Christianity does not dwell in an exclusivity,
That thrives on its limitation,
For God allowed his son Jesus,
To die for the entire world - Jn 3:16,
Christians however,
Do have the sole responsibility,
Through a life of repentance, love and justice,
To make known to this world,
The presence of God’s kingdom,
Here on earth.
“The Lily of the Mohawks”
NOVENA TO SAINT KATERI – REPRINTED FROM KATERI BOOKLET, SPECIAL ISSUE VOLUME 11 NO 1 – DECEMBER 1958 – HENRI BÉCHARD, S.J.
APRIL 4th – 12th 2013, 7:00pm at Mission of Saint Francis Xavier/Shrine of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha – Kanawake, Quebec.
First Day
« A New Star in the New World . . . »
Kateri Tekakwitha, the Lily of the Mohawks, was born of a pagan father and a Christian mother in 1656 at Ossernenon (Auriesville), a few miles from what is today Albany, N.Y. Some time before the Mohawks had raided Three Rivers in Canada. The raiding chieftains brought home to the very spot, hallowed by the martyrdom of St. Isaac Jogues, St. John de La Lande and St. René Goupil, a young Algonquin captive who was to become the wife of one of them and the mother of Tekakwitha.
The child was still a little tot with beautiful, lustrous, black eyes and funny little pigtails when an epidemic of smallpox carried off her father, her mother and her baby brother. People who had known her mother claimed that she was a good Catholic, that she prayed until her death and that perhaps her prayers later obtained the grace of Baptism for her daughter.
At any rate, Tekakwitha’s “good nature,” writes father Chauchetiere, her spiritual guide, « and the care her mother took of her when she was four or five years old went far to make her grow in age and wisdom. » In later years, when Tekakwitha became a “praying Indian“, the pagans of her lodge let her practice her new faith ; her devotions, it seems, were tolerated because they had been accustomed to her mother’s Christian way of life.
All those who visited the dying woman were convinced Tekakwitha would soon follow her. The child rallied. But her beauty was a thing of the past and her eyesight was so poor that she hid her head from the glare of the sun with a blanket. She was taken in charge by a bitterly anti-Catholic uncle. Everything appeared banded against her. And thus there began to shine forth, according to a Blackrobe who knew her, « a new star in the New World. .. »
PONDER A WHILE . . .
Few of us have begun life in worse circumstances than little Tekakwitha.
But God’s Providence drew much glory from her humble existence.
Do I always manifest enough faith and confidence in Him…?
Turn to the prayers on page 10
DAY TWO
« A Little Girl Grows Up . . .
Already at the early age of seven, the Indian girls of Kateri’s village enjoyed dressing up. Their mothers encouraged these petty vanities. “They spend a good deal of time,” wrote a missionary, « in combing and braiding their daughters’ locks. They see to it that their ears are pierced and begin from the cradle to pierce them. They paint their faces and cover themselves with beads when they are going to dance. »
Tekakwitha was of her people ; she worked and played as a true Iroquois. She trotted in and out to get water for the members of her lodge. She was often invited by her aunt to accompany her when she went in search of wood ; she tended the fire when she was asked to do so. Then again, she occasionally came home with a large basket of blueberries, possibly gathered on the banks of the Mohawk into which, a dozen years previous, the bodies of the Jesuit Martyrs had been thrown. Her skill and intelligence were remarkable. As she grew older, Tekakwitha was taught to work daintily with black and white porcupine and chestnut·colored moose bristles, to make bands with which the Indian women carry wood, ceremonial belts also, from precious wampum. She even learned sewing, a recently acquired skill among the girls of her nation.
Often, however, she was left to her own devices. With her little head bent, her small fingers dexterous, she ably fashioned wampum rings for her fingers, necklaces and bracelets, and pretty ribbons dyed red with sturgeon-glue for her black hair. Her pagan aunt and uncle nodded in approval. Pock-marked Tekakwitha would need all this finery if she were to find herself a husband. And husband she must have for an Indian maiden easily became a burden to her lodge, if she had no one to bring her the pickings of a good hunt.
One companion her foster parents frowned upon, a companion that was to dog the little one throughout her life —— suffering ! Her bad eyesight, in particular, kept her away from group games and locked her up on pleasant days within the gloominess of the long house. Later on Tekakwitha was to rue bitterly her childh.ood concessions to vanity. Tears and harsh penances were to make up for them. To her dying day she was to thank Good for the ill health and bad eyes that safeguarded her from the sins of pagan adolescence.
PONDER A WHILE . . .
Tekakwitha, living in pagandom, was a good child.
So was I, in my own small way.
Since then, taking into account the talents which God gave to me, have I paralleled Kateri’s spiritual life?
Turn to the prayers on page 10
Third Day
« I Have Already Decided What I Am Going to Do ! ”
God’s loving Hand had been at work when smallpox scarred the beautiful features of four-year-old Tekakwitha, He desired her for Himself. Ordinarily young men do not think much of girls with marred complexions . . .
Her foster parents tried their utmost to induce Tekakwitha to marry. At the very early age of eight, she was given in marriage to a boy of her own age. But this ceremony was no more than an agreement, common enough among the Iroquois, which served to strengthen the ties of friendship between two families. The boy thought no more about this “marriage” than did Tekakwitha, and it was soon forgotten.
Several years later a snare was set to draw her into wedlock. An Indian brave was ushered into her lodge and told to sit down beside her. He well understood what this meant : if the girl offered him some saganité, she became his wife. Tekakwitha instantly lied from the long house and hid behind a cache of Indian maize. Such conduct was unheard of on the part of an Iroquois maiden.
Time and time again the matter was pressed. Ill treatment was dispensed ; sarcasm, which must have hurt deeply, was flung in her direction, but Tekakwitha, who was no fool, parried each attack with amusing repartees.
After Tekakwitha’s conversion, the Iroquois woman under whose roof she lived at the Mission of Saint Francis Xavier, again tried to force wedded bliss upon her. She was a strong-willed creature and did all in her power to succeed. Kateri’s intimate friend and adviser, good Anastasia, was drawn into the plot. The whole matter was finally laid before Kateri’s confessor. Then the Lily of the Mohawks pronounced the vow of perpetual virginity : « I have thought it over long enough ; I have already decided what I am going to do ; I cannot put it off any longer. I have dedicated myself to Jesus, Son of Mary ; I have taken Him for my Spouse and only He shall have me as a Spouse. »
PONDER A WHILE . . .
« To the unmarried, » wrote St. Paul, “and to the widows, I would say that they will do well to remain in the same state as myself, but if they have not the gift of continence, let them marry ».
Kateri Tekakwitha harkened to the advice of the Apostle of the Gentiles.
Are my opinions concerning purity and chastity in perfect conformity with the teachings of the Church ?
Turn to the prayers on page 10
Fourth Day
« My Name is Christian ! »
Tekakwitha first saw the French Blackrobes in the early autumn of 1667, and then, only for a few days. She was eleven years old. Three Jesuit Fathers were the guests of her pagan uncle, quite against his will, and Tekakwitha was ordered to serve them. This brief meeting seems to have predisposed her to the Faith.
In 1674, Father James de Lamberville, who permanently resided at the Iroquois Mission of Saint Peter, now Fonda, N.Y., gave public instructions to a few Mohawks courageous enough to ignore the general antagonism to the Catholic Church prevalent among their fellow pagans. Tekakwitha apparently was present at these sermons, but through fear of her uncle or through shyness, or perhaps through both, never manifested her desire for Baptism to the Jesuit.
One autumn day in 1675, as Father de Lamberville was passing in front of her lodge, on impulse, he entered. No one should have been there, for the Iroquois harvested their corn at that season of the year. Much to his surprise, the missionary found Tekakwitha, forced to remain at home because of a sore foot. The Iroquois maiden opened up her heart to Father James and revealed how eagerly she desired to receive Baptism. He invited her to come regularly to the chapel to pray. Soon Father de Lamberville, edified by her profound piety, decided to accept her into the Church though he generally tried an adult two or three years before conferring Baptism. A careful investigation into her life and character convinced him that Tekakwitha was indeed a worthy candidate.
All that winter, she took instructions much as any modern convert, coming back to the Faith of his ancestors, takes them. Her prayers, Kateri rapidly memorized, for fear of seeing Baptism delayed. On Easter Sunday, April 5, 1676, in the Mission church of St. Pater, the priest questioned her : ” Do you wish to be baptized ? ” “I do,” she answered and forthwith she was solemnly christened Kateri in the presence of the faithful.
But during the next two years she was known only by the name of “Christian”. Her other names were forgotten. It was the most injurious taunt the devil could imagine.
PONDER A WHILE . . .
What does my Baptism mean to me ?
Does it mean as much to me as it did to Kateri ? . . .
Have I ever taken the time to read attentively the detailed ceremonies of Solemn Baptism ?
Turn to the prayers on page 10
Fifth Day
« I Send You a Treasure. . . »
Ogeratarihen (Hot Ashes), the well-known Catholic Oneida, accompanied by a Huron and by one of Kateri’s cousins from the Mission of Saint Francis Xavier, paid a visit to St. Peter’s Mission in the autumn of 1677.
The elders of the village were the first Indians to receive the newcomers, but soon a crowd gathered. Hot Ashes spoke to his countrymen and invited them to enter into the one true Fold. His audience, whose curiosity for religion was soon satisfied, began to dwindle away. Kateri Tekakwitha, however, stayed until the end.
The priest often had advised her to flee to the Mission of Saint Francis Xavier on the banks of the St. Lawrence where she could practice her religion in peace. In the past, this suggestion had frightened her. Her uncle, whose wrath she feared, was then trading with the English at Fort Orange and she felt quite calm at the prospect of leaving him. The Jesuit broached the subject to Hot Ashes who replied : « There will be room in the canoe for her, since I intend to go to the Oneidas and preach the faith among the Iroquois nations. »
So began her long two-hundred mile trek through the red and gold wildwood. Her uncle, informed that she had escaped, loaded his gun with three bullets and hastened after the little group of three. He met Kateri’s cousin . . . but passed by, not knowing that the strange Indian was one of those he sought . . .
