 32 Bernard, Sermon 83, p. 273. 33 Bernard, Sermon 83, pp. 270-271; Sermon 84, pp. 276-278; Bernard, "On Loving God," 14.38; Sermon 7, p. 232. 34 Bernard, "On Loving God," 6.17, 6.22, 11.33; Bernard, Sermon 83, p. 272.
Personal Reflection [ Group Discussion 1. What is your favorite image to describe your own love-relationship with God? 2. Both Bernard and Julian use a number of love images for God and our human relationship. What images have I found most helpful?
CHINYEAKAC. EZEANI
Cultivating Mature Relationships in Religious Formation

It is rightly said that "no one is an island." Human beings like to live in relationships. Social psychologists have noted that people usually prefer living with others, in families and communal groups, to living alone.~ Even amid relationships, however, there is yet in the human heart a certain hesitancy and fear at the possibility of losing oneself in others. Hence, naturally, diverse factors have significant influence in interpersonal relations. Difficulties and conflicts can spring up while a person tries to relate with others in an authentic way. This helps us understand why formators struggle in their day-to-day relations with one another and with those in formation. Individuals in formarion experience similar struggles as they try to relate not just with their formators but also
Chinyeaka C. Ezeani MSHR served as a formator in Nigeria and is now a member of her congregations leadership in Dublin: 23 Cross Avenue; Blackrock, Co. Dublin; Ireland. <chyezeani@yahoo.com>
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with their peers coming from different backgrounds. In this article, we will examine some of the challenges to good communication and relationships in formarion. People cannot claim to love God, whom they cannot see, while they have no love for their neighbor. And so we will explore some skills that can facilitate mature human relations in the formation ministry. We will make some suggestions on how to offer helpful feedback to persons in formation in ways that respect their integrity and enhance their personal growth. Learning this will no doubt flow into ones relationship with the Creator and make it flourish. Obstacles to Mature Relationship in Formation Intimacy versus isolation. As indicated above, human beings have a basic need for intimacy with other human beings, and consequently they desire to be close to others. There is a corresponding need for isolation, a need to be alone. Erik Erikson,2 in his analysis of psychosocial development, identified the polarities of desire for union with or closeness to another (intimacy) and desire for aloneness (isolation). We experience a tension between wanting to be close to another and a fear of being too close. When you come closer to another person, or when you allow another to come close to you, sooner or later that closeness begins to make demands on you, on your time, your personal space, your freedom. This provokes a dilemma: Should I keep this person at arms length, or should I create some space for him or her in my life? Usually, interpersonal relational ambivalence emerges because of the primary "striving for relatedness to other human beings" and the simultaneous striving for "a sense of personal identity.3 Because of these seemingly contradictory longings, persons who enter
Review for Religiotts
a community or group go through different stages as they get integrated into it.4 The first stage is inclusion, in which individuals primary preoccupation is whether they are loved and accepted. The next stage is power, in which people wonder about their autonomy and their capacity to challenge, in this case, both the formator and their peers. The third and final stage is intimacy or affection, in which the primary concern is equality When it comes to mature with others, the readiness interpersonal relations, of all to give rather than to receive. These stages involve communication is vital. confusion and uncertainty regarding ones status and position in a group. Hence, before one can get fully involved in the give-and-take of interpersonal relations and communal life, one goes through these stages. And, naturally, these stages can involve personal difficulties. Communication deficiency. When it comes to mature interpersonal relations, communication is vital. To be helpful, however, communication must be healthy and mature; if not, any authentic relating with the other at any level will be almost impossible. Can you imagine a religious formation community where people communicate only by slipping little pieces of paper under one anothers door? "Unhealthy communication can be a block to healthy intimacy and affective maturity. Communication helps foster greater connection, and communication is fundamentally a learned set of skills and behaviors.5 Arrogance and a superior attitude. Whenever someone approaches another with an attitude of arrogance
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and superiority, the other may respond with either anger, self-defense, or resistance. Alternatively, the person could cower in fear, feeling like a "lesser being." When this happens, for example, between a formator and someone in formation, the formative environment becomes tense, and the one in formation may try to cope by external conforming. As a result, there could be apparent peace and tranquillity in the formation house, because such persons would seem to have no difficulty with answering "Yes, Brother," "Yes, Sister," or "Yes, Father." In the long term, however, the result may be groups of young priests and religious who bully others because that was what was modeled for them in their own formation. Aggression. The environments in which we are raised usually have an influence on us. In some cultures, shouting at one another seems to be an acceptable way of relating. Such scenes abound even in public places such as post offices, government offices, and marketplaces. To sell wares in the market or to get passengers into public buses, people have been conditioned to shout in order to draw attention. It appears to have become normal to shout to get some attention or make a point subjectively considered to be important. A sister once confessed that, when she was a postulant, whenever the directress gave her feedback gently without shouting, she did not take it seriously. She thought the matter was not serious because she had been socialized to believe that, if an issue was serious enough, the directress would have shouted at her to indicate the seriousness of the matter. Aggression usually attracts aggression. Suppose someone approaches you to express his or her disapproval or ill feeling over how you handled an issue. What can happen if the person begins to speak to
you with strong and accusing words? You are likely to respond or react in the same way or with self-defense. The meaningful dialogue that could have taken place is thus aborted. Low self-esteem and negative self-image. Just like an attitude of superiority towards others, low self-esteem is a great enemy of mature human relations. If people have a good sense of self, they are better disposed to relate with other adults as equals. Where this does not happen, an individual either too easily defers to others even in matters that need assertiveness, or reacts aggressively in subtle passive ways instead of clear self-expression. Low self-esteem also leads to feelings of envy, which can constitute a real obstacle to genuine caring regard and goodwill towards other people. Prejudice, misinterpreting deeds and intentions. Prejudice is a negative prejudgment of individuals or a whole group. It can lead one to irrational and hostile behavior towards them. When peoples way of seeing things is prejudiced or biased, they view other people and their intentions in a distorted way, and can hardly avoid relating to them distortedly. The flow of communication becomes blocked. A similar dynamic is operative in tribalism, ethnocentrism, and other forms of discrimination. One perceives others in a negative way and treats ,them in like manner. Unrealistic expectations. The well-known Indian Jesuit spiritual writer Anthony de Mello6 maintained that to be truly happy in life you should "have no expectation of anyone." This might sound weird or exaggerated. Some might be wondering, "How can I live without having expectations of people with whom I live?" I have come to value De Mellos advice. A great source of difficulty in interpersonal relationships is that we tend to have too
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high and often unrealistic expectations of other people. While it is good to have ideals and norms of expected behavior, our attitude towards persons in this regard is equally important. The Scriptures remind those who are strong to bear with the failings of the weak (Rm 15:1). But the question Formators are challenged to arises "Which of us is really strong?" Although take on the responsibility we need to carry out of dealing with their our ministry diligently, the manner in which we own issues first. do it is vital. It is better to be effective forma........ tors than just "efficient machines" that end up producing battered individuals for the Lords vineyards. We shall come back to this point below, where we look at how to give feedback in a helpful way. Some psychological baggage. Each of us is a "struggling human being." Sometimes we struggle with unresolved personality issues from our childhood and our families of origin. Some battle with a self-centeredness that unmindfully uses others for self-gratification, some have addictive behaviors, and some have difficulty feeling empathy for others. Others tend toward anxiety, harbor resentment of authority, or have deep-seated anger. Some have deficient social skills or problematic psychosexual issues. These difficulties can and do interfere in interpersonal relationships to various degrees. Formators are challenged to take on the responsibility of dealing with their own issues first. This will facilitate their relationship patterns in ministry so that they can functon more effectively and lovingly.
Skills for Mature Relationships in Formation Growth in interpersonal relationships tends to point to maturity. It is equally a good indicator of openness to a good relationship with God. For instance, no one can say he or she loves God if the person detests fellow human beings. The following are some of the skills required for such mature human relations in formation: A prayerful and reflective way of life. "An unexamined life is not worth living," as Socrates said. It goes without saying that a reflective and discerning lifestyle is necessaW for healthy living and good human relationships. People then are able to respond to others and to various situations instead of reacting to them. Self-awareness and acceptance. There is also the important value of self-awareness in interpersonal relationships. Appropriate self-awareness helps much in cultivating good communication and relational skills. When people are more self-aware, the greater inner freedom they have to respond positively and maturely to people in various situations. Misunderstandings that often occur during conflicts can be more maturely dealt with. Recognizing and admitting their own motivations and personal struggles facilitates good relationships with others. It is not enough for formators to be committed to the faith and to Christian discipleship and ready to give both spiritual and human assistance to others. They must also have begun vigorously their own journey of self-understanding. They must be dealing with the major issues in their own life. Self-care. A healthy and integrated formation environment is possible only with formators who are committed to fostering cordial relationships between themselves and those in their care. To be effective in their ministry, formators must also be taking care of their own physi69.4 2010
Ezeani * Cultivating Mature Relationships
cal and spiritual needs. Such self-care should include days off for rest and reflection, along with friendship and companionship with others not under their care. "Many religious and clergy have discovered the hard way through burnout and various overdependencies that not attending to self-caie can have disastrous consequences.7 From time to time, formators need some form of supervision and spiritual direction. Interaction with other formators can help them sustain the capacity to relate, with compassion and genuine interest, to those who are in formation. Trust and ability to be and work together. Interpersonal relations, whatever the context, always pose challenges. The work of formation includes training for trust and effective interpersonal communication. No matter the amount of expertise brought Mature interpersonal relations into the formation do require a degree of program, if we do not have social skills and "dying toself.," the disposition to collaborate with others, our efforts might bear very little fruit. Good relationships are not just about "assembling" and "being together." That is too simplistic. A .good "team" spirit and mutual respect are what is really needed. Mature people can safely count on each other in appropriate interdependence. They can disagree or differ in certain issues in a nonaggressive way, without undermining their respect for one another. Self-discipline. The .religious and priestly vocations are based on self-transcendence as the path to real selffulfillment. Although, before Vatican II, forget.ring self
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to the point of near self-effacement was advocated, the pendulum swinging in the opposite direction can have an equally negative impact. Mature interpersonal relations do require a degree of "dying to self." A measure of self-renunciation and discipline for the common good is important. Nonviolent communication. Good communication skills are indispensable in the work of accompanying others in their religious lives. This accompaniment consists in more than verbal teaching of values. To be effective, teaching is to be done by example. In teaching people to be respectful of others, teachers must model respect for others in their very manner of communication. In his book Non-violent Communication, Marshall B. Rosenberg8 offers some tips on how to deal with others in harmonious, nonviolent, and nonthreatening ways. He does this under several headings. 1) What we are seeing/observing: First we need to be aware of what we are seeing or observing in another and to communicate that instead of offering our own judgment, our own interpretation of other persons actions. Keeping observed facts separate from our judgments helps towards clear communication. Describing what we have observed, rather than judging it, respects others in our interpersonal relationships. Judgments can easily be wrong. An example of confusing observation with judgment is the following: Saying "Nigerians are proud" instead of saying "I met a Nigerian sister taking the same course who did not talk much to me." 2) What we are feeling: According to Rosenberg, our feelings are the door to our inner world. They tell us whether what is happening is wh~ t we desire or not. To be in touch with our feelings is to be in touch with our inner world. Alienated from our feelings, we
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are alienated from our values. For example, if I simply express how I feel about what I have observed instead of expressing a judgment, others respond to me better. We need to be present to our real feelings and express them clearly to others. People sometimes avoid awareness of their real feelings by merely using the word "feel" and then following it with more of a thought than a feeling. They say: "I feel I am right," words that speak more of what I think than how I feel. Other such thought-filled "feelings" are "I feel inadequate" or "I feel misunderstood." As judgments, they may be right or wrong, but they express thought more than feeling. 3) What we are thinking or what we value: What we value contributes to our feeling and may affect communication. Our feelings may result less from what we observe than from the meaning we attribute to it. When I fail to be aware of the meaning that contributes to my feeling, I may be blind to the cultural programming I bring into communication situations. Then, instead of constructively saying "I felt hurt when you did not ask me to go along with you," I might say, unhelpfully, "When you did not ask me to go along with you, I felt hurt because it showed your rejection of me." 4) What we are requesting: When we make our requests to others in positive-action language, we have a better chance of a good response. It is not enough to be sure of what you do not want; you should know what you want. When you make a request, ask specifically for what you desire the person to do for you. Avoid vague requests like these: "I want you to accept me as I am," "I want you to respect my rights," "I want some understanding," "I want you to be more cooperative." Instead, make specific requests in more positive words: "I like it when you call me, but once a day is enough"
instead of "I dont want you phoning me every day"; or "Please keep the knife in the kitchen" instead of "Is this the place to keep the knife?" Learning to communicate with one another in these ways can greatly enhance the quality of relationships. Giving Helpful Feedback to Those in Formation There is no doubt that good communication patterns are the heartbeat of human relationships. Hence the manner in which feedback is done is crucial. Feedback, not correction. Many readers may be familiar with the Johari window. It indicates, among other things, that there are aspects of ourselves known to others but not to us. It suggests that every human being needs some form of feedback or "reflecting back" from others in order to grow. Formation programs seek to provide such feedback regularly for those in training for the priestly and religious life. How this is done is important. First in importance is to have deep respect for people. Second is attentive listening. The purpose of the feedback given to persons in formation is to foster in them an awareness that will help them to truly internalize Christs values. Formators need to be fully aware of that purpose. In addition, they need to be in touch with their own motives for giving the feedback. A variety of motives may be operating. Here are some: (1) care, concern, and love. (2) respect. (3) empathy for the other persons perspective. (4) intimidation, to instill fear. (5) a sense of "duty." (6) a sense of superiority ("I know it all" or "I know better"). (7) a sense of power. Feedback achieves its aim when it comes from motives 1, 2, and 3 above. It does not achieve its aim if it comes from any motive from 4 through 7. Our manner of giving feedback ought to be mod69.4 2010
eled on the values of Christ, and it should illilstrate them. Otherwise it could do damage rather than help. The capacity to offer and receive good feedback greatly enhances relationships. It helps people to care for one another and enlighten one another. What does it profit if feedback only puts out the light in other persons or makes them think they are no good? Feedback should help others find and tap the positive resources that are already within them. I shall end this article with a story of an old rabbi and his disciple. One day the disciple called on the Master confessing, "Master, when I study or join others in great feasts, I feel a strong sense of light and life. But when its over, its all gone. Everything dies in me." After some moments of thoughtfulness, the old rabbi raised his head and, looking lovingly at the youth, replied: "Ah, yes, of course. It is just this feeling that happens when people walk alone through a wood at night. If another comes along with a lantern, they can walk safely and joyfully together. But, if they come to a crossroad and the one with the lantern departs, then the other must go on alone, carrying the light inside." This is what mature relationships can help people do. Notes
1 D.G. Myers, Social Psychology, 7th ed. (Boston: McGraw-Hill College, 1999), p. 168. 2 E. Erikson, Childhood and Society. (New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1950), 1963, pp. 263-265. 3 L.C. Wynne, "The Epigenesis of Relational Systems: A Model for Understanding Family Development," Family Process 23, no. 3 (1984): 298. 4 E. Fried, "Basic Concepts in Group Psychotherapy," in H. Kaplan and B. Sadock (eds.), Comprehensive Group Psychotherapy (Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, 1971), pp. 55-56.
