We have talked about how Original Solitude prepares us for that ultimate communion relationship, both with the other sex, and most importantly with God. This solitude prepares us, as we get to know who we are through our experiences with the rest of the world.
However, as Christopher West puts it so perfectly, "Man is not fully human - his creation is not complete - until he emerges in his 'double unity' as male and female."
Man, as a whole, is not complete unless he has someone to share the experience of being human. This goes back to the idea of the "two in one flessh" principle. Humanity, man, is incomplete unless he has someone to share in that union of humanity with.
Here enters woman.
Man seeks to experience that total oneness of being human, but knows it is not possible without someone to share that with. Man needs a helper in order to be fully himself. Adam needs someone to share in his work, so that with the total completeness expressed by the utter distintiveness and equality of both sexes, man in his completeness is able to fully do the work that needs to be done.
In order to understand this creation of woman, let us first and foremost take a brief look at the idea of Adam's "deep sleep". This speaks, again, to that deep and personal experience that Adam has, and this experience expresses and divine and objective truth.
It is not a state of dreams, of sub-consciousness, but is rather a passing from conscious to un-consciousness. This sleep a "return to non-being" according to JP II. What does that mean? He is stating that Adam is not taking part in the activity of the creation of the woman. As we have stated, in order to be, one must have activity that is conscious, for it is that activity that brings about our personhood in a very real way. Man falls into sleep in order to awaken to find man in his completeness through the union of male and female in a unitive and loving communion. Man is fully realized when Adam awakes from his deep sleep to see Eve standing in front of him, Adam and Eve see in each other, through their experience of each other in their bodies the completeness of man.
The rib is a bone, and it is the bone that represents a person's very intimate and personal self. It is the stuff that they're made of. It can be likened to how people view the heart nowadays, it is the center of what makes us human. By creating Eve out of Adam's rib, the Bible is showing us the sharing of humanity that men and woman have. The rib thus indicates that they are equal in the eyes of God, and that they share that dignity which each and every human person shares.
Masculinity and femininity, thus, express in two different yet equal ways that solitude before God. In a more real way, that solitude of man is still very real after the creation of woman, in that man as a whole is still the only creature who is self-willed. It is the masculinity and femininity that complete what it means to be human, and what it means to be male and female. They complete each other in that loving communion that they share. They are very different, and yet, this difference is completely complementary. God creates Eve as a helper for Adam. Adam does not need another man to be his helper, but a woman, Eve, so that through such difference which is apparent to the other through the body, this perfect harmony is created in which these differences are completely complimentary. It is sin that will create tension between the differences.
The bone, too, expresses for the Jews the human being. So when Adam exclaims "Bone of my bone", he really means "being of my being", someone who he sees as another person, and he recognizes it immediately. Notice, too, that Adam does not name woman, but it is a title given to her from God. This declares her total unique dignity as a human person.
Now that woman is created, the idea of Original Solitude reaches that new meaning as I discussed earlier in this post. Original Solitude is completed through Original Unity. Man is completed through the communion of male and female in a very unique and profound way, and it is through this communion that man fully realizes his utter uniqueness in the world as a being who has a self, who has the will to choose or deny love, and has the will to fulfill the meaning of his very person through the total love between him and another. Man is fulfilled in communion, and his uniqueness is at its peak, because it is only through this willing and loving communion that man can come to realize for himself his true uniqueness in the most intimate way through the one flesh union.
-Harrison
Sunday, January 29, 2006
I Return
Yes folks, I have returned from a great weekend at a CSA Retreat. The CSA is the Catholic Students Association at the University of Victoria.
I learned a lot this weekend, a lot about others and thus a lot about myself by getting to know others. The first thing I will say is that it was MUCH better then my previous experience at a CSA retreat. I had a bad taste left in my mouth because of said previous experience. However, there are now new people who are heading it, a wonderful couple, Charlie and Jean Allen, who I've slowly gotten to know over the past couple of years. They have a great love for Christ and a great love for the youth.
My big highlight was that there was such an amazing balance of prayer, talks, and fun. Everything fit in nicely. I'll be honest, my idea of fun is sitting in front of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament for the entire weekend. However, I know that I must experience Christ not only through the Eucharist, but by being at service to others. And so, I tried to lighten up a bit this weekend and have some fun and I did. I will be the first to admit that the more modern music used for singing and such generally doesn't take to me. However, I know that it is a perfectly valid way to show your love for God and is a very reverential way to show it. This is not anything new though, I've always like older music, since my musical tastes will only go as far as 1945 generally. But I forced myself to experience and understand the various ways people show their love for God, because it is important to know how to relate to various people in the Church. I saw that people show equal reverance to Christ in there way of singing as I would by singing a good ol' Salve Regina.
The talks were fairly good too. Some people really opened up and it was definitely quite a different experience, in a good way, to see where people are at in their faith and I was glad to see that Jean and Charlie had variety with who they had talking and such.