When Kateri learned of this, she interpreted it as a sign of heavenly approbation : « Her journey was a continual prayer and the joy which she felt in approaching Montreal cannot be put in words. »
Fathers Fremin and Cholenec were the first to read the note their friend Father de Lamberville had entrusted to Tekakwitha for them : « I send you a treasure ; guard it well ! » Ignoring the contents of the letter but realizing that she had no longer anything to fear from her uncle, Kateri Tekakwitha gave herself entirely into the hands of God. He would guard His treasure.
PONDER A WHILE . . .
Kateri ran away from sin, from temptations against purity and against her faith.
and I . . . ?
Turn to prayers on page 10
Sixth Day
« Unconditional Surrender ! .. . »
Kateri made her First Holy Communion on Christmas Day, 1677, a few months after her arrival at the Mission. In those times, Indian neophytes were subjected to a trial of several years before they were privileged, to receive Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. The missionaries wished to give them a high opinion of the Holy Eucharist. This rule, according to Father Cholenec, did not hold for her ; « she was too well disposed and desired with too great an eagerness to receive Our Lord, to be deprived of this great grace, so she was promised some time before the feast that she might receive Him on Christmas, after she had been instructed in the mystery. »
She knew beforehand, and this was one of the deep joys which she tasted, that for the first time, the Savior of Mankind with His infinite Love would visit her. Kateri Tekakwitha, the little illiterate Indian girl, who never went to confession without weeping profusely because she thought of herself as the greatest sinner alive (she was of angelic innocence) was to welcome her Redeemer into her heart! It is easy to understand her increasing joy as the great day approached. Her first biographers mention her «unconditional surrender to this furnace of sacred love that burns on our altars. »
After that Christmas at the Mission of Saint Francis Xavier, Kateri was different. Her fervor was renewed and she remained, after her First Communion « full of God and of love of Him . . . »
Detail worthy of note, as long as she lived, the good women of the Mission hurried to find a place next to her in church. The mere sight of her was an excellent preparation for Communion.
PONDER A WHILE . . .
Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament is Somebody, not something.
Kateri knew this and this knowledge changed her life. Her First Communion left her with a heart completely and definitely altered.
The Heart of Jesus and her heart seemed to have merged into one . . .
I too, need to go to Communion with thoughts like Kateri’s . . .
Is it possible nowadays, among the temptations that beset me at every corner, to live in the state of grace without receiving practically each week that Somebody Who is the Lord and Savior of the Universe ….?
Turn to prayers on page 10
Seventh Day
« My Jesus, I Must Suffer for Thee ! . . . »
The scion of a haughty Italian family of the Renaissance, St. Aloysius Gonzaga, and a little girl of the Mohawks, Venerable Kateri Tekakwitha, have much in common. Both are famed for the innocence of their lives, for their penitential role in making up for the sins of their people and for their untimely deaths.
Kateri knew and admired the extraordinary austerities of St. Aloysius, but few of us know about Kateri’s. Our twentieth-century sensibilities shudder at the mere listing of them. Kateri always prepared her confessions by having a devout friend scourge her. The third stroke drew blood, but the blows kept raining down upon her shoulders. A thousand to twelve hundred blows each Saturday.
Once in the middle of winter, Kateri walked barefoot on the sharp ice of a pond. Off and on, when the temperature was below freezing, she went without fire. She wore an iron-spiked cincture. One evening, her heart pierced with sorrow for her sins, she burned herself from toe to knee with firebrands. Until her friends stopped her, she would go without eating each Wednesday and Saturday. After a meditation on the Passion of Our Savior, she lined the bark which served as her mat with sharp thorns. Her confessor, who had not been consulted (Kateri simply wished to imitate St. Aloysius), instantly regulated her ascetic practices when he discovered them.
To be sure, Kateri’s austerities disconcert our modern pagan way of thinking just as the Marquis of Castig1ione’s macerations had scandalized the good folk of his day. The following words could have been said by St. Aloysius : « My Jesus, I must suffer for Thee; I love Thee, but I have offended Thee. It is to satisfy Thy justice that I am here. Vent on me, O God, Thy anger » But it was Kateri who uttered them.
PONDER A WHILE . . .
Tekakwitha did not love the Cross for itself.
She loved it because it is the only Way to Jesus.
What about my penances?
Penances that fit in with my health, my work, my age. Is my Christianity watered—down ?
Turn to prayers on page 10
Eighth Day
« My Soul is Ready to Die With Sorrow… »
In the Garden of Olives, « My soul, »” Jesus said, « is ready to die with sorrow . . . » (Mt. XXVI, 38).
Kateri mirrored this phase of our Savior’s suffering in her life. Tongues unkind, razor-sharp, slashed away at her reputation and immersed her in sorrow. In the spring of the year following her Baptism, Tekakwitha accompanied her people during the hunting season. One of her aunts, possibly envious of her exemplary life, spied on her in order to discredit her with Father de Lamberville.
It was then the custom among the Iroquois for nieces to call their uncles father. Once or twice Tekakwitha forgot this and simply adressed her uncle by his name. His wife rushed to the missionary and blamed her niece : « So Kateri, whom you think is so virtuous, is after all a hypocrite who deceives you. Even in my presence she solicited my husband to sin ! »
After questioning Kateri, the priest completely exonerated her and remained convinced that the Holy Ghost had always preserved this flower of His garden from the slightest taint.
In Canada she suffered too, only more so. Her first biographer gives two reasons for this: her belief that among Christians she would no longer be subjected to slander and the nature of the untruth hurled against her.
A good Christian woman, but “somewhat given to backbiting” misinterpreting certain occurrences, thought that Kateri was trying to steal her husband’s heart and denounced her to one of the Fathers.
One evening, this woman’s husband, after hunting for elk all day, entered into the long house at a late hour. He threw himself on the nearest pallet and soon fell asleep. The next morning his wife noticed that he had slept next to Tekakwitha. Her suspicions were confirmed when she heard him ask Kateri to mend his canoe.
The missionary, informed of these happenings, spoke to Kateri. « Whatever . . . she might say then, » writes Chauchetiére, « she was not entirely believed . . . and what hurt most was that the Father . . . accused her as if she had been guilty. ». I know of no better ending to these lines than the same writer’s conclusion : « The actual thorns of which she made use for penance, were only a symbol of the interior thorns that were meant to try her soul ! »
PONDER A WHILE . . .
Kateri accepted this suffering with great patience.
Does an unkind remark, thoughtlessly uttered, upset me, anger me ?
Turn to prayers on page 10
Ninth Day
« Jesus ! Mary ! I Love You ! »
Kateri knew she was going to die. For over six months, fever assailed her; acute pains gnawed at her head and stomach; for days on end depressing spells of weakness kept her bedridden. Each morning her friends, obliged to work in the fields, left her alone in her lodge with a plate of sagamité and a goblet of water; then through the long day solitude enveloped her . . .
How did this 23-year old girl react….? Joy, great joy marked her during these last months. She felt secure in the knowledge that she was giving God what He asked of her. Kateri’s « surprising gaiety . . . her smiling face which clearly showed the peace of her mind », impressed Father Cholenec. « In her inmost soul, » he adds « she delighted in her God with an abundance of joy and spiritual satisfaction… »
On Tuesday of Holy Week he brought her the Holy Viaticum. A great privilege to have Our Lord come into her long house ! It was the first time this honor was granted at the Mission. Heretofore the sick were carried to church on a wooden plank. Everyone in the village wanted to be present at the death of the saintly maiden.
Then follows the delightful scene of the missionary rushing from the lodge to the church. One can see his black habit streaming out behind him. Poor Father ! He was reproaching himself for not having given Tekakwitha Extreme Unction sooner. But he need not have worried. Kateri told him and her friend Marie Therese Tegaiaguenta that she would notify them when the hour of her death arrived.
About ten o’clock the next day, the dying girl asked for the Sacraments, which she received with great devotion. She encouraged her friend never to abandon mortiflcation and promised to love her in heaven. Then she spoke no longer. To the end, her hearing was good, and if an act of love of God was suggested, her face brightened up. Her last words admirably sum up her entire life : « Jesus ! Mary ! I love You ! ». It was Wednesday of Holy Week, April 17, 1680.
At the time of her death, Kateri’s swarthy features still retained the pockmarks of her childhood. Scarcely a quarter of an hour had elapsed when Father Cholenec, who had been praying beside her, cried out in amazement. Kateri’s countenance had become very beautiful, somewhat as it had been when she was a very small child. Doubtless, as the priest and her own kin remarked, a small ray of the glory of which her soul had taken possession, was reflected in her chaste body.
PONDER A WHILE . . .
To die happily one must live happily.
Kateri’s death was happy because her whole life had been happy – spiritually speaking.
My death also, will be happy, if today and tomorrow and every day my soul is at peace with God . . . if it is happy….!
Turn to prayers on page 10
Prayer to Saint Kateri Tekakwitha
Saint Kateri Tekakwitha,
Our elder sister in the Lord,
Discreetly, you watch over us,
May your love for Jesus and Mary,
Inspire in us words and deeds of friendship,
Of forgiveness and of reconciliation,
Pray that God will give us the courage, the boldness,
And the strength to build a world of Justice and of peace,
Among ourselves and among all nations,
Help us as you did,
To encounter the Creator God present in the very depths of nature,
And so become witnesses of life,
With you we praise the Father, the Son and the Spirit.
