This blog is meant to be a dialogue and not a one way blog. So, you can click "comment" and answer any of the questions which are vital to you.
1. How can religious life be prophetic today?
2. What do we need to do to adapt to modern times?
3. How can the French School of spirituality be adapted to be more relevant to our times?
4. What will attract and guarantee new membership among affluent societies?
5. In what new ways can the vows be stated and lived in modern life?
6. How can we live religious life in a postmodern, post-Christian era.
7. How can religious life be adapted to new movements in eco—spirituality and concern for the earth?
8. How can the notion of social justice be integrated into all of religious life?
9. How can the founding principles be related to today's world?
10. What are the issues which have prevented us from adapting sufficiently and why are we in crisis?
11. What should we have done in the past forty years which we did not do?
12. How do our governance structures contribute to our inability to change?
13. How is the notion of community to be expanded to include more than concern for how and where members live daily life?
14. Was the high recruitment of the past fifty years a one-time phenomenon, an aberration not something essential to the continuation of our form of religious life?
a continuing dialogue (not a one-way blog) on the future of vowed religous life in the Roman Catholic Church and an analysis of why new member recruitment cannot balance losses due to death of members.
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- Phil Aaron, S.M.
- I have lived a vowed religious life in Marianist community for 60 years
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Book Reviews
BOOK REVIEW
A Sacred Voice is Calling: Personal Vocation and Social Conscience
John Neafsey
Orbis Books 2006
For about the last ten years or so, the Lilly Foundation has spent millions of dollars in grants to universities and individuals to promote research and activity to determine how religious oriented youth, who in years past responded in relatively large numbers to the call of a vocation to the priesthood and religious life, are now responding to a personal vocation in both secular and church spheres of life. Lilly is interested in knowing what is replacing the so-called religious vocation of the past.
Author John Neafsey, a clinical psychologist at Loyola University of Chicago, was supported by Lilly in writing A Sacred Voice is Calling, in which he explores what it means to find and follow a personal calling. The subtitle, Personal Vocation and Social Conscience, reveals the uniqueness of Neafsey’s approach. He discusses calling in the context of forming a personal conscience with reference to social issues rather than in the context of a particular institution or life style. Issues such as 9/11, the war on terror and the Iraq war are used as examples of situations one could use to sharpen one’s conscience and provide opportunities to hear a call. The book should be suggested reading for any person struggling to find meaning in life.
Neafsey has done a marvelous job of bring together examples of persons from Native American Black Elk to Mother Teresa and Thoreau, persons who have heard and followed a special calling and has used numerous quotes which will inspire those who are in a process of discernment.
Being a psychologist, Neafsey makes good use of psychological theory related to the underpinnings of the notion of the true self as a foundation for developing a meaningful and dedicated life.
Developing a strong social conscience is a key element, in the author’s presentation, to hearing the cry of the poor and sites contemporary reconciliation attempts in South Africa and Guatemala, and martyrdom in Latin America as situations which can help to develop a critical conscience.
The author is very successful in his attempt to take a broad, interdisciplinary and ecumenical approach to the notion of sacred calling and demonstrates that “vocation” is a “universal or archetypal phenomenon.”
Phil Aaron, S.M.
Poverty, Celibacy, and Obedience: A radical Option for Lifeby Diarmuid O'Murchu, Croosroads Press, 1999
INTRODUCTION, CHAPTERS ONE AND TWO
In this short book O'Murchu combines a discussion on a nonviolent way of life with a reinterpretation of the three vows of religious life. Below are excerpts from the book.
