primary of "reason and conscience" over "affections" and "faculties"

source: blessed john henry newman (died 1890), cardinal, founder of the oratory in england, theologian. "sermons on subjects of the day," no. 10. "peace be with you," c/o dailygospel.org (31 march 2016, thursday of easter week)

a. divine intervention
>diagnosis
"As he makes the Church one, which, left to itself, would SEPARATE into many parts; 

>treatment
so He makes the soul ONE, in spite of its various affections and faculties, and its contradictory aims."

>diagnosis
"As he gives peace to the multitude, who are NATURALLY IN DISCORD on with another,

>treatment
so does he give an ORDERLY government to the soul and set REASON and CONSCIENCE as SOVEREIGNS on the inferior parts of your nature.

b. human cooperation

"And let us be quit sure that the two operations [REASON & CONSCIENCE] of our Divine Comforter depend upon each other, and that while Christian do not seek after inward unity and peace in the world around them."

bar mitzvah (jewish rite of passage to adulthood)

as the jewish boy turns 13, he becomes an adult -- a full-fledged member of the community, with the distinct privilege of publicly reading the torah! and participating in the prayers in the synagogue (in addition to having legal rights to enter into contracts including marriage and to take personal responsibility for one's moral actions).

now, while they are required to observe the 613 laws, in the tefilin (the box containing 4 scripture passages put on their head and left arm), only these are highlighted:
1. remember that yahweh, your god was the one who redeemed you from slavery in egypt. do this physically, but putting on head- and arm-bands as mnemonic devices!
2. keep him as your ONE and ONLY god; do not worship idols. otherwise, god's blessings upon you and the land will not be forthcoming.
3. pass this on to your children.

the four old testament passage are as follows:
1. Exodus 13:1-10 (Kadesh Li)
2. Exodus 13:11-16 (Ve-haya ki Yeviakha)
3. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (Shema)
4. Deuteronomy 11:13-21 (Ve-haya Im Shamoa)

let me just quote the shema (remember), which i distinctly remember mentioned by fr. le frois, svd, our religion teacher in college who was a biblical scholar (with a doctorate in sacred scriptures!)

"Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words, which I COMMAND you this day, shall be upon your heart, and teach them thoroughly to your children, and speak of them when you sit in your home, and when you walk in the road, and when you lie down, and when you get up. And tie them for a sign upon your hand, and let them be tied between your eyes. And write them on the door posts of your houses and on your gates."

so, why did i mention this here?

despite, the hundreds of laws to be observed, it is still the CORE. LOVE GOD.... 

synthesis of the lord's teachings 2

the gospel passage for march 4, 2016, friday of the 3rd week of lent, was from mark 12:28-34 "the greatest commandment of all!"

mark 12:28 "...'which is the first of all the commandments?'

ANALYSIS:

>613 commandments of the law (composed of 248 precepts and 365 prohibitions)

this was the historical context of the question of the scribe who intelligently asked this question from the lord!

the question was asking for a ...

SYNTHESIS:

A. old testament

other historical attempts to synthesize the lord's teachings in the old testament were:

i. david = 11 commandments (Psalm 15:2-5)

1. lead a BLAMELESS way of life
2. always do what is right
3. speak the TRUTH from the HEART
4. do not use your tongue for slander
5. do not wrong to your fellow
6. do not discredit your neighbor
7. do not look with contempt on the reprobate
8. honor those who fear yahweh
9. stand by your PLEDGE AT ANY COST
10. do not ask interest on loans
11. do not be bribed to victimize the innocent

ii. isaiah = 6 commandments (isaiah 33:15)

1. act with INTEGRITY
2. speak SINCERELY
3. reject extortionate profit
4. wave away bribe from your HANDS
5. shut suggestions of murder out of your EARS
6. close your EYES against crime

iii. micah = 3 (michal 6:8)

1. act JUSTLY
2. LOVE tenderly
3. walk HUMBLY with your god

(my comment: 1 & 2 = love neighbor [1 = masculine / tough love, 2 = feminine / tender love], 3 = love god)

B. new testament

i. jesus = 2 (mark 12:29-31)

1. love god
"Love Yahweh your God with all your hear, with all your soul, with all your strength" (Deuteronomy 6:4-5).

