Your Will is Yours

I know we're currently in the liturgical season of Ordinary Time, but let me make a plug for my favorite Stations of the Cross: Everyone's Way of the Cross (1970) by Fr. Clarence Enzler. We often used it in my home parish.

The old cover...not even the oldest!

Originally it was called "Everyman's Way of the Cross." A more enlightened era solved that problem! To be honest, I hadn't realized the changes until I discovered an older copy. Kinda like archaeology, ain't?

Say what you will about 70s holdovers: I still like EWOTC because of its spirituality. The author's premise is that everyone is Christ's "other self," and therefore ought to act accordingly not only in grand trials, but also--especially--in life's ordinary moments.

This approach applies to every baptized person's identification with Christ as priest, prophet, and king. Every priest shares in that identity in a particular way, as expressed in that awesome moniker, alter Christus. An awesome responsibility not just for priests, but for all the baptized. Whether Enzler was trying to downplay sacerdotal uniqueness or elevate baptismal dignity, one may never know. (I would favor the latter, which in fact does not accomplish the former.)

Persons who pray the Liturgy of the Hours frequently read the Psalms; as a result, and through the Holy Spirit, a phrase from a psalm or canticle often comes to mind at appropriate times. Lines from EWOTC also occur to me in this fashion.

During a recent conversation, I thought of this one from the ninth station (I had to look it up, as I couldn't recall its precise origin):

"No force on earth and none in hell can take away your will. Your will is yours."

This came to mind because I was talking to someone who was feeling trapped by family difficulties. It's easy to allow other people, even our own family members, to impinge upon our freedom. "S/he demands too much!" But how much, and what sort of allowance, do you give him/her? Before long, if you want to be well, you have to look closely and honestly at your own responsibility in the matter, accept what you can change, be willing and courageous to change what you can, and seek the wisdom to discern the difference. Does s/he, or anyone else, make you feel this way or that? One may retort, "Well, you can't choose to feel, can you?" Perhaps not, but you can choose what feelings to entertain. You can weigh them against the truth, even when the truth doesn't seem as clear as you'd prefer it to be. And what sort of factors muddle the truth, anyhow? Fear tops the list; and you are free to add your own.

Human beings are going to experience fears. When Jesus says, "Fear is useless, what is needed is trust" (Mk 5:36), we might feel further disappointment in ourselves for fearing someone or something. "Aw, that's not what disciples do!" Well, run that assertion by the Apostles to whom Jesus felt it necessary to say that.

Trust--faith--is needed; but trust is more than feeling that "everything's gonna work itself out." That's an important dimension, but it doesn't present the complete picture. Faith involves action. When we begin to experience fear, we need to get in the habit of asking God as soon as possible what the proper response is, whether it take the form of words, actions, or (usually the case) some combination of these.

The devil can toy with our imagination and our memory, but he can't toy with our intellect and our will. It's not easy to pause and consider the distinction between these human faculties in real time, in the midst of a challenging situation. Spiritual companionship helps: it helps to have on hand someone who can help you to seek consoling yet challenging clarification. And it helps us to seek that clarification explicitly, open to whatever he or she may offer. In the event that such a friend is not readily available, remember that God is! If at times it sounds to us like we're complaining, we can be grateful that some listeners (human and divine) are willing to listen to us; but beware that some of them may ask us what we're willing to do for a change. Who'd blame them for it?

Eventually we are once again reminded of our deepest freedom, where God is present, whereby we can make it through another day.

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Now this day is U.S. Independence Day. At this national moment there are voices announcing threats to religious freedom in our country, with proposed mandates for contraceptive and abortifacient coverage in health insurance. This is supposed to be of particular concern to Catholics, who have steadfastly held the immorality of artificial contraception.  But this ought to be of particular concern to all Americans, who would not be forced by any human power to violate fundamental freedoms.