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s Kevin McClone, "Intimacy and Healthy Affective MaturityGuidelines for Formation," Human Development 30, no. 4 (Winter 2009): 5-13. 6 Anthony de Mello, Awareness (London: HarperCollins, 1990), pp. 6-8, 31-32, 50-55. In his writings he often said we should not put such burdens of expectation and dependence on them, for it results in stifling both them and us. 7 McClone, "Intimacy," p. I0. 8 M.B. Rosenberg, Non-violent Communication: A Language of Life (Encinitas, California: PuddleDancer Press, 2003), pp. 25-102.
Word Made Flesh
At the tnidnight hour when the world is asleep, you are born in a hovel for donkey and sheep. We wander in from hills of unaware, valleys of apathy, deserts of despair
to gaze on you in dulnbstruck awe Lamb of God sleeping on borrowed straw. Irene Zimmerman OSF
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DANIEL J. HEISEY
Operatic Discernment of a Vocation
Io
n September 2009, the Metropolitan Opera pened its season with a controversial production of Giacomo Puccinis Tosca. When it was first staged, in January 1900, Puccini had sought realistic detail
in set and costume, part of what is known in opera as
verismo. A little over a century later, the Mets new version took liberties that drove the audience to boo.1 Whatever vision the director follows when staging this opera, there will be in act 2 a moving aria sung by Floria Tosca herself, "Vissi darte," in which she prays to God and begs to know why her faith is rewarded with suffering. It is a perennial plea, well known to or awaiting every Christian. For fellow believers, not only is Toscas pain familiar, but also, perhaps, the weakened will and darkened intellect that complicate her spiritual life. Unfortunately, sharing in Toscas anguished prayer tends to be beyond the ordinary routine of EnglishDaniel J. Heisey OSB is a monk of Saint Vincent Archabbey, where he is known as Brother Bruno and where the address is 300 Fraser Purchase Road; Latrobe, Pennsylvania 15650. <bruno.heisey@email. stvincent.edu>
speaking Christians. Moreover, Tosca is often classified as "anticlerical," especially in contrast to Puccinis more obviously religious opera Suor Angelica.2 In what follows, staying basically within the Puccini style, we will look at two operatic works by Gian Carlo Menotti, The Saint of Bleecker Street and Amahl and the Night Visitors, to explore ways that opera in English can help with the discernment of a religious vocation. Menottis use of English makes more accessible the religious themes of these two operas, especially when one contemplates what place opera can have in vocational discernment. The Saint of Bleecker Street won the Pulitzer Prize and has been called "strong and realist, yet plainly on the side of the angels,3 and Amahl and the Night Visitors, meant to be staged at Christmas, retains its warm place in Christian hearts. Moreover, opera has its roots in the baroque world of 17th-century western Europe, the world of the cultural efflorescence known as the Counter-Reformation. A magnificent baroque opera house, with the florid emotions it stages, welcomes spectators much as a vast Gothic cathedral engulfs worshipers. Both, as one historian has observed, enshrine "the only splendor in their lives.4 Whereas the celebration of the Eucharist is the central "drama," so to speak, in a cathedral, in opera--in Menottis operas at least--one may find signs pointing one to a renewed appreciation of the Priest, Victim, and Host of that sacrificial banquet. We will look at The Saint of Bleecker Street and Amahl and the Night Visitors together, as if they were antiphonal choirs forming a composite work.
Menottis "The Saint" Despite his prodigious and prolific work, Menotti is sometimes dismissed as secondhand and second-rate
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Heisey Operatic Discernment of a Vocation
Puccini, but he is worthy of study in his own right,s Born in northern Italy in 1911, he studied music in Milan and there met Arturo Toscanini, who advised Menottis parents to send the boy to the United States for further training in composition. After studying at Philadelphias Curtis Institute, Menotti moved to New York City. A resdess and energetic man, he traveled During a career spanning widely, establishing the Festival seven decades, Menotti seems to of Two Worlds, have reached his creative and operatic centers at Spoleto, Italy, popular height in the 1950s. and Charleston, South Carolina. In
1974 he bought an
estate in Scotland; in early 2007 he died in Monaco. His operas, as with any good opera, convey their message by means of the music, and so they must be at least heard if not seen. Here on the printed page, we must content ourselves with verbal description and passages from the libretti. During a career spanning seven decades, Menotti seems to have reached his creative and popular height in the 1950s. By 1955 he had appeared on the cover of Time magazine, had received two Pulitzer prizes, and was celebrated in London, Milan, and Paris. Although he preferred not to use the term, he wrote verismo operas in English, the first to concern us here being his Saint of Bleecker Street (1954). Its plot is simple. A young woman in New Yorks "Litde Italy" neighborhood wants to become a nun, and her brother tries to stop her. She has the support of friends and her parish priest, Don
Marco, who faces much of the brothers wrath. In the end she makes her vows as a religious, but at a price. It must be said that the young woman, Annina, is not the usual candidate for religious life. She is chronically and, as it happens, terminally ill. She has a deep prayer life, each Good Friday having visions of the Passion and receiving the stigmata. As with more usual candidates, her attraction to religious life has consequences familiar to many who are discerning such a vocation. Her brothers opposition, impetuous and irrational to the point of physical violence, carries verisimilitude. Likewise, Don Marcos role as gentle yet firm shepherd rings true. He must comfort and console her, and he must confront and contradict the brother, Michele. He is an angry young man, his life shown to be at odds with most of the virtues, and he demands the priest tell him if he believes in Anninas visions. At this point Don Marco tells Michele, "A priest is not a judge but only a guide.6 Of course, nothing anyone can say makes Michele see a point of view other than his own. Michele and Annina are adult orphans and share an apartment, from which he is frequently absent for work or for his girlfriend. When Annina receives her annual stigmata, neighbors flock to the apartment, causing in Michele an explosion of jealousy. As he furiously drives them from the flat, the scene is an inversion of Jesus driving the money-changers from the temple. When, at the wedding reception of friends, Michele ends up shedding blood, it is a grotesque distortion of the wedding at Cana. As Annina moves closer to God, her life fills with these stumbling blocks, twisted scenes from the life of Christ. Her brother becomes a hindrance in a more literal sense. Act 2 of the opera ends with a religious proces69.4 2010
sion, thus providing a parallel with the end of the act 1 of Tosca. But, whereas the main characters in Tosca reverently let it pass, Michele tries to stop Annina from participating in the procession. This already frustrated man finds himself restrained by the faithful, who then accompany Annina and join the procession. Again, persons discerning a religious vocation will recognize that sometimes they have more support from folks they scarcely know than from their own family. Part of Anninas cross is thus her brothers boorish and self-absorbed behavior. He challenges her search for God and her desire to become a spouse of Christ. Michele rails against a decision he deems abnormal and reduces her sense of religious vocation to the delusions brought on by illness. He pleads that he needs her and must not lose her to her God. Annina tries in vain to show him how she sees the situation. She tells him, "No one can ever be lost who wanders, searching for God.7 In her argument with her brother, she explains why she wants to take the veil, putting it in terms of love, the exclusive love of man and woman in a sacramental bond. Michele dismisses her explanation as that of a simpleminded child, and he asks her why God would choose her out of the whole human race. "Perhaps because I love Him," she answers. When he counters that she is speaking as though she loved a human being, she replies, "How else can I love Him since I am human?8 For Michele, whose approach to love is to use anothers body for his own indulgence, such explanations are outside his experience and therefore meaningless. One lesson any Christian must learn is that in Christ one loves a person, not an idea. Michele can see Anninas desire for union with Christ only as a rejection of himself. For him, her love for Christ has made God his rival;
Micheles own love for Annina bursts forth as hatred for God. Within their neighborhood, which might as well be a village or small town, these impassioned disputes between brother and sister, and between brother and priest, make this opera a story about relationships--and in the end a religious vocation is about ones relationship with family and friends as well as with God. While not referring to The Saint of Bleecker Street by name, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa could well have been describing it when she said that opera explores and illustrates "love, duty, temptation, morality, and strength of One lesson any Christian character in a closely 9 confined society. must learn is that in Christ In that restricted one loves a person, not an idea. environment, a small family in an old-fashioned ethnic neighborhood, Annina falls in love with God and desires to dedicate her life to Him. Menottis opera shows us a moral struggle, strength of character set amidst questions of duty and love. In short, here we see the basic ingredients of any man or womans story of discerning a call to religious life. Menottis "Amahl" Although Annina does not reveal her vision of the Lord she loves, Menotti gives us a glimpse of Him in another opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors. It has the distinction of being the first opera written for television, first airing live on Christmas Eve, 1951, on NBC. Whereas the setting for The Saint is the austere interior of a poor apartment building in 1950s Manhattan,
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Amahl gets its setting from a painting, Hieronymus Boschs Adoration of the Magi. Menotti had seen it in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and decided that Amahl, a lame shepherd boy, and his widowed mother would live in a decrepit hut somewhere on the way to Bethlehem at the time of Christ, but the stage set and the costumes would be anachronistic, capturing the Renaissance styles of the 15th century. Defying historical accuracy in this way suggests the magical realm of the fairy tale, a level of universal ideals that transcend recorded time. On a cold starry night a poor boy and his mother receive into their home three enigmatic kings and through selfless generosity are graced with a miracle. When it was first produced, Amahl was highly acclaimed, its popularity with critics and audiences assuring its repetition each Christmas for ten years. Amahl "isnt sacred music," one recent critic has written, but it is "the modern equivalent of a medieval mystery play.1 Whether on television or on stage, there have been many other productions of this opera, leading an evangelical magazine to call it "a moving piece of modern American mythology, unfailingly powerful.11 Let us reflect upon the power of that myth for vocational discernment. One winters evening Amahl and his mother become unprepared hosts of the Magi as they follow the star to Bethlehem. Menotti draws upon his boyhood memories of the Italian custom at Christmas of men dressed as the Three Kings going round ones town or village and visiting homes in order to bring gifts to the children.!2 Amahl, attracted by Kaspars caged pet parrot, has an exchange with that King, a duet meant to be comic, but in these days, after the priest scandals with teenage boys, it becomes creepy. After more than fifty years, the operas innocence has been tarnished. Still, the viewer