2. love neighbor
"...Love your neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18).

concluding comment:

re: analysis and synthesis, this morning during my meditation time, the image of the wooden wheel again came:

ANALYSIS = movement away from the central idea (hub) to its component domains and specific items (spokes); CENTRIFUGAL force in physics

SYNTHESIS = movement away from the many details or facets (spokes) to the central idea/s (hub); CENTRIPETAL force in physics

acknowledgement: this centrifugal and centripetal force i got from my brother who is a priest in his homily on the feast of saints peter (the centripetal force of the catholic church because he shepherded the jews) and paul (the centrifugal force of the church because he was sent by the lord to be missionary to the non-jews or gentiles)

synthesis of the lord's teachings 1

good friday
solemnity of the annunciation
25 march 2016

last march 9, when i met my good friend and support group buddy choncho after about a month of hiatus, among the things i told him was that i noticed (or more accurately, i was forced to) i started SYNTHESIZING my life principles (occasioned by my volunteering to give a retreat in a bicol seminary on sexuality and spirituality). 

during my lowest moment in life, i started to enumerate my life principles as a way of making sense out of my brokenness and go give me a handle of pulling me out of the quagmire of life (oh, i only thought of that now as i was writing! actually, i thought initially of a two-inch metal tube planted at the bottom of a well to pull oneself out a pit like the one we had in our original house in bicol where my elder brother as a child went down to explore, but got frightened when the fish started to bit him and just went back using the metal tube he was anchored on!). and, i came up with 200+ slides!

trained in philosophy, i naturally incline towards KEY CONCEPTS that underlie my lectures which i call "LIFE PRINCIPLES." (again, i recall the first subject we teach in the phd program in guidance 301 epistemology of guidance! it is supposed to give the students an underlying or overarching handle or "lens" in categorizing different historical and philosophical trends as they go through the different subject areas of the discipline.

(these parenthetical remarks reflect what we call in dream interpretation and psychoanalysis as the "association" method. it's also part of my being OC = obsessive-compulsive. :-))

and so, as of the moment, i have reduced my so-called "life (and teaching & psychotherapy) principles" to a manageable six!

this blog is dedicated to those synthesized life principles. and the first one is: the SUPREMACY and CENTRALITY OF GOD!

enter choncho: he shared that fr. nil guillemette, sj commented on march 4 (friday, 3rd week of lent) precisely on the SYNTHESIS of the Lord's teachings.
(i am proud to say that i was able to influence chonch to also start reading the daily gospel and commentary using the bible diary which was started by the claretian missionaries in the philippines. incidentally, for this year, i am using the SVD or divine word missionaries version and he, the CMF or claretian version.)

(... to be continued in "synthesis of the lord's teachings 2)

the "hub of life" and prayer in henri nouwen

Source: Henri J. M. Nouwen (2003). The only necessary thing: Living a prayerful life. Quezon City, Philippines: Claretian Publications, pp. 147-148 (caps mine for emphasis).

Note: Henri Josef Machiel Nouwen (1932-1996), a Dutch Catholic priest, professor, writer and theologian with interest in psychology, pastoral ministry, spirituality, social justice and community (wikipedia).

"Moving to the Hub of Life"

"In my home country the Netherlands, you still see many large wagon wheels...as decorations....I have always been fascinated by these wagon wheels....These wheels help me to understand the importance of a LIFE LIVED FROM THE CENTER. When I move from the rim, I can reach one spoke after the other, but when I stay at the hub, I am IN TOUCH WITH ALL the spokes at once.

"To PRAY is to move to the center of all life and all love. The closer  I come to the hub of life, the closer I come to all that receives its STRENGTH and ENERGY from there. My tendency is to get so DISTRACTED by the diversity of the many spokes of life, that I am BUSY but not truly LIFE-GIVING, all over the place but not FOCUSED. By directing my attention to the HEART OF LIFE, I am CONNECTED with its rich variety while remaining CENTERED. 

What does the hub represent?I think of it as my own HEART, the heart of God, and the heart of the world. When I pray, I enter into the depth of my own heart and find there the [147/148] heart of God, who speaks to me of love. And I recognize, right there, the place where all of my sisters and brothers are in COMMUNION with one another. 