There was Eucharistic Adoration whenever we wanted which was amazing! And there was fun too, like dancing on Saturday night spontaneously, so I pulled out my swing music to add to the fun. It was a good time overall.
Still have much to consider about the weekend, to see what God wanted me to learn from these interactions with others, but it was great overall.
I best get my Theology of the Body post up!
-Harrison
I learned a lot this weekend, a lot about others and thus a lot about myself by getting to know others. The first thing I will say is that it was MUCH better then my previous experience at a CSA retreat. I had a bad taste left in my mouth because of said previous experience. However, there are now new people who are heading it, a wonderful couple, Charlie and Jean Allen, who I've slowly gotten to know over the past couple of years. They have a great love for Christ and a great love for the youth.
My big highlight was that there was such an amazing balance of prayer, talks, and fun. Everything fit in nicely. I'll be honest, my idea of fun is sitting in front of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament for the entire weekend. However, I know that I must experience Christ not only through the Eucharist, but by being at service to others. And so, I tried to lighten up a bit this weekend and have some fun and I did. I will be the first to admit that the more modern music used for singing and such generally doesn't take to me. However, I know that it is a perfectly valid way to show your love for God and is a very reverential way to show it. This is not anything new though, I've always like older music, since my musical tastes will only go as far as 1945 generally. But I forced myself to experience and understand the various ways people show their love for God, because it is important to know how to relate to various people in the Church. I saw that people show equal reverance to Christ in there way of singing as I would by singing a good ol' Salve Regina.
The talks were fairly good too. Some people really opened up and it was definitely quite a different experience, in a good way, to see where people are at in their faith and I was glad to see that Jean and Charlie had variety with who they had talking and such.
There was Eucharistic Adoration whenever we wanted which was amazing! And there was fun too, like dancing on Saturday night spontaneously, so I pulled out my swing music to add to the fun. It was a good time overall.
Still have much to consider about the weekend, to see what God wanted me to learn from these interactions with others, but it was great overall.
I best get my Theology of the Body post up!
-Harrison
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Out of town for the next few days
I will be away until Sunday. I will be going on the CSA Retreat (the Catholic Students Association at the University of Victoria). We're going to Camp Pringle at Shawnigan Lake and I leave from the University at 3:30pm tomorrow. I will not, therefore, be having any updates until Sunday night when I return. I hope that it will be a time of prayer and reflection and rest for me, as one can always use all three :).
God bless and I'll see you all when I get back.
Also, here's a bit of a teaser for all yall. I've got the information all ready to go for the George Weigel conference. If any of you in Vancouver perhaps would like me to send you some pamphlets for the conference please let me know. We can have a maximum of 800 people and would love to see many people from Vancouver come over. You can hand them out to your friends and maybe even teachers!
-Harrison
God bless and I'll see you all when I get back.
Also, here's a bit of a teaser for all yall. I've got the information all ready to go for the George Weigel conference. If any of you in Vancouver perhaps would like me to send you some pamphlets for the conference please let me know. We can have a maximum of 800 people and would love to see many people from Vancouver come over. You can hand them out to your friends and maybe even teachers!
-Harrison
How Solitude Prepares Man for Communion
We left last time discussing Original Solitude, and how it is through the dual nature of solitude (of man being literally alone, no woman to complete the meaning of being human; and of man being distinct from the rest of creation through the fact that he comes to self-discovery that he is distinct by naming the animals). We have an idea of what Original Solitude is, now we will see what it prepares us for.
Man cannot be understood without understanding the call to enter a covenant with God, a covenant of love. This is an immensely personal covenant, one that is experienced at the very core of the human person. Man is dignified to such an extent that God willfully gives over a gift to man to enter that eternal, loving communion, something no other creature could possibly share. God has made us for Himself! This gift from God, in all its immensity and mystery, explains to us who we are.
In order to enter this covenant, man must be able to willfully enter into it. This demands a choice, which is why there is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It is that choice, we can choose to enter God's covenant fully, or we can choose to reject Him. Man ends up seeing the tree as the answer to that deep longing, they listen to the devil and are fooled. They eat of it and their world perspective becomes distorted. They see solitude no longer as a good thing, proper to prepare us for intimate loving communion, but now it is something that hinders our own personal progress, and thus it is no longer solitude, but is loneliness. This is why Adam was alone first, why both Adam and Eve were not created at the same time, he had to prepare himself for that communion. The same goes for us nowadays. And this will also be applied to those in the religious life. That life of solitude is not bad, it is a great preration for that reality of eternal communion with God. Loneliness is the result of sin's distortion of our world perspective.