must try to see it in the spirit of its time and from that perspective learn from its intended message. When Amahl is out of earshot, Melchior carries on a dialogue with the mother. Melchior, a baritone, embodies solemnity, and in that conversation one sees from two angles the object of the Magis search (and so also of Anninas love). In response to the mothers questions about the mission of the Magi, Melchior asks her, "Have you seen a child the color of wheat, the color of dawn? His eyes are mild, his hands are those of a king, as king he was born," and then asks her, "Have you seen a child the color of earth, the color of thorn? His eyes are sad, his hands are those of the poor, as poor he was born." 13 These contrasting descriptions of the One sought by the Magi reflect the ineffable facets of Christ, and yet the mother recognizes Him. She sees Him first in her own son, but at last, when the Magi depart, she sends Amahl along with them to seek the Child. Once he finds the. Child, Amahl is to give Him thanks and praise for the miracle granted to the crippled boy. Here again the man or woman discerning a religious vocation may see parallels, a parent bravely yet tearfully letting go of a beloved son or daughter who wants to join strangers in the search for God. Catholic critics had accolades for Amahl and for The Saint. Interestingly, none of them considered the place either could have in encouraging vocations to religious life. For example, The Saint of Bleecker Streets "poetic truth," according to Commonweal, "is large and profound," bridging "the alien worlds of pure faith and destructive reason.~4 Another Catholic magazine noted that the opera had the "stark realism of the Old Testament," with violent obsessions, open religious fer69.4 2010
vor, and sexuality barely beneath the surface, yet these extremes of emotion "are more than balanced by scenes of reverence, even exaltation, and instances of touching human affection.i5 In the secular press, contemporary critical reactions to The Saint ranged from dismissing it with words like "nonsense" and "bogus,16 to appreciative appraisals, one quoting Menotti saying, "Whatever you believe, all men know that the love of God is incorruptible.~7 Here a word may be in order regarding Menottis own struggle with belief. Menotti and Belief As a boy Menotti was lame, and he was taken to a Marian shrine, Madonna del Monte, where he received a blessing and was cured.18 As a result, throughout his life he remained fascinated by saints and miracles. Even when he fell away from the church, he believed in God and wrestled with questions of faith. In the early 1950s, when he was mulling over The Saint of Bleecker Street, he decided he needed to meet a saint, so he went to Italy to see Padre Pio. He. attended a morning Mass offered by Padre Pio and then was allowed to meet with him in the friary. After having heard about the priests uncanny insights and deep spiritual gifts, Menotti was deflated when Padre Pios counsel amounted to what any priest anywhere could have advised: "God gives you a gift, and you must compose the right music in honor of God." 19 Menottis disappointment at the seemingly banal words from the holy man echoes that of Naaman the Syrian (2 K 5). The leprous Syrian is told by the prophet Elisha to wash seven times in the River Jordan, a remedy that strikes the afflicted man as being too simple and something he could have done back home. It can
happen that someone discerning a call to religious life will visit a monastery or religious house and find the daily routine devoid of the heroic penances the idealistic inquirer sometimes imagines necessary. A wise director, a Don Marco, perhaps, will point out that the daily routine of community life, with its Eucharistic liturgy and the Liturgy of the Hours, will provide sufficient penances. As an adult, Menotti seems not to have partaken often of any of the sacraments of the church, and his ongoing doubts about his faith found expression in his operas, most clearly in The Saint.2 At ninety he spoke about his long "God gives you a gift, and interior dialogue with the God whose creed you must compose the right he found difficult to music in honor of God." believe in. Musing upon the questions God asked him, he said, "Thats the trouble, . . . because I dont know what to answer.2~ One would be hard put to find a more concise summary of the inner turbulence faced by some men and women discerning a religious calling. Of course, artists working with religious subjects need not be religious people themselves, but often their work arisesfrom "a collaboration" between the artist and "the religious community of which he is a participating member.2z Menotti, like Puccini, grew up immersed in the Catholic culture of northern Italy, and both men grappled with that culture when creating their operatic worlds. Part of their struggle derived from their lives within the secular culture of fame and fortune. Puccini, though, unlike Menotti, was close friends with his par-
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ish priest, a former army chaplain who loved music.23 As this essay has argued, noble music and revealed religion can complement one another, in particular when a man or woman is discerning a religious vocation.
4oo.1
Liberated Imagination--and Faith Charles Moore has hailed operas ability to "liberate the imagination," and he rejoiced in its "discerning... the basic rhythms of human hopes, fears, and desires.z4 The value of opera for vocational discernment is in its ability to show us another dimension to the human experience. As with other performances in the theater or on film, one must willingly suspend disbelief when watching an opera; that suspension is even greater in opera, for what would otherwise be spoken dialogue or soliloquies are sung. Such suspending of disbelief leaves behind the normal routines we accept as ordinary reality and exposes us to distilled human passions. Whether those passions are those of a Tosca or an Annina, an Amahl or a Melchior, they may transport us to a height from which we may see more clearly the way to respond to the call to holiness. Let us look again at Tosca in contrast to Annina. Meant to be larger than life, Puccinis character of Floria Tosca is a famous opera singer in Rome, and the opera bearing her name opens in June of 1800 in a side chapel of Romes baroque church of Sant Andrea della Valle. Toscas beloved, an artist who reads Voltaire, is painting an image of St. Mary Magdalene, and nearby is a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Tosca, a pious narcissist, makes a grand entrance and lays a bouquet at the feet of the Virgin. When she realizes that the model for the Magdalene is the sister of a Napoleonic revolutionary, her jealousy flares up. Such radical associations
snare Tosca and her lover in a nightmarish entanglement with a corrupt police force. Both are arrested and found guilty without a trial. When interrogated and tormented by Baron Scarpia, the lecherous and sadistic chief of police, Tosca sings of her.faith being rewarded with suffering, but part of her suffering is self-inflicted. She has been devout and generous, it is true, but she has a rationalist for a boyfriend and expects deference because of her fame as a singer. Her heart is divided, always a path to tragedy. Tosca, unlike Mary Magdalene, has not had her demons cast out; rather, they pursue her to a fatal end. In stark contrast to the vain and worldly Tosca, Annina appears as a model of humility. Her faith opens her to suffering, which she
bears for her Beloved.

Menotti shows Annina wholly dedicated to Menotff shows Annina seeking God and being wholly dedicated to seeking united to Him, and she must face a brother God and being united to Him whose unexamined fear and carnal desires become masks for the false god of the self. Tosca offers flowers to the Virgin, but Annina shares the Virgin Marys openness to Gods call. Like Mary Magdalene, Annina would be willing to sit by the empty tomb, staring into the abyss where He had been. A :nan or woman facing the possibility of a religious vocation must be aware of the Tosca within each of us, while desiring to grow into something of an Annina. The call to be a religious is the Holy Spirit first beckoning and then giving the grace to yearn to see that there is more to life than creature comforts and the cheers of the crowd.
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One way of understanding the verismo genre used by Puccini and Menotti is to see it as "concerned with common people and their preoccupations, rather than the trials and passions of aristocrats.25 On one level, Tosca is about two lovers caught in the middle of political turmoil; on another, as we have seen, it is about a woman of faith in profound crisis. Menottis operas discussed here are about simple people caught off guard by the arrival in their lives of the Son of God. From studying the history of the church, one learns that such complications occur in the lives of aristocrats and common people as well. Opera, likewise the realm of all who are open to its riches, can help an aspiring religious see anew the gospel call to seek the One who is dawn and earth, wheat and thorn, poverty and royalty, all in all. Notes
Daniel J. Wakin, "For Opening Night at the Metropolitan, a New Sound: Booing," New York Times (23 September 2009), p. C5; David Patrick Stearns, "Boos for the Mets New Tosca Werent Off-base," Philadelphia Inquirer (24 September 2009), p. D-l; see also Alex Ross, "Fiasco," New Yorker (5 October 2009): 84-85. 2 See John Anthony Davis, "The Political and Cultural Worlds of Puccinis Tosca," in Toscas Prism: Three Moments in Western Cultural History, ed. Deborah Burton et al. (Boston: Northeastern University Press, 2005), pp. 135-144; Susan Vandiver Nicassio, "The Eternal Politics of Tosca," in Toscas Prism, pp. 249-252; H. Wendell Howard, "Suor Angelica: Puccinis Catholic Opera," Logos 1 (Fall 1998): 94103. 3 Charles Reid, "Gian-Carlo Menotti," Tablet (20 October 1956): 319. 4 John Lukacs, "A Night at the Dresden Opera," New Yorker (17 March, 1986): 100; reprinted in Remembered Past, ed. Mark G. Malvasi and Jeffrey O. Nelson (Wilmington: ISI Books, 2005), p. 457. s See John Gruen, Menotti: A Biography (New York: Macmillan, 1978); of the numerous obituaries, see E Paul Driscoll, "Gian Carlo Menotti," Opera News (April 2007): 88. For The Saint of Bleecker
Street and Tosca, see Barry Singer, "Changing Fortunes," Opera News 0uly 2007): 50. 6 Gian Carlo Menotti, The Saint of Bleecker Street (New York: G. Schirmer, 1954), act 1, scene 1, p. 14. 7 Menotti, The Saint, act 1, scene 2, p. 23. 8 Menotti, The Saint, p. 22. 9 Kiri Te Kanawa, with Conrad Wilson, Opera for Lovers (London: Headline, 1996), pp. 140-141. ,0 Steve Smith, "A Young Shepherds Ageless Trek," New York Times (17 December 2007), p. E-5. ~ "Christmas Music," Christian Century (4-17 December 2002): 37. ~2 John Gruen, Menotti, p. 108. ~3 Gian Carlo Menotti, Amahl and the Night Visitors (New York: G. Schirmer, 1951), pp. 20-21. ~4 Richard Hayes, "The Saint of Bleecker Street," Commonweal (4 February 1955): 477. ~s Theophilus Lewis, "Theatre," America (22 January 1955): 434. ~6 Harold Clurman, "Theater," Nation (22 January 1955): 8384. ,7 "Successful Saint," Time (10 January 1955): 42; see Irving Kolodin, "Menottis The Saint of Bleecker Street," Saturday Review (8 January 1955): 28; Winthrop Sargeant, "Menottis New Opera," New Yorker (8 January 1955): 74-76; "A Saint Sings in Menottis Best," Life (14 February 1955): 62-63. s John Gruen, Menotti, p. 109; see Robert R. Reilly, "Gian Carlo Menottis Heavenly Muse," Crisis (May 2001): 38. 19 Reilly, "Heavenly Muse," Crisis (May 2001): 39; see Gruen, Menotti, pp. 120-122 and 131. 20 See Gruen, Menotti, p. 166. 2~ Reilly, "Heavenly Muse," Crisis (May 2001): 38. 22 Michael Linton, "Moses at the Met," First Things 98 (December 1999): 15. 23 See Dante Del Fiorentino, Immortal Bohemian: An Intimate Memoir of Giacomo Puccini (New York: Prentice-Hall, 1952); Jane Phillips, "Puccini and the Priest," Opera News (12 March 1951): 26-28; Mary Jane Phillips-Matz, Puccini: A Biography (Boston: Northeastern University Press, 2002), pp. 258-259.
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24 Charles Moore, "The Fantastic Power of Opera to Fly Free," Daily Telegraph (21 July 2009): 19. 25 Johanna Fiedler, Molto Agitato: The Mayhem Behind the Music at the Metropolitan Opera (New York: Doubleday, 2001), p. 79; see Joseph Volpe, with Charles Michener, The Toughest Show on Earth: My Rise and Reign at the Metropolitan Opera (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006), p. 167: "The characters arent gods or monsters, theyre people caught up in the moral and political issues of their time."
