Sunday Reflection, 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time (September 15, 2013): The Older Brother and Why I’m Not a Good Christian

Posted on September 14, 2013 by William Ockham

Older-Brother-700x461

“We will never stop being elder brothers in our hearts, until we see the work of our true elder brother, Jesus Christ.” — Timothy Keller

I am not a good Christian.

Yes, I have many of the hallmarks of what people expect a Christian to be. I go to Church every Sunday and often during the week also. I make frequent use of the sacrament of reconciliation. I teach 6th grade Catechism and am a leader of our parish men’s group. I volunteer with our prison ministry and our food house. I am generally nice to people.

But I am not a good Christian.

Today is the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time.  The weekly readings can be found here. The Gospel includes the story of the Prodigal Sons and explains what it means to be a good Christian.  I emphasize Prodigal Sons because although many homilies and reflections will focus on the repentance of the younger son and forgiveness that the father, I want to focus on the older son, the one I most easily identify with. Whenever I believe I am doing OK and becoming closer to God, the parable of the older brother brings me back to reality:

He became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him.

He said to his father in reply, ‘Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. But when your son returns, who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’

He said to him, ‘My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’”

The older son worked hard. He played by the rules. He was loyal to his father. By all sense of human justice, the older son was a model of perfection and deserved to be treated well, certainly better than his younger brother who had wished that his father was dead and then squander his inheritance. I certainly believe that it is unfair for the father to treat the younger son better than the older one. That is why I am not a good Christian.

Certainly God wants us to follow the rules. But more importantly, he wants us to love him with our whole being. That means stop comparing ourselves to others. It means surrendering our own egos and celebrating the joy of others. In the story of the older brother, it means celebrating the joy of reconciliation rather than being angry at a violation of standards of human fairness.  I fail to do that way too often in my daily life:

  • Every time I become angry with my wife rather than being 100% kind, loving and at her service because I feel I have worked harder at our marriage and that she is not respecting my feelings and desires.
  • Every time I attempt to “win” an argument with my wife rather than look at the overall health of our marriage.
  • Every time I snap at my children for some minor annoyance rather than being an example of a loving father.
  • Every time I feel entitled to keep “my” wealth rather than share with others because I had worked hard and played by the rules compared to those who squandered opportunities.
  • Every time I want to get “revenge” on someone for a real or perceived slight to my ego or honor.
  • Every time I treat someone as an other or an object rather than a person created in the image of God who is part of the interconnectiveness of all humanity.

Every time that I do those things I focus on my own ego rather than union with God’s celebration of the joy of others.  Every time I do those things, I am not a good Christian. That is one of the key breakthroughs in my own spiritual journey, one that I constantly need reminding of.  This week, I prayer to let go of my ego and my desire to be in control and to let myself go in the mystery of God’s love.

As Fr. Larry Gillick, S.J. of Creighton University says in his weekly reflection:

“Faith allows and encourages reflections and questionings. I have some good ones myself. When I ask myself what the answers would mean, would do for me, the answer I get back is humbling. I want my brain to satisfy my longings for security or an increased sense of power. We are in a culture of questioning and getting immediate and satisfying answers. I am becoming more dissatisfied with answers and more attracted to the recognition that my personal intellect is too limited to encompass infinity.

As we approach the Eucharist this week, we might place our very good questions, necessary questions, before God and smile at our own poverty of mind. There are just some things in our older years, about which we are still too young to understand.”

Recommended Reflections for the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time:

Creighton Online Ministries
Word on Fire
Timothy Keller Prodigal Sons Sermon

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Scientific Potpourri (September 13, 2013): Proto-Earth, Evolution of Speech, Interstellar Winds and More

Posted on September 13, 2013 by William Ockham
Interstellar Winds Have Changed Direction

Interstellar Winds Have Changed Direction

Here are some top stories of the last couple of weeks in cosmology, astronomy and evolutionary biology:

Interstellar Winds Buffeting Solar System Have Shifted Direction.  From Nature World News: New data show that the particles streaming into the solar system from interstellar space seem to have changed direction over the last 40 years. Scientists were first alerted to a possible change through measurements taken by NASA’s Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) mission. The readings, according to the study published in the journal Science, differed from those derived by the Ulysses spacecraft during the 1990s. Seeing this, the IBEX team compared IBEX’s measurements to data gathered by 11 spacecraft between 1972 and 2011, thereby ruling out the possibility that the newer instruments were simply providing more accurate results.