Will we allow this to happen--specifically, will we allow this coverage to become mandatory? Will it result in more restrictions on the basic liberties of Americans? Will enough people care? It may depend on what freedoms seem to be restricted at the time. What's one more?
People might be willing to endure certain restrictions if they don't feel the undesirable effects of those restrictions. If they do feel undesirable effects, they will have to summon the motivation to make the necessary changes and consider their options. But nothing will happen until the discomfort level is high enough. People will complain, but their current options will seem rather limited, so that's as far as it will go.

"They demand too much!"

Partial Perspective and Plenary Providence

On the eve of the conclave that shall elect Pope the Next, I can add nothing to that momentous topic, except to pass along one papabile's comments relating to the past Sunday's Gospel of the Prodigal Son.

Let it be done to the Church according to His Word!

From the midst of the flames the Cardinals cried out with one voice: "Blessed be God!"
(Photo credit: Taipei Times)

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Paragraph 314 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

314 We firmly believe that God is master of the world and of its history. But the ways of his providence are often unknown to us. Only at the end, when our partial knowledge ceases, when we see God "face to face", will we fully know the ways by which - even through the dramas of evil and sin - God has guided his creation to that definitive sabbath rest for which he created heaven and earth.

I get to work with people who have issues with God.  Many of them attribute their issues in great measure to a dysfunctional upbringing, deficiencies in their religious and spiritual formation, and choices they made in a less-than-optimal condition.  Despite the significant healing that has occurred in their lives, they often experience flare-ups of frustration concerning their plight.  At the peak of pique, the script hardly ever changes: Why doesn't an all-powerful God doesn't change the situation?

It's a replay of the age-old tension between divine omnipotence and human freedom.  God is not simply maneuvering us through all the interactions of our lives.  Everybody makes choices, and the real-time interplay of everybody's free choices causes considerable conflict in the short and long term.  External and internal forces compromise our freedom to some extent; like Saint Paul, we lament the evil that we so readily commit, and the good that we seem unable to accomplish despite our best interests (Rom 7:15-24).  The perennial human objective is to maximize responsibility for our own decisions while relying humbly on the grace of God.  Alas, not everyone is working toward that objective with equal attentiveness at every moment, with often disastrous results.

We do not see the bigger picture at any given time.  If we could zoom out and view the myriad matrices of decision, we might well leave judgment up to Someone more qualified.  For the believer, this crazy, mixed-up life prompts us to renew our trust in the higher harmony that daily dissonance obscures.  From a self-centered vantage point, the aggregate of bad choices affects us--which is all that matters when matters are all messy.  But we do well to recall the drops we've been adding to that bucket: our own sinful choices.  Whether or not we can clearly trace out the lines of unsavory influences in our lives, it nonetheless remains for us to move forward in the steadfast discharge of virtue.

Often in our conversations, people will admit to me that they are tired.  As they explain the events of a typical day, I can understand where they're coming from, most of the time.  Now a mentor of mine once told me, "You can find sympathy under 's' in the dictionary."  At first hearing, I was rather irritated; at the same time, I hoped to be able to use the line someday because it's so dang clever.  Usually, I offer the trite-yet-true answer, the one I've so frequently and gratefully received: "That's life."  I say "gratefully," because it consoles me to know that I'm not as alone as I think I am.  Members of the Body of Christ are never alone.

I encourage the people who seek counsel from me (for whatever reason!) to trust in the ways of Providence and to persevere in doing their best.  That's what people tell me, anyhow, and it seems to work.  The "sabbath rest" of God's faithful awaits us: the day of re-creation when "All shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well" (Julian of Norwich).  Meanwhile we must seek out islands of wellness for ourselves, lest the journey be all travail.  Prayer and conversation, reading, exercise, and music have been beneficial to me.  Like-minded people, priests and laity, offer encouragement and challenge in due measure.  I can only hope that my association with them has proved as beneficial to them as it has been for me.

Prefer the company of those who offer you a sense of perspective and a motive for trust in the goodness of God at work in your own life.  The Church--your parish community, the worthy associations and friendships you make along the Way--can be a vital part of your "sabbath," if you wish.

So says the Crown Prince of This World (cf. Jn 12:31)