Sister Earth

Die Grosse Stille: Listening to the Quiet

I finally got to see Die Grosse Stille (Into Great Silence) the other night. I've been waiting a long time to see this award-winning documentary film about the Grande Chartreuse, the mother house of the Carthusian monastic order. The film itself is nearly three hours long with no narration, no soundtrack, and since the monks are alone and silent most of the time, there is no talk except for one beautiful, short, whispery statement near the end. Judging by the rave-reviews and sold-out audiences all over the world, human attention spans are much greater than we give ourselves credit for.

I went in knowing something about the Carthusian life and probably would have done well to leave that at the door. I was too busy recognizing and identifying their activities to really take in what the filmmaker was trying to convey. From what I remember, though, the film says as much about how outsiders might view Carthusian life as what that life means for the monks. Die Grosse Stille follows the monks through their daily, yearly, and life-long rounds, but I feel that without words it was limited in what it could say about their spirituality. That is not to say that the humble rituals of eating and cleaning and digging in the garden are not forms of prayer, but I fear that the film may have dwelled too much on their lifestyle because of its strangeness or as if it were an end in itself (perhaps reflecting the modern preoccupation with material things). Relatively little time was spent on the monks' prayer life, either alone or in choir (the latter being unfortunate for fans of Gregorian chant). While it is understandable that the filmmaker preferred to show more active scenes, I don't know that this accurately reflects the supreme importance of prayer for Carthusians.

As the title suggests, the main theme of the movie is silence, or perhaps more precisely, what one hears when one is silent. The film opens and closes with this quote:

Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. [1 Kings 19:11b-12]

As I've said, the monks in the film are frequently on the move, so silence is often conveyed through focussing on inanimate objects and on the landscape surrounding the charterhouse (as Carthusian monasteries are called). What we hear in the silence are the sounds of the monks moving through their days and nights, and listening becomes a primary activity for the audience, as it is for the monks in a more spiritual sense. Close-ups of the monks' ears drive home the point that there is something to hear in silence.

While the film may not have met every expectation of this Carthusian wannabe, it turned out to have a profound impact on me. On leaving the theatre I was struck by the sounds around me (which did not include many voices since most people left the theatre silently). After three hours of listening to silence, every sound seemed to stand out and take on new significance. I also found myself looking at objects, plants, even birds, and sensing the silence within them and taking that silence into myself, even in a noisy environment. For a person who is normally inundated and bothered by noise from within and without, these have been novel and very welcome experiences. It's not unusual for a good film to affect me emotionally, but for a film to change my perceptions is extraordinary. I would definitely encourage anyone interested in spirituality to experience this film.

The DVD of the film is being released in Canada next week (it can be shipped to the US), and a two-disc "collector's" DVD (in PAL format) will be available in the UK in May.

UPDATE: My good friend Antony (Coming to the Quiet) has posted his quietly enthusiastic reaction to the film.

Way of the Cross of the Global South

Development and Peace has adapted the Way of the Cross to reflect the concerns and needs of the people of the South who are struggling with poverty, exploitation, and environmental degredation. The full text and instructions can be found in their Solidarity Resource Book, but I thought I would post the reflections here.

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First Station: Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane

Reflection: Lord, how many times have we wished to follow your will, but have lacked the resolve to do so? How many times have we vowed to live lives of solidarity and justice, and yet found ourselves overwhelmed by the consumer society in which we live? Pope John Paul II called solidarity “a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good”. Like Peter, our spirit is willing. Let us pray for the grace to develop a firm and persevering determination to work until peace and justice are achieved.

Second Station: Jesus, betrayed by Judas, is arrested

Reflection: Lord, we need to have the courage of our convictions in order to promote authentic human development. Sometimes, through our weakness or lack of commitment we betray what we know to be right, and what we know  needs to be done to assist our overseas partners. We know that Canada’s federal government provides less than half of the development assistance they have promised, for example, but we have not forcefully held our leaders to account. Grant us the grace to follow you and love our neighbours without hesitation.

Third Station: Jesus is condemned by the Sanhedrin

Reflection: Lord, without your sense of righteousness, it would be impossible for us to bring about the reign of justice that you promised. To work for change in societies and economies could mean that our motives might be misunderstood or that we too could be falsely accused. With the example of your Son, may we persevere in serving you as well as serving those southern partners whose sacrifice is often so much greater than our own.