Ultracold Big Bang Experiment Successfully Simulates Evolution of Early Universe. From Science Daily: Physicists have reproduced a pattern resembling the cosmic microwave background radiation in a laboratory simulation of the big bang, using ultracold cesium atoms in a vacuum chamber at the University of Chicago. “This is the first time an experiment like this has simulated the evolution of structure in the early universe,” said Cheng Chin, professor in physics. Chin and his associates reported their feat in the Aug. 1 edition of Science Express, and it will appear soon in the print edition of Science.

It’s Official: Voyager 1 Leaves the Solar System.  From Space.com.  After months of speculation, NASA announced yesterday that NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft left the solar system in August 2012, popping free into interstellar space after 35 years of spaceflight. Voyager 1 and its twin, Voyager 2, launched a few weeks apart in 1977 to conduct an unprecedented “grand tour” of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. The duo wrapped up this mission in 1989, then kept on flying toward interstellar space. Voyager 1 departed the heliosphere— the huge bubble of charged particles and magnetic fields that the sun puffs out around itself — on or around Aug. 25, 2012, researchers say, becoming humanity’s first envoy to the vast realm beyond the solar system.

Researchers a Step Closer to Finding Cosmic Ray Origins.  From Science Daily: The origin of cosmic rays in the universe has confounded scientists for decades. But a study by researchers using data from the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole reveals new information that may help unravel the longstanding mystery of exactly how and where these “rays” (they are actually high-energy particles) are produced.

When Did Human Speech Evolve? From NPR’s 13.7: Human speech evolved approximately  1.75 million years ago, our human ancestors achieved a technological breakthrough. They began to craft stone hand axes (called Acheulean tools) in ways that required more planning and precision than had been used in earlier tool-making processes. Around the same time, these prehistoric people began to talk. In other words, tool-making skills and language skills evolved together; our language, as well as our technology, has a long prehistory.

Water Hidden in Moon May Have Proto-Earth Origin.  From Phys.org: Water found in ancient Moon rocks might have actually originated from the proto-Earth and even survived the Moon-forming event. Latest research into the amount of water within lunar rocks returned during the Apollo missions is being presented by Jessica Barnes at the European Planetary Science Congress in London on Monday 9th September.  The Moon, including its interior, is believed to be much wetter than was envisaged during the Apollo era.

Meteorite Brought Surprising Ingredient for Life to Earth in 2012.   From Space.com: Scientists have discovered unexpected ingredients for life — organic molecules never seen before in meteorites — inside a chunk of space rock that fell to Earth over California last year, scientists say. The discovery comes from an analysis of the so-called Sutter’s Mill meteorite, which lit up the California night sky with a dazzling fireball in April 2012. Meteorite fragments from the event may shed light on the primordial ooze that helped give rise to life on Earth, researchers said.

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The Teilhard de Chardin Project: Coming April 2015

Posted on September 12, 2013 by William Ockham
The Teilhard de Chardin Project

The Teilhard de Chardin Project

I started this blog in the Spring for several reasons.  First, I had recently had a “reconversion” and wanted to more deeply explore my faith.  Second, I was frustrated in some of my interactions with both agnostics and religiously-oriented people who believed there was somehow a conflict between faith and reason. Third, I had discovered the writings of Teilhard de Chardin and thought that his message needed to get out to a wider audience. Fourth, I wanted to correct some misconceptions of Teilhard de Chardin, both from “conservatives” who thought he was an “unorthodox” Christian and from “liberals” who wanted to strip the Christianity out of Teilhard de Chardin’s vision.

Shortly after I started this endeavor I found The Teilhard de Chardin Project.  This is a large undertaking by Frank Frost Productions, in collaboration with numerous others. The highlight will be a documentary on Teilhard de Chardin’s life in 2015 but it also will include a robust web presence. I was fortunate to have a few brief communications with Mr. Frost and am very impressed with the effort and team he has built so far.  Set forth below is information on the Project from the website.  I encourage you to check out the website and to support to Teilhard de Chardin Project.