And so, it is this freedom that makes for us the ability to have eternal life with God. We must choose, no one can choose for us. Adam and Eve had two choices, they could eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or they could eat of the tree of eternal life. They chose to live apart from God. Adam, also, had a perfect understanding of what was meant by death. Just as we can contrast our own experiences with those of Original Man by reflecting on our own experiences, so too can Original Man, by reflecting on his own experiences and knowledge, contrast who is compared to God. Adam knew God, and knew that he was a limited being, dependent on God. If this is the case, he could see that he could have the opportunity of no longer living, it was all dependent on God.
Man, therefore, is, at the very essence of his being, defined by his relationship of dependence and partnership with God. Man is defined according to his relation to God. We are dependent because we have been created by God and are creatures, but we are in a partnership because God freely gives us a covenant of love in which we may participate in.
Man also comes to a deep understanding of who is through the very experience of his body! Man is formed out of the dust of the earth and God breaths His Spirit into man. Man is a person constituting a body and a soul, intimately intertwined. Thus, through the very experience of his body, man comes to learn of who God is and, it follows, who he is.
If the invisible has control over the visible, as is true with who we are, so too, then, does the visible express the invisible. Our bodies reveal that invisible reality of who we are. The body is transparent and penetrable in a certain degree so that it makes clear who man is.
This is why Adam saw none of the animals fit to be helpers for him. He knew, through his own experience of himself in his solitude, that his helper that would be fit for him would reveal to him through her body the inner depths of her personhood, of who she is and who she is meant to be! This is an awesome and beautiful mystery, one that we cannot fully comprehend. Furthermore, through the experience of his body in solitude, Adam sees that it is not fit for him to be alone. His very body expresses the reality that he is built to be in a communion of love with another! How beautiful is this?
It is thus through this Original Solitude that man is able to see that he is fit for another, to have a loving communion with another. This will come about with the creation of woman. His body anticipates that original unity which Adam and Eve will experience in which the "two will become one flesh". To bring this to an applicable side quickly, this is why it is good to have solitude, to see how we are fit to give ourselves completely to another through our vocation. For some it is in marriage (in fact, this is the most common case). However, for others, the vocation can be one of giving themselves completely over, seeing their body is made for that loving union between male and female, but that we are also made for a greater communion, that communion that is eternal and loving with God.
I have a note in my book here that I wish to share with everyone that can be applied to what has been discussed. We have seen how solitude prepares us for communion. I'm going to do a quick bit of application, though I'm sure this will be discussed in more depth with regards to the cycle on Religious Life. I put down that the religious life, priesthood, and single life is an intense preperation for communion with God because of the fact that these vocations express that eschatological reality.
What this means is that the time of solitude helps us prepare for that deep, personal, and intimate communion we have with the other. All people have that to a certain extent, regardless of their vocation. We are all preparing for that eternal communion with God. However, those who give up marriage for the sake of the kingdom are able to prepare in a more intense way. That is to say, the fact that they give up marriage, they make present on earth that reality which we all will be living in Heaven (the eschatological reality). They thus prepare in a very real and personal way through a life of solitude (from having a spouse) so that they can be as best prepared as possible for that Divine and eternal communion. This will be discussed more much later on, but I wanted to throw it out there. Note, this does not put marriage as a vocation under those called to a celibate life. I just wanted to throw this out there.
Next post will be about a very beautiful, profound, and deep subject, the Creation of Woman. It is one of my personal favourites.
-Harrison
Man cannot be understood without understanding the call to enter a covenant with God, a covenant of love. This is an immensely personal covenant, one that is experienced at the very core of the human person. Man is dignified to such an extent that God willfully gives over a gift to man to enter that eternal, loving communion, something no other creature could possibly share. God has made us for Himself! This gift from God, in all its immensity and mystery, explains to us who we are.
In order to enter this covenant, man must be able to willfully enter into it. This demands a choice, which is why there is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It is that choice, we can choose to enter God's covenant fully, or we can choose to reject Him. Man ends up seeing the tree as the answer to that deep longing, they listen to the devil and are fooled. They eat of it and their world perspective becomes distorted. They see solitude no longer as a good thing, proper to prepare us for intimate loving communion, but now it is something that hinders our own personal progress, and thus it is no longer solitude, but is loneliness. This is why Adam was alone first, why both Adam and Eve were not created at the same time, he had to prepare himself for that communion. The same goes for us nowadays. And this will also be applied to those in the religious life. That life of solitude is not bad, it is a great preration for that reality of eternal communion with God. Loneliness is the result of sin's distortion of our world perspective.
And so, it is this freedom that makes for us the ability to have eternal life with God. We must choose, no one can choose for us. Adam and Eve had two choices, they could eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or they could eat of the tree of eternal life. They chose to live apart from God. Adam, also, had a perfect understanding of what was meant by death. Just as we can contrast our own experiences with those of Original Man by reflecting on our own experiences, so too can Original Man, by reflecting on his own experiences and knowledge, contrast who is compared to God. Adam knew God, and knew that he was a limited being, dependent on God. If this is the case, he could see that he could have the opportunity of no longer living, it was all dependent on God.