The great paradox of the spiritual life is, indeed, that the most PERSONAL is most UNIVERSAL, that the most intimate is the most communal, and that the most contemplative is most active.

"The wagon wheel shows that the hub is the CENTER OF ALL ENERGY and MOVEMENT, even when it often seems not to be moving at all. In God all action and all rest are one. So too prayer! 

-- Here and Now

My Comment:

The wooden wheel is of personal spiritual significance to me since it was a vision given to me by my assistant small group leader at the Living Waters healing ministry 25-week program of 2015 May to October. It did not make much sense to me at that time, except to connect my physical and psychological illnesses to FEAR being the CENTER (the negative yin).

Later only, but during that period, I bumped into this quote from Henri Nouwen whom I was already reading at that time, and this time it gave me the positive (yang) meaning, which is more the THEOLOGICAL answer to the PHILOSOPHICAL or human SCIENCES part above (yin).

the hub in tao te ching

Source: Lao Tzu. Tao Teh Ching. (trans. John C.H. Wu). Boston & London: Shambhala (1990), ch 11, p. 15 (caps mine).

Note: Lao Tzu literally means Old Master, supposedly a record keeper of the Zhou dynasty; whose authorship of the book is debated by scholars, some claiming it is a compilation of sayings (wikipedia).

      Tao Te Ching may be translated as "The Classic (Ching) of the Way's (Tao) Virtues (Te)." It is divided into two parts: the Tao Ching (chapters 1-37) and the Te Ching chapters 38-81). According to tradition, it was written in the 6th century BC (wikipedia). 

Tao Te Ching
in silk 2 BC

"Thirty spokes converge upon a single hub; 

It is on the HOLE in the center that the use of the cart hinges.

We make a vessel from a lump of clay;

It is the EMPTY space within the vessel that makes it useful.

We make doors and windows for a room;

But it is these empty spaces that make the room livable.

Thus, while the tangible has advantages, 

It is the INTANGIBLE that makes it useful."

Commentary: 

Under the heading "Interpretation and Themes" is the heading "Emptiness" quoting the same passage I cited above, with this commentary:

"Philosophical vacuity is a common theme among Asian philosophical traditions including Taoism (especially Wu wei "effortless action"), Buddhism, and some aspects of Confucianism. One could interpret the Tao Te Ching as a suite of variations on the "Powers of Nothingness". 

This predates the Buddhist Shunyata philosophy of "form is emptiness, emptiness is form" by half a millennium. Emptiness can mean having no fixed preconceptions, preferences, intentions, or agenda. Since "The Sage has no heart of his own; He uses the heart of the people as his heart." (chap. 49, tr. Waley). From a ruler's point of view, it is a laissez-faire approach" (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tao_Te_Ching).

My Interpretation:

The reason why I included this quote in this my life principle # 1 is that it reverberates with another quote I will cite after this from Fr. Henri Nouwen, positively citing the hub of the wooden wheel as the CENTER of power.

Ultimately, it refers, for me, to God. The aspect of invisibility (or emptiness) is an attribute of the divine. Creation in the Christian tradition is bringing forth something out of NOTHING. Only an intelligence, all-powerful divine being can do that. And so, it is with this Christian viewpoint (or others may say, bias) that I am interpreting and quoting this passage.

In Jungian psychology, I connect this with the Self archetype which is able to bring together different aspects of our personality into some form of synthesis, a command center, the CPU of a computer, where all its activities are coordinated and controlled. 

effect of love of god: holiness

"... to love you is to be made holy...." (Christian Prayer, p. 327).

psalm 81 "for the feast of tabernacles"

[8]   "Listen, my people, to my warning,
O Israel, if only you would heed!
[9]   Let there be no foreign god among you,
No worship of an alien god. [SUPREMACY OF GOD] 

[10] I am the Lord your God,
who brought you form the land of Egypt. [PROTECTOR]
Open wide your mouth and I will fill it. [PROVIDER]

[14] At once I would subdue their foes,
turn my hand against their enemies." [PROTECTOR]





Note: Parenthetical remarks mine.