Amen
Let us pray:
Our Father – once
Hail Mary – once
Glory be to the Father – 3 times
NOVENA TO SAINT KATERI TEKAKWITHA: “LILY OF THE MOHAWKS”
Mission of Saint Francis Xavier/Shrine of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha
P.O.Box 70, Kahnawake Qc. J0L 1B0
Diocese of Saint Jean-Longueuil, Quebec
Tel. 450 632 6030
April 4th to April 12 at 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Eucharistic Adoration and Benediction every night from 6:00 pm – 6:45 pm
“The Lily of the Mohawks”
April 4th: 7:00pm – 8:30pm: The Road to Emmaus – “Jesus; the way to Salvation” Lk. 24: 35 – 48. Fr. Robert – Chateaugeauy
April 5th: 7:00pm-8:30pm: “Throw the net out to starboard and you’ll find something” – Jn. 21:6 Fr. Vincent Esprit FMI – Diocese of Saint Jean-Longueuil
April 6th: 7:00pm -8:30pm: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature” – Mk.16:16. Fr. John Torrance – Diocese of Saint Jean-Longueuil
April 7th:: 7:00pm-8:30pm: : Second Sunday of Easter – “Saint Kateri’s spirituality: a path to the discovery of Jesus Christ.” Deacon Ron Boyer – Diocese of Saint Jean-Longueuil
April 8th: 7:00pm – 8:30 pm: “As the Father sent me so I am sending you.” – Jn. 20:21. Fr. Piper – Arch Diocese of Montreal
April 9th: 7:00pm – 8:30pm: “Unless a man be born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.” – Jn.3:5
Fr. Gerard Lachapelle – Diocese of Saint Jean-Longueuil
April 10th: 7:00pm – 8:30pm: “Come and see a man who has told me everything I ever did; I wonder if he is the Christ.” – Jn. 4:29-30.
Fr. Marc Mignault – Diocese of Saint Jean-Longueuil
April 11th: 7:00pm – 9:00pm: “Do not model yourselves on the behavior of the world around you; but let your behavior change, modeled by your new mind.’ – Rom.12:1-2. Deacon Ron Boyer – night of healing with the Saint Kateri Healing Circle – Diocese of Saint Jean-Longueuil
April 12th: 7:00 pm – 8:30pm: ‘If you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in you.” – Jn.6:53. Bishop Thomas Dowd: Arch Diocese of Montreal
SAINT KATERI TEKAKWITHA’S FEAST
The first following her Canonization – will be celebrated on April 14th by Bishop Lionel Gendron at 10:30 am.
- Procession to Saint Kateri’s tomb immediately after Mass – Veneration of the Relic of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha.
- Eucharistic Adoration and Benediction from 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm.
“The Lily of the Mohawks”
Introduction
The Canonization of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha on October 21st 2012 by the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI was received with much jubilation by the people of Kahnawaké gathered at the Kateri School to view the re-broadcasting of the Canonization Mass from Rome. To many of the First Nations – the Mohawk people living at Kahnawaké, Kateri Tekakwitha was already a Saint, having guided and protected her people for over 300 years. Nevertheless, it is difficult to put into words the sentiments of joy felt at Kahnawaké and at the canonization Mass in Rome, since it was such a glorious and historic moment. A moment eagerly awaited by the First Nations and the Jesuit congregation who evangelized and initiated Saint Kateri into the Christian faith.
Indigenous peoples
For over 300 years the indigenous peoples of Kahnawaké have been patiently awaiting the arrival of this great moment. Even if many of their ancestors have died without witnessing this day, it is interesting to note that the belief in the intercessory powers of Kateri Tekakwitha has been transmitted from generations to generations, from the moment of her death in 1680 up to today. Will her Canonization contribute to the healing of past memories resulting from the encounter between the Church and the indigenous peoples? Bishop Lionel Gendron, of the Diocese of Saint Jean-Longueuil, in his homily celebrated at the Oratory of Saint Joseph, during the Thanksgiving Mass for her canonization called on non-indigenous peoples to remove any negative connotations associated to the indigenous peoples and in the same breath he called on the Indigenous Peoples to continue to accept the Church’s request for pardon by Pope John Paul II. This was well received by the massive attendance at the Sanctuary. It can be said that in the eyes of the indigenous peoples, their identity as a unique people and culture have finally been received and accepted into the heart of the Church. They have now taken their authentic place within the Church, as one of their own is raised to the highest status of sanctity.
Symbol of unity
A culture or spirituality needs to be rooted in a human experience. Various cultures and spiritualities encounter each other in Saint Kateri Tekakwitha. She seems to represent the meeting point or the embodiment of various encounters. First she was born of a Mohawk Father and an Algonquin Christian mother. Consequently, from her family of origin she would have learnt the importance of contradictions, tolerance and respect of differences, in the quest for peace and tranquility in maintaining relationships with others. Kateri as a child had to welcome and accept two different cultures and spiritualities at her home – that of her Father who had a native spirituality while belonging to the Mohawk nation and that of her Mother who was Christian and Algonquin.
Upon her encounter with the Jesuit Fathers, she again had to adjust herself to their European culture and method of teaching the faith. This would have been her first encounter with the external world, and this encounter would make a lasting and profound impression on her in regards to the Catholic Faith. The Jesuit missionaries would have enriched the foundations laid by her mother. The child and teenage Kateri was being formed in an atmosphere of inclusivity, tolerance and acceptance.
The young Kateri embraced the cultures and spiritualities of three different sources – her father Mohawk, her mother Algonquin and the Jesuit fathers who directly evangelized her in the Faith. She symbolizes the meeting of cultures and spiritualities. In other words, she was able to embrace these various cultures and spiritualities and allow them to take root in her. She was able to balance all these experiences together with their similarities and differences. It is this foundation that would bear fruit in her exemplary Christian life, and would thus qualify her to be declared a Saint in the Church.
A model of tolerance and humility
The church and the world can benefit much from the simple and exemplary life of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha. She models to the youth today the virtues of simplicity, humility and tolerance in her faith. Kateri Tekakwitha’s experience of accepting and welcoming others, who were different to her, is interesting. This is symbolized upon her arrival in her new home Kahnawake, after having escaped by night from her original home in what is Fonda – New York today. Can Saint Kateri not teach us today the values of respecting other cultures and peoples for the greater good of the Trinitarian God?
A model for purity
Kateri Tekakwitha remained a virgin until her death at age 24. In fact, she wanted to consecrate her life as a religious but was not successful. In this regard the nobility and purity of virginity is honored in her life. She witnesses to the Church and to the world that virginity is still a noble and blessed virtue. Can her vow virginity not speak to the youth of today?
A model for endurance and hope
We live in a secularized world that seems to be rapidly liberating itself from the influences of the Church and the God of Jesus Christ. This rapid separation is being felt more and more in our society today. The world – particularly the economically advanced western world – seems to be more and more publicly and privately rejecting the Church as an institution and its teachings and value systems. The youth who profess their faith in Jesus within the Church do face the challenge of the practicing of their faith. They must be selectively careful in publicly manifesting their faith, in a society that seems no longer interested in the Christian spirituality. Kateri Tekakwitha was able to balance all the present constraints in her life and not lose faith. In addition to health problems, she was ridiculed by some of her relatives for accepting and pronouncing her vows of virginity. This meant that she would not marry as per their traditions. This was a new teaching to her people. She was able to persevere in her belief in the Catholic Faith despite these imminent challenges.
She became the symbol of hope for her people who continued to depend upon her intercessory powers for healings and good health. If the Mohawk First Nation have survived today, isn’t it because of their hope in their Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, whom they have always invoked in times of crisis. Can our youth today, confronted daily by the value systems of a secularized world persevere in faith like Saint Kateri Tekakwitha?
The Environment
To the Iroquois the land is sacred and must be treated and preserved as such. In what way can this philosophy already engrained in the heart of the Church be beneficial to her theological understanding of the creation; keeping in mind that the Creation Story in the book of Genesis validates and confirms the respect and sanctity of the land and environment within the Christian tradition. She was declared by Pope John Paul II as the patron of the environment. Can the Canonization of Blessed Kateri bring Christians to a greater appreciation of the importance of the environment to human survival?
Challenges and questions?
Keeping in mind that only about 20 percent of the population attends Mass on most Sundays at Kahnawaké, we cannot help but ask ourselves in what way can the canonization of Blessed Kateri help in the re-evangelization of the indigenous peoples? Will it cause an increase in the awareness of the faith among the Mohawk First Nation at Kahnawaké?
There are mixed feelings at Kahnawaké concerning the Canonization of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha. While most people seem to be excited about this event there are those who pose these questions.
- Is it a case of too little too late?
- The canonization of Blessed Kateri is a contradiction of the indigenous spirituality. The dead must not be disturbed and thus this canonization is interpreted as the Church’s attempt to once again give life to Saint Kateri.
- Some see Saint Kateri as forsaking the faith of her ancestors to embrace that of the colonizers.
CONCLUSION
It is now close to one year since I was sent to join my Religious Congregation here in Quebec – the Congregation of the Sons of Mary immaculate FMI, and to be the priest among the Mohawk Nation, where the remains of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha are buried in the Mission of Saint Francis Xavier. The graces I have received are many and numerous. I was warmly welcomed and received by the Diocese of Saint Jean-Longueuil and the Mohawk Nation at Kahnawaké. I truly thank God for this opportunity to “share the faith” with and among the Mohawk people and to learn from their rich spiritual heritage. Though the challenges are many, I am encouraged and strengthened by the faith of the people in Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, and I believe, after speaking to members of the community who are not particularly “church goers” that I have found enough hope that in due time Saint Kateri Tekakwitha will lead a renewal of the faith among her people here in Kahnawaké.
God’s unconditional love for us sinners is manifested within his gift of the Sacrament of Confession. God has instituted this sacrament to help us to experience his love and mercy on earth. This is the only way through his son Jesus Christ for our mortal sins to be washed away by Jesus Blood shed upon the cross.