Man, therefore, is, at the very essence of his being, defined by his relationship of dependence and partnership with God. Man is defined according to his relation to God. We are dependent because we have been created by God and are creatures, but we are in a partnership because God freely gives us a covenant of love in which we may participate in.
Man also comes to a deep understanding of who is through the very experience of his body! Man is formed out of the dust of the earth and God breaths His Spirit into man. Man is a person constituting a body and a soul, intimately intertwined. Thus, through the very experience of his body, man comes to learn of who God is and, it follows, who he is.
If the invisible has control over the visible, as is true with who we are, so too, then, does the visible express the invisible. Our bodies reveal that invisible reality of who we are. The body is transparent and penetrable in a certain degree so that it makes clear who man is.
This is why Adam saw none of the animals fit to be helpers for him. He knew, through his own experience of himself in his solitude, that his helper that would be fit for him would reveal to him through her body the inner depths of her personhood, of who she is and who she is meant to be! This is an awesome and beautiful mystery, one that we cannot fully comprehend. Furthermore, through the experience of his body in solitude, Adam sees that it is not fit for him to be alone. His very body expresses the reality that he is built to be in a communion of love with another! How beautiful is this?
It is thus through this Original Solitude that man is able to see that he is fit for another, to have a loving communion with another. This will come about with the creation of woman. His body anticipates that original unity which Adam and Eve will experience in which the "two will become one flesh". To bring this to an applicable side quickly, this is why it is good to have solitude, to see how we are fit to give ourselves completely to another through our vocation. For some it is in marriage (in fact, this is the most common case). However, for others, the vocation can be one of giving themselves completely over, seeing their body is made for that loving union between male and female, but that we are also made for a greater communion, that communion that is eternal and loving with God.
I have a note in my book here that I wish to share with everyone that can be applied to what has been discussed. We have seen how solitude prepares us for communion. I'm going to do a quick bit of application, though I'm sure this will be discussed in more depth with regards to the cycle on Religious Life. I put down that the religious life, priesthood, and single life is an intense preperation for communion with God because of the fact that these vocations express that eschatological reality.
What this means is that the time of solitude helps us prepare for that deep, personal, and intimate communion we have with the other. All people have that to a certain extent, regardless of their vocation. We are all preparing for that eternal communion with God. However, those who give up marriage for the sake of the kingdom are able to prepare in a more intense way. That is to say, the fact that they give up marriage, they make present on earth that reality which we all will be living in Heaven (the eschatological reality). They thus prepare in a very real and personal way through a life of solitude (from having a spouse) so that they can be as best prepared as possible for that Divine and eternal communion. This will be discussed more much later on, but I wanted to throw it out there. Note, this does not put marriage as a vocation under those called to a celibate life. I just wanted to throw this out there.
Next post will be about a very beautiful, profound, and deep subject, the Creation of Woman. It is one of my personal favourites.
-Harrison
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Original Solitude
We left last time with a reflection on the incorporation of the idea of experience in the eyes of theology. In order to understand these truths of the faith, we need to experience them in a personal way through our very bodies. This makes the truths of the faith something tangible, something that we can touch and come to a deep appreciation for.
Continuing along the lines of experience, we enter what JP II terms as "Original Solitude". It relates to the following passage in Genesis:
Continuing along the lines of experience, we enter what JP II terms as "Original Solitude". It relates to the following passage in Genesis:
It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him" (Genesis 2:18)Original solitude has 2 meanings:
- The first derives from the relationship between man and woman, man is literally alone without woman.
- The second is fundamental to man's nature in that he is "alone" in the visible world as a person.
We must remember that Adam has no one to refer to. The difference between the sexes is only apparent when there is another person of the opposite sex to compare to. So, Adam being alone does not define himself as male. His first experience, also, is not that of being a male, it is the experience of being a person. Therefore, this solitude is in reference to the fact that man is the only creature who has a personhood. It thus follows that the experience of man as being male or female is secondary because of man's very nature of being a human person. Man experiences that original solitude in the sense that he experiences his personhood, his realization of being a person, before he realizes that he is a male (in reference to Adam).
This all falls into the realization that man realizes first his fundamental human dignity as a person. Before he can give himself to another, man must first realize that he is a person who can, out of his own love and free will, give himself over to another out of total love. Only someone with free will is able to give himself over as a loving gift. Personhood and the act of love of the person, as well as every act, involves free will, which is inherent in the dignity of the human person. This does not deny the importance of sexual differences, the difference between male and female, but that, in order to have that important disctinction, you must have a personhood in order to be able to realize that sexual difference.
God sees that Adam needs a helper. First, it is important to note what is meant by the term "helper". It is not a term that denotes being one's slave, to do the bidding of another. Instead, the term "helper" denotes someone to share in the duties and work of the other. It thus is necessary for the helper to be someone of equal standing with Adam, someone who is free to recognize the fact that they have a dignity that is inherent in their very nature.