P 2 (in this book) I want to rescue the vowed life from the religious minimalism that is choking it to death. I want to transcend the centuries of legalistic and devotional modeling that portrayed the vows as the means toward perfection that guaranteed salvation in a life hereafter.I want to reclaim what I believe is a much deeper and more authentic tradition in which the vowed life engages with the archetypal values that govern our earthly, personal and interpersonal lives. It is these global and planetary—as well as personal and interpersonal—dimensions of the vowed life that surface afresh under the rubric of non-violence, itself a key aspect for the unfolding spirituality and theology of our time.(Chapter one is a review of the history of non-violence and the main characters in the movement)(Another main theme in the book is the notion of “liminality”,, ..”the option for the cutting-edge which characterizes the vowed life in a unique way.”
P 13 Reinterpreting the Vows. In all the traditions, the vows tend to be explored and explained in ascetical, world-denouncing terms. They are portrayed as laws whose strict observance will protect you from the evils of the world and ensure that you attain eternal bliss in the afterlife.
P 14 Now surprisingly, we have—in all the religions of the world-- a two-tier understanding of holiness. The monastic life is considered to be the better and the holier and, consequently, the lay way of life is deemed to be inferior and imperfect. Despite genuine efforts over the past thirty years to change this dualistic and discriminatory distinction, the old division still looms large and seriously inhibits a more integrated spirituality for monk and lay persons alike.
P 17 The call to the vowed life is universal in nature and predates, historically and culturally, all the major religions …Religious life needs neither formal religion nor the Christian Church to validate its existence….it does not require formal religion either for its existence or development.P18 It is unfortunate that religious life today is so closely identified with formal religion. It confuses many issues but, most fundamentally, the meaning of the vowed life as a cultural, global movement.
P 19 The major crisis facing the vowed life today is that it has largely lost touch with its capacity to serve in a liminal capacity. It has been heavily domesticated and excessively institutionalized, not merely in religious (ecclesiastical) terms but also because it has over identified with the conventional behaviors of secular life. Religious tend to work and minister in institutions and systems sponsored by state and Church, sometimes both. Such involvement seriously hinders the ability to act in a liminal and prophetic way.…Many of the contemporary ecological and feminist movements serve the liminal calling in a truly authentic way. They name, bravely and subversively, the sins of oppression in this age and go beyond that to proffer alternative ways of living, for now and for the future. Liminality is alive and thriving, but for the greater part outside and not within the monastic and religious life we know today.For contemporary religious the call of our times may be to place our resources (personal and congregational) more explicitly at the service of those movements that operate at the liminal cutting-edge in today's world.
P 37 If we are to adopt nonviolence as an under girding value for vowed living, we cannot escape the painful truth that much of our living in the past—our attempts to keep the vows—was itself fundamentally violent.
See the author's web site for essays on various topicshttp://www.diarmuid13.com/
Phil Aaron
A Sacred Voice is Calling: Personal Vocation and Social Conscience
John Neafsey
Orbis Books 2006
For about the last ten years or so, the Lilly Foundation has spent millions of dollars in grants to universities and individuals to promote research and activity to determine how religious oriented youth, who in years past responded in relatively large numbers to the call of a vocation to the priesthood and religious life, are now responding to a personal vocation in both secular and church spheres of life. Lilly is interested in knowing what is replacing the so-called religious vocation of the past.
Author John Neafsey, a clinical psychologist at Loyola University of Chicago, was supported by Lilly in writing A Sacred Voice is Calling, in which he explores what it means to find and follow a personal calling. The subtitle, Personal Vocation and Social Conscience, reveals the uniqueness of Neafsey’s approach. He discusses calling in the context of forming a personal conscience with reference to social issues rather than in the context of a particular institution or life style. Issues such as 9/11, the war on terror and the Iraq war are used as examples of situations one could use to sharpen one’s conscience and provide opportunities to hear a call. The book should be suggested reading for any person struggling to find meaning in life.
Neafsey has done a marvelous job of bring together examples of persons from Native American Black Elk to Mother Teresa and Thoreau, persons who have heard and followed a special calling and has used numerous quotes which will inspire those who are in a process of discernment.
Being a psychologist, Neafsey makes good use of psychological theory related to the underpinnings of the notion of the true self as a foundation for developing a meaningful and dedicated life.