The Project

What is The Teilhard de Chardin Project?

The Teilhard de Chardin Project consists of a 2-hour television biography, The Evolution of Teilhard de Chardin, [working title] interpreting the life and philosophy of Teilhard, a contemporary of Einstein, and a powerful voice for both evolutionary science and religion in the 20th century, plus a robust interactive website.  Produced by Frank Frost Productions, LLC, the documentary will be accompanied by a multifaceted internet outreach that provides opportunities for viewers to dialogue with one another and scholars from around the world on topics introduced by Teilhard’s sweep of ideas.

The Time is Right

The time is ripe to introduce Pierre Teilhard de Chardin to a new generation – the man, the paleontologist, the visionary French Jesuit priest, whose relentless effort to reframe his beliefs in the light of evolution led to a paradigm shift in the relationship of science and religion.  He foresaw the evolutionary emergence of the internet, globalization, and today’s transhumanism movement, although he was perhaps overly optimistic in his vision.  His legacy includes a strong environmental movement, and multiple movements in cosmic spirituality.

The Story

  • A captivating human story (Indiana Jones meets Galileo) about scientific adventure (discovery of Peking Man), religious repression, and a love story, with a seemingly tragic end
  • It engages a socio-political issue that swept this country in 1925 and has never gone away – evolution v. religious belief – which today shows up in politics, science education v. Creationism or Intelligent Design, and denial of global warming, among other issues.  (Teilhard’s religious suppression in France was concurrent with the Scopes trial in U.S.)
  • Teilhard’s evolutionary vision is closely associated with the internet; he foresaw 100 years ago the emergence of instant global communications, globalization, and the transhumanism movement.
  • It has immense post-broadcast potential for interactive web pursuit of science education, the science-religion debate, environmental philosophy, revolution in religion, and transhumanism, among other thematic strands.
  • It has cross-over between the 18-35 demographic and the 35+ demographic, both through its content and its audience promotion.

Why Now?

One might ask whether, given the rapid change society has experienced since Teilhard’s death 56 years ago, his insights have been rendered obsolete.  On the contrary, they have become all the more relevant.  Science and technology have been transformative in the past 80 years since he was writing, and grow at an exponential rate, revealing incredible new wonders of the universe, from galaxies opened up to us through the Hubble Space Telescope to the detection of ever smaller particles of matter, down to the Higgs boson.  The deeper and more expansive our knowledge the more astonishing are the broad outlines of his vision and the more valuable they become in helping us navigate the present-becoming-future.

Teilhard’s riveting life story and expansive evolutionary vision invite fresh perspectives on:

  • the persistent rancorous public debate between science and religion;
  • our responsibility for preserving the planet we inhabit;
  • the role of science in the promotion of human progress.

 Project Supporters

 Reading like a “Who’s Who” in academic, theological, and scientific circles, the fledgling project has already gathered strong support from institutions and scholars.

Television Producer

The The Evolution of Teilhard de Chardin is a production of Frank Frost Productions, LLC, an award-winning company with a long history of nationally broadcast documentaries on subjects related to human and cultural values.

Visual Style

The story is told blending fresh HD footage with archival footage, evocative live action imagery, and vibrant CGI, interwoven with scholars’ commentary. Audio plays a critical role since the story is told mostly in Teilhard’s own words from his personal journals, essays, and books. Modern day imagery will be acquired in the locations Teilhard lived and worked in France, England, China, and the United States. Embedded in this rich milieu is archival footage from the considerable still and motion picture material available on Teilhard, as well as of contexts in which he lived, especially WWI where he served at the front in 67 battles over 5 years; 1920s Paris; 1930s China; and 1950s New York City.

Schedule

2013 Fundraising, pre-production, shooting, editing, web development

2014 Shooting, editing, web development, promotion

2015 Promotion and broadcast, (60th anniversary of Teilhard’s death)

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Holy Humor

Posted on September 11, 2013 by William Ockham
Jesus enjoys a good laugh

Jesus enjoys a good laugh

The following joke was given to me by my Mother, who received it from an 85 year old priest she is caring for.  I laughed out loud when I read it and wanted to share.