In order to do this, God first creates the animals, in which Adam names them. This is man's own way of self-realization. Man, by naming the animals, is able to see that he is fundamentally different from the animals. He has dominion over them, being able to name them. By naming the animals, Adam sees that they are not persons like he is, but are simply creatures in which he has dominion over them as someone who has the dignity of freely loving. He does not see in them a helper fit for him because they are not able to freely love him, they are not created in the same dignity as he is, they are not created in the image and likeness of God.
This brings a speculative sidenote...JP II says that it is through the unique interaction between body and soul that man is able to come and experience things. Man comes to a self-realization through experience through his body. This is very Thomistic of JP II of course, taking the standard medieval motto that "nothing is in the mind that is not previously perceived through the senses." That is to say, in order to have ideas, thoughts, to come to self-realization, one must experience things through their bodies. This is interesting for me because it brings up angels for me, who are non-corporeal beings, they are pure spirit. Does this mean that angels are thus self-realized and that they don't have experience, because they come to that full realization of self at the moment they are created? I don't know the answer, I'm just throwing that out there as a result of this discussion.
Back to Original Solitude. By naming the animals and seeing that he is distinct, man comes to know who he is, that self-realization, based on his relations with the rest of the created world. This means that our own identity is dependent on relating to all of creation, we (human beings as a whole) are defined in contrast with the rest of the created world. We see that we are fundamentally different. The more animals Adam names, the more he realizes his fundamental difference from the rest of the created world.
Man, through this naming of the animals, reveals himself to himself. We must remember too that the body reveals to us the Divine reality of God, it expresses in a deep and profound way the mystery of God. Thus through that realization of himself before the fall, man becomes even more aware of who God is, he realizes not only his utter distinctness from the creatures and created world, he also realizes his utter distinctness in that God is far more greater then he is. This means that man is prepared for communion with God. God was willing to give all to man so long as man was willing to receive the gift, though as we will see (and know), man rejects that gift.
Thus, in this solitude, in this time of self-realization, man begins to know himself more and more, seeing how distinct he is from the rest of the created world. It follows then that this state of Original Solitude prepares man for the experience of communion. Man must realize who he is in order to properly and fully give himself over completely in love to woman. We will discuss this preparing for communion through Original Solitude tomorrow.
-Harrison
It is released!
That's right folks, Deus Caritas Est is released. I'm sure, for most of you, you already know this. I remember waking up at 4am this morning having to go to the washroom and coming out and just before I went to bed I quickly checked and was overjoyed by the fact that it was on there :).
I will not read it right away, as I have much that I need to take care of in the next week or two before I can begin to give it the time it deserves, however, I took a quick glance at the first page with much joy when I saw the following sentence:
Pure and utter brilliance and beauty. I know it's been said and said by him and others, but now we have it in encyclical form! I can see hints already in it in how it is a continuation of what JP II had done, on the experience of God, but you can also tell that this is something that is definitely a work of his own that he has written, Benedict has that style about him :).
Needless to say I am very excited to read it and give it further reflections and such, I will be teaching on the encyclical in April at the College and Career group so I gotta make sure it's all ready to go by then.
-Harrison
I will not read it right away, as I have much that I need to take care of in the next week or two before I can begin to give it the time it deserves, however, I took a quick glance at the first page with much joy when I saw the following sentence:
Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.
Pure and utter brilliance and beauty. I know it's been said and said by him and others, but now we have it in encyclical form! I can see hints already in it in how it is a continuation of what JP II had done, on the experience of God, but you can also tell that this is something that is definitely a work of his own that he has written, Benedict has that style about him :).
Needless to say I am very excited to read it and give it further reflections and such, I will be teaching on the encyclical in April at the College and Career group so I gotta make sure it's all ready to go by then.
-Harrison
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
The Echo of Original Experience
As we continue this journey into the Theology of the Body, we come to see something that is quite essential to the entire human experience, the fact that there is still an echo in our innermost being of man's original experience before the fall.
JP II says that there is an essential continuity and link between the pre-hisotoric (pre-fall) and historic (post-fall) man. This link is essential to JP II and, in a certain sense, this is of little surprise, for JP II is a Thomist to the core, and all Thomist's believe in the natural inclination towards the good. This is speculation on my part, but I do believe that for JP II, this natural inclination is that continuity between the pre-historic and historic man. All people are ordered towards the good, however, sin now has distorted that reality, though it has not taken it away. Sin has muddied our entire perception of the world, Christ wipes away that dirt so that we can more clearly see that good which we are to pursue.
So, JP II says that the imprint, the negative (as in a photo negative) is still imprinted in man. In order to have a fuller understanding of that state of Original Innocence we must flip that negative in order to see that positive which was there at the beginning. We can look at our human experiences and see what it is, to a certain extent, that we are no longer experiencing. Sin is only definable by the fact that it has disrupted that Original Innocence. Sin misses the mark, but it also reveals to us that mark we have missed, since we cannot miss a mark without knowing it.