The penitential rite at the Holy Mass, our own individual prayers, a charitable act, can forgive a venial sin. However, the mortal or deadly ones separates or cuts us off from God’s love. In order to restore this relationship of love, we need to return to the Body of Jesus. It is only through Jesus forgiving our sins that we can get to the Heavenly Father. How do we return to Jesus to get these deadly sins forgiven? Where can he be found? Where should we go to find him?
Jesus is mysteriously present in the Body of Christ – the Church. In the Church, Jesus is brought close to us. So intimately close that he gives us himself as food – Body of Christ; and drink – His Blood, during communion.
Let us not be afraid to approach the Heavenly Father, through Jesus in the Church, to have our deadly or mortal sins be forgiven. He awaits us with open arms to welcome us, to purify us, to give us his new birth. We are reborn or regenerated in the Sacrament of Confession. Yes, we become BORN AGAIN CHRISTIANS in the Sacrament of Reconciliation/Penance/Confession.
Just as we are Jesus Calls us … In spite of what we may have done in the past….the number of years we may have stayed away from the family of His Church…The number of sins we think we may have accumulated during these years when we were away from the HIM….It matters not to Jesus. He wants you to be saved in his love and mercy…..Why are you still running and running and running away from Jesus….? Won’t you accept his call and surrender all to him in this lovely Sacrament of love…..and take your place in his Body the Church….!
Call your nearest Church and make an appointment to see a Priest or simply walk into a Church and ask to see a priest…Jesus is waiting you…..
Thank you for heeding to Jesus’ call…..Alleluia and Amen!
Fr. Esprit FMI
Here is a video of my first book Called 100 Ways to Feel Inspired. This book is geared at helping us as Christians in the Church to find the strength in Jesus to do his will on earth….
The centrality of Christ,
Is the core to the Christian life,
And thus the Christian’s life,
Is founded on the life of Jesus,
Consequently,
Humanity exists in Jesus,
It is in Jesus the Christ,
Humanity finds purpose,
In its borrowed breath.
His actions, thoughts and decisions,
Are seen within the Light of Jesus Christ,
The dynamism that exists between the two,
Gives birth to the eyes of Justice,
Enshrined in love,
It is simple,
A relationship of love between the two.
The Christian’s individuality,
Is respected and loved by Jesus Christ,
This space is crucial to this relationship of love,
Jesus respects the liberty of every human,
And thus in love,
Calls out to humanity from his breath,
Recognised and known,
By the innermost dimension of the human heart,
It is an unconditional call,
Moulded and formed in love,
It is love itself,
A Love that calls to itself – love.
Humanity’s response,
Is given all in true liberty and peace,
There is no force, nor manipulation,
Jesus expects nothing in return,
His love is pure,
Expecting and needing nothing,
It is freely shared with humans,
In the movement of love itself,
For love itself cannot be static,
It’s dynamism leads to another – humanity.
Our response – natural,
We come from the Trinity,
So Divine and One,
And thus we know in our innermost heart,
The voice of the Caller,
The called turns to the Call and touches the Caller,
We meet,
We embrace,
We see,
We encounter the Divine on earth,
An embrace that breaths itself love,
An encounter that moves from within itself to another,
Divine love cannot be contained,
It moves, meanders, glides, enfolds, encapsulates, inspires,
……and saves,
It searches for itself – ‘humanity’
In a continuous movement of response.
Almost 2000 years ago,
He walked the earth,
Enshrined in an attitude and a disposition of service to humanity,
He loved and made no distinction,
He came to fulfill his Father’s promises,
To ensure that evil would never again have the final say,
And to ensure that love would prevail from the earth to heaven,
He came to prepare a final resting place of bliss for the creation in heaven,
The dignity of every human was recognised and up-held,
But evil thought otherwise and thought it could have ended this pilgrimage of love,
So he died,
The first day with him being in the grave,
Evil thought it had triumphed,
Oh yes the second day,
It rejoiced even more profoundly in its seeming victory,
But on the third day,
Yes on the third day,
Hmmm on the third day,
The huge stone was rolled away,
Light regained its authentic place over darkness,
Love surmounted over hatred,
And life forever climaxed over death,
And so today,
If we allow him in our lives,
The same spirit that rolled away that stone,
Is ready to roll away the stone from our lives.
Giving us the gift of New Life in Him
But only if we allow Him…….
Even if the world seems to thinks otherwise,
And often hides in its own demise,
The authentic witness of the Christian life,
Is still pertinent to the very heart of humanity.
For within the bowels of humanity,
Lies the Truth of Light,
Jesus Christ,
True God and True man!
Reflection for Second Sunday of Lent Year B
In both the Old Testament – Gen. 22,1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18 – and that of the New Testament – Mark 9: 2-10, the word of God declares an outpouring of God’s unconditional unto the world. God will intervene to help and save his loved ones. However, for this to be realized God asks us to cooperate with him. While he respects our free will, he humbly in love waits and desires our response to turn towards him. He intervened to prevent Abraham who responded in faith to God’s call, from the slaying of his Son Isaac. Abraham loved God and respond in obedience.
God’s word in the Gospel of Mark – 9: 2-10 – again demonstrates God’s intervention to his only Son Jesus Christ. God intervened and Jesus was transfigured. The Word of God tells us he became dazzlingly white. Most importantly, Moses and Abraham were there with him telling him of his own death that was to come – Lk. 9: 30-31. These actions of love by The Trinitarian God can encourage us in the following ways:
- God will intervene to save us from destruction. Whenever, we are on a path that leads us away from God, he does intervene through signs, wonders and people to bring us back to his love. The question remains; do we listen or take heed to his warning signs?
- The fact that Moses and Elijah were there with him tells us two other things about the Christian Faith. There is life after death, and to those who die in Christ eternal life awaits us. Mosses, who had a natural death and Elijah – taken up in a whirl wind, had already passed on, yet they were there having a conversation with Jesus. What do you think they were telling Jesus? They must have been giving Jesus encouragement to face his impending death – Lk. 9: 30-31. Does not that remind us of our loved ones who upon entering the agony stage before final death, seem to be calling the names of their families who were already dead? They seem to be in the presence of those who have already passed on. Jesus experienced it too.
- This encourages us to continue to pray for the dead and put masses for them. The second book of Maccabbees – 12: 41- 46 affirms this practice. The Word of God tells us that God’s people collected a monetary offering and had it sent to Jerusalem so that a service could be celebrated for all the dead brothers and sisters. Verse 45-46 tells us that this sacrifice to pardon the sins of the dead was holy and keeping with faith, for the God’s people of the Old Testament believed in a splendid reward for those who died as believers.
- The transfiguration happened in the presence of the living disciples – Peter, John and James. God’s intervention in the New Testament was within a community of believers. You and I cannot go to heaven alone. We are communal people. Let us make the effort to build community, to strengthen and encourage one another as we experience an outpouring of God’s love during this time of Lent. May we come back to God with a repentant heart and in so doing allow ourselves to be transfigured by the blood of the lamb. Do have a blessed Second Sunday of Lent!
‘Since sin is rooted in the lack of love to God and to humanity,
the Sacrament of Reconciliation restores that love to God and to the world.’
A time to reflect,
A time to return to the loving arms of Jesus,
A time to feel his warm loving embrace,
A time to feel his breath in our hearts,
A time never to depart from his touch,
A time to be enveloped in the love of the Blessed Trinity,
A time to open our eyes to the needs of the world.
To be a leaper in the Old Testament meant that, you were abandoned and ostracized from the community – Lev. 13: 1-2, 44-46. To be an outcast was not to belong to any other human. You were transformed into a state of desolation. No one would have touched a leaper.
Jesus radically changes this concept in the Gospel – Mk. 1: 40-45. After the leaper, considered unclean, acknowledges his state of abandonment in his words; “ If you want to you can heal me”, Jesus was moved to compassion. He reached out and did what no one would have ever done in his time. He touched the sick man and said, “I will; be clean!”
REFLECTION
Who are the leapers of today who are rejected by us? Won’t we allow Jesus to touch us in our heart allowing us to embrace our brothers and sisters? We touch each other through our words, actions and thoughts. Of course it is difficult! This is why we find strength in his touch to embrace all of humanity; restoring God’s dignity to all. An appropriate song we can sing today is :
Shacked by a heavy burden,
Neath a load of guilt and shame,
Then the hands of Jesus touch me,
And now I am no longer the same,
He touched me, oh he touched me,
And oh the joy that fills my soul,
Something happened and now I know,
He touched me and made me whole,
When Jesus restores our health, he can still use us to heal others.
God speaks to us in the most mundane and simple things of life!
When God was about to destroy the town of Nineveh that was riddled with sin, he called the prophet Jonah and sent him to preach repentance! Jonah preached and the people repented and God relented. God changed his mind. He no longer wanted to destroy the people who were great sinners for they had changed their lives. However, there was something strange and interesting about the whole experience. God really changed his mind, when he saw the “efforts” made by the people to change from their lives of sin. It seems that God was more impressed with the “Efforts” they made at changing, than the change itself- Jonah 10:10. Of course God was happy with the true conversion that took place in Nineveh; but nothing pleased God as much as the “efforts” made by the people to change. Let us make that “effort” to come back to Jesus, and allow his unconditional love to be the source that guides us into relationships. Action is important! Let us allow our actions to bring a smile on the face of God and that of our families, friends, neighbours and enemies! Be blessed for we can do all things in Christ who strengthens us! (Phil. 4:13)
It is always worth making the effort to forgive someone,
For everytime we stop and re-start the process,
We never begin at the same level,
The Continuation is always at a higher or more profound level,
We progress through the experience.