Personal Reflection [ Group Discussion
1. What are the ways or method that I have used in making a discerned decision? 2. How has Heisey in using opera as a help in discerning given me new ways of entering into discernment?
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JAMES H. KROEGER
Searching for Jesus at Christmas

Once or twice a year, usually around the season of Christmas or Easter, many newspapers and popular newsmagazines (Time or Newsweek) present an article on some aspect of Jesus or the Judaeo-Christian faith. Often these features try to pique readers interest by using attention-grabbing headlines. They ask: What is the true Christmas Story? Why did Jesus have to die? How do Jews, Muslims, and Buddhists view Jesus? Who was the real Jesus? Often the articles claim to provide new and recent discoveries into the person and identity of Jesus. Believing Christians can read these presentations with interest, but they should realize
James H. Kroeger MM, a Maryknoll missioner, has served in Asia (Philippines and Bangladesh), since his 1970 arrival in the Orient. Currently he teaches at the Pontifical Faculty of Theology at Loyola School of Theology of the Ateneo de Manila University as well as at the Mother of Life Catechetical Center. He can be reached at: <jkroeger@admu.edu.ph>
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Kroeger Searcbing for Jesus at Christmas that such popular portrayals of Jesus will probably add little insight into their knowledge and practice of the faith. One need not be alarmed by these magazine articles. Actually, the popularity of such material shows the continuing interest on a broad public scale in the person and mission of Jesus. Also, as adult believers, we admit that we do have many recurring questions about Jesus and his meaning for our lives and for the life of the world. Where can we and should we look for answers to our questions? Where should we search? At this point, I offer a word of disclosure, telling you who I am. Thus, what I write in this presentation, which will explore some difficult questions, will be anchored into a solid foundation. I am a man of faith, a Catholic priest, serving in the Philippines for four decades. I have taught Christology [theology of the person and mission of Jesus Christ] for over thirty years in several schools of theology, major seminaries, and catechetical centers. My personal library contains well over one hundred books on Christology, and I have published numerous articles and books on the subject. In short, I write as a believer, a man of the church.
Beginning the Search For Christians, the primary written source of faith in the person of Jesus is sacred scripture, the Gospels in particular. We rely on four books included in the New Testament: the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Just about everything that the Christian church teaches about J~sus comes through the Gospels. These Gospels, in turn, serve as a criterion of truth and authenticity for the churchs teaching about Jesus. Because the Gospels are the central sources for understanding Jesus, one has to ask: What is a Gospel?
Parenthetically, readers will note that before addressing specific questions about Jesus, it is necessary to examine some general foundations upon which our faith is based. "Gospel" derives from Old English meaning "good spell/news"; this translates the Greek eu (good) and angelion (news, announcement). As "good news" the Gospels communicate the message of Gods saving action in Christ and the accounts of Jesus activity produced by the early church. A Gospel is a very unique kind of written literature; it is a genre of writing that is different from other literary forms. Thus, a Gospel is not simply a "biography" in the modern sense of that term (a detailed account of someones life); it is also not "history" in the sense of a chronological presenSimply, a Gospel tation of a series of events. Yet, can, be described as a the Gospels contain both biographical and historical elements. "faith summary. " However, Gospels are written from another perspective and with another motive in mind. Simply, a Gospel can be described as a "faith summary." Gospels contain material that will lead readers to know and love--in faith--the person of Jesus. This means that biographical and historical materials are at the service of the primary purpose of the Gospels: com ing to a loving knowledge and experience of Jesus. The Gospels aim to help us in knowing and encountering Jesus personally, not just knowing many factual details about him. Another simple way to express the nature of the Gospels is to accept that they were written "from faith to faith." The Gospels emerged from the living faith of
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the evangelists and the early church. They were written to faith, to engender and strengthen the faith of believers. The evangelists (Gospel writers) did not intend to supply every detail about the life of Jesus; rather, they chose to include those stories which would best serve the "promotion of the faith." At heart, Gospels are "proclamation not biography or history." This insight is well expressed, by:John the Evangelist: "There were many other signs that Jesus worked and the disciples saw, but they are not recorded in this book. These are recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing this you may have life through his name" On 20:30-31). Composing Gospels Related to the nature and purpose of the Gospels, questions may arise about how and when the Gospels were written. Here the Catholic Church has provided solid guidance on the actual "writing process," explaining the "coming-to-be" of the four Gospels that we accept as the inspired Word of God. Again, this background material will serve to anchor our many "Christmas-time questions" about the person of Jesus, questions which will be addressed in the later part of this presentation. Christians believe that the authors of the Bible (both Old and New Testaments) were inspired, or guided, by the Holy Spirit. According to Roman Catholic theology, this does not mean that God spoke to the biblical authors directly, as one might dictate a letter to a secretary. Neither did the evangelists have modern equipment such as a tape recorder to capture the verbatim words of Jesus. Rather, our church holds that these inspired texts are writings whose authors, prompted by the Holy Spirit, convey Gods revealed truth using their
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own abilities, words, and styles. This is clearly evident in each of the four Gospels; for example, Johns literary style differs from that of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In short, scripture contains "Gods Word in human words." God is the ultimate author of the scriptures; the truth that God conveys in and through them is reliable; we can securely build our faith upon these written scriptures as they are interpreted within the faith community of the church. It is this same Catholic Church that encourages the use of historical-critical scholarship to better penetrate the full meani.ng ........ of Gods Word. Since ~ the 1943 magna carta of Catholic biblical scholOur Gospels are the products arship (Divino Afflante of a faith-development Spiritu), scripture studies have flourished in in early Christianity. the church--all to the benefit of believers. . The church encourages its biblical scholars and theologians to employ "scientific" approaches to delve deeper into the full meaning of Gods revealed message in the scriptures. The church accepts that the Gospels are, in fact, not literal, chronological accounts of the words and deeds of Jesus. Our Gospels are the products of a faith-development !n early Christianity. They emerged through a three-stage process that moves (a) from the ministry and oral preaching of Jesus, (b) through the oral preaching of the apostles, and (c) finally to the actual writing of the Gospels as we know them. This understanding is echoed in the revelation document coming from the Second Vatican Council. This fact does not imply in any
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Kroeger Searcbing for ~esus at Christmas sense that the Gospels are not reliable sources. Today it is generally accepted that the Gospels were written in this order: Mark (60s), Matthew and Luke (70s-80s), and John (90s). Are Gospels Historical? Although there are difficult questions that do not admit of easy, brief answers, we must, in order to promote our faith, struggle to respond to them. On the question of the historical nature of the Gospels [this will directly affect our understanding of the Christmas stories], we can get help by using two German words that give us insight into the nature of history. History can validly be understood through two different, yet interrelated, perspectives. Historisch (historical) designates the facts of the past that can be demonstrated by documents and critically analyzed by the methods of scientific history. Geschichtlich (historic) refers to the same event(s) but focuses on the significance and importance of that fact for a certain group of people. In simpler language, historisch focuses on the plain historical data [what happened], whereas geschichtlich seeks its deeper significance [what meaning does it have]. Some simple examples may prove helpful. As a missionary in the Philippines for forty years, there are several dates that are important for me (and all Filipinos), but they would have no significance--even for. my own siblings who live in the United States. For Filipinos, 30 December 1896, is significant; it is the death of Jose Rizal, our national hero. The proclamation of Martial Law happened on 21 September 1972--with grave consequences for Filipinos. Ninoy Aquino was assassinated on 21 August 1983; the EDSA (Epifanio de Los Santos
Avenue, Quezon City, Manila) "people-power" revolution unfolded in 22-25 February 1986; Cory Aquino died on 1 August 2009. Most Filipinos know these dates almost instinctively. Yet, these same events would not be remembered by someone from Italy, Canada, or Indonesia. Here we see the importance and difference between historisch and geschichtlich. The historical facts and dates I have just mentioned are true, factual history. However, they have special meaning and importance only for Filipinos; they are seared into the consciousness of the Filipino people. While true facts of history, they mean little or nothing to non-Filipinos. Similarly, the Gospels have significant meaning--but only for believing Christians.
Evangelists: Pastoral Theologians Moving back to our discussion of the Gospels, we come to appreciate that the evangelists were not primarily interested in presenting a detailed historical chronology of Jesus life; nor were they interested in providing a comprehensive biography of Jesus and his family. The Gospel writers focused primarily on presenting the importance and meaning of Jesus for believing Christians. Thus, while not denying or falsifying the historisch (historical data and facts), the main interest of the Gospels is to show the geschichtlich (significance) of this man Jesus for us and for our salvation. The Gospel writers focused primarily on promoting faith in Jesus; that is why the Gospels are not primarily history or biography. They are "faith summaries"; they are written based on the evangelists faith with the purpose that we too would come to faith in Jesus. To achieve this goal of "faith promotion," each evangelist shaped his Gospel differently. Matthew, writing for
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Jewish Christians, often demonstrates by the use of Old Testament quotations that the scriptures are fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus. Mark seeks to emphasize that Jesus is manifested as the crucified Messiah, frequently rejected by the people. Lukes Gospel is shaped by his religious mentality; he is a faithful recorder of Jesus loving-kindness. The whole of Johns thought is dominated by the mystery of the Incarnation. Each of the Gospels is unique and adopts varied theological emphases, while remaining focused on the person of Jesus. This was done so that the message of Jesus would better reach the intended audience. In this sense, Each of theGospels I call the evangelists "pastoral theologians,~ unique and adopts varied because they pastorally theological emphases, shaped and focused their theological meswhile remaining focused sage with their audience on the person of ]egus. in mind. Matthew, for example, quoted the Old Testament frequently so that his Jewish Christian audience would more easily come to faith in Jesus. Although we have four canonical Gospels, they all coalesce to produce an integrated Gospel portrait of the person of Jesus. The "Historical Jesus" Question Several questions may still logically arise in the minds,, of readers--even after our discussion of the nature and purpose of the Gospels. These and similar questions may be posed: Who is the real Jesus? How can I meet him? Is it really necessary for me to know many
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details about the historical Jesus? How can I avoid all this complicated discussion about Jesus? Is it possible that all these technical matters will actually endanger my faith? Over the past several decades, the Church has seen the emergence of "Jesus research" or "historical Jesus" studies. Stated simply, these investigations seek to surface the knowable historical data about Jesus of Nazareth. Thus, the "historical Jesus" refers to Jesu. s of Nazareth in so far as the course of his earthly life can be constructed by historical critical methods. John E Meier, Catholic priest and biblical scholar, is the foremost author on this topic; he has already published four massive volumes in the continuing series A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus. It is noteworthy that Meiers work is published with an imprimatur, meaning that it is completely consistent with the faith of the Church. Meier makes a very helpful distinction in the use of various terms, providing clarity of thought and safeguarding the basis of our faith. He distinguishes between the real Jesus, the historical Jesus, and the theological Jesus. Briefly, the historical Jesus is a modern theoretical construction of the data of Jesus life, depending heavily on his last two or three years here on earth. The theological Jesus is the interpretation applied to the risen Jesus by the early Christian community and by the Gospel writers themselves. The real Jesus, while certainly in continuity with that Jesus who lived on earth 2,000 yea~s ago and anchored in the Churchs theological formulations, is the living, crucified-risen 413 Jesus that Christians now personally encounter through the mediation of the Church. All too often people mix all three, especially equating the historical Jesus with