The redemption of the body for us has been won by Christ. Through His Incarnation and thus through His death, our bodies have been redeemed by His death on the cross. It is because of Christ's redeeming act on the cross that man is able to have that continuity within himself. Without Christ, there is no ability to overcome our sinful nature, it is only through Him that we are able to grow closer to the way it used to be, to the way of Original Innocence.
Man does indeed participate in the history of human sinfulness, but even more importantly, he participates in and are thus co-creators of the history of salvation. By claiming faith in Christ, we automatically take part and help form that history of salvation for the glory of God through His grace. Faith means being open to the gift. By having faith in Christ, we are thus open to His gift. By being open to His gift, we become subjects and co-creators in salvation history. It is through viewing himself this way that man is able to see the "beginning" as his true fullness. We are aiming for our eschatological end through the fact that we are coming to aim for a fuller living out of that original state.
Here we run into a need for clarity. How is it that we are able to use subjective human experience to discuss the objective truth of revelation? JP II answers that if we do not apply subjective experience together with that objective truth of revelation, then these revelations become merely abstract thoughts that have no import on our lives. JP II states that both are important, and indeed revelation is of the utmost importance. We must, however, discuss revelation by applying it to our experiences and seeing how it affects each and every one of us, seeing how our own experiences cry loud and proud that we truly yearn for that truth about our human existance. Therefore, through looking at our own human experiences to their very depths, JP II is able to abstract from them those common experiences which speak true and reveal to us a deeper meaning about man in the beginning.
JP II sees it as very necessary of looking deep within the human experience, because the human experience speaks of truths which resound perfectly with revelation. The human desire to love, to be affirmed, to be loved, this is all true within the Church's teachings on marriage and sexuality and the very heart of the human person. JP II attempts to extract this and apply it in a more deeper way so that the Church can have a fuller understanding of the mystery of God's plan and of God. The reason for this is because, prior to the fall, there was no tension between man's subjective experience and the objective truth. They were in perfect harmony, in which man's experience coincided and revealed in the most intimate way those universal and immutable truths. However, with the entrace of sin into the world, everything is distorted. Because man grasps instead of freely receives, the interaction which was once mutually important to each other because their differences brought that perfect harmony to the world, there is now a perceived tension because sin has distorted our view. Instead of man freely receiving God's gift, he now tries to take it. God freely gives Himself in the fullest way through Christ, and man can again begin to have that harmony between subjective experience and objective truth by man freely accepting and nurturing the gift that God has given us.
Next time we will discuss the idea of Original Solitude. I could continue in more depth on the objective truth and subjective experience, but that could go on forever. It is important to have that basic idea of it, and to understand fundamentally that they are not at tension with each other, but are there to compliment each other. Christ expresses this perfectly in Himself. He IS the universal truths, yet He is also a person who has experiences and relations. Christ is the point in which the universal and subjective are re-orientated back to their original harmony.
-Harrison
JP II says that there is an essential continuity and link between the pre-hisotoric (pre-fall) and historic (post-fall) man. This link is essential to JP II and, in a certain sense, this is of little surprise, for JP II is a Thomist to the core, and all Thomist's believe in the natural inclination towards the good. This is speculation on my part, but I do believe that for JP II, this natural inclination is that continuity between the pre-historic and historic man. All people are ordered towards the good, however, sin now has distorted that reality, though it has not taken it away. Sin has muddied our entire perception of the world, Christ wipes away that dirt so that we can more clearly see that good which we are to pursue.
So, JP II says that the imprint, the negative (as in a photo negative) is still imprinted in man. In order to have a fuller understanding of that state of Original Innocence we must flip that negative in order to see that positive which was there at the beginning. We can look at our human experiences and see what it is, to a certain extent, that we are no longer experiencing. Sin is only definable by the fact that it has disrupted that Original Innocence. Sin misses the mark, but it also reveals to us that mark we have missed, since we cannot miss a mark without knowing it.
The redemption of the body for us has been won by Christ. Through His Incarnation and thus through His death, our bodies have been redeemed by His death on the cross. It is because of Christ's redeeming act on the cross that man is able to have that continuity within himself. Without Christ, there is no ability to overcome our sinful nature, it is only through Him that we are able to grow closer to the way it used to be, to the way of Original Innocence.
Man does indeed participate in the history of human sinfulness, but even more importantly, he participates in and are thus co-creators of the history of salvation. By claiming faith in Christ, we automatically take part and help form that history of salvation for the glory of God through His grace. Faith means being open to the gift. By having faith in Christ, we are thus open to His gift. By being open to His gift, we become subjects and co-creators in salvation history. It is through viewing himself this way that man is able to see the "beginning" as his true fullness. We are aiming for our eschatological end through the fact that we are coming to aim for a fuller living out of that original state.