Fourth Station: Jesus is denied by Peter

Reflection: Lord, we know that injustice reigns in our world, that 1.2 billion people live in extreme poverty, and that 820 million will go to bed hungry tonight. Yet, we do not live our lives as if this pressing reality was foremost in our minds. Grant us the gift of honesty that we may not fear to speak the truth, and to live lives of integrity, even when difficult.

Fifth Station: Jesus is judged by Pilate

Reflection: Lord, we often analyse the world from the point of view of the crowd, and its accepted wisdom. Yet we know that your followers should be people who share your prophetic vision. We long to become a faithful Church, reflecting your love in our actions. Grant us discernment that we may see as you see, not as the world sees.

Sixth Station: Jesus is scourged and crowned with thorns

Reflection: Lord, too many of your people have suffered the injustice of poverty for too long. We do not pray for patience before their suffering, even if we cannot immediately resolve all of the evil and calm all the violence present in the world. Rather, we ask for your grace to move us to ever more effective action in pursuit of justice and peace.

Seventh Station: Jesus bears the cross

Reflection: Lord, we realize that your creation is crucified each day that we abuse nature and use more of her resources than can be replenished. We do not wish to pass on the cross of a wounded Earth for future generations to carry. Grant us the strength of purpose that we may faithfully and responsibly bear our own crosses today.

Eighth Station: Jesus is helped by Simon the Cyrenian to carry the cross

Reflection: Lord, we realize that alone we are unable to do your will. The weight of our own inadequacies often prevents us from becoming your instruments on Earth. Yet, following your example, our sacrifice can lighten the load for others. May we always be willing to accept to work with you in service of our neighbours in need.

Ninth Station: Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem

Reflection: Lord, it is you who made our mothers, sisters and daughters the most perceptive of souls. All over the world, it is women who suffer the most from violence and poverty, but it is women who also take on the tasks of healing the world. Grant us gentle spirits that we may comfort those who mourn, and address the causes of their suffering.

Tenth Station: Jesus is crucified

Reflection: Lord, you carried the suffering of the world, and used it to redeem us all. Even when confronted by suffering, may our actions also allow us to participate in your redemptive plan. Grant that we may bring your reconciliation and forgiveness to all.

Eleventh Station: Jesus promises his Kingdom to the good thief

Reflection: Lord, sometimes we would like to help or forgive others, but only if we find them worthy. It is easier to promote generosity to ‘the deserving poor’, or people needing humanitarian assistance after natural disasters have befallen them. Yet, your perseverance in expressing the invitation to follow God was inclusive enough to embrace even a criminal. Grant that we may become as inclusive in our personal and communal lives.

Twelfth Station: Jesus speaks to his mother and disciple

Reflection: Lord, the feminine face of discipleship, as well as your special love for women, is strongly evidenced in this moving passage. Women must play a predominant role in all our activities for justice and peace, in order for our efforts to be images of the change we want. We should all pray to receive the strength of these women, so that we may be willing to stand by those in need.

Thirteenth Station: Jesus dies on the cross

Reflection: Lord, our efforts to promote international solidarity are human efforts that are destined to never be complete. It is really the work of the Creator that endures, although perhaps sometimes we can be instruments of God’s will. But ultimately we must come to recognize that “we are the workers, not the master builders”. (Archbishop Oscar Romero.) Like Jesus, we should commend our all to God.

Fourteenth Station: Jesus is placed in the tomb

Reflection: Lord, the example of Joseph is an inspiration to us. Even when Jesus seemed to have failed in his mission, Joseph was willing to serve him. Sometimes the goals of our efforts towards international solidarity seem too distant to be possible, and for humans to realize them, they may well be. Pray that we are granted the compassion of Joseph, that we may always provide for those in need.

Closing Prayer:

Christ suffers among the tens of thousands of people of the Global South who will die from poverty-related causes today. We believe that the crucifixion of Christ is real, not something that happened once some two thousand years ago. But we also believe that we can play a role to encourage the hope of resurrection to be felt in our world. Lord Jesus, help us walk in your steps!

