Rage Against The Dying of the Light (In Memoriam, Robin Williams)

So Robin Williams committed suicide. Cue the flood of tributes, laments, reposts of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255), how "cunning, baffling, and powerful" (to steal a phrase) depression can be, how it tends to infest comic souls* and how particularly insidious depression can be when substance abuse accompanies it.

I am not for an instant maligning this response. Renewals of human solidarity usually take a tragedy to happen, but not always. The Internet is laced with incidents promoting carefulness, courtesy, and compassion "between the acts." And we'll always be "between the acts" (of suicide), for "the poor you will have with [and within] you always" (Mt 26:11).

Persons suffering from depression, substance abuse, and suicide temptations can be helped, but many well-intentioned attempts end up reinforcing it. Helping seems a delicate art, but not impossible and certainly not "for professionals only," because it's the amateurs--literally, those who love--who are the "first responders" in emotional crises.

Among my initial reactions to news like yesterday's is frustration and irritation. "Robin Williams! Well, that sucks! What a waste of talent, generosity, and energy! What'd he do that for? Couldn't anyone have tried to stop him?" As an adult, in the minds of his loved ones he might not have merited round-the-clock supervision; perhaps by that point he had a sense of calmness about arriving at his solution.

I don't know...and that's just it.

If we knew, that knowledge still wouldn't control the situation, now that it--he--has passed. Suicide understandably prompts guilt over the very fact that we "didn't know," or perhaps may have denied, the extent of the person's problems.

We may also be angry--at depression made flesh, at the suicide victim for seeming selfish..for being him/herself in that mysterious state, which is already very much given over to silence, to brooding, to isolation and alienation, and their attendant pain, so that suicide appears the only available option, the last, best prescription for pain relief. 

Objectively speaking, the taking of one's own life is a selfish act, contradictory to "the natural inclination of the human being to preserve and perpetuate his life...gravely contrary to [the just love of self, of neighbor, and of God]" (Catechism, 2281). It is one of many ways people deny and defy the goodness of their own existence and its Creator.

However, given the numerous factors that inhibit the full use of one's intellect and will, compromising the full exercise of understanding and freedom, we have every reason to entrust tortured souls to the Divine Mercy that exceeds the limits we conceive (CCC, 2282-83).

But we still should "rage, rage against the dying of the light" (as John Keating, Williams' character in Dead Poets Society, might exhort). Our rage may take many forms: prayer, sharing links to helpful articles on depression and suicide prevention, keeping your eyes, ears, and heart open to the people around you each day--which may present you the opportunity either to extend compassion to someone who suffers, or to disclose your own hurts to someone who cares.

*Language alert ("Cracked," remember.)

Drama and Reality

Soon after Stephen and his associates were appointed to the diaconate in Acts 6, Stephen got into trouble--"made a mess," as Pope Francis is fond of saying. Stephen was only speaking the Truth, but people who weren't fond of the Truth started engaging him in debate. His opponents had no success, because they couldn't match his insights and because they did not share in the gift of the [Holy] Spirit as Stephen did.

The persecutors were not open to hearing the Truth from Stephen. They reacted very strongly to his words, and could not bear his angelic, that is, peaceful appearance (cf. Acts 6:15). The story reminds me of what a seminary professor once said: Non-virtuous people are uncomfortable in, often repulsed by, the presence of virtue.

Saint Luke, author of the Acts of the Apostles, said that Stephen's opponents 'instigated" people to make exaggerated and downright false accusations against him. Stephen allegedly was predicting that Jesus would destroy the Temple and change Jewish customs. We know that the Temple eventually would fall to the Romans. That destruction itself changed many of the customs and regulations, especially pertaining to ritual sacrifice. As for dietary laws, the Jews remained bound to observe them, but Christians soon would be exonerated from most of them (cf. Acts 15:22-29).

Let's consider for a moment the concept of "instigation." As a fan of the dictionary, I go there first. The Latin verb instigare comes from in (toward) + stigare (to prick, incite). We can therefore say that Stephen's debaters were...inciters. Modesty forbids use of the other word, though it seems delightfully apt.

I submit that Stephen's instigators depicted the modern use of the term drama and its corresponding adjective, dramatic. According to a contributor at urbandictionary.com (a site I would not otherwise cite in print), the word is used to describe people who seem to experience and share an inordinate number of personal problems, and who react to everyday matters with intense and shifting emotions. The accuracy of dramatic perceptions doesn't tend to be reliable. Dramatic behavior can be attributed to boredom and a desire for attention.

Within the definition cited above, one can find related words that unfortunately include "crazy," "fake," "high school," and, strange to see, "Facebook." As for Facebook and other social networking sites, I believe they can be used to sow truth, goodness, beauty, and humor as much as their opposites. As always, their use will be determined by their users.