Here we run into a need for clarity. How is it that we are able to use subjective human experience to discuss the objective truth of revelation? JP II answers that if we do not apply subjective experience together with that objective truth of revelation, then these revelations become merely abstract thoughts that have no import on our lives. JP II states that both are important, and indeed revelation is of the utmost importance. We must, however, discuss revelation by applying it to our experiences and seeing how it affects each and every one of us, seeing how our own experiences cry loud and proud that we truly yearn for that truth about our human existance. Therefore, through looking at our own human experiences to their very depths, JP II is able to abstract from them those common experiences which speak true and reveal to us a deeper meaning about man in the beginning.
JP II sees it as very necessary of looking deep within the human experience, because the human experience speaks of truths which resound perfectly with revelation. The human desire to love, to be affirmed, to be loved, this is all true within the Church's teachings on marriage and sexuality and the very heart of the human person. JP II attempts to extract this and apply it in a more deeper way so that the Church can have a fuller understanding of the mystery of God's plan and of God. The reason for this is because, prior to the fall, there was no tension between man's subjective experience and the objective truth. They were in perfect harmony, in which man's experience coincided and revealed in the most intimate way those universal and immutable truths. However, with the entrace of sin into the world, everything is distorted. Because man grasps instead of freely receives, the interaction which was once mutually important to each other because their differences brought that perfect harmony to the world, there is now a perceived tension because sin has distorted our view. Instead of man freely receiving God's gift, he now tries to take it. God freely gives Himself in the fullest way through Christ, and man can again begin to have that harmony between subjective experience and objective truth by man freely accepting and nurturing the gift that God has given us.
Next time we will discuss the idea of Original Solitude. I could continue in more depth on the objective truth and subjective experience, but that could go on forever. It is important to have that basic idea of it, and to understand fundamentally that they are not at tension with each other, but are there to compliment each other. Christ expresses this perfectly in Himself. He IS the universal truths, yet He is also a person who has experiences and relations. Christ is the point in which the universal and subjective are re-orientated back to their original harmony.
-Harrison
God is so so good.
I went to Eucharistic Adoration for a personal Holy Hour as per I do every Tuesday from 3:00 to 4:00pm. So I went downstairs to the Crypt Chapel as per usual and prayed my Divine Mercy Chaplet as per usual since it was 3:00pm. So that was all good and stuff.
After I finished my Divine Mercy Chaplet, I had the sudden urge to just close my eyes, sit up straight, and just try to be as silent as possible. I just sat in God's presence in almost complete silence (thoughts do come to my mind once in a while, but that happens). I did feel my self nodding off a couple of times, but I am tired and it didn't really ruin my prayerful state if I can call it that. It was amazing because I know now that there was stuff going on upstairs in the Sacrasty, it registered, but at the time, I just really didn't pay attention to it. It went in one ear and out the other. A nuclear bomb going off could not have gotten me to budge.
And so, as it was coming to an end, I had a sudden urge to write a poem! I couldn't believe it...me and poetry haven't been the best of friends in the past. But I just started writing, and writing until it was time to repose the Blessed Sacrament. I read it after and added one tiny thing to it, but it expressed perfectly what I was feeling. I just felt that today my love for the Eucharist has grown, thanks to God's grace, about a million times more. Oh how I long for another opportunity to adore and be in the presence of our Lord.
-Harrison
After I finished my Divine Mercy Chaplet, I had the sudden urge to just close my eyes, sit up straight, and just try to be as silent as possible. I just sat in God's presence in almost complete silence (thoughts do come to my mind once in a while, but that happens). I did feel my self nodding off a couple of times, but I am tired and it didn't really ruin my prayerful state if I can call it that. It was amazing because I know now that there was stuff going on upstairs in the Sacrasty, it registered, but at the time, I just really didn't pay attention to it. It went in one ear and out the other. A nuclear bomb going off could not have gotten me to budge.
And so, as it was coming to an end, I had a sudden urge to write a poem! I couldn't believe it...me and poetry haven't been the best of friends in the past. But I just started writing, and writing until it was time to repose the Blessed Sacrament. I read it after and added one tiny thing to it, but it expressed perfectly what I was feeling. I just felt that today my love for the Eucharist has grown, thanks to God's grace, about a million times more. Oh how I long for another opportunity to adore and be in the presence of our Lord.
-Harrison
Monday, January 23, 2006
New Government in Canada
Well folks, it's happened. The Conservatives now have a minority government. It seems that they may have just as many problems as the previous parliament, however, simply because minorities can either very bottlenecked or they can learn to work together to bring new policies to help Canadians.
Also, Paul Martin has stepped down as leader of the Liberal Party. Will we get another nominal Catholic as the leader of the party? We will see, but, frankly, I'm not a fan of someone who says they're Catholic and yet refuses to live those beliefs in their vote.