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the real Jesus. They often think that if they knew every detail about the historical Jesus, they would get to the real Jesus. Where is this real Jesus, the crucified-risen Lord, to be encountered and experienced? Through the action of the Holy Spirit in the Church, Christians today-you and I--encounter the. living person of Jesus in the sacred scriptures, our prayer, Church teaching, liturgy and sacraments, and charitable deeds of service for our brothers and sisters. In other words, for example, a believer, coming to the Gospels in private prayer or in the liturgy of the Church, encounters the real Jesus, and that believer does not have to have special academic studies about the historical Jesus. Although the "historical Jesus" is an intellectual construct, such knowledge is helpful for educated Christians in the modern world. I believe that many an ordinary persons faith can be enriched and nourished by understanding the historical Jesus. I am also sure that my loving parents had a deep faith-encounter with Jesus, while never exploring such questions as I address in this presentation. John Meier writes: "For a Catholic, the full reality of Jesus Christ is mediated through many channels .... My faith in Christ does not rise or fall with my attempts to state what I can or cannot know about Jesus of Nazareth by means of modern historical research." Serving the Faith The historical Jesus, while not the object or essence of faith, can serve, the interests of faith in several ways. First, it guards against any attempt to reduce faith in Christ to an ideal, a timeless archetype, a model to be imitated. Jesus, a real human person, walked the face of
Review for Religqous
this earth. As stated by the Second Vatican Council: "He worked with human hands. He thought with a human mind, acted by human choice, and loved with a human heart" (GS 22). Secondly, accepting the historical Jesus means that we will not be tempted to reduce Jesus to his divine nature alone; we must accept his full humanity along with~his full divinity. Thirdly, knowing the historical Jesus means that we cannot reduce him to our image, making him into either a comfortable bourgeois figure or a political-social reformer. Jesus refuses to be contained in the boxes we create for him. Finally, our understanding of the historical Jesus can serve the faith, because the insights gained can help us, especially those who preach on the Word of God, perform our task of proclamation better. For example, knowing background on the Samaritans, will help the evangelizer better explain Jesus parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk 10:29-37), his encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well (Jn 4:5-42), or his experience with the one grateful leper (Lk 17:11-19). Christmas Stories in the Gospels Now, at long last, we turn to a discussion of the "infancy narratives," as the Gospel stories of Jesus early years are known. It may come as a shock to many Christians that Matthew and Luke are the only sources of knowledge we have about Jesus infancy; it may be an even greater shock to realize that the two Gospels contain many differences. Some authors have tried to reconcile or "harmonize" the differences between Luke and Matthew--an invalid and fruidess approach to biblical study. The fact of existing, diverging stories and varied emphases of the
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Kroeger Searching for Jesus at Christmas two evangelists forces us to recall that the primary purpose of a Gospel is not to provide an exact chronological or historical account of events; rather, these evangelists were trying to teach us about the religious message on which they both agree. The "core message" of the infancy narratives is focused on the identity of Jesus. Both Matthew and Luke agree that Jesus descent is traced genealogically through Joseph; Jesus is truly a Son of David. Both evangelists agree that Mary conceived Jesus, not through sexual relations with Joseph, but by the creative power of the Holy Spirit; Jesus is truly the Son of God. This dual identity, Son of David and Son of God, is important for our understanding of the Gospel as "good news." Who is the Messiah born for us and for our salvation? He is a descendant of David and the unique Son of God. There are many other Gospel aspects about the identity of Jesus that are found in the infancy narratives. For example, Jesus true identity can be known only through Gods revelation. In both Matthew and Luke Jesus identity is initially proclaimed by an angel as Gods messenger. And, once his identity has been revealed, the news is quickly shared with others. In Matthew the revelation given to Joseph is made known to the Gentile magi; in Luke the revelation given to Mary is made known to the Jewish shepherds. The identity of the Messiah has been revealed to the entire world, to various classes of people, to Jews and Gentiles alike. Indeed, Mary and Joseph do not keep Jesus identity as a private possession; this is "good news" and it is meant to be shared with the entire world. Note that Matthew and Luke tell different stories with the same purpose. In other words, the stories have theological meaning and faith significance [geschichtlich]; they are
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not merely providing factual or biographical data [historiscb]. This does not mean that they are less valuable or untrue. On the contrary, they convey deep truths about Jesus, his identity, and his mission. Not Merely Childrens Stories Once we perceive the deep theology and faith proclamation found in the infancy narratives, we come to see that we should not treat these narratives as if they were simply sweet little stories for children. The infancy accounts of Matthew and Luke are intended for believing adults--for you and me, to strengthen our maturing faith! The foremost authority on the infancy narratives is Raymond E. Brown, a Catholic priest and eminent biblical scholar; twice he has been appointed a member of the Roman Pontifical Biblical Commission, by Pope Paul vI in 1972 and by Pope John Paul II in 1996. His massive volume of nearly 600 pages, The Birth of the Messiah, is a comprehensive commentary on the infancy narratives; it has an imprimatur. Brown popularized his insights in a 50-page pamphlet of essays on the biblical Christmas stories, bearing the title An Adult Christ at Christmas. Allow me to take one dimension of the Christmas narrative and show how it speaks of an adult faith that recognizes the presence of God in the birth of the messiah, We can imagine the nativity scene, since we vividly portray it in our Christmas cribs. Jesus is born in a stable, placed in a manger, and even an ox and an ass are present. This scene has a direct connection to the book of Isaiah in the Old Testament, where we read of Yahwehs lament against his unfaithful people: "Hear, 0 heavens, and listen, 0 earth, for the Lord is speak69.4 2010
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ing: I reared sons, I brought them up, but they have rebelled against me. An ox knows its owner and an ass, its masters manger; yet, Israel knows nothing, my people understand nothing" (Is 2:2-3). When Luke the Evangelist speaks three times of the "manger" where Jesus is laid and where the shepherds find him (Lk 2:7, 12, 16), he is portraying the fulfillment of the Old Testament. In other words, when people of faith (as humble as the ox and ass) see the babe in the manger, they, unlike faithless Israel, are to recognize the presence of God, their Lord and Savior. This is simply one example--there are many others--where Jesus is portrayed as the summation and fulfillment of Israels history and destiny. Another clear example would be the first seventeen verses of Matthews Gospel that narrate the Jewish ancestry of Jesus. In a word, Jesus sums up and fulfills Israels story. To believe this requires mature, adult faith.
Theology-filled Stories Our discussion has opened many new doors to understand the nature and purpose of the Gospels, the role of the evangelists, questions of the "historical Jesus," the infancy narratives, and the need for an adult faith at Christmas. What conclusions, then, should we draw from these discussions? First of all, we should treat the opening chapters of Matthew and Luke respectfully for what they are: stories which embody a theology. This means that the legitimate questions we should ask of these chapters are theological ones. For example, as Catholics we have become accustomed to see that the creation stories in Genesis do not intend to communicate literal, historical, and scientific truth (e.g. Noahs ark); similarly the infancy
narratives, so full of symbols and images, are focused primarily on communicating the truth of Jesus identity, his person and mission. Indeed, Gospels are "faith summaries," written for us and for our salvation. Does this mean that our historical questions should not be asked? Does it mean that the Christmas stories have no biographical basis at all? Did Matthew and Luke simply invent everything? Obviously, the response to all We should treat these questions is "no." Yet, following the opening chapters of biblical exegetes, Matthew and Luke respectfully we should focus -our attention on for what they are: stories which the theology of the embody a theology. infancy narratives. We continue our search for Jesus. In our quest, we remain focused on comprehending the core truths of faith, the theological assertions, which the infancy narratives communicate: Jesus, messianic king of the House of David and Gods unique Son, was truly born of the Virgin Mary! God always extends his mercy and revelation to everyone, to all who seek him, especially to the lowly, to Jews and Gentiles, to shepherds and magi. Am I willing to imitate Mary who "treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart" (Lk 2:19)? Will I follow the magi who offered their gifts as they "fell on their knees and did Him homage" (Mr 2:11)?
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CAROLYN HUMPHREYS
Edith Stein, Woman of Light
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dith Stein is an intriguing and multifaceted oman. She was a German, Jew, intellectual, philosopher, convert, educator, lecturer, cloistered. Carmelite nun, writer, and martyr and is a canonized saint. A metaphor for her could well be a bright star whose brilliance has yet to be fully discovered or appreciated. Astounding achievements and amazing setbacks marked her life. Perhaps the reason why she appeals to us and is dear to us is that her life took so many unexpected turns. We can relate to that, and we can see that in everything she was driven to pursue truth. Edith found deep meaning in the loose threads that dangled on the rich tapestry of her life. She teaches us to do the same. Sometimes things do not make sense or turn out as we anticipated. In her ups and downs, Edith manifested consistent logical thought, a strong will, and a steadfast love. We see the hand of God guiding her through her life. She wrote, "When night comes and
Carolyn Humphreys OCDS writes from 7101 E. Rosecrans Avenue, #159; Paramount, California 90723.
you look back over the day and see how fragmentary everything has been, and how much you planned that has gone undone, and all the reasons you have to be embarrassed and ashamed: just take everything exactly as it is, put it in Gods hands, and leave it with him. Then you will be able to rest in him, really rest, and start the next day as a new life." It is easy to see how Edith is a saint we have only begun to understand. Reflecting and meditating on her life will help us see the hand of God working in our lives. Edith was born on 11 October 189.1. That year Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, was celebrated on that very day. Her place of birth was Breslau, an economic and cultural center in eastern Germany, now Wroclaw, Poland. Edith was the youngest of eleven children in a devout family. Four of her siblings died in childhood, and Ediths father died suddenly at age forty-eight, when she was not yet two years old. Ediths mother was left to raise the remaining seven children and manage the family lumber business. This she did to the extent that some called her the best businessman in Breslau. Edith was her mothers favorite child, and she saw her mother as an example of the strong woman of Proverbs 31. Ediths deep love for her mother was the strongest emotional bond in her life. Edith was a precocious, bright, and even headstrong child. Although she admired her mothers attitude of openness to God, when Edith became a teenager she stopped practicing her Jewish faith and claimed to be an atheist. Edith was one of the first women to be admitted to university studies in Germany. In order to study with Edmund Husserl, the founder of phenomenology, she
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Humphreys * Edith Stein, Woman of Light
moved from the University of Breslau to the University of G6ttingen. Ediths studies in philosophy directed her to the possibility of transcendent realities. The deeper she went into her studies, the more her atheism crumbled. This was due to her acquired knowledge and the influence of her friends who had converted to Christianity. Edith enjoyed a warm friendship with a handsome young philosopher named Hans Lipps, but it never developed into the romance she and others expected. This disappointment affected her when she was writing her dissertation. At times she was frustrated and depressed. She wrote: "I could no longer cross the street without wishing I would be run over by some vehicle. And when we went on an excursion, I hoped I would fall off a cliff and not return alive." In 1916 Edith completed her doctorate, summa cure laude. Her dissertation was titled "On the Problem of Empathy." Empathy was an important issue in phenomenology because it had to do with how we can know anything at all about the inner life of other persons. She became Husserls assistant and deciphered and organized his loose papers and manuscripts into a coherent whole. This was frustrating work, however, because Husserl rarely reviewed the edited texts she so painstakingly put together. Today Edith would have been a brilliant philosophy professor at an Ivy League university. But this was not possible in her time, and others took credit for her work. This is documented in Body, Text, and Science: The Literacy of Investigative Practices and the Phenomenology of Edith Stein by Marianne Sawicki. During the first World War, Edith volunteered for nursing duty in Austria. Some of her closest philosophical associates were killed at the front. At one point she conReview for Religious
soled the widow of one of her favorite professors, Adolf Reinach, who was killed in battle. She was surprised to find herself consoled by his widows great faith. In her twenty-ninth year, on vacation with friends, Edith was alone one evening and seemingly by chance picked up the autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila. She read it straight through and exclaimed, "This is truth." Edith said that her search for truth For years Edith had searched was now a kind of for truth as a scholar in the prayer, because "those who seek the truth realm of philosophy. seek God, whether they realize it or not." For years Edith had searched for truth as a scholar in the realm of philosophy. Now, by reading Teresas life, she discovered truth in a great love for, and deep friendship with, the triune God, a love lived out in loving service to others. Ever on the path of truth, she went out the next day and bought a missal and a catechism, which she devoured. On the following first of January she was baptized at the Church of St. Martin, taking the Christian names Theresia and Hedwig. She received her first Communion that same morning. I.n February she was confirmed in the private chapel of the bishop of Spryer. At that time she had a Strong desire to enter Carmel, but her advisors delayed her. They explained that her conversion and entrance into a strict cloister would be too much of a trauma to her mother. They also knew that the church could benefit enormously from Ediths contributions as a teacher, speaker, and writer. Soon afterwards she accepted a teaching position at St.