“To expect the unexpected,
Is a sign of wisdom.” Fr. Vincent Esprit FMI
This profound time of preparation for the second coming of our Lord is fast approaching. However, even as we look forward with great anticipation, we do not ignore his first coming; the event in history that has revolutionised the entire thinking and action of humanity. As we approach the anniversary of this moment in time – of this experience, let us continue to prepare ourselves by ensuring that Jesus’ blood shed on Calvary washes away all our sins. Let us utilise these weeks of preparation to make a true repentance (Mk. 1:15, Lk.13: 3,5). Let us not ignore the importance of this inner spiritual self in all our busy activities for Christmas. As we prepare our homes and our properties for this day, let us also visit the Sacrament of Confession to ensure that we are spiritually healed and that we are liberated by the blood of the lamb from our mortal or deadly sins. This is the foundation of our faith and our action as Catholic Christians.
God speaks to us,
Yet we are slow to listen and to turn into action,
For we are stuck in our own needs,
We believe that God has to do what we want,
And yes,
Many are the times we are convinced that our reasons are the best,
And yes,
Humanly speaking they are really the best reasons,
But for the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
Whom we worship,
The God who raised Jesus from the dead,
Is it the best,
Only God knows what is best for us,
And he lovingly expects us to participate in his will,
Our role,
Is to respond and become active in his will for us,
Lord help us to be humble enough after fighting with your will,
To have the courage to say,
Your willl be done!
God’s will is mysterious to humans,
It is also active even when we do not know the answer….
As adults,
We sometimes assume that the love and warmth,
Shared in our families of origin when we were children,
Should be continued when we grow up,
In many cases it continues,
But there are the families where this warmth no longer exists.
Sadly we all have to continue to live our lives with our new families and friends,
and those of our families of origin who still share this value of treasure.
People do change,
As these moments of grace,
Find a home in the base of our memories,
And still yet,
We continue to love,
For God the Creator is love ……
Your beloved sons and daughters,
To you are ever grateful,
For you have suckled their desires into birth,
As within your bosom,
The savoiur has been cherished and preserved,
An Eternal Food for the world.
As the sun breathes a sigh of relief on this earthly Spring,
And the meadows in haste prepare this Summer’s sing,
We watch not in idle be,
For we have become,
That from which this earth,
Gently sings its praises.
Happiness is not to be found outside of us,
It involves a process of self discovery,
That eventually makes its presence imminent.
Image via Wikipedia
“To live is not only making and accepting changes,
Interpreting these changes as growth is as important.”
Je m’assume dans la gloire de Dieu,
Comme sujet parmi les autres,
Avec tous mes joies, faiblesse et incertitudes,
Sans aucune condition,
Je m’assume dans la gloire de Dieu.
Image via Wikipedia
Each one has an authentic place,
Within the body of Jesus,
Please come in and take that seat,
Obtaining this seat,
Does not depend on how good we are,
What really matters,
Is to be able to recognise,
That we are loved unconditionally,
A realisation that leads to pardon,
Everythings begins and ends from this point of love.
In maintaining this seat,
If we cannot hold unto the body of Jesus himself,
Then Grab his clothes,
The bleeding woman of the Gospels has shown that to us,
But hold on and maintain this seat in love.
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This is my first publication called “100 Ways to Feel Inspired”. After teaching in a primary School on the island of Dominica – in the Caribbean, for about ten years, and being just over ten years as a Roman catholic Priest; I have decided to put this profound and simple collection of life’s experiences in the form of this book. It’s goal is not to give you answers. However, this book founded on Jesus Christ can enable you – through a process of reflection upon your life and upon the environment – to become whom God wants you to be. In other words, it can help you to express your potentials in faith guided by Holy Spirit. May you experience God’s peace and tranquility as you read this book. Thank you for visitng my blog. May God continue to bless you and your family!
Here is a site for the book. It is available on Amazon.com and barnes and nobles.
Website: http:/100waystofeelinspired.com
Video:http://youtu.be/Dhj49G2WEDw
There are no other concepts to ever describe You,
Than that of mercy and love,
For You are loving in your mercy,
And merciful in your love,
You have always loved humanity,
To the one You created,
You held him as the apple of your eye,
And thus You have safeguarded him always from being lost,
In ways originating from You,
You began with Abraham,
And called him away to the Promised Land,
For You wanted humanity to inherit this land of milk and honey,
But did we understand You enough to take this opportunity,
Even then,
You never did abandon us,
You gave unto us the prophets,
Nevertheless, we looked at our neighbours,
Saw their earthly kings,
And ignored your gifts,
You continued in your quest to satisfy our hunger,
You would not abandoned the one You created,
Even if the reverse could not be the same,
You continued your pilgrim, loving and merciful journey to save humanity,
You sent your only Son to us,
Hoping that this encounter would convince us of your unconditional love,
But oh no,
Our sins killed him to a cross,
This day,
Death entered your Divine presence,
Death came into you,
Like Moltmann we say,
You experienced what it is to suffer death,
This was your reward for loving unconditionally,
What a reward to have received from us,
But You did not turn your back on humanity,
Even if the created were to reject the Creator,
You would be enshrined in fidelity to the end,
What is man that You should care so much for him,
Like the psalmist,
Man who is merely a breath,
Yet your love for him is undyingly unconditioned,
Humanity always challenges You to go beyond your boundaries,
Yet again we did it,
And you responded with more unconditional love,
You turned the cross into an everlasting victory,
Death where is our sting,
Where is your power,
Not with You,
Death is rendered numb,
In your presence,
Your resurrection revolutionised humanity’s thoughts and mind,
Yet,
That was not all,
You gave us your body and blood to eat and drink,
Through the species of blood and wine,
This time your resurrected body,
Oh if this is not love,
Then I am blind,
Your perseverance to save humanity,
Is unquestionable,
And every time we participate in this mystery,
We are mystically transformed into You,
Yes You will not give up,
For you are true to your word,
Again I ask like St. Paul,
What is man that You should remember him,
In mercy and love.
God’s love is so pure and unconditional,
That it respects the freedom of his creatures to choose,
A choice that could result in God’s own rejection,
Yes, even this rejection,
Is accepted and respected,
In God’s love for humanity,
God loves and respects those whom he has created,
And would not disrespect their decisions made out of conscience,
God hopes and waits that humanity,
Would lovingly accept him,
As we exercise our capacity,
To make that choice.
Image by tipiro via Flickr
A heartfelt thanks you to all visitors to this blog. Your presence and comments have made all the difference. Thank you to my blog coach Mr. Lee you have been very helpful. I look forward to continue posting these simple thoughts in the new year, and so I thank God for all his mercies. To all do have a blessed and enjoyable Christmas and a health-filled and bright New Year! May you be continually blessed in the Lord!
Fr.Vincent
To discover another lies in glee,
As the trust slowly endures,
And for one single moment,
The other is all that is.
But this is not the be,
For in reality it exist not,
For though it may be the seem,
Only one can pass at a time.
And so we proceed to the finish,
With thoughts of wildest joy,
As to the line we turn,
To see one self in the step.
The moment is here it says,
As the other to another door moves,
And you to this one calls,
For alone can the stage be made.
Image by Getty Images via @daylife
The season of advent and Christmas,
Is not only the remembering of Jesus,
In the manger,
It takes on a more radical signification,
It is the celebration of His evereverlasting Light,
That came into our world,
A Light that is the hope of all hopes,
A light that darkness can never overcome,
A light that tells us that,
Our history and past are blessed,
A light that tells us,
That inspite of our limitations,
We have already won the battle,
Then let us rejoice for the heavens,
Have indeed wedded the earth!
Image via Wikipedia
“…Let us be thankful,
For the small mercies,
They prepare us,
For the greater ones to come…”
“In reality,
If God saves humanity from self-destruction,
When God’s Spirit guides us,
To overcome the evil,
That is within us,
Then the corresponding is also true,
When we do good,
God is returning to us,
Our ownselves.”
But of truth I behold that nothing renders,
That from within seeks not this wander,
From this that was,
To the bosom of thine own is.
And so in life’s oblivious moments,
This cradle of truth doth seek to be,
In that might of lightning slumber,
As thine eyes to me beseech such another,
For in life’s glide so gently that ride,
Where footprints have all but inhibit this slide,
I have dawned to break this impending pride,
That renders this soul to be at peace.
And so gently I ride…
Image via Wikipedia
God works relentlessly,
To save humanity in God’s unconditional love.
In spite of humanity’s negation of God,
This cannot and will not stop God’s creativity,
As God designs new ways and means,
To continuously save His creatures,
He cannot retract his love from humanity,
He has established a covenant of love,
That is so profundly intimate with us,
That we are created,
In his own image and likeness,
If ever God were to retract his covenant,
God would be retracting from God’s self,
This would be the impossibility of impossiblilities,
Shouldn’t that allow us to be grateful.
Image via Wikipedia
We begin to grow,
Towards God,
The moment we recognise,
That within us,
Good and evil exist,
And they cannot be separated,
However In Jesus Christ,
We get the strength to overcome,
For his grace is enough for us.
Image via Wikipedia
It’s not so much about a feeling,
But rather,
Doing what is right and just,
For the common good of humanity.
To love is human,
It is a human reality,
That cannot be escaped,
Image by hops_76 via Flickr
Love as we know it exists not outside of humanity,
It is enshriend within what is most essential to humanity,
It is not a reality outside of humanity’s existence,
Humanity is created, shaped, groomed and conditioned by its presence,
Does the heart know love,
No it does not,
It knows the “way to love”
For true love dwells not only in the heart,
It sees nothing but the whole,
It seeks the wholeness of the other and of self,
But passes through this narrow bridge,
Where the currents underneath,
With an intensity that rushes to its shores,
Releases its yearnings.