Development and Peace: Life Before Profit

Since this is Solidarity Sunday I thought I would post something from the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace. Development and Peace, as they are known, have developed a set of faith-based principles to govern resource extraction in developing countries in order to avoid the social and environmental abuses that so often accompany industrial activities in the South. Canadian mining companies in particular have a reputation for bribing officials in order to avoid environmental regulations and override local opposition. It is up to us to speak for the voiceless and demand that our corporations and governments uphold the same values abroad as at home.

Life Before Profit Declaration of Principles

DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE affirms the following declaration of principles. We believe it should serve as a guide to any decision and action regarding resource extraction and management made by our government, Canadian companies, and individuals.

1. SACRED: The Earth is sacred. All life is interconnected and interdependent. Therefore, the Earth’s ecological diversity, beauty and health must be protected.
2. EQUITY AND PEACE: The Earth’s resources must be shared by peaceful means in an equitable manner that allows current and future generations to meet their needs.
3. PARTICIPATION: All people have the right to participate fully in and have control over decisions that affect their lives and communities.
4. SOLIDARITY: In the interests of solidarity and the common good, decisions made for the benefit of one community must not violate the rights of other communities.
5. COMMON GOOD: The importance of the Earth’s resources to the common good takes priority over any possible commercial value.
6. OPTION FOR THE POOR: In the extraction, management, and use of resources, human rights must be respected. Preference must be given to the rights of indigenous peoples and those who are marginalized by poverty or because of race and gender.

For more information on these issues, please visit D&P's Life Before Profit Campaign page.

Baptism, mercy, forgiveness, and nonviolence

The Christian practice of nonviolence begins with forgiveness—not with one person's forgiveness of another, but with the prior forgiveness of the person by God. Baptism signifies that the Christian's new life begins with an awareness of having been himself or herself forgiven: "The Lord has forgiven you; now you must do the same."
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But if no one will forgive, then human beings have no recourse but to a shame/revenge mechanism. Here, people are defined by what they have done, or by what other people have done in their name. They may even be defined by what has been done to them, as when a raped woman is considered to be "spoilt property," to have been "shamed"and so to have "brought shame on" her family. A society that uses shame rather than guilt as a regulating device usually believes also in fate, which, as we have seen, Christianity rejects. Instead Christianity advocates forgiveness, which enables human beings to feel guilt rather than shame for the wrong they have done—guilt being preferable to shame precisely because guilt, unlike shame, can be forgiven. Revenge, which is indispensable for the recuperation of honour after its loss through shame, can be renounced if guilt replaces shame. This is the meaning of Christ's difficult demands that his followers "turn the other cheek" rather than strike back, and forgive others over and over again. But forgiveness is possible only when people feel that they themselves have received mercy. Mercy "in the beginning," from God, is a further meaning of baptism.

—Margaret Visser, The Geometry of Love

Blasphemy?

Church of Our Lord

Pray the News Podcast

One of my introductions to Christianity was The People's Companion to the Breviary, a popular breviary published by the Carmelites of Indianapolis. It includes many excerpts from writings by women of faith throughout the ages and intercessions that reflect contemporary concerns. This breviary reflects the particular vocation of this Carmelite community—women praying on the issues of the day—that they also carry out online with their magnificent website, Pray the News. It is a site well worth exploring if you are looking for ways to respond to the world's problems in a prayerful and contemplative way. They write reflections on the news stories that catch their attention, and have started podcasting as well (their first podcast includes a cameo by their contemplative labrador retriever!). When you're done you can go light a candle for your personal intentions and, if you choose, share your prayer with the Sisters. What a wonderful use for the internet!

Mother Church or Manly Church?

In a recent National Post article, columnist Barbara Kay relates some results from a 2000 Swiss survey about church attendance in families. According to Kay, the study found that children whose fathers attended church regularly or irregularly were far more likely to become regular church-goers themselves. When only the mother attended church, only 2% of the children in the study became regular church-goers. Most commentators I've read (and the study's authors themselves) interpret this as a demonstration of natural male authority in spiritual matters. Some also go on to express concerns that the "feminization" of the Church (rather than, for example, the Church's strict teaching on sexuality) is driving men, and subsequently their children, away.

What Kay didn't report but others have, was that if the father attends church regularly, the less the mother attends the more the children will attend. If this is the case, then the logical solution to the decline in church attendance is to forbid mothers from attending and allowing only fathers and their offspring in the door. Of course this is absurd.