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Magdalene Teachers College, run by Dominican sisters. During her eight busy years there, she became familiar with church life and had time for meditation in the convent chapel. Womens position in society was a deep concern for Edith. She was a professional woman, and she taught young women at secondary and university levels. These young women were preparing themselves for the future. Should they be limited to home and hearth? Not at all. Edith thought that educated women were the ones who could open up equal opportunities within the professions and in political life. She translated Newmans Idea of a University into German, and she believed that a liberal education was just as helpful in the formation of women as it was for men. Since domestic skills can be learned in the home, Edith suggested that women should have available to them a university curriculum that would not differ significantly from that available to men. She said, "There is no profession which cannot be practiced by a woman." She thought that every profession could be practiced in a feminine way, that is, humanized by being made more person friendly and by being brought into greater contact with human concerns. She asserted: "The nation .. doesnt simply need what we have. It needs what we are." The same could be said about the office, the factory, the marketplace, the political arena, the school, and the home. Edith believed that the maternal gifts of women lead to a deep interest in the community in which they live, from parent-teacher associations to the city council. Decisions made by the city have an impact on the families in that city. In Ediths time and in our own, women could and should speak out with courage and have an impact beyond their own families.
Edith wrote most about women during the time between her conversion and her entrance into Carmel. One cannot overestimate the importance of these essays. They were original and insightful and appealed to many. On a visit to the United States, Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger of Paris, also a Jewish convert, called Edith one of the greatest philosophers of our time. He said Pope John Paul II was her best pupil. If you read the popes encyclical "On the Dignity and Vocation of Woman" or his "Letter to Women," you will immediately see how much of it is based on Ediths pioneering work on this subject. John Paul looks for women to rehumanize a world dominated by hedonism and materialism. In "The Gospel of Life" (Evangelium vitae) he asks women to "teach others that human relations are authentic if they are open to accepting the other person: a person who is recognized and loved because of the dignity which comes from being a person and not from other considerations, such as usefulness, strength, intelligence, beauty, or health." He calls women "an indispensable prerequisite for an authentic cultural change." In other words, women should be leaders in replacing the culture of death and indifference with a culture of life and love. How do women participate in this very necessary replacement? Edith encourages them to look at their call, including a spousal dimension that involves companionship. Women share the life of others, entering into their lives and making others concerns their own. It is true that women have a special genius for friendship, a special capacity for empathy. Edith describes empathy as a clear awareness of others, not simply of the content of their experience but of.their experience of that content. In empathy we take the place of other
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persons without becoming strictly identical to them. This is not just understanding others experiences, but in a sense taking these experiences on as our own. This orientation is especially helpful within marriage, but it should be used in other relationships as well. For single women, which includes those who are consecrated wholly to God, this aspect takes on a more universal and spiritual scope and calls for a more God-oriented kind of love. All who knew Edith say that she was a living example of her description of empathy. Abbot Raphael Walzer, her spiritual director in the late 1920s, wrote that Edith possessed "a tender, even maternal, solicitude for others. She was plain and direct with ordinary people, learned with the scholars, a fellow seeker with those searching for the truth. I could almost say she was a sinner with the sinners." By the time Hider rose to power in early 1933, Edith was well known in the German academic community as a leading voice for the Catholic Womens Movement. She spoke at conferences and helped to formulate the principles behind this movement. Hitlers growing popularity and increasing pressure on the Jewish people prompted Edith to request an audience with the pope. She hoped he would write an encyclical that would counteract the rising tide of anti-Semitism. Because of bureaucratic confusion, there was no response to her request. In March of 1933, Ediths colleagues at the Educational Institute in Mtinster could no longer protect her and offered to get her a teaching position in South America. Because this would mean that her eighty-four-year-old mother would never see her again, Edith declined the offer. She also felt that the time had come to fulfill her desire to enter religious life.
On a trip during Holy Week of 1933, she went to the Carmel in Cologne for Holy Thursday services. She wrote down her reflections about the homily: "I told our Lord that I knew it was his cross that was now being placed upon the Jewish people; that most of them did not understand this, but that those who did would have to take it up willingly in the name of all. I would do that. At the end of the service, I was certain that I had been heard. But what this carrying of the cross was to consist in, that I did not yet know." Edith entered the Cologne Carmel of Mary, Queen of Peace, on 13 October, two days after her forty-second birthday. Her family saw her entrance into Carmel coming at the worst possible time. The persecution of Jews was intensifying, her Christianity was the religion Theresia Benedicta a Cruce of their oppresmeans Teresa blessed by the cross. sors, and convent entrance was a betrayal. Her family, especially her mother, was devastated. Her mother said: "Why did you have to get to know him [Jesus]? He was a good man--Im not saying anything, against him. But why did he have to go and make himself God?" So crushed was her mother that Ediths sister, Rosa, felt free to be baptized a Catholic only after their mothers death in 1936. On 15 April of the following year, Edith received the habit and her new name. She asked for and received her religious name because it reflected her love for Teresa and John, as well as her growing understanding of, and faith in, her own dark and strange path. Theresia Benedicta a Cruce means Teresa blessed by
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the.cross, or as Melkite Father Charles McCarthy, the father of the young girl in Massachusetts who was cured by Edith, notes, Teresa "good word of the cross." Edith had a great love for her name, since it contained the mystery of her conversion. She always used the Latin form of her name, and while in Carmel she was drawn deeper and deeper into what she called "the science of the cross." She described this as the mystery of joy in suffering, of victory in failure, of dying and rising with Christ. She wrote: "O my God, fill my soul with holy joy, courage, and strength to serve you. Enkindle your love in me and then walk with me along the next stretch of road before me. I do not see very far ahead, but when I have arrived where the horizon now closes down, a new prospect will open before me, and I shall meet it with peace." She told friends who visited her during her novitiate: "I never laughed so much during my whole life as I have during these two years as a novice." Often Ediths face indicated she was preoccupied or lost in deep thought. In the company of her sisters, however, she was friendly and cheerful. Her love and goodness, stories, humor, and modesty were natural, and enchanted the nuns. She never referred to her importance or achievements in the world while in Carmel. The year 1936 was a hard year for Edith, primarily because of her mothers death, by cancer. This was on 14 September, the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the day the nuns renewed their vows. Edith said: "As I was standing in my place in choir waiting to renew my vows, my mother was beside me. I felt her presence quite distinctly." This is easy to believe because of the special bond of love that existed between Edith and her mother.
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Edith felt deep in her heart, in a way she could never adequately explain, that in Carmel she was giving her life for others. She knew and believed the Lord was suffering in her Jewish brothers and sisters. She wanted to bind herself to the Lord and stand before him for all. In a letter written to a friend, she tried to express her vocation: "Whoever enters Carmel is not lost to her own, but is theirs fully for the first time; it is our vocation to stand before God for all." From her Cologne cloister, Edith enjoyed a broad and interesting correspondence with many people. The letters are in Self-Portrait in Letters published by the Institute of Carmelite Studies. The people who received her letters treasured them, and it is remarkable that so many are intact after all this time, and are held dear by people in many different walks of life. Among her friends, Edith had a special place in her heart for young children, which was shown by her great love and her charismatic rapport with them. This included many nieces and nephews. In the German videotape on Edith Stein that came out with English voice-overs in 1996, she is seen as a bit clumsy in performing household tasks. This would bring a smile, with the thought that no one on this earth is perfect. Freda Mary Oben, in her book on Edith Stein, gives us these anecdotes: "She was unhandy at housework. Holding the broom in front of her and pushing it, she would walk up and down the room--just pushing it! The nuns would burst into laughter, and that did not embarrass Edith in the least. Her sewing was so inadequate that, when she finished working on something like a little scapular, the prio~Tess would take it quickly to another nun and tell her quietly to fix it!" Edith remained at the Cologne Carmel for five years. Because of the encouragement of the provincial
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Humpbreys * Edith Stein, Woman of Light superior of the Discalced Carmelite Friars, Edith continued her scholarly work. She made her final vows in April 1938. After the Kristallnacht terror on 9 November 1938, when synagogues and Jewish homes and businesses were destroyed, the nuns feared for Ediths safety. It was a gravely dangerous time for people of Jewish ancestry and anyone associated with them. Edith wanted to go to a Carmel in the Holy Land, but plans for Ediths most important that fell through. The nuns then works were written, decided to send not as one would suspect, her secretly to the Carmel in Echt, within a university environment, a quiet village in but in the cloister of Carmet. the Netherlands. During the night ..... of 31 December, the convent physician drove her across the border to that Carmel. Edith soon felt at home at Echt, "hidden in the will of God," as she put it. Here she helped in the refectory and often gladly did the reading during meals In 1940, Rosa, who was then a Discalced Carmelite secular, came to Echt and became portress for the nuns. Starting on 1 September 1941, both sisters were forced to wear the yellow Star of David with the word Jew inscribed on it. Periodically they had to report to the Gestapo. Ediths most important works were written, not as one would suspect, within a university environment, but in the cloister of Carmel, which had its strict schedule
and community responsibilities. She keenly felt the lack of time and intellectual resources in Carmel. In her cell at Echt she worked on The Science of the Cross. She wrote: "If we speak of the Science of the Cross, this is not to be understood as science in the ordinary sense: it is no mere theory.... It is indeed known truth--a theology of the cross--but it is living, actual, and active truth: it is placed in the soul like a seed, takes root in her and grows, gives the soul a certain character and forms her in all she does or leaves undone, so that through this she herself shines forth and is recognized .... From this form and force living in the depth of the soul is nourished the philosophy of this man and the way in which God and the world present themselves to him." She wrote what has been called her greatest work, Finite and Eternal Being, in nine months during her free time and recreation. Nazi policies prevented many of her works from appearing in print. Because she was born a Jew, she lost her right to publish under her own name. It was proposed that Finite and Eternal Being be published under the name of a Nazi sympathizer. Edith refused this proposal. The safe haven at Echt was only temporary. After Holland fell to the Nazis, Edith and Rosa were again in danger and planned to move to Switzerland. Before this happened, however, the Dutch bishops wrote a letter against the anti-Semitic atrocities of the Nazi regime; it was read in every pulpit in the country. The Gestapo retaliated at once by rounding up all Catholic Jews and sending them to death camps. Edith, along with Rosa and other Catholics of Jewish descent, were arrested. When they were preparing to leave, Edith said, "Come, Rosa, we go for our people." They were deported to Poland in a dirty, crowded, boxcar. On 9 August 1941,
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one week after they were arrested, they died in the gas chamber at what had been a pretty little village called Birkenau (before that, Brzezinka, "birch"), but was then an extension of Auschwitz concentration camp. Edith was fifty years old. Reports from people who were near Edith during her week of imprisonment say she was a woman of remarkable interior strength. She gave courage to her fellow prisoners and helped mothers feed and bathe their little children, even when the mothers had given up hope and were neglecting these tasks. One survivor described her experience with Edith while their group awaited transport to the East: "Maybe the best way I can explain it is that she carried so much pain that it hurt to see her smile .... In my opinion, she was thinking about the suffering that lay ahead. Not her own suffering--she was far too resigned for that--the suffering that was in store for the others. Every time I think of her sitting in the barracks, the same picture comes to mind: a Pieth without the Christ." Edith was beatified by Pope John Paul on 1 May 1987 and canonized by him in Rome on 11 October 1998. The themes that seem to be most apparent throughout Ediths life are her integrity, her search for truth, and her complete trust in God. Throughout her life, each time she saw a truth she had not realized before, her life was challenged and changed. In 1940 she wrote a poem reflecting her concerns and her trust. Fierce are the waves, Lord, rough the seas, and dark, so dark the night. I beg of you to grant me, please, on lonely vigil, light.
God replies, in part: The needle trembles faintly, then
holds steady and prevails. It points your way and guides you when I, God, direct your sails. References
Batzdorff, Susanne M. Edith Stein: Selected Writings, with Comments, Reminiscences, and Translations of Her Prayers and Poems by Her Niece. Springfield, Illinois: Templegate Publishers, 1990. "Am Steuer"/"At the Helm," pp. 76-77. Feister, John Bookser. "Edith Stein: Our Newest Saint." St. Anthony Messenger, October 1998. Garcia, Laura. "Edith Stein - Convert, Nun, Martyr." Crisis, June 1997. Neyer, Maria Amata, OCD. Edith Stein: Her Life in Photos and Documents. Washington, D.C.: ICS Publications, 1999. Oben, Freda Mary. Edith Stein: Scholar, Feminist, Saint. Staten Island: Alba House, 1988. Payne, Steven. "Edith Stein -- A Fragmented Life." America, I0 October 1998.
A Lighted Taper Your face blooms like a lighted taper in the shadow of my solitude. Your breath fills my being with exquisite tenderness. Around my shoulders rests Your yoke like warm white wool. I could gaze at You.for all my life, for evertime. . .