Be forewarned that those who are easily offended due to overzealous political correctness or overseriousness about religion may not find it funny.  However, for those of us who believe God enjoys a good laugh read on.

Holy Humor

GOD ENJOYS A GOOD LAUGH!

There were 3 good arguments that Jesus was Black:
1. He called everyone brother.
2. He liked Gospel.
3. He didn’t get a fair trial.

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Jewish:
1. He went into His Father’s business.
2. He lived at home until he was 33.
3. He was sure his Mother was a virgin and his Mother was sure He was God.

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Italian:
1. He talked with His hands.
2. He had wine with His meals.
3. He used olive oil.

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was a Californian:
1. He never cut His hair.
2. He walked around barefoot all the time.
3. He started a new religion.

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was an American Indian:
1. He was at peace with nature.
2. He ate a lot of fish.
3. He talked about the Great Spirit.

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Irish:
1. He never got married.
2. He was always telling stories.
3. He loved green pastures.

But the most compelling evidence of all – 3 proofs that Jesus was a woman:
1. He fed a crowd at a moment’s notice when there was virtually no food.
2. He kept trying to get a message across to a bunch of men who just didn’t get it.
3. And even when He was dead; He had to get up because there was still work to do.

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Teilhard de Chardin Quote of the Week (September 9, 2013): Transfigure the World

Posted on September 10, 2013 by William Ockham

earth

“Lord, may the might of your invincible hands direct and transfigure for the great world you have in mind that earthly travail which I have gathered into my heart and now offer you in its entirety. Remold it, rectify it, recast it down to the depths from whence it springs. You know how your creatures can come into being only, like shoot from stem, as part of an endlessly renewed process of evolution.”

— Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, “Mass on the World“

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Feast of St. Peter Claver, S.J. (September 9)

Posted on September 9, 2013 by William Ockham
St. Peter Claver

St. Peter Claver

Today is the Feast of St. Peter Claver, S.J. Fr. Claver was a Jesuit and is the patron of African missions and of interracial justice, due to his work with slaves in Columbia.

Peter Claver was born to a wealthy Spanish family in 1580 and was educated at Barcelona University. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1601. While still in his studies he was sent to the Jesuit college in Palma de Mallorca (Majorca). Here he met Alphonsus Rodriguez, a Jesuit Brother who was the doorkeeper of the college (and who was later canonized as a saint). In conversations with Alphonsus, Peter was fired with a desire to do missionary work in the New World then being colonized by Spain and Portugal. He did his theological studies at Barcelona and then was sent to Cartagena (now in Colombia) in 1610. Six years later, he was ordained priest in 1616. 

At this time Cartagena was one of the main clearing houses of a flourishing but shameful trading of Africans from Angola and other parts of West Africa who were brought over in huge numbers under dreadful conditions to work as slaves in the New World. It has been estimated that some 10,000 were shipped over to Cartagena every year.

Peter began his work with the slaves under Fr Alfonso de Sandoval, who had already spent 40 years in this work. Peter walked in his predecessor’s footsteps and did even more.
When a slave-ship arrived in the port, the slaves were crowded like animals into large enclosures, crammed together in intense heat without care or medical attention of any kind. Peter would visit them bringing medicine, food, brandy and tobacco. He had a group of assistants who helped in the distribution and also acted as interpreters. With their help and also by using pictures, Peter taught the basics of Christianity and prepared many slaves for baptism. In their dreadful, animal-like living conditions, he also tried to increase their awareness of their basic dignity as people for each one of whom Christ died.

From Cartagena, the slaves would then be sent to work in the mines, work which was regarded as too difficult for the native peoples, and also to plantations. Peter would visit these places in the spring, not always with the approval of their owners. He would also take personal care of slaves reduced to conditions which no one else could endure. When he had pronounced his final vows in 1622, he signed his name, “Peter Claver, slave of the slaves forever” (Aethiopum semper servus). It was a promise he more than lived up to.  Claver had conflicts with civil authorities and other members of the clergy, who accepted slavery. Claver saw the slaves as fellow Christians, encouraging others to do so as well.