It is unfortunate that the study is not available online (as others in the series are) because its methods and conclusions are not available for critique. Judging by the excerpt posted here, the authors do not seem to be approaching the matter from an objective or scholarly viewpoint (e.g. the reference to "the implantation of his seed" is a biblical expression that lacks scientific accuracy). Nevertheless I don't doubt that the general trend reported in the study is true for the simple reason that it is entirely consistent with feminist theory.

Children are taught from a young age that authority rests with males, and so whatever father figures deem important will be unconciously accepted as important by the children around them. This form of male authority can be destructive, as in the case of psychological abuse, or positive, as in the case of church attendance. The corollary to this, which the study's results also reflect, is that whatever is the concern of women is denigrated and not just seen as neutral but as inferior and to be avoided. This is why the more the mother attends, the less the children will attend.

Unlike the commentators who see this as proof that males are uniquely endowed with spiritual authority, it seems to me to be proof of the evil of sexism. It is obviously not only in spiritual matters that male authority is respected and female authority denigrated, therefore authority in general must be either exclusively male or present in both sexes. Certainly there are many who believe men should have control over all areas of life, including spirituality, and they are at least being consistent. But if female authority is respected anywhere, it must be respected everywhere, including in spiritual matters.

I am surprised by the concern about the "feminization" and "emasculation" of the Church (which, let's not forget, is controlled solely by unmarried men). Are we not talking about the Mother Church, the Bride of Christ? Some would like the Church to be more manly in the way it worships our loving, nurturing, self-giving God, the God who 'feeds his flock, carries the lambs in his bosom, and gently leads the pregnant ewes.' I'm not sure if the people who want a forceful, rigid, authoritarian religion are in the right place! Certainly our God is one who judges and reprimands, but he [for lack of a better pronoun] also forgives and relents towards those who repent. Our Father is not one who is likely to say "You've made your bed now lie in it!" Instead, God rushes to meet us, forgets our sins, and kills the fatted calf to celebrate our return.

American professor George Lakoff has said that the split between conservative and liberal views is a split between those who want their world to be governed by a "strict father" or by a "nurturant parent." The same seems to be true in the Church. On the one side is the pro-patriarchy camp, which emphasizes rules, obedience, and male rule, and on the other side is the Vatican II camp (I call it that because VII is the usual scapegoat of the pro-patriarchy camp) which emphasizes Spirit-led openness, care for others, and egalitarianism.

Since we, male and female, are made in the image of God, does it not follow that the Church should balance both "masculine" and "feminine" tendencies instead of pitting them against each other? Far from endangering the authority of men, raising up female authority in the Church would rectify the imbalance in the way we reflect Christ to the world. Who knows, we might find it attracts far more people than it offends.

Are All Religions the Same?

Mike and Maaike make the proposition:

As a response, here are some excerpts from an essay by Bishop Giampaolo Crepaldi, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace:

Public reason is not possible in a culture that is dominated by the "dictatorship of relativism," for a very simple reason: Relativism is a dogma and therefore it a priori rejects rational argumentation, even toward itself.
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Relativism, in fact, cannot be argued; otherwise it would refer to a capability of reason to argue the truth. In this case, relativism would contradict itself because it would admit the possibility of non-relative truths. Thus, relativism can only be "dogmatically assumed."
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The consequence of philosophical relativism can only be religious relativism: All religions are different and yet actually the same. They are irrational, they are the result of an unfounded choice, and thus they cannot be compared.

Relativism, unfoundedly dogmatic, views religions as unjustified beliefs. Because it does so in an unfounded manner, it cannot demonstrate it, hence it simply "believes it." Relativism "believes" that religions are unfounded, thus they cannot be compared. In other words, it believes that religions have nothing to do with reason and truth. Then all religions are dogmatic, in the trivial sense of the word, i.e. in the sense of "accepted without evidence" (just like relativism, but relativism does not seem to be aware of that).
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In this way, all religions are reduced to myth, i.e. to a way of exorcizing mysterious, bizarre and irrational forces. If religions are unfounded, it means that the divine forces they refer to are irrational and that arbitrariness rules the world. If the primordial forces are arbitrary, religion is a form of insurance against the repercussions of this imponderableness. Therefore religious relativism regresses to a kind of religious primitivism: religion is a way of exorcizing irrational forces.
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To consider religion as something irrational, according to Benedict XVI, is entirely inconsistent with our whole Western and Christian history. In fact, both Greek thought and the Jewish religion, as well as Christianity, of course, rejected the vision of religion as myth and conceived religion as knowledge and God as Logos.
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For all these reasons, Benedict XVI said at Regensburg that there is a profound harmony between what is Greek in the best sense of the word and the biblical understanding of faith in God.