Mary Jane Higgins RSM
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Meeting the Prophet Isaiah Again for the First Time
scripture scope
Any reader who opens the Bible to the prophet Isaiah will notice immediately that the book is large and contains sixty-six chapters. A surface examination shows no indication that the book is anything other than what it appears to be, a long book composed by a single author. For a long time this is how interpreters approached the book of Isaiah. A careful reading, however, showed that the book was very complicated in terms of historical references as well as literary structure. Nevertheless, in the early days of biblical interpretation many of the complications encountered in the book were explained by the supernatural ability of the prophet to predict events of the future and so the rough edges could with eff6rt be smoothed over.
Eugene Hensell OSB writes this column to help our readers in their theological understanding and prayerful use of the word of God. His address is St. Meinrad Archabbey; 100 Hill Drive; St. Meinrad, Indiana 47577. <ehensell@saintmeinrad.edu>
This all changed with the advent of modern biblical criticism, especially the development of the historical critical method. Further examination of the book of Isaiah from the perspective of historical criticism concluded that in fact the book of Isaiah was actually three separate books composed by three distinct authors who lived in three different periods of Israels history. These authors were usually designated as First Isaiah (chapters 1-39), Second Isaiah (chapters 40-55), and Third Isaiah (chapters 56-66). This tripartite division became the standard approach to interpreting the book of Isaiah in all but the most conservative circles. First Isaiah dealt basically with matters from the pre-exilic 8th century B.C.E. Second Isaiah focused on issues of the 6th century Babylonian exile. Third Isaiah reflected the hope for restoration prevalent in the post-exilic period after Israel had been allowed to return home from exile. This consensus predominated throughout most critical biblical scholarship until just a few years ago when the rug was pulled out from under this widely accepted approach to the book of Isaiah. It had been known for quite some time that the accepted tripartite division of the book of Isaiah was not airtight. Problems of historical reference as well as literary structure periodically emerged. However, it was not until the development of the more recent method of interpreting the Bible within the context of its final canonical shape that new perspectives on Isaiah emerged. This new development was called "canonical criticism" and emphasized that the final canonical shape of a biblical book had to be taken seriously. This final form was not an accident. It was deliberate and it was understood to possess important keys for interpretation. Everything could not be reduced to the tenants of his69.4 2010
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torical criticism, important as that tool was and still is today. Canonical Criticism is still being refined as a method of interpreting the Bible. Nevertheless, it has already had a significant influence on how the book of Isaiah is read and understood today. The tripartite division of Isaiah is still useful and employed by many scholars to give the whole book a rough historical outline. However, the emphasis today is not to read Isaiah as three separate books but, rather, as one book that continually looks forward and backward as it presents Israels ongoing experience of displacement and restoration in her complex relationship with Yahweh. Several scholars recommend approaching the book of Isaiah as one would approach a musical score. It can be seen as an oratorio wherein Israel sings its story of faith. Many voices will be heard and not all of them in agreement. Primary themes are established, such as the dominant and constant character of Yahweh which permeates the entire work. Chapter one serves as the basic overture to the whole compositioh. This particular score gives evidence of several composers and even though the key themes of deafness and recovery of sight, rejection and election, and devastation and restoration are always present, there is no one correct rendering of the entire composition. Interpreters render the score of Isaiah as best they can, bringing to their work the finest skills available to them. But as no two renderings of Handels Messiah are the same, so no two renderings of the book of Isaiah will be exactly the same. This gives us an insight into the vast richness this book contains which no one generation of interpreters will ever definitively capture. The result of this newer approach to the book of Isaiah has ramifications for the ordinary non-scholar
bible reader. We do not want to cast off what history can teach us about this text, nor do we want to adopt a narrow fundamentalist approach. What we need to do is to encounter the book of Isaiah on its own terms. In a way this is a book about Israels life in the midst of a demanding sequence of imperial powers. But the careful reader will see that it is much more than ancient geopolitical intrigue. The text keeps the readers attention focused on Yahweh, who throughout the whole book is the primal player in the life of Judah and in the life of the world around Judah. The reader is constantly summoned to a faith that insists that Yahweh can be relied upon in every circumstance of life. Isaiah in all its parts brings together both history and theology but neither of these categories captures its core reality. The term that best captures the reality of this book is prophecy. In the words of Walter Brueggemann, "Prophecy in this context may be understood as a redescription of the public processes of history through which the purposes of Yahweh are given in human utterance." It is in this redescription that Yahweh encourages us through the lips of Isaiah, "Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert" (Is 43:18-19). Reading the book of Isaiah is all about discovering these new things the Lord is going to do and about having the courage to be open to them. Isaiah is quoted more times in the New Testament than any other Old Testament book. This book was considered to be so significant by early Christians that it was often referred to as "The Fifth Gospel." The church relied heavily on various portions of Isaiah in her attempt to articulate her faith in who Jesus was and
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Scripture Scope what he meant for Christian believers. We are all familiar with teachings such as the virgin birth, the suffering servant, and the Messiah, all of which relied on the words, of Isaiah for articulation. From its very beginning the church has had a strong and deep relationship with the book of Isaiah. Obviously we want to preserve and promote that relationship. Nevertheless, we must never lose s!ght of the fact that the book of Isaiah had a life of its own before Christianity ever existed. We must respect that life and do our very best to understand it and benefit from the richness of that long tradition in Judaism. That is why we do not rush immediately into a Christological interpretation of Isaiah before we have encountered the text on its own terms. It would be hard to overestimate the importance of the book of Isaiah for the life and faith of both Jews and Christians. The book of Isaiah invites us to enter the world of prophecy. Things will look and sound quite different there. It will not be a world of business as usual. Instead, there one will be encouraged to risk embracing newness, to encounter a world shaped by Yahweh, sustained by Yahweh, and thereby redefining who we are and where we are headed. This is an amazing journey for those courageous enough to enter upon it.
Recommended Resources Walter Brueggemann, Isaiah 1-39. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1998. Walter Brueggemann, Isaiah 40-66. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1998. Christopher R. Seitz, Isaiah 1-39. Interpretation. Louisville: John Knox Press, 1993. John EA. Sawyer, The Fifth Gospek Isaiah in the history of Christianity. Cambridge: University Press, 1996.
Experiencing God: The Three Stages of Prayer (Ave Maria Press, $10.95) is a print version and synthesis of insights from Thomas H. Greens lectures. He believes "that the real problem in praying is in the preliminaries . . ." (p. 20). Green suggests talking to God frankly about the difficulties of quieting down; setting structures aside for ten or fifteen minutes, giving God a chance to act; and then proceeding to ones usual practice of prayer. This prevents an attempt to control God. Just as a human friendship needs time to grow, he says--we shrink from someone who tries to get too friendly too fast--so does a relationship with God need time to grow. Those who are new to Greens work will find this a worthwhile introduction; those who have read him before will find a satisfying synthesis. God has something to say to you, says Michael Campbell-Johnston sJ. Be convinced of that, and listen for what it is. Not everyone can do that listening in a 30day Ignatian retreat, but by setting aside time each day, one can move through the process with the guidance of In the midst of Noise: An Ignatian Retreat in E~eryday Life
Materials for this department should be sent to: Book Review Editor; Review for Religious; 3601 Lindell Boulevard; St. Louis, MO 63108. Reviews published in Review for Religious are indexed in Book Review Index. Neither Review for Religious nor its reviewers can fill orders for any titles. Interested parties should inquire at their local booksellers or directly from the publishers.
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(Liguori, $12.99 ). The suggestions are practical. Choose a realistic time-frame for prayer and, if possible, a guide (but ultimately, it is God who gives the retreat). Look at the love in your life, and try to see where it is moving. The author keeps the structure of the Exercises but supplies modern touches: readings from Oscar Romero in addition to scripture passages; consideration of the use of things in connection with the stewardship of creation; and approaching the Passion with awareness "of death and resurrection ... today: in the suffering . . . brought about by poverty, by war . . . by oppressive social structures.., and in the coming-to-life.., by the power of God .... Christ is dying and being raised.., daily.., in his sisters and brothers." (p. 104). Mark Mossa SJ will tell you his life is messy; he keeps "running into frogs instead of the Mother of God." (p. xx). It happened when he ordered a tapestry of the Madonna and child hut received a ceramic frog instead. But "when it rains frogs--especially when it rains frogs . .. God is up to something." (p. xxiii) In already there: Letting God Find You (St. Anthony Messenger Press, $14.99), it is easy to follow Mossa around and notice what God has been up to. The conversational style will help readers probe their own lives to see what God is doing--which, the author says, we learn not only from the book of Exodus, but also from movies and pop culture. When Terry (On the VVaterfron0 ruefully complains that he "could have been a contender," he is feeling the pain of a lost opportunity; facing where we are now, says Mossa, helps us make a decision about the future. If we look at our past, well find out its not wholly good or wholly bad. Mossas best advice? At some point put the book aside and spend time with God. After all, "the books not going anywhere, and neither is God." Louis Hughess The Art of Allowing: The Breath in Meditation and in Life (The Columba Press, $21.95) offers an intriguing collection of exercises from which to choose: "Leaning sideways," "Tarzan," "Being breathed with Jesus," and, especially noteworthy, perceiving in-breath and out-breath as iconic of ones whole life, of ones death, and of a gentle surrender with Jesus, who breathed his last. Hughess contribution to integrating bodily awareness and prayer, with emphasis on breathing and allowing oneself to "be breathed," will be especially appreciated by those who practice John Mains method of meditation, but others will find it helpful for becoming centered before or during their prayer. Practitioners of Ignatian prayer will recognize the encouragement to pay attention to what
the breath is saying about "what the spirit is going through" (p. 100). Because of the authors emphasis on gentleness, naturalness, ease, these exercises can do much to make one aware of Gods sustaining and intimate presence. Those who recite psalms daily say that the practice allows the psalms to "seep into and become part of their bones." If recitation becomes rote, a new translation can reinvigorate an appropriation of these precious prayers. A psahns specific emotion, rather than word-for-word equivalence, determines Pamela Greenbergs translation choices in The Complete Psalms: The Book of Prayer Songs in a New Translation (Bloomsbury, $26). So "Bless the Lord ..." is rendered "Be wild, O my soul, for the Source of Wonder" to express the utter exuberance of Psalm 103; the same phrase becomes "Stand in wonder, O my soul, before the Eternal" to reflect the quiet awe in Psahn 104. Venom against ones enemies is sometimes softened (to opposing rather than hating those who are against God) or reinterpreted (God is asked to halt rather than slay those who cause harm, Psalm 139). Babylon is no longer the devastator who shall be repaid, but a ravaged one whose wrongs have led to its own suffering. And the dashing of Babylons little ones against the rock is now the shattering of any bright future for wrongdoers (Psalm 137). These shifts in meaning may be best appreciated in a meditative back-and-forth between a familiar translation and Greenbergs reinterpretation: --Rosema~7 Je~wmnn
AVE MARIA PRESS: A Concise Guide to Catholic Church Management by The Vincentian Center for Church and Society; pp. 269, paper, $18.95; Bridges to Contemplative Living with Thomas Merton: Advent and Christmas ed. Jonathan Montaldo, pp. 62, paper, $5.95; Bridges to Contemplative Living with Thomas Merton: Entering the School of Your Experience ed. Jonathan Montaldo, pp. 64, paper, $5.95; Bridges to Contemplative Living with Thomas Merton: Becoming Who You Already Are ed. Jonathan Montaldo, pp. 64, paper, $5.95; Bridges to Contemplative Living with Thomas Merton: Living Your Deepest Desires ed. Jonathan Montaldo, pp. 64, paper, $5.95; Bridges to Contemplative Living with Thomas Merton: Discovering the Hidden Ground of Love ed. Jonathan Montaldo, pp. 64, paper, $5.95.