Claver did not confine his ministry to the slaves. He was also concerned about the spiritual welfare of the more prosperous members of society as well as traders and others passing through, including Muslims and English Protestants. He also helped prepare condemned prisoners for death and was a regular visitor to the hospitals. Every autumn he would go on a preaching mission to merchants and seamen in every port.

As well as leading a life of great austerity, miracles, prophetic statements and the gift of reading hearts were attributed to him. In 1650 he was taken ill while preaching to the slaves. It seems to have been a stroke because he was partially paralyzed for the remaining four years of his life.

In the last years of his life Claver was too ill to leave his room. The ex-slave who was hired to care for him treated him cruelly, not feeding him many days, and never bathing him. Claver never complained. He was convinced that he deserved this treatment.

In 1654 Peter was anointed with the oil of the Sacrament of the Sick. When Cartagenians heard the news, they crowded into his room to see him for the last time. They treated Peter Claver’s room as a shrine, and stripped it of everything but his bedclothes for mementos. Claver died September 7, 1654.

At his death the civil authorities and the clergy, who had been highly critical of him in life, were now united in his praise. He was given a civic funeral while the slaves and the native people arranged a Requiem of their own.

Pope Leo XIII canonized him in 1888 and in 1896 the same pope declared him special patron of missions.  Peter is revered for his great love of neighbor and his work in overcoming racial barriers and hatred. 

Sources:

Living Space
Ignatian Spirituality
Wikipedia

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Sunday Reflection, 23nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (September 8, 2013): Radical Detachment

Posted on September 7, 2013 by William Ockham

detachment

“Anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.” – Luke 14:33

Today is the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time.  You can find the weekly readings here.  The theme is that we are to detach ourselves from anything that gets in the way of loving God and our neighbor.

This week’s reflection is courtesy of Fr. Michael Fallon, a biblical scholar and member of the Missionary of the Sacred Heart.  Fr. Fallon has an outstanding website with his writings and lectures on biblical studies and other themes.

The Sunday reflection for this week is from a homily Fr. Fallon gave in 2007 (and yes, one of the reasons I chose this homily is due to the Teilhard de Chardin reference :-).  You can read the entire homily here but set forth below is an extended excerpt:

“The Responsorial Psalm for today’s Mass is a poetic reflection on the passing nature and brevity of human existence, and hence the importance of living wisely. Aware of the mistakes we have made and how we have wandered from God, we pray that God will relent and turn back to us, even though we know that it is we who have turned away from God, not God from us. The psalm concludes with a prayer for the joy that we experience when our hearts are at peace. With deep longing we ask God: ‘in the morning fill us with your love’. We pray for this grace every morning of our lives, and finally that when our short life is ended we hope to awake to God’s embracing love in the eternal morning of heaven.

In the First Reading the author reflects on how cluttered our lives can be. We get caught up in trivia; we spend our time trying to please people, trying to be acceptable. We hardly know what freedom is. We are like domesticated geese. We sense that we are born to fly but we know only the life of the cage and it looks really dangerous out there, so we cope as best we can in the cage, and life passes us by. We are not sure what to do. As the reading puts it:

‘For the deliberations of mortals are timid, and unsure are our plans. For the corruptible body burdens the soul and the earthen shelter weighs down the mind that has many concerns.’ [Editor’s Note: Quote modified from original to reflect U.S. translation in New American Bible]

How do we learn wisdom? How do we find freedom? Jesus gives us the key to the answer in the Gospel. He tells us that we have to give up our possessions. Let us look at what this might mean.

It is not having that is the problem, it is possessing. God is constantly pouring his grace out upon us. He gives us life and he wants us to enjoy it. We possess when we tighten our grip on things and on people in an attempt to secure them for ourselves. That is what Jesus tells us not to do. Are there people whom we are possessing? Maybe people who have hurt us in the past and we won’t let them go. We justify ourselves. We blame them for the way we are. Truly they may well have hurt us, but here we are and we are alive and God does renew his love every morning, but we are used to playing the victim, so we continue to let those who have hurt us in the past keep on controlling us. The cage door is open, but we choose to stay clinging to the roost when the sky is calling to us. It is time for the geese to leave and migrate to another land. It is time to be on the way, but we do not dare the journey and we like blaming others.