Developing a strong social conscience is a key element, in the author’s presentation, to hearing the cry of the poor and sites contemporary reconciliation attempts in South Africa and Guatemala, and martyrdom in Latin America as situations which can help to develop a critical conscience.
The author is very successful in his attempt to take a broad, interdisciplinary and ecumenical approach to the notion of sacred calling and demonstrates that “vocation” is a “universal or archetypal phenomenon.”
Phil Aaron, S.M.
Poverty, Celibacy, and Obedience: A radical Option for Lifeby Diarmuid O'Murchu, Croosroads Press, 1999
INTRODUCTION, CHAPTERS ONE AND TWO
In this short book O'Murchu combines a discussion on a nonviolent way of life with a reinterpretation of the three vows of religious life. Below are excerpts from the book.
P 2 (in this book) I want to rescue the vowed life from the religious minimalism that is choking it to death. I want to transcend the centuries of legalistic and devotional modeling that portrayed the vows as the means toward perfection that guaranteed salvation in a life hereafter.I want to reclaim what I believe is a much deeper and more authentic tradition in which the vowed life engages with the archetypal values that govern our earthly, personal and interpersonal lives. It is these global and planetary—as well as personal and interpersonal—dimensions of the vowed life that surface afresh under the rubric of non-violence, itself a key aspect for the unfolding spirituality and theology of our time.(Chapter one is a review of the history of non-violence and the main characters in the movement)(Another main theme in the book is the notion of “liminality”,, ..”the option for the cutting-edge which characterizes the vowed life in a unique way.”
P 13 Reinterpreting the Vows. In all the traditions, the vows tend to be explored and explained in ascetical, world-denouncing terms. They are portrayed as laws whose strict observance will protect you from the evils of the world and ensure that you attain eternal bliss in the afterlife.
P 14 Now surprisingly, we have—in all the religions of the world-- a two-tier understanding of holiness. The monastic life is considered to be the better and the holier and, consequently, the lay way of life is deemed to be inferior and imperfect. Despite genuine efforts over the past thirty years to change this dualistic and discriminatory distinction, the old division still looms large and seriously inhibits a more integrated spirituality for monk and lay persons alike.
P 17 The call to the vowed life is universal in nature and predates, historically and culturally, all the major religions …Religious life needs neither formal religion nor the Christian Church to validate its existence….it does not require formal religion either for its existence or development.P18 It is unfortunate that religious life today is so closely identified with formal religion. It confuses many issues but, most fundamentally, the meaning of the vowed life as a cultural, global movement.
P 19 The major crisis facing the vowed life today is that it has largely lost touch with its capacity to serve in a liminal capacity. It has been heavily domesticated and excessively institutionalized, not merely in religious (ecclesiastical) terms but also because it has over identified with the conventional behaviors of secular life. Religious tend to work and minister in institutions and systems sponsored by state and Church, sometimes both. Such involvement seriously hinders the ability to act in a liminal and prophetic way.…Many of the contemporary ecological and feminist movements serve the liminal calling in a truly authentic way. They name, bravely and subversively, the sins of oppression in this age and go beyond that to proffer alternative ways of living, for now and for the future. Liminality is alive and thriving, but for the greater part outside and not within the monastic and religious life we know today.For contemporary religious the call of our times may be to place our resources (personal and congregational) more explicitly at the service of those movements that operate at the liminal cutting-edge in today's world.
P 37 If we are to adopt nonviolence as an under girding value for vowed living, we cannot escape the painful truth that much of our living in the past—our attempts to keep the vows—was itself fundamentally violent.
See the author's web site for essays on various topicshttp://www.diarmuid13.com/
Phil Aaron
7 comments:
I think we are pretty phophetic. We coujld be more. Living happily as we do, men in a vibrant community, is prophetic. Could we more prophetic, perhaps even startlingly so? I think so. We live so much like the rest of middle class America that we are not startling until someone gets rall close and inside the community. We could attract more strongly and more quickly if we are obviously more simple in our living. How do we do that is seed for a long discussion!