Whether what is sought is realised or not,
Whether the battle is won or lost,
The heart continues to seek its self,
It will search until it finds rest,
In what it alone knows to be its bed of rest,
But it’s final resting place,
Shall not be one of this touch,
For in truth,
The heart seeks that from whence it came,
It seeks its past,
It remembers its moment of birth,
It years for its Creator,
Whom is always so close and yet so far,
And so the heart,
As the ‘road to love’
Continues its journey here below,
Living its own moments of bliss,
It’s own moments of pain,
As it grows to be embraced,
By this ultimate smile of Divinity,
Where its true Source awaits,
This moment of revelation,
Where it will search no more,
But will finally be,
In the arms of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
Amen.
It’s important that I keep walking on the road,
And be happy,
Rest,
If I have to,
Sleep,
If I have to,
Dance,
If I have to,
stop,
If I have to,
take a drink,
If I have to,
Shout,
If I have to,
In silence,
If I have to,
Smile,
If I have to,
Cry,
If I have to,
Speak,
If I have to,
Mourn,
If I have to,
But I do keep walking and I’m happy!
We need to continue the journey, can you suggest other verbs (experiences) to help accomplish this journey….
L’introduction Deux éléments m’ont poussé à cette réflexion. D’abord le thème – « le corps » – choisi par le Centre Sèvres pendant la session de rentré en Aix-en-Provence, puis la première séance de l’atelier donné par Louis Marie Chauvet sur « Les sacrements : le corps comme chemin de Dieu». Ces deux expériences m’ont profondément touché par rapport au rôle central que joue le corps dans notre capacité à rentrer en relation avec Dieu et nos frères et sœurs. Ainsi se pose la question : En quoi consiste une telle conception de la remise en valeur du salut, exprimé dans l’Eucharistie comme une « rencontre des corps dans l’amour » ?
St. Thomas d’Aquin a introduit dans le discours théologique catholique une compréhension sacramentelle du corps humain, ce corps qu’on n’avait trop souvent envisagé qu’avec soupçon, sous l’influence du platonisme ou du néo-platonisme, qui à marqué la théologie des Pères.
St. Thomas d’Aquin adopte une conception différente de celle qui avait courst.[1] Ce qui nous sauve ce n’est pas la souffrance du Christ en elle même mais l’amour avec lequel il l’a vécue. Louis Marie Chauvet en s’appuyant sur lui réaffirme que le corps lui-même joue un rôle positif dans l’accueille de la grâce de Dieu.[2] Pour St. Thomas en effet la corporalité joue un rôle dans l’efficacité du processus sacramentel. Même si, bien sur, il reste toujours subordonné à celui de la Cause Principale, Dieu lui-même.
L’efficacité du corps
Dans les sacrements le corps n’est plus envisagé de manière purement passive, mais il participe activement à l’efficacité de la grâce de Dieu qui le touche. La corporalité comprise en elle même de façon intégrale joue un rôle positif dans l’efficacité des sacrements qui ne peut se concevoir sans lui.
En quoi consiste cette efficacité ? La réponse à cette question renvoie à une question préalable : En quoi consiste notre capacité d’être humain ? Autrement dit, quelles sont les qualités qui donnent à l’homme d’être un corps signifiant ou parlant.[3] N’est-ce pas la possession de mon faculté mes facultés rationnelles ? Oui, mais il ne faut pas en rester là. Car notre capacité de raison ne peut exister hors de notre corps. Entre raison et corps existe une permanente dialectique : les deux sont comme en dialogue continuel.[4] On peut dire qu’à cause de la rationalité – la capacité que nous avons de penser- nous prenons conscience de l’existence qui est la nôtre, mais que c’est grâce au corps que nous pouvons accéder à notre capacité de raison.
Mais une autre présupposition plus essentielle encore est sous-jacente à notre question. Si nous disons que le corps ne peut pas « se tenir débout-à exister » hors de la rationalité, cela ne nous ramène-t-il pas à sorte de néo-Cartesia, où l’esprit tient une place primordiale. Si l’on restait dans le dualisme de celui du corps et de l’esprit on n’en reviendrait sans doute au modèle cartésien. Mais le propos de cette réflexion est étranger à ce dualisme. Il suffit de voir le corps dans sa posture holistique : l’envisager dans sa totalité en refusant toute séparation du platonisme. Dans ce contexte holistique, comment comprend-t-on la rationalité humaine ? Elle est conçue comme la capacité pour le corps dans sa totalité grâce à ses divers sens, de découvrir la signification du monde, avec lequel il peut rentrer en relation dans ses divers contextes,[5] en s’y engageant librement.[6]
La kénose : le Père ou la Sainte Trinité et Jésus
A-t-elle une relation entre la conception de la kénose de Jésus sur la croix et Celui-ci dans l’Eucharistie ? Il semblerait que les divergences et les convergences y existent. La première se trouve dans le fait que la Sainte Trinité toute entière était partie prenante de la souffrance et la mort de Jésus sur la croix. Une telle intimité qui fait que la mort de Jésus sur la croix revient la mort en la Sainte Trinite.[7] En revanche c’est le Christ qui se donne tout entier pour les hommes à travers l’Eucharistie.[8] Dans la voie de la convergence, le principe de pouvoir se donner tout entier est fortement souligné dans les deux cas. Nous allons faire un parcours historique brièvement pour voir comment était traité le débat sur la kénose. S’agit-il la Trinité Sainte ou du Père qui était intimement associé à la mort du christ sur la croix ? Voila le débat qui à occupé les théologiens, protestants, orthodoxes et Catholiques.
Au point de vue protestant, Paul Athaus souligne la nécessité pour la christologie de prend au sérieuse la relation entre Dieu et son Fils sur la croix. Car Dieu a été fait partie prenante, de la souffrance du Christ sur la croix, “Christology must take seriously the fact that God himself really enters into the suffering of the Son and in so doing is and remains completely God.[9]” Malgré sa remise en cause de l’immutabilité et l’impassibilité de Dieu, selon Moltmann, il reste hors d’une compréhension trinitaire de la kénose.[10] La contribution Karl Barth à la doctrine de la réconciliation peut nous éclairer. Elle tente une combinaison des deux doctrines traditionnelles – celle qui insiste sur la nature divine du Christ, et celle qui souligne son passage de humain de l’humiliation à l’exaltation.[11] La divinité de Jésus n’est pas hors de son humanité vice versa : l’une se manifesté au travers de l’autre. Mais dans cette Christologie Barth en a-t-il toujours resté dans une compréhension de Dieu comme le Père ? C’est la critique de Moltmann : selon lui, quand Karl Barth remet en valeur la relation intime de Jésus mourant sur la croix avec Dieu est-ce la Sainte Trinité qu’il désigne par ce terme ? N’est-ce pas plutôt la divinité ? Il en reste, en effet à une conception simple de Dieu qui n’est pas vraiment développée de manière trinitaire. [12]
Pour Moltmann la remise en valeur de la kénose de Dieu [13]- « God emptying Godself » est importante. Il propose de ne pas rester à l’extériorité d’une simple conception de « Dieu », mais de l’intérioriser pour découvrir le mystère de la Trinité. Il nous faut changer paradigme et fonder notre conception de Dieu sur sur la mystère de la croix de Jésus.[14] Selon lui la Christologie nouvelle où « la mort de Jésus est comprise comme la mort en Dieu et non pas la mort de Dieu», doit prendre en compte les éléments de vérité qu’apporte une compréhension de la kénose. Autrement dit, elle doit chercher à comprendre cet événement de la croix de Jésus« in God’s being in both trinitarian and personal terms. »[15]
La théologie mystique dans l’Eglise Orthodoxe est allée plus loin. Elle dépasse la distinction entre les deux natures divine est humaine. « The kénose… (and) the work of the incarnate Son (is) the work of the entire most Holy Trinity, from which Christ cannot be separated.[16] ” Cette relation entre la mort du Christ et la Sainte Trinité, les Pères l’ont déjà dégagée notamment Cyrille de Jérusalem, qui a réfléchi sur cette relation entre Jésus sur la croix et la Sainte Trinité: « On the cross, God stretched out his hands to embrace the ends of the earth. [17]» Là c’est la Sainte Trinité qui est tout entière présente dans le Christ et non pas seulement le Père. Jésus est inséparable de la Sainte Trinité. Cette interprétation qui remet en valeur la Sainte Trinité est symbolique pour Moltmann. «This symbol is an invitation to understand the Christ hanging on the cross as the ‘outstretched’ God of the Trinity. [18]» Selon Karl Rahner la mort de Jésus sur la croix est une expression de Dieu lui même. C’est-à-dire “The death of Jesus is a statement of God about himself.[19]” Ces exemples nous montrent que Jésus sur la croix est intimement associé avec Dieu.
Enfin, Jürgen Moltmann nous montre que notre Dieu n’estt pas étranger à notre sensibilité humaine. La kénose du Fils jusqu’à la mort affecte la Sainte Trinité. Et l’événement sur la croix révèle intimement “la nature” de la Sainte Trinité.
« But if the kenosis of the Son to the point of death upon the cross is the ‘revelation of the entire Trinity’, this event too can only be presented as a God-event in Trinitarian terms. What happens on the cross manifests the relationship of Jesus, the Son, to the Father and vice-versa.[20] ”
L’un des enjeux la plus fondamentaux dans la compréhension de la kénose est le concept de la « relation », Soit celle entre le corps du christ et les chrétiens dans la célébration de l’Eucharistie, ou dans le rapport entre les personnes qui font partie la Sainte Trinité. C’est indispensable pour qu’une rencontre corporelle soit possible.
Qu’est-ce une rencontre ?
Tout homme dans quelque contexte que ce soit, chrétien ou non, en fait l’expérience dans la relation avec les autres. Une rencontre consiste dans le contact des uns avec les autres, ce qui leur permet de mieux se découvrir mutuellement.