* * *

The art of detachment is an art of love. It is about not holding things or people so tightly that when love and the fullness of life for which we are made calls us we are unable to let go and answer the call of life, the call of God. This morning’s Gospel is not about us thinking what can we do without and then getting rid of it. It is about getting in touch with our deepest desires and then listening for the call of God. Of course it is important to live simply. If we are filled with the things of this world we may never have space to experience the hunger of our souls for God. But God is with us and probably most of the things and people in our life are sacraments of his love and he wants us to enjoy them to the full. However, if some things or one or other person is in fact stopping us from living in communion with God, then we are being told to follow our deepest longing, to respond to Jesus’ call and to be willing to let go whatever is holding us bound.

So let us delight in everything that God gives us. Let us live in love with joy. Let us be deeply attached to the people in our lives and to the work we do. God wants us to grow closer to him precisely through our involvement in the real world of which we are part. It is through giving ourselves wholeheartedly to God’s will that we become saints. As the Jesuit, Teilhard de Chardin, writes:

‘Far too many Christians are insufficiently conscious of the divine responsibility of their lives. They live just like other people, giving only half of themselves, never experiencing the spur or the intoxication of advancing the kingdom of God in every domain of humankind. If you must blame us, then blame our weakness, not our faith. Our faith imposes upon us the right and the duty to throw ourselves into the things of the earth. For myself … I want to dedicate myself body and soul to the sacred duty of research. We must test every barrier, try every path, plumb every abyss’ (Teilhard de Chardin, The Divine Milieu, page 69).

As followers of Jesus we are called to celebrate our existence and to live life to the full. Teilhard reminds us: ‘Everything is needed, because the world will never be large enough to provide our taste for action with the means of grasping God, or our thirst for receiving with the possibility of being invaded by him’.

He goes on to pick up the message of today’s readings. Let us live life to the full, but let us not hold life or people or things too tight. Let us enjoy, but not possess things. Teilhard has said that we need everything. He goes on to say:

‘Yet, nothing is needed, for, as the only realty which can satisfy us lies beyond the transparencies in which it is mirrored, everything that fades away and dies between us will serve only to give reality back to us with greater purity’(Teilhard de Chardin, The Divine Milieu, page 122).

The day will come for all of us when we have to let everything go. Let us live now in such a way that all that matters is love. By learning to respond to his call now, we will be making the best possible contribution to the world and to those we love and we will be preparing ourselves for the final call when we will go with joy into the arms of our God.”

Resources:

Fr. Michael Fallon’s Website

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Teilhard de Chardin and the Sacred Heart

Posted on September 6, 2013 by William Ockham

word_incarnateThis post is part of the new blog, O Most Sacred Heart.  The question for this Friday is “How did you first learn about the Sacred Heart?”.  I learned about it from Teilhard de Chardin and thought it would be a great opportunity to introduce others to Teilhard de Chardin’s vision.

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was a Jesuit priest and paleontologist who lived during the first half of the 20th century. He was deeply committed to both his vocation as a priest and his work as a scientist. As such, he attempted to develop a comprehensive worldview that combined traditional Christian teaching with new scientific discoveries in cosmology and biological evolution. Although much of Teilhard’s theological work was censored during his lifetime, eventually his core concepts became incorporated as part of mainstream Catholic theology.

Teilhard de Chardin had two primary contributions to Christian thought. First, is his description of the universe being created by God with the energy of the Big Bang and increasingly complexity orchestrated by God, from simple life, to complex life, to human consciousness and ultimately to the Omega Point, or Christ.  Teilhard’s second primary contribution is his concept of the Noosphere, which describes the global human consciousness and relationship between the material world and the Body of Christ.  Pope Benedict XVI described the Noosphere as a central component of the Catholic Liturgy.