The reality of mental illness has rightly merited a more compassionate regard in recent years. Indeed, a number of the characteristics of "drama" can be identified with borderline personality disorder. Through an honest self-appraisal, however, everyone might discover within themselves a degree of emotional or spiritual sickness, manifested in various "attachments" or addictions that compromise their understanding and freedom. There is no room, therefore, for labeling people. It serves only to distance them from us and make us feel superior to them. Don't we all have a share in the Cross of Christ, so often identifiable with our own faults and weaknesses?

It always has been my interest to help people to grow in responsibility for their decisions, and to accept help for the same in my own life. While illness may make certain ingrained attitudes or behaviors easier to adopt or harder to shake, if we want to be well (Jn 5:2) we must pay close attention to our mental and emotional responses as they occur. It takes time and patience with ourselves, and with others whom we help along the way.

We don't want to excuse the persecutors of the early Church on the basis of a supposed personality disorder. After all, Stephen's persecutors were closed to the knowledge of Reality. Even though our openness may seem minimal some days, we want to govern our thoughts, words, and actions, as well as understand our motives, according to the Truth. This lifelong process requires us to look beyond our limited perceptions. To become "well" is to become honest, responsible, and free. As we seek self-governance with the aid of the Lord's Word, the Sacraments, our daily prayers and sacrifices, the adoption of these disciplines will help us to grow in compassion for others.

Fast Away the Old Self Passes

Only today did I read that the U.S. Catholic bishops are requesting that people fast, pray, and abstain from meat...today...for the freedom of those who are addicted to pornography.

A few days ago, Pope Francis requested a day of universal prayer and fasting for a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Syria.

Read here the U.S. Catholic Bishops' information on fasting.

If I were to describe the human condition in one word, it would be "addiction," or, if you prefer, "attachment." For some, addiction has the unsavory connotations of the "rock bottom," the point at which a person experiences maximum humiliation and pain--landing on skid row or a rehab center, or a body bag.

But nowadays addiction is a much broader concept with a wider breadth of experiences. Addicts can be rich or poor, notorious or neglected. They have only to be dependent upon a mind- or mood-altering substance or activity. Addictions have spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical ramifications. This makes sense, because we are "composite" beings--physical and spiritual beings. Whatever affects one, necessarily affects the other.

Addicted people have an "old self" that cannot or will not grow. Take today's Gospel reading, in which Jesus speaks about the advantage of pouring new wine into new wineskins. This lesson is followed by a curious observation: "And no one who has been drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good’” (Lk 5:39). Jesus is the "New Wine," the Way of Life that many of His listeners reject in favor of old ways. Addicts' old ways no longer profit them, but the fact doesn't sufficiently prevent them from further demoralization. Addicts' loved ones, meanwhile, are also enervated by their self-serving behavior.

Here are two quotes from prolific Christian writer C. S. Lewis:

(1) “It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

(2) “And out of that hopeless attempt has come nearly all that we call human history—money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery—the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.” 

God alone will fully satisfy the desires of the human heart, because He made the human heart. Try though we may to attain that satisfaction by other things, our attempts will not work very long or very well.

Prayer, that is, conversation with God, is the mortar of our spiritual edifice. It is the "refresh" button that makes for a new self, always being conformed unto His likeness. He likes people to be at peace with Him, with their neighbor, and within themselves. He likes peace among nations. He likes people to live in freedom from personal and social slavery.

Fasting trains the senses to recognize what is truly good, trains the intellect to comprehend what is truly good, and trains the will to choose what is truly good. As we learn to live beyond our instincts, we develop a deeper instinct--a new tendency toward God and neighbor that is fully human because it is conscious and free.

Fasting of whatever sort attunes us to our own lack. Our relationship with God (and with all creation in God and for God's sake) is always in need of renewal and improvement. When we recognize just how much we "miss" that cup of coffee, TV show, hamburger, bowl of ice cream, lottery ticket, etc., precisely then are we alerted to (1) our own need for complete satisfaction, which no earthly good can provide; and (2) the material and spiritual deficits that other people share, deficits often much deeper than ours.

The people of Syria have been living in a brutal dictatorship; but the decision to combat force with force is widely considered to be ill-advised. By storming the heavens with sacrifice, we are not trying to convince God to make things work out our way. He forces nobody to make or retract decisions. It is unlikely that our President or Congress cares that Catholics and other people of good will are choosing to pray and fast for an end to violence in Syria. But then again, wouldn't it be nice if our leaders witnessed a more united front, especially among our Catholic people? It seems like such a pipe dream now, I must admit.

Pornographic practitioners have enslaved women, men, and children on many levels, reducing the human person to body parts, appearance, and physical prowess. While men and women ideally rely on sexual intercourse for the propagation of the species and the bonding of spouses, pornography limits what used to be known as "the conjugal act" to the sensate aspects of the orgasm, thereby separating the experience of the orgasm from procreation and union. Mutual pleasure becomes the only aim, and eventually it turns out that the pleasure doesn't even have to be mutual.