Dans notre monde actuel il existe différents types de rencontre : entre ses parents et enfants, entres amoureux, entre amis, etc. Toutes ces rencontres visent à aider chacun à ne pas rester dans la solitude. Autrement dit, elles contribuent au bonheur que tout l’homme cherche, même-si par fois elles peuvent aussi causer le malheur.
Le rencontre dans l’amour ?
Quelle peut en être la spécificité ? Dans quelle mesure le rencontre de Jésus dans l’eucharistie peut-elle nous éclairer sur ce qu’est l’amour ? On peut dire que la différence majeure entre la rencontre eucharistique et toutes les autres que nous pouvons avoir est le fait qu’elle nous met en contexte dans la foi avec présence réelle du corps du Christ Ressuscité à travers le pain et le vin.
Comme tout texte, la parole n’existe pas hors contexte. Une relation dialectique existe entre les deux. En dépit des différences entre eux au niveau de leur signification : cette relation nous permet de les dépasser et d’appréhender parole et contexte en symbiose. L’une ne pouvant pas exister sans l’autre.
Qu’est-ce que la rencontre dans l’amour envisagée ici ? C’est celle qui à lieu dans l’Eucharistie qui permet à l’Eglise tout entière au cours de l’histoire de rencontrer intimement le corps du Christ Ressuscité.[21] Dans cette rencontre qui nous « touche » à travers notre corps, nous pouvons communier à sa divinité.
Comment se passe cette rencontre ? D’une façon très originale le Christ « se laisse faire par nous et nous même, nous nous laissons faire par lui.[22] » Pour pouvoir « se laisser faire par nous » il rentre dans notre histoire, et il l’a fait au niveau de la corporéité. Dans une démarche d’amour le Christ entend nos prières. Quand on aime on n’est jamais tourné vers soi-même, mais vers l’autre. Parce qu’il est l’amour par excellence, le Dieu Trinitaire se tourne vers nous les humbles, qu’il a déjà créés par ce même amour. Etreindre le corps de ses amis pour les embrasser est une pratique fréquente chez ceux qui aiment. De même l’amour de Dieu manifesté dans la Christ cherche-t-il à s’exprimer à l’égard du nos corps eux-mêmes, et il le fait dans l’Eucharistie par la médiation du corps humain du Christ Ressuscité. On ne peut imaginer sur la terre l’amour en dehors de la corporéité. L’amour entre les hommes est toujours lié à leur corps parce qu’il est ce qui leur permet d’en faire l’expérience. Ne serait-ce pas le cas aussi pour les chrétiens dans l’Eucharistie : le rencontre eucharistique n’est-elle pas jusqu’au niveau corporel « une rencontre amoureuse » avec le Christ [23]? On y reviendra plus loin.
Dieu « se laisse faire » par nous
Cela se manifeste d’abord dans le fait qu’il écoute nos prières. Il n’a pas d’amour sans écoute de l’autre. Cela présuppose un engagement de Dieu à l’égard de l’humanité à laquelle il prête attention. En écoutant nos supplications, Dieu se fait attentif à l’expression de nos corps puisque c’est par eux que s’effectue notre démarche de prière. Dans son amour il ne peut pas entendre ses enfants sans leur répondre.
Deuxièmement, cette relation de Dieu avec nous devient une « réalité vivante » quand nous mangeons et buvons le corps et le sang du Christ : dans cette communion l’amour du Christ en ce qu’il a de plus spirituel nous parvient de la façon la plus corporelle qui soit.[24] L’amour ne s’impose jamais mais se propose à la liberté de l’autre. C’est celui qui s’exprime dans le don du corps et du sang du Christ, partagé entre tous, qui s’offre à la liberté de chacun. Cette liberté se réalise dans les deux sens.[25] Dans l’Incarnation du Verbe l’amour de Dieu s’exprime en action. Dans l’Eucharistie, à cette démarche chaque chrétien et « le corps communautaire de l’Eglise en son entièr » sont associés. Le corps eucharistique du Christ joue le rôle d’une sorte de catalyseur, [26] grâce auquel nous sommes transformés – personnellement et tous ensemble comme communauté – pour devenir corps du Christ. Autrement dit, Jésus se reconnait lui même et pour aussi dire, lui même « se laisse faire » par nous dans la rencontre de nos corps avec le sien dans l’amour.
Troisièmement, dans l’Eucharistie Dieu se laisse faire par nous dans la totalité de notre être. Ainsi dans la communion à la coupe et au corps du Christ, Jésus accepte que le sang et le corps de chacun de ceux qui y participent soit mêlé avec le sien. La dimension de l’amour qui accueille l’autre est encore en jeux de cette manière. Jésus se donne à nous pour que nous puissions, être renouvelés avec Lui dans tout notre être et devenir en lui l’homme nouveau.
Nous nous laissons faire par Dieu dans l’amour.
Comment se passe cet événement ? D’abord nous écoutons son appel d’amour. Nous l’écoutons et nous lui répondons librement. « It’s a symbiotic engagement in love.[27] » Autrement dit c’est à travers cette démarche de lui répondre librement dan son amour « que nous nous laissons faire par l’amour de Dieu. » C’est une réponse qui s’exprime d’abord en acte et non par des mots. Dans l’action liturgique s’exprime la conviction profonde de notre foi en cet événement de l’Eucharistie qui nous rejoint dans le présent. Une conviction qui se traduit sous différentes formes au travers de notre corps parlant et des divers moyens d’expression dont il dispose. Notre simple présence dans l’assemblé réunie autours de l’autel est une déjà une réponse concrète. Cette réponse de notre part, cette « démarche » que nous faisons en réponse » à l’amour du Christ ressuscité en communiant à son corps glorieux, nous permet de « nous laisser faire » par lui. Nous cherchons à épuiser notre soif de Dieu.[28] Une démarche qui est celle de rencontres intimes d’amour avec le Christ ressuscité dont nous «touchons, mangeons et buvons » – le corps et le sang : si elles répondent momentanément chaque fois à notre soif spirituelle, la satisfaction qu’elle nous offre demeure paradoxale.
En quoi consiste cette satisfaction paradoxale ?
Dans la communion eucharistique, c’est au moment du contact le plus corporel avec le Christ que se réalise la rencontre la plus spirituelle avec lui.[29] Nous y sommes comblés puisque en nous le donnant à manger le Christ, nous assimile à son propre corps. En même temps pourtant nous restons les hommes imparfaits qui continuent leur démarche d’amour ici bas. Cet « événement d’amour » associe donc « l’imperfection et la perfection [30]» de manière paradoxale. On peut dit que c’est une rencontre dialectique, et du côté de Dieu qui associe sa propre perfection aux hommes imparfaits que nous sommes, et de notre côté où notre vie placée sous la signe de la grâce et du péché demeure dans cette même tension entre « l’imperfection et perfection ». Pourrait-on dit que pour nous le chemin de la perfection, passe par notre imperfection ?[31]
Cela peut se comprendre de plusieurs manières. D’abord n’y a-t-il pas en nous une relation dialectique entre «l’imperfection et la perfection » ? C’est-à-dire que malgré leur opposition, l’une et l’autre sont appelées à une réelle convergence, telle qu’elle se manifeste dans le corps sang du Christ en croix. Ensuite l’imperfection en nous est toujours à envisager comme tendue vers la perfection : on ne peut s’en contenter et elle doit rester comme un chemin à faire vers le but ; à savoir le Christ qui est la perfection,[32] et l’on doit se questionner ici les moyens à employer pour y arriver.
S’il n’y a pas d’imperfection sans lien avec la perfection à la quelle elle doit tendre, l’inverse peut aussi être vrai : il peut arriver que la perfection elle même cherche l’imperfection. Un tel dynamisme se trouve, au regard de la foi dans la Trinité elle même. N’est-ce pas la perfection de l’amour trinitaire qui fait que Dieu Cherche l’homme imparfait pour la renouveler et fait de lui « l’homme glorieux » dans le Christ ? Ceci se manifeste dans l’Incarnation. Dieu ayant « pour ainsi dire succombé à l’amour» « fallen in love with humanity » de l’humanité a choisi de prendre corps en elle : il a voulu tout partager de l’expérience humaine sauf le péché. Ainsi, la « perfection » de l’amour divine est-elle en quête de notre imperfection humaine : nous en faisons l’expérience lorsque nous participons à l’Eucharistie. La conception de la kénose nous montre que dans sa perfection l’amour de Dieu n’est pas enfermé sur lui-même. Il cherche les moyens pour nous permettre efficacement de nous élever jusqu’à « sa propre perfection. [33]» Cela est clair dans l’histoire biblique des alliances de Dieu avec son peuple. Déjà par l’action des prophètes, Dieu (la perfection dans l’amour) a essayé de le faire progresser vers la perfection de Dieu lui même. Cela a abouti avec son Fils unique, que lui même a envoyé pour nous sauver. Et comme on l’a vu la Sainte Trinite elle même à été intimement associée à l’événement de la mort de Jésus sur la croix.
Nous n’avons pas d’autre chemin sur lequel marcher pour acquérir notre salut que celui où est engagé notre corps : au travers de la « réalité » de cette imperfection nous prenons conscience de notre existence limitée mais toujours ouverte vers la perfection dans le Christ qui est l’amour par excellence. C’est le chemin vers la corporéité qui nous conduit vers la perfection du Christ. Saint Paul affirme que, lorsqu’il est faible, c’est alors où il est fort dans le Christ. C’est une démarche continuelle dont chaque étape, nous invite à expérimenter – dans un sens fort du terme – l’amour du Christ et à même temps nous ouvre vers une autre. En plus Ruysbrceck dans sa commentaire sur Mat. 29, 5 affirme que « l’époux c’est le Christ et la nature humaine, c’est l’épouse que Dieu a faite à l’image et à la ressemblance de Lui-même. [34]» Il donne à la nature humaine une place essentielle par rapport à Dieu. Ainsi, nous pouvons dire que chaque fois que nous faisons cette rencontre dans l’Eucharistie nous devenons plus humain, et nous nous incorporons davantage : Le sacrement de l’Eucharistie est bien la source et sommet de notre existence chrétienne.[35] Cette assimilation progressive au corps du christ dans l’Eucharistie – aujourd’hui plus que hier et demain plus qu’aujourd’hui – s’exprime dans notre propre corps et nous pousse à manifester toujours davantage d’amour pour nos frères.