Christianity was the ultimate synthesis of all this: For the Gospel of St. John, Jesus is the Logos, he is the spirit of God that created all things. Christianity does not borrow from the many religions of the time, the religions of the myth, but presents us with God-truth reconnecting directly with Greek thought and developing the experience of Israel. It relates "to that divine presence which can be perceived by the rational analysis of reality … In Christianity, rationality became religion."

We believe that at the beginning of everything is the eternal Word, with Reason and not Unreason. Justin (second century) believed that the Word had sown its seeds in Greek philosophy because what is true for reason comes always from the Word. Clement of Alexandria even thought that Greek philosophy had been a natural revelation of the Christian God. There was often the danger of sliding toward an irrational God but it has always been met and overcome by the authentic orthodox line that was embraced by the Church.
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Therefore, Christian faith confirms and supports the rational search for truth and calls for a public role of reason that will also include the critique of religions. In fact, we cannot say that all religions relate to truth and reason in the same way as Christianity. They relate to truth and reason in a different manner, which is the same as saying that they are more or less rational and that they can more or less adequately support the public role of reason. This was the theme touched upon by the Holy Father at Regensburg. A God who preaches violence is not a rational God, because reason rejects violence as means of transmission of faith. What is not rational cannot come from the true God.
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If a religion teaches a way of life that is not righteous, it cannot be a true religion. Only when man has lost sight of the ability to know what is good and what is true, then all offers of salvation become the same. If we do not have any standards of right living, then all religions are the same. If the standards for right living are relativized, man remains trapped inside religions. Again, this demonstrates that religious relativism is founded on philosophical relativism. Cardinal Ratzinger points out that St. Paul (Romans 2:14ff) does not say that non-Christians will be saved by following their religion, but by following natural religion.
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Relativism regards all religions as equivalent. It does so because it is incapable of engaging in a public critique of religions because for relativism common good cannot be rationally identified. By doing so, it precludes the possibility for the true religion to religiously support what men do to attain the common good. Here, too, we see a negative spiral. Relativistic democracy produces religious relativism and this strengthens ethical and social relativism.

All this happens when a society is no longer able to use public reason to criticize religions that proclaim polygamy, that incorporate the rite of physical mutilation, that do not respect the dignity of women, that preach violence or offer religious paths that depersonalize and hamper human reason and knowledge. How will our public reason be able to discern between religions if it loses sight of authentic humanity?
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If, instead, we lose sight of the idea that Christianity expresses a truth that relates to the human being and that Christianity corresponds to authentic public reason more than other religious confessions, we also lose appreciation for our history and the pride of our identity. When Benedict XVI bitterly wondered if the West truly loved itself, this is exactly what he meant: Does it truly love the truth it has inside itself?

Interreligious dialogue is not founded on religious relativism or indifferentism. This is true for the Catholic religion, but is also true for a public reason that has not entirely surrendered to the dictatorship of relativism. By proclaiming the right to religious freedom, the Church has never meant to deny that Christianity is the true religion or that the state has obligations towards the true religion.

According to the declaration "Dignitatis humanae" of the Second Vatican Council, the right to religious freedom "leaves untouched traditional Catholic doctrine on the moral duty of men and societies toward the true religion and toward the one Church of Christ." Now, from where does the state, which is secular, derive these obligations to the true religion?

Not from being a "Christian" state, but from reason, that is from the natural ability to see truths about man in society, from the ability to understand the common good. This also founds the ability to see that one religion consolidates and helps pursue humanization objectives while another contributes to the degradation of man. Christian religion has this claim, the claim of preaching a "God with a human face."

—Bishop Giampaolo Crepaldi, Public Reason and the Truth of Christianity in the Teachings of Benedict XVI

images via Kimbooktu