But this or any other knowledge, by itself, doesn't stop addicts from using. The knowledge of Christ's call for peace--even the joy of a people with no quarrels--doesn't stop the powerful from exerting themselves wrongly at whatever cost.

O Christ, Christ, come quickly! Satisfy the hearts of all Your people!

The Pope in Lebanon and the Reflections of one "Youth"

In his recent journeys to Lebanon, Pope Benedict XVI addressed the young people of Lebanon.  Of course, when it comes to matters of faith and morals, what he says to the Lebanese applies just as well to youth around the globe.  You may read the full text or you may read the excerpt provided by Mr. Palmo of Whispers in the Loggia, which prompted me to make this post.

I have included some excerpts that caught my eye, along with some personal commentary.

You have a special place in my heart and in the whole Church, because the Church is always young! The Church trusts you. She counts on you! Be young in the Church! Be young with the Church! The Church needs your enthusiasm and your creativity! Youth is the time when we aspire to great ideals, when we study and train for our future work. All this is important and it takes time. Seek beauty and strive for goodness! Bear witness to the grandeur and the dignity of your body which “is for the Lord” (1 Cor 6:13b). Be thoughtful, upright and pure of heart! In the words of Blessed John Paul II, I say to you: “Do not be afraid! Open the doors of your minds and hearts to Christ!” An encounter with Jesus “gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction” (Deus Caritas Est, 1). In Christ you will find the strength and courage to advance along the paths of life, and to overcome difficulties and suffering. In him you will find the source of joy. Christ says to you: سَلامي أُعطيكُم – My peace I give to you! (Jn 14:27). This is the true revolution brought by Christ: that of love.

The Pope is 85 years old.  He has been a priest as long as my mother has been alive.  He remembers what it was like to have all his vigor (though his mental and spiritual vigor have not abated, not unlike his predecessor of blessed memory).  He is in a unique position to share personal and ecclesial admiration for young people.  They have so much ahead of them and so much currently in their hands, so we are rightly concerned for their welfare.  We are concerned for the Church and the society that depends on their creativity, patience, and labor.

If Pope Benedict could be called a "one-trick pony," his emphasis on the personal encounter with Christ would so qualify him.  This encounter gives meaning and motion to the theological endeavor, to liturgical participation, and to moral living.  Is there any better endeavor for young and old alike?

The Holy Father's use of the word "revolution" ought not be lost on us.  Since biblical times, this part of the world has been fraught with violence.  Futility be damned, the Pope has called East and West to mutual love.  "With a little child to guide them" (Isa 11:6), the citizens of the 21st century will aspire to peaceful unity.

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The frustrations of the present moment must not lead you to take refuge in parallel worlds like those, for example, of the various narcotics or the bleak world of pornography. As for social networks, they are interesting but they can quite easily lead to addiction and confusion between the real and the virtual. Look for relationships of genuine, uplifting friendship. Find ways to give meaning and depth to your lives; fight superficiality and mindless consumption! You face another temptation, too: that of money, the tyrannical idol which blinds to the point of stifling the person at the heart. The examples being held up all around you are not always the best. Many people have forgotten Christ’s warning that one cannot serve both God and mammon (cf. Lk 16:13). Seek out good teachers, spiritual masters, who will be able to guide you along the path to maturity, leaving behind all that is illusory, garish and deceptive.

When I decided to begin this blog and, more recently, to return to Facebook, I realized that a "parallel world" was not what I wanted to enter.  The Holy Father notes how strong are the temptations to "a-void-ance" through addictive practices and substances, including the use of technology; to which I would add the debilitating attitudes that effectively ignore the Providence of God in our lives.

The Pope knows well that young people have a difficult time processing and transcending "the frustrations of the present moment."  Oftentimes those frustrations are the flint that ignites the mound of wounds and sins.  Many of us just don't know how to deal with life as it is, or become consumed with lesser things to the neglect of charity and prayer.

I am grateful for the "good teachers" and "spiritual masters" who share real time with me on a regular basis.  They are channels of the Lord's wisdom and mercy that help me to live as the Lord desires.  I am also grateful for the opportunities that He has given me to be a teacher and guide for others.  

The greater part of the spiritual life is maturity, the gaining of the divine perspective in our relationships and our daily situations; inspiring people to better things by our example and words; asking for and accepting help.  In the academic and spiritual fishbowl of the seminary, that sort of maturity wasn't easy for me to embrace.  I make no judgment upon the seminary, the diocese, or anyone else involved in my formation process.  Like my parents, they did the best they could with the material they were given.  Slowly I am coming to recognize that they did all right; but thank God for God--and for His emissaries along the way.

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