Qu’est-ce qui se passe dans la Trinité ?
Du fait de la communion eucharistique on peut dire que notre corps et notre sang sont déjà associés à la vie de la Trinité : dans la mesure où ils sont assimilés dès à présent au corps du Jésus ressuscité, lui même désormais présent dans le mystère trinitaire. Nous tenons cette assurance de notre foi à l’Incarnation et à la résurrection de Jésus entre les morts : son corps auquel les nôtres sont assimilés n’a pas été corrompu. Par amour Jésus a pris notre corps pour nous associer au sien. La totale liberté de l’amour du Père lui permet de « construire » le corps glorieux de son Fils avec notre propre chair. Il est peut-être intéressant de noter que c’est dans le tombeau de Jésus que le « processus de cette reconstruction » s’est accompli.[36] Est-il possible de penser que chaque fois que le Père et son Fils s’embrassent dans l’amour du St. Esprit notre corps y est assumé ? Nous participons réellement à cette « divine-embrace [37]» dans l’Eucharistie, quand nous mangeons et buvons le corps et le sang du Christ, cette action qui symbolise l’union la plus intime et la plus profonde, car le fils a pris notre corps pour qu’il puisse nous assimile au sein.[38] Et pour que grâce à cette assimilation nous puissions devenir les membres de son corps glorieux.
Nous participons à l’amour trinitaire d’une autre façon. Encore en effet, puisque le fils est le Chemin vers le Père, il nous y conduit. Le Fils ne peut pas nous garder pour lui-même : s’il reste avec nous c’est pour nous faire accéder devant son Père. Nous nous situons au cœur même de cette relation d’amour or « divine-embrace » entre le Père et le fils dans l’Esprit Saint.
Ce processus nous associe infiniment à Jésus Christ la deuxième personne dans la Trinité qui s’est incarnée[39] C’est grâce à son Incarnation que cela se réalise dans la vérité de l’amour. Notre corps est dès maintenant associé – un sens fort du terme – à la vie de la Sainte Trinité. Celle-ci au sein de l’amour parfait dont elle vit, s’associe grâce à celui du Christ, le corps de l’humanité dont elle est « tombé amoureuse. »
L’Eucharistie rencontre des corps dans l’amour
L’Evangile nous affirme que Jésus est la seule personne dans l’histoire de l’humanité qui a pu dire, en parlant du pain et du vin qu’il donnant aux apôtres : «This is my body take it and eat it. This is my blood take it and drink it. » C’est-à-dire que Jésus tenant en main son propre corps, en le gardant pas pour lui même. Il s’est donné à nous. Sans doute ne nous est-il pas donné d’en faire autant. Mais lorsque dans l’Eucharistie nous tenons en nos mains pour y communier le corps du Christ et la coupe de son sang, nous nous souvenons de que nous sommes appelés à y être nous-mêmes assimilés spirituellement jusque dans notre corporéité.
Mais ce n’est pas seulement notre propre corps qui est en jeux. Il est, en effet, inséparable de celui des autres. C’est aussi les corps de nos frères et de no sœurs qui nous sont rappelé à travers le corps et le sang de Jésus. N’est-elle pas possible d’aller plus loin et « de manger leurs corps ?[40]» C’est une rencontre faite en « l’amour-par-excellence » du Christ qui présuppose une ouverture radicale vers l’autre. Chaque individu-corps devient un « miroir » dont l’autre peut se voir, et s’accepter. On peut parler d’une « rencontre amoureuse » dans le corps mystique du Christ ; l’Eglise. Il faut comprendre ce processus en tant que symbole. On se voit ; on s’embrasse ; on s’aime dans le corps du Christ mystérieux vivant et présent dans la célébration. On vie ensemble dans la communion du Chirst.
N’est-ce pas la remise en valeur de cette « relation » de l’homme vers l’homme et de celui-ci vers Dieu qui est l’enjeu principal à souligner ? Car le fait de penser le salut comme « rencontre des corps en l’amour » dans la célébration de l’Eucharistie, nous oriente dans une perspective relationnelle.
Conclusion
L’Eucharistie est fondée sur la foi en Jésus Christ, dont la présence réelle s’exprime de manière concrète sous la forme du pain et du vin. Ces réalités temporelles ont déjà en elles même selon St. Thomas, une efficacité dans la mesure où le pain nourrit l’homme et que le vin lui réjouit son cœur, et c’est sur elle que se fonde leur efficacité spirituelle dans les sacrements.
Dans la célébration de l’Eucharistie nous ne sommes pas seulement dans le temps des hommes mais aussi ouverts sur l’éternité divine. Grâce à la foi Chrétienne vécue dans l’Eglise, Dieu nous permet cet accès à la vie divine au cœur même de notre situation temporelle et c’est à travers nos corps qu’il se réalise. Assimilé progressivement au corps glorieux du Christ, nos corps humains participent déjà à l’amour éternel de la Trinité.
Sommes-nous prêts à accueillir cet événement ? C’est une autre question ! Notre propos n’est pas d’en juger mais seulement de dire que l’Eglise, sacrement du Christ médiateur du salut, nous propose des chemins où nous pouvons faire cette expérience de « rencontre amoureuse » dans le Christ : les sacrements dans lesquels nous recevons cette grace de Dieu.
Finalement, cette réflexion reste-elle dans un cadre trop abstrait ? Est-elle trop intellectuelle et pas assez spirituelle ? Mais si l’on a insisté fortement sur « le salut, exprimé dans l’Eucharistie comme une rencontre des corps dans l’amour », c’est que la spiritualité chrétienne passe toujours pour la corporéité. Une autre question reste qui concerne l’ensemble de la création : dans quelle mesure la remise en valeur de cette rencontre de corps entre l’homme et Dieu pourrait-elle éclairer le sens de notre rapport à l’environnement, si souvent malmène aujourd’hui.
La réflexion proposée ici n’est pas exhaustive et nous aurons à continuer sur la lancée d’Adolphe Gesché, Paul Scolas et Louis Marie Chauvet dans l’ouvrage « Le corps chemin de Dieu » pour revaloriser le corps comme chemin de Dieu vers l’homme et Chemin de l’homme vers Dieu.
Bibliographie
Etienne Grieu, Un Lien Si Fort, Quand l’amour de Dieu se fait diaconie, Atelier, Lumen Vitae Novalis, 2009.
J.A. Bizet, Ruysbrceck, les maitres de la Spiritualité Chrétienne, Aubier, Paris, 1947.
Thomas d’Aquin, Somme Théologie, Troisième partie, Question 62.1 Cerf, Paris, 1996.
A. Gesché et P. Scolas, (dir), Le corps, chemin de Dieu, / Univ. Cath. De Louvain, 2005
Jurgen Moltmann, The Crucified God, Fortress, Minneapolis, 1993.
DAVID NOEL FREEDMAN, Dictionary of the Bible, Eerdsman Publishing Company, Cambridge, UK, 2000.
Karl Barth, Dogmatique, IV.2, Labor et fides, Genève, 1966.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08617a.htm
http://books.google.fr/books?…com
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/310113.htm
http://spiritualitehttp://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html 3.free.fr/ruysbroeck.html
The road to inner peace requires honesty to self,
It is crucial to spend time with self,
The tendency is to run from where it hurts,
This is what we should not do,
Get a friend to talk to,
And remain with self,
Bring out the areas of pain,
Let the pain see it is not in control,
It does not have the final word,
The final word is Divine life,
Manifesting itself in love in our hearts, minds and bodies.
When we can bravely face our pain,
We are on the road to internal peace.
Please see Dr. Margaret Paul’s link. She has done much research in the healing of the Inner Child.
http://www.innerbonding.com.
To really love God,
We must first have a genine experience of love here on earth,
It is not the reverse,
For God himself left his heavenly state,
And became a human,
For God wanted love to be born of human stalk,
God no longer wanted love to remain only in heaven,
God wanted love to take a human dimension,
So interestingly,
God himself came,
In the form of his son Jesus,
To bring birth to this renewal of love,
A love that reflects the father in heaven,
God is not a reality of the mind,
God is a reality of the body,
Our entire body must reflect that love,
Jesus reminds us that when we love him,
He and his father in heaven will come and live in our bodies,
The esense of loving God,
Is to begin with the body,
To love God is to look within ourselves,
To look within humanity,
A process started with the Incarnation,
Loving God does not begin within the realms of the unknown,
It begins in the known,
Within the conscious body which is ours,
To genuinely love someone,
Is the beginning of our discovery of who God is,
Since love cannot be closed unto itself,
It is in love that we discover Jesus’ divinity as the Christ, the anointed one, God himself,
Jesus divinity could not have stood alone,
It was enwrapped in the flesh and body of the human Jesus,
The road to Jesus as saviour and redeemer is love,
A love that is experienced in the body in its entirety,
A love that became human,
And took the form of a body,
A love that came from the Heavenly Father,
The Source of all human love.
A love that touches humanity.
Image via Wikipedia
How often have we wandered,
Through the fields of life’s meandering thoughts,
While not uttering a spoken word,
And yet speech in its birthing,
Was heard,
For within the realms of our being,
A hearing not heard by any sound,
A thought not silenced in its hearing,
From the depths of its own history,
To thy present own,
seemed to be,
And so I thought…