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69.4 2010
Reviews
CATHOLIC BOOK PUBLISHING: Love & Hope: Pope Benedicts Spirituality of Communion by Robert E. Lauder, pp. 124, paper, $8.95. DUFOUR EDITIONS (Columba:)John Navigating the Gospels by Philip Fogarty SJ, pp. 89, paper, $19.95; A Short Life of St. Xrmcent de Paul by Luigi Mezzadri CM, pp. 80, paper, $15.95; The Dublin/ Murphy Report: A Watershed for Irish Catholicism? eds. John Littleton and Eamon Maher, pp. 173, paper, $24.95; Climate and. Christ: A Prophetic Alternative by Edward P. Echlin, pp. 134, paper, $19.95; The Story of the Liturgy in Ireland by Edmond Gerard Cullinan, pp.128, paper, $22.95; The Gospel of Luke: A Commentary by Michael Mullins, pp. 539, paper, $42.95; Columbanus: The Earliest Voice of Christian Ireland by Kate Tristram, pp.141, paper, $24.95; The Art of Allowing: The Breath in Meditation and in Life by Louis Hughes OP, pp. 128, paper, $21.95; Basic Evangelisation: Guidelines for Catholics by Pat Collins CM, pp. 288, paper, $24.95 (Veritas:) The Call to Be Human: Making Sense of Morality by Vincent MacNamara, pp. 240, paper, $19.95; Glimpses of God: Reflections for Day and Seasons by Lesley Carroll and Geraldine Smyth, pp.126, paper, $15.95; Encountering God in the Margins: Reflections of a Justice Volunteer by Dr. Aidan Donaldson, pp. 224, paper, $19.95; Answers from Within: Spiritual Guidelines for Managing Setbacks in Work by William J. Byron SJ, pp. 188, paper, $19.95; Favourite Celtic Saints: A Simple Book of Prayers by Neal Carlin, pp. 45, paper, $8.95. What We Believe: Understanding the Faith that We Share with the Saints by Patrick Mullins OCarm; pp. 271, paper, $22.95. FORTRESS PRESS: Shalom Church: The Body of Christ as Ministering Community by Craig L Nessan, pp. 232, paper, $18. LIGUORI PUBLICATIONS: In the Midst of Noise: An Ignatian Retreat in Everyday Life by Michael Campbell Johnston SJ, pp. 128, paper, $12.99 LITTLE BROTHERS OF SAINT FRANCIS: A Circuitous Spiritual Journey: A Memoir by Br. James Curran LBSF, pp. 140, paper,
$12.
442,
LITURGICAL PRESS: Awakening Vocation: A Theology of Christian Call by Edward P. Hahnenberg, pp. 288, paper, $29.95. NEW CITY PRESS: Keepsakes for the Journey: Four Weeks on Faith Deepening by Susan Muto, pp.72, paper, $8.95; 15 Days of Prayer with Thomas Merton by Andr~ Gozier, pp. 142, paper,
$12.95; 15 Days of Prayer with Brother Roger of Taiz~ by Sabine Laplane, pp. 133, paper, $12.95; Songs Out of Silence: 99 Sayings by Jessica Powers ed. Robert E Morneau, pp. 99, cloth, $14.95; The Art of Loving by Chiara Lubich, pp. 127, paper, $11.95; A Fractured Relationship: Faith and the Crisis of Culture by Thomas J. Norris, pp. 267, paper, $19.95; Trilogy on Faith and Happiness: Augustine ofHippo ed. Boniface Ramsey, pp. 141, paper, $13.95; Cardinal Newman for Today by Thomas J. Norris, pp. 230, paper, $18.95; The Rule of Saint Benedict for Everyone, pp. 92, paper, $8.95; 15 Days of Prayer with Saint Vincent de Paul by John-Pierre Renouard, pp. 125, paper, $12.95; New Financial Horizons: The Emergence of an Economy of Communion by Lorna Gold, pp. 224, paper, $16.95. PASTORAL PRESS: The Path Toward Resurrection by Mary Jo Tully, pp. 61, paper, $12.; PAULINE BOOKS AND MEDIA: Jesus: Help in Every Need by Kathryn J. Hermes FSP and Christine Setticase FSP, pp. 128, paper, $5.95. ST. ANTHONY MESSENGER PRESS: Already There: Letting God Find You by Mark Mossa SJ, pp. 151, paper, $14.99; The Bibles Best Love Stories by Allan E Wright, pp. 138, paper, $13.99. ST. AUGUSTINES PRESS: Roads to Rome: A Guide to Notable Converts from Britain and Ireland from the Reformation to the Present Day by John Beaumont, pp. 493, cloth, $55. SERVANT BOOKS: Safely through the Storm: 120 Reflections on Hope by Debra Herbeck, pp. 81, paper, $12.99; Mysteries of the Virgin Mary: Living Our Ladys Graces by Peter John Cameron oP, pp. 158, paper, $14.99; Roots of the Faith: URBANIANA UNIVERSITY PRESS: Nuove Forme di Vita Consacrata by Roberto Fusco and Giancarlo Rocca, pp. 303, paper, 29 ; Primo Censimento delle Nuove Communit~ by Giancarlo Rocca, pp 365, paper, 33 .
443
69.4 2010
Reviews
2010 indexes vo un e
authors
Barmann, Lawrence, The Mystical Element ~f Religion .................................118 Clendenen, Avis, A Rare Humility and a Future-Facing Myth ....................... 268 Coady, Mary Frances, Monasteries of Meteora .................................................. 71 Douglas, Deborah Smith, Medieval Nuns of Morienval: Midwives of a New Day ............................................................................... 165 Ezeani, Chinyeaka C., MSHR, Cultivating Mature Relationships in Religious Formation ......................................~. .............................................377 Hamel, J. Thomas, SJ, Discovering What Ignatius Does Not Say ...................31 Heisey, Daniel J., OSB, Operatic Discernment of a Vocation .......................... 390 Heriot, Leo J., SDB, Cardinal Newman and Don Bosco ..................................201 Horan, Daniel P., OFM, Koinonia and the Church in the Digital Age ............. 230 Hughes, Kathleen, RSCJ, The Apostolic Visitation: An Invitation to Intercultural Dialogue ...........................~ .............................16 Humphreys, Carolyn, OCDS, Edith Stein, Woman of Light ........................... 420 Ilodigwe, Damian C., Discipleship and Clinging to God ................................ 16 3 Kroeger, James H., MM, Kindness, the Everyday Virtue ................................... 77 Searching for Jesus at Christmas ..................................................................405 Lewis, Hedwig, SJ, Beyond Frontiers, Deep and High, Near and Far ............238 Magee, James J., Early Church Models of Some Elderly Ministries ............... 149 Maskulak, Marian, CPS, The Love Mysticism of Bernard of Clairvaux and Julian of Norwich,. ....................................................................................... 357 Mctz, Judith, SC, Elizabeth Setons Spirituality of the Cross ........................... 255 Miekler, Jeffrey, ssP, Coping with the Genuinely Difficult Religious .............297 Millea, M. Clare, ASCJ, The Apostolic Visitation of Institutes of Women Religious: A Visitators Perspective ..................................................................6 Mousseau, Juliet, Gods Irresistible Call Invites Us to Hope .......................... 173 Nogosek, Robert, CSC, Religious Life as an Acceptable Sacrifice ................... 81 2 Olivera, George, OFMCap, Ten Ideas on Priesthood ........................................90 Paul, Ann Marie, SCC, Gleanings from My First Ten Years ..............................63 Reinke, M. Evelynn, SND, Evening Counsel ................................................... 196 Samaha, John M., SM, The Liturgical Year: History or Mystery? ................... 309 Savary, Louis M., Revisiting St. Ignatiuss Kingdom Meditation ..................... 47 Smith, David L., CSSP, The Spirituality of Francis Libermann: A Man beyond His Time .............................................................................. 342 Strand, Vincent L., sJ, To Imitate the Angels Purity: Ignatiuss and John Pauls Counsel ...............................................................180 Tripole, Martin R., SJ, What Does It Mean To Be A Priest? .......................... 131
444
title
The Apostolic Visitation of Institutes of Women Religious: A Visitators Perspective M. Clare Millea ASCJ ................................................................... 6 The Apostolic Visitation: An Invitation to Intercultural Dialogue Kathleen Hughes RSCJ ................................................................................... 16 Beyond Frontiers, Deep and High, Near and Far 238 Hedwig Lewis SJ .......................................................................................... Cardinal Newman and Don Bosco 201 LeoJ. Heriot SDB ......................................................................................... Coping with the Genuinely Difficult Religious Jeffrey Mickler SSP ....................................................................................... 297 Cultivating Mature Relationships in Religious Formation Chinyeaka C. Ezeani MSHR .......................................................................... 377 Discipleship and Clinging to God Damian C. Ilodigwe ...................................................................................... 316 Discovering What Ignatius Does Not Say J. Thomas Hamel SJ ........................................................................................ 3I Early Church Models of Some Elderly Ministries 149 James J. Magee .............................................................................................. Edith Stein, Woman of Light Carolyn Humphreys OCDS ........................................................................... 420 Elizabeth Setons Spirituality of the Cross 255 Judith Metz SC .............................................................................................. Evening Counsel 196 M. Evelynn Reinke SND ............................................................................... Gleanings from My First Ten Years Ann Marie Paul SCC ....................................................................................... 63 Gods Irresistible Call Invites Us to Hope 173 Juliet Mousseau ............................................................................................. Kindness, the Everyday Virtue James H. Kroeger MM .................................................................................... 77 Koinonia and the Church in the Digital Age Daniel P. Horan OFM ................................................................................... 230 The Liturgical Year: History or Mystery? 309 John M. Samaha SM ...................................................................................... The Love Mysticism of Bernard of Clairvaux and Julian of Norwich Marian Maskulak CpS ................................................................................... 357 Medieval Nuns of Morienval: Midwives of a New Day Deborah Smith Douglas ............................................................................... 165 Monasteries of Meteora Mary Frances Coady ....................................................................................... 71 The Mystical Element of Religion Lawrence Barmann ....................................................................................... 118
69.4 2010
Reviews
Operatic Discernment of a Vocation Daniel J. Heisey OSB .................................................................................... 390 A Rare Humility and a Future-Facing Myth Avis Clendenen ............................................................................................. 268 Religious Life as an Acceptable Sacrifice Robert Nogosek CSC ....................................................................................281 Revisiting St. Ignatiuss Kingdom Meditation Louis M. Savary .............................................................................................. 47 Searching for Jesus at Christmas James H. Kroeger MM .................................................................................. 405 The Spirituality of Francis Libermann: A Man Beyond His Time David L. Smith CSSP ................................................................................... 342 Ten Ideas on Priesthood George Olivera OFMCap ................................................................................90 To Imitate the Angels purity: Ignatiuss and John Pauls Counsel Vincent L. Strand SJ ..................................................................................... 180 What Does It Mean To Be A Priest? Martin R. Tripole sJ ..................................................................................... 131
poetry
Atkinson, Kathleen, OSB, Equinox ................................................................... 254 Bouchard, Mary Alban, CSJ, Concluding ...........................................................96 Photosynthesis .............................................................................................. 172 Burleson, Teresa, Forerunner ........................................................................... 356 Herkender, Mary Frances, SND, Transformation .............................................. 46 Higgins, M. Jane, RSM, You who cabned ...................................................... 280 A ligthed taper .............................................................................................. 433 Hofer, Andrew, OP, Vita Consecrata ................................................................... 315 Schnapp, Patricia, RSM, In Whom We Live and Have Our Being .................. 6 7 Haiku for Pentecost ...................................................................................... 200 Freely Have You Received -Matthew 10 ...................................................... 308 Zimmerman, Irene, OSF, Station II Peter (and the Rest of Us) ...................... 194 Station IX - A Roman Soldier Encounters Jesus ......................................... 195 Station XII - Crucifixion .............................................................................. 195 Gamble .......................................................................................................... 296 Word Made Flesh ......................................................................................... 389
446i
book reviews
Kit-de, Phyllis M., Staying in the Fire: A Sisterhood Responds to Vatican II ............................................................ 328 Morkovsky, Mary Christine, CDP, Living in Gods Providence: History of the Congregation of Divine Providence of San Antonio, Texas, 1943-2000 ..... 214
book o shelf o life

January-March ..................................................................................................... 102 April-June ............................................................................................................ 215 October-December .............................................................................................. 439
scripture scope
Praying the Psalms as Songs of Praise .................................................................. 97 Theological and Spiritual Observations on the Psalms ...................................... 209 Reading and Understanding the Prophets .......................................................... 323 Meeting the Prophet Isaiah Again for the First Time ........................................ 434
Poets~ Addresses
356 Forerunner Teresa Burleson Box 302 Coolidge, Texas 76635 389 Word Made Flesh Irene Zimmerman OSF 3601 South 41st Street Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53221 <ancillapoet@sbcglobal.net>
433 A Lighted Taper Mary Jane Higgins RSM Mount.SL Rita Health Center ~ 15 Sun, her Brown Road Cumberland, Rhode Island 02864
447
69.4 2010
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