Teilhard de Chardin’s thought was deeply influenced by the Sacred Heart of Jesus. His mother was extremely devoted to the Sacred Heart and instilled in young Teilhard a similar devotion. Teilhard used the image of the Sacred Heart to develop his vision of God radiating the center of the universe.  As biographer Robert Speaight said about Teilhard de Chardin when he was in his early 20s:

“Teilhard recalls an evening when he had spoken of his vision of Christ, of how the universe had come to assume for him the lineaments of the divine figure. Pausing one day before the image of the Sacred Heart, he had wondered how an artist could represent the humanity of Jesus without giving it a beauty too individual and exclusive. Gradually the contours of the picture – the folds of the robe, the radiance of the head – dissolved without quite disappearing, so that on the surface of separation between Christ and the world the limits of either were indistinguishable. The vibration extended to the limits of the universe itself, but when the objects included in it were examined one by one they still preserved their individual character. They were transformed, but they were not lot lost; leading the gaze of the beholder back to the source of their illumination which was the faced of Christ himself.”

— “The Life of Teilhard de Chardin” by Robert Speaight, p. 79

As Teilhard de Chardin later developed his theological vision, the Sacred Heart continued to be a focal point for him.  As Robert Speaight said:

“What conquered [Teilhard] and held him captive – the mainspring of his very personal apostolate – was the resurrected Christ visible in the world of appearances, and manifesting a power which the Resurrection had certified. In the same way, what attracted him to the Sacred Hearth was its symbolic power and its superhuman appeal – the discovery ‘in you of an element even more determinate, more circumscribed, than your humanity as a whole’. The Sacred Heart . . . was for Teilhard a means of devotional escape from whatever was ‘too narrow, too precise, and too limited’ in the traditional image of Christ.”

— “The Life of Teilhard de Chardin” by Robert Speaight, p. 128

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Feast of Mother Teresa of Calcutta (September 5)

Posted on September 5, 2013 by William Ockham
Blessed Mother Teresa

Blessed Mother Teresa

“I believe that we are not real social workers. We may be doing social work in the eyes of the people, but we are really contemplatives in the heart of the world. For we are touching the Body of Christ 24 hours. We have 24 hours in this presence, and so you and I. You too try to bring that presence of God in your family, for the family that prays together stays together. And I think that we in our family don’t need bombs and guns, to destroy to bring peace – just get together, love one another, bring that peace, that joy, that strength of presence of each other in the home. And we will be able to overcome all the evil that is in the world.” — Blessed Mother Teresa

Today is the feast day of Blessed Mother Teresa, the 16th anniversary of the date of her death.  Mother Teresa was a 36 year old teacher when she received her “call within a call” to serve the poorest of the poor in Calcutta.  She served the poor for over 45 years, winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.

For today’s reflection, rather than focus on two important events in her life.

First, is her initial call to Calcutta. In September 1946, at the age of 36, during the train ride from Calcutta to Darjeeling for her annual retreat, Mother Teresa received her “inspiration,” her “call within a call.” On that day, in a way she would never explain, Jesus’ thirst for love and for souls took hold of her heart and the desire to satiate His thirst became the driving force of her life. Over the course of the next weeks and months, by means of interior locutions and visions, Jesus revealed to her the desire of His heart for “victims of love” who would “radiate His love on souls.” “Come be My light,” He begged her. “I cannot go alone.” He revealed His pain at the neglect of the poor, His sorrow at their ignorance of Him and His longing for their love. He asked Mother Teresa to establish a religious community, Missionaries of Charity, dedicated to the service of the poorest of the poor. Nearly two years of testing and discernment passed before Mother Teresa received permission to begin. On August 17, 1948, she dressed for the first time in a white, blue-bordered sari and passed through the gates of her beloved Loreto convent to enter the world of the poor.  Deacon David Backes does an excellent job of summarizing the importance of this event here.  This initial encounter with Christ was so powerful that it carried Mother Teresa through many years of doubt.

Second, is her Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech.  You can read speech the full text of her speech here and see the video here. Her speech is a very counter-cultural message in Western Society of putting God first and recognizing that deep interconnectiveness of all humanity. I encourage you to read the entire speech but below is an excerpt:

Mother Teresa’s 1979 Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech

Lord, make a channel of Thy peace

that, where there is hatred, I may bring love;

that where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness;

that, where there is discord, I may bring harmony;

that, where there is error, I may bring truth;

that, where there is doubt, I may bring faith;

that, where there is despair, I may bring hope;

that, where there are shadows, I may bring light;

that, where there is sadness, I may bring joy.

Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort than to be comforted,

to understand than to be understood;

to love than to be loved; for it is by forgetting self that one finds;

it is forgiving that one is forgiven;

it is by dying that one awakens to eternal life.

As we have gathered here together to thank God for the Nobel Peace Prize I think it will be beautiful that we pray the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi which always surprises me very much – we pray this prayer every day after Holy Communion, because it is very fitting for each one of us, and I always wonder that 4-500 years ago as St. Francis of Assisi composed this prayer that they had the same difficulties that we have today, as we compose this prayer that fits very nicely for us also. I think some of you already have got it – so we will pray together.

Let us thank God for the opportunity that we all have together today, for this gift of peace that reminds us that we have been created to live that peace, and Jesus became man to bring that good news to the poor. He being God became man in all things like us except sin, and he proclaimed very clearly that he had come to give the good news. The news was peace to all of good will and this is something that we all want – the peace of heart – and God loved the world so much that he gave his son – it was a giving – it is as much as if to say it hurt God to give, because he loved the world so much that he gave his son, and he gave him to Virgin Mary, and what did she do with him?

As soon as he came in her life – immediately she went in haste to give that good news, and as she came into the house of her cousin, the child – the unborn child – the child in the womb of Elizabeth, leapt with joy. He was that little unborn child, was the first messenger of peace. He recognized the Prince of Peace, he recognized that Christ has come to bring the good news for you and for me. And as if that was not enough – it was not enough to become a man – he died on the cross to show that greater love, and he died for you and for me and for that leper and for that man dying of hunger and that naked person lying in the street not only of Calcutta, but of Africa, and New York, and London, and Oslo – and insisted that we love one another as he loves each one of us. And we read that in the Gospel very clearly – love as I have loved you – as I love you – as the Father has loved me, I love you – and the harder the Father loved him, he gave him to us, and how much we love one another, we, too, must give each other until it hurts. It is not enough for us to say: I love God, but I do not love my neighbour. St. John says you are a liar if you say you love God and you don’t love your neighbour. How can you love God whom you do not see, if you do not love your neighbour whom you see, whom you touch, with whom you live. And so this is very important for us to realise that love, to be true, has to hurt. It hurt Jesus to love us, it hurt him. And to make sure we remember his great love he made himself the bread of life to satisfy our hunger for his love. Our hunger for God, because we have been created for that love. We have been created in his image. We have been created to love and be loved, and then he has become man to make it possible for us to love as he loved us. He makes himself the hungry one – the naked one – the homeless one – the sick one – the one in prison – the lonely one – the unwanted one – and he says: You did it to me. Hungry for our love, and this is the hunger of our poor people. This is the hunger that you and I must find, it may be in our own home.

You can read the rest of Mother Teresa’s Nobel Peace Price acceptance speech here.

Sources:

Vatican
Nobel Prize

 

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On the Way to Something New: The Beauty of Genesis 1

Posted on September 4, 2013 by William Ockham

Today’s post is a reblog is from the outstanding new blog Playful Theology. The author is Jessie Rogers, a Scripture scholar and Godly Play practitioner who is a fan of Teilhard de Chardin.

http://playfultheology.wordpress.com/

Jesse Rogers also has a great site devoted to the Sunday readings.

http://rogersreflections.wordpress.com/

Jessie Rogers's avatarPlayful Theology

Genesis 1 is an incredibly beautiful story of origins open to readings at many levels. What I offer here is a ‘spiritual reading’, one which sees in these verses a metaphor for the emergence of something new in our lives. This Scripture anchors me and gives me courage in those periods of change when I struggle to trust God with the process, when I am ‘on the way to something unknown, something new’ and I have to ‘accept the anxiety of feeling myself in suspense and incomplete’.  As those quotes from Teilhard de Chardin suggest, this reflection arises out of reading Genesis 1 in light of his thought, and particularly his exhortation to trust in the slow work of God  This was originally penned as a meditative reflection for a community process of listening to the Spirit, but it could equally be used for individual reflection.

In the beginning…

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