We will see what happens. Everyone is already talking that this parliament will only last 18 months. I think the Liberals may begin falling with the loss of Paul Martin, they're going to need to think about a new leader and I don't think it'll be enough if there is another election so close in the future. We will see, I just pray that family and life values and truths can begin to be promoted in Parliament. This is the Conservative's opportunity to step up to the plate and show Canada what they can do for Canadians. I pray that they will promote life and family values.
*Quick sidenote, there will be no Theology of the Body posts tonight, I got home late and need to get to sleep so I can wake up for Mass in the morning.
-Harrison
Also, Paul Martin has stepped down as leader of the Liberal Party. Will we get another nominal Catholic as the leader of the party? We will see, but, frankly, I'm not a fan of someone who says they're Catholic and yet refuses to live those beliefs in their vote.
We will see what happens. Everyone is already talking that this parliament will only last 18 months. I think the Liberals may begin falling with the loss of Paul Martin, they're going to need to think about a new leader and I don't think it'll be enough if there is another election so close in the future. We will see, I just pray that family and life values and truths can begin to be promoted in Parliament. This is the Conservative's opportunity to step up to the plate and show Canada what they can do for Canadians. I pray that they will promote life and family values.
*Quick sidenote, there will be no Theology of the Body posts tonight, I got home late and need to get to sleep so I can wake up for Mass in the morning.
-Harrison
Sunday, January 22, 2006
March for Life in San Fran
Go here to see the story from the San Francisco Chronicle:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/01/22/BAG5QGRAKC1.DTL
Well, I'll be honest, I'm not too surprised. There seems to be a slight leaning in the article, of course, towards those who support abortion, simply by calling pro-lifers "anti-abortion". While it is true, it's definitely a much more negative title then the others.
And the article does do a good job at showing the utter lack of logical coherency. The pictures speak lourder then words (re: the picture section of the article, especially the woman who's got "My Baby is Pro-Choice" written on her stomach). As I've heard others say, how can a piece of tissue mass have a conscience? How is it that a "non-person" can have a moral opinion? If you don't believe a baby is a person, then how is it that your baby is making a moral opinion? Furthermore, just simply seeing the pictures of the pro-choicers compared to those who are pro-life speaks volumes. We're quiet and peaceful, while they have to scream and yell and make fun of people because they know they have no point.
It reminds me a lot of what happened last year at UVic with regards to the vote at the UVSS. We had a vote to take off of the UVSS's policy that "the UVSS supports a woman's right to an abortion." It was opposed by Youth Protecting Youth, a pro-life club at the school, because of the fact that the UVSS is thus forcing students to pay fees into a Student Union that supports a position that is contrary to their fundamental beliefs. Del did a great job at putting together a very coherent argument for the pro-life side. Unfortunately, because of the scare tactics of the pro-choicers, we didn't win the vote because they would be taking down our signs and so forth and scream across campus.
It just goes to show that when you deny human life, you fall down the slippery sloap. You deny babies are human beings and so you start to think that you're nothing but a silly animal and so the only way to win is to scream and yell and destroy because it's your only way of expressing an opinion. No coherency to the argument. I pray for them, that they may see the error of their ways.
-Harrison
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/01/22/BAG5QGRAKC1.DTL
Well, I'll be honest, I'm not too surprised. There seems to be a slight leaning in the article, of course, towards those who support abortion, simply by calling pro-lifers "anti-abortion". While it is true, it's definitely a much more negative title then the others.
And the article does do a good job at showing the utter lack of logical coherency. The pictures speak lourder then words (re: the picture section of the article, especially the woman who's got "My Baby is Pro-Choice" written on her stomach). As I've heard others say, how can a piece of tissue mass have a conscience? How is it that a "non-person" can have a moral opinion? If you don't believe a baby is a person, then how is it that your baby is making a moral opinion? Furthermore, just simply seeing the pictures of the pro-choicers compared to those who are pro-life speaks volumes. We're quiet and peaceful, while they have to scream and yell and make fun of people because they know they have no point.
It reminds me a lot of what happened last year at UVic with regards to the vote at the UVSS. We had a vote to take off of the UVSS's policy that "the UVSS supports a woman's right to an abortion." It was opposed by Youth Protecting Youth, a pro-life club at the school, because of the fact that the UVSS is thus forcing students to pay fees into a Student Union that supports a position that is contrary to their fundamental beliefs. Del did a great job at putting together a very coherent argument for the pro-life side. Unfortunately, because of the scare tactics of the pro-choicers, we didn't win the vote because they would be taking down our signs and so forth and scream across campus.
It just goes to show that when you deny human life, you fall down the slippery sloap. You deny babies are human beings and so you start to think that you're nothing but a silly animal and so the only way to win is to scream and yell and destroy because it's your only way of expressing an opinion. No coherency to the argument. I pray for them, that they may see the error of their ways.
-Harrison
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