I would start such a discussion with asking what our needs are versus our wants. I think we should live without wants; live with only needs. Maybe there could be some heroism in our living!
How many TVs do we need in the community?
How many cars do we need?
What brands of liquor and wine do we need?
I see an approach to such questions as emphasizing discernment regarding need.
The French School invites us, among other things, to enter into the mysteries of Christ and of Mary. Why Marianists want to do this may be a good question and if it is, I refer the reader to Joe Stefanelli's "Our Marianist Heritage" availble from NACMS.
Praying the mysteries of Christ, it seems to me, is an exercise of centering prayer. And cnetering prayer is something that is very current, modern or whatever you want to call it.
Phil,
I found your observations and concerns thought provoking. I am surprised that we have not asked questions like this publicly before like the idea of everyone thinking alike in community/formation etc. I also think Merton's last days focused on the centrality of non-violence to be christian. I have been taken up by Marshall Rosenberg's "Non-violent communication" because so much of what he says sheds light on the violence I have witnessed here as well as the insights of Chaminade on the use of words to express things in a way that elicits a non-violent reaction. One of my passions has been re-writing the psalms that we use for morning and evening prayer. I can no longer say the words as they are written. I have to do a translation. For example: Ps. 109 (110) ...to make your enemies your footstool. Not a very peaceful thought to help nurture love for someone who disagrees with me. Or in the Magnificat: casts the mighty from their thrones... does not exactly conjure up an image of respect for someone I want to relate to in order to talk sense about peace.
I would like some feedback from Catholics on how they see Marshall Rosenberg's approach.
Stan Zubek
I resonate with what Stan writes about the Psalms! I can learn from him, too! I do not like to use those words from so many of the Psalms, but I usually apply the violent sentiments of the Psalms to the folks I consider antithetical to justice. I have to learn to try to talk with these folks and find ways to work with them to achieve justice. Thanks, Stan!!
http://www.diarmuid13.com/
This is a link to O'Murchu's web site where he lists his books. One is about the vows and nonviolence which today seems so important when the image of God in some of the Hebrew scriptures is so focussed on God taking sides in violent ways. Religious tensions in our world today seem to be based on some much talk about God being on one side or the other.
All of O'Murchu's writing suggests very different images of God.
Great to see Stan writing about violence which he has seen in Africa and Ireland.
Glad to see Stan's comments after witnessing violence in Africa and Ireland. The image of God in some of the Hebrew scriptures is not exactly appropriate in a time when religious tensions in the world are dividing us and causing so much terror and death. O'Murchu has based his new ideas on the vows on nonviolence. See his web site at http://www.diarmuid13.com/
I'd like to offer an aswer to Q14. As a former SMer from 1964-73, I think it is important to recheck the facts about "those large vow classes" of fifty years ago. They did not occur in the St. Louis and Pacific provinces, just Cincinnati/NY. There were only three large classes in the Fifties, and the seven in the Sixties probably came more from Ohio and Pittsburgh than the east coast. If you count first vows and departures instead of total religious, then SM growth was not smooth and constant right up to 1967, like Larry Cada sugests. Departures started spiking in 1964 and 65.
You can't really answer questions 4, 10 and 11 unless you have a good answer to #14. I do not think the SM needs to produce large numbers of young teaching Brothers to regain its former momentum, but I do think that recent Marianist history in the USA needs to be more carefully studied to figure out what really happened during and after the Sixties. Diffing into French history alone won't do the job.
The Fifties Paradigm of factory-like schools and faculty houses did not fit the three places I taught nor many western schools either. Maybe certain policy decisions by a few leaders had stronger consequences than even the movement of the Spirit in the broader Church before and after Vatican II.
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