The Hell of Having

I remember as a child, my parents would limit the amount that would be lavished upon me. I certainly was not deprived of anything. Chocolate, good food, toys, trips out to the park, all these would be common occurrences.

Good things would be measured, if they were not there was every chance that I would take them for granted.
Above all, they did not want me to become 'spoiled'.

I am sure we have all seen it, someone who has everything but cares for nothing.
This is reflected in peoples' attitude toward material things. When things are not received as beautiful and useful objects worthy of thanks, they become 'mere things', commodities.
Of course this is encouraged by the people who sell the things because as long as people are unsatisfied with what they have, they will always want more.

For example, I recently was given an Apple iPhone for my birthday. Wonderful, it has made things much easier to keep in contact with those I love. Less than a month later, the updated version was released. Though I knew better, I still had a nagging feeling of envy, something which has been instilled in me for over two decades.
Even though the updated model is not dissimilar from the model I have, I know that if I were to get the updated version, I would not be satisfied. Infact, I would probably be annoyed at myself for playing into the hands of those who feed upon this cycle of novelty and envy.

Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing. - Oscar Wilde

One of the remarkable things about the Christian life is that, through the Eucharistically minded vision, all things are made beautiful. The world is a wonderous gift which celebrates God. I do not mean this in the "look at how beautiful that sunset" way, but on a more every day basis. The food we eat, the sleep we have, the clothes we wear, the air we breathe; it is all restorative to ourselves and holds us together as community.
For a person to eat well, the food must be farmed. To be clothed, someone must grow the plant to make the fibre, which is then spun and knitted or woven into a textile, which is tailored to make the final object. Everything is manufactured, and this speaks of community.

When we, as consumers, fail to see the chain which leads to the finished article, the object becomes dehumanised and of no intrinsic value other than 'fashion'
Everything becomes disposable, and in so doing, we desensitise ourselves to the co-operation of living, as well as our duty to support those who labour for us.

A world without people, without relationships, is a lonely place.
The French existentialist philosopher John Paul Satre famously wrote "Hell is other people".
I refute that, "Hell is isolation".

Satre was saying that it is our interpersonal relationships which cause us the greatest misery and despair. Though there is certain torment in that, it is favourable by far than isolation. This is because all existence is found in relation.
What good is a gift it can not be given?
What use is love if it can not be shared?


And so I return to my first point.
When we receive to the satisfaction of our own desires and are blinded by the objects to the point where we cannot see the creative act behind them, it is a sad thing. It is a sad thing because that part within us which has delight in receiving the gift as an act of love becomes idle. A state of entitlement and self-worth develops; this in turn causes a person to fail in relating to people. People in themselves become commodities. This leads to dystopia.



It is thanks to a post on another blog site that I was encouraged to write this article.
"The Dream"

On the Soul and Love.

Glory to you O Lord, glory to you.

And God created man in his own image. In the image of God created he him.
Male and female created he them. He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. - Creation of man according to Genesis, words from the libretto to Haydn's Oration 'The Creation'.

The human person is a glorious thing. No simple construction, phenomenally intricate in its formation and harmony with itself. Such complexity magnifies the continuing pursuit of understanding. Reason being a divinely inspired gift granted, nay, imbued in us as essential to our entity. The human person is a glorious thing. 

Remarkable the human person is, unceasing inquiry is a lifetime's ambition, and yet, to know one's self is a difficult task. If it weren't for mirrors we would seldom see a clear reflection of ourselves, and yet even this reflection is not objective in itself for it must be seen not only with the eyes but with the mind. A man of meagre build may wake one day and quite reasonably look at himself in the mirror and behold a hideous mess, monstrous proportions, and wish not to look any longer out of disgust. Yet that which he looks on is not 'true', it is perceived. Even still, the perception is true for it cannot be measured against any other if it were not for the co-operation of other minds.

What is it that serves as a mirror to our souls? 

I would suggest that theology would be a good place to start. (Theology being the act of prayer and contemplation upon the divine, the all embracing splendour of bounteous God.)

It is an all too common sentiment to consider one's self in comparison, as apart from, below from God. To use the majesty of God to punish one's self for one's own failings. To resolve to follow a self-prepared ascetic path in the hope of purification and attainment of divine favour made manifest in a safe assurance of salvation.

It may not surprise you reader, that I do not hold firm to such thought patterns within the Christian mind. We find in God our source of strength, hope, beauty, and all virtues. How can this bounty of blessings combined with the loving will of the Father to dispense all these treasures, be cause for deprecation of the self?

Receive with joy, return with thanksgiving.

If the eye of the soul does not see clearly for fault of sin (the definition of sin will require another post), it would be unhelpful to punish the eye with force till it resolves to see clearly. How can something as delicate as the eye undergo harsh 'therapy' and yet have hope of restoring its clarity?

The soul is, as the eye, a most beautiful and delicate thing, marvellous in its complexity, beauteous in its operation, harmonious in its proportion. It is a wondrous thing. And yet there are many who suggest that a good means of aiding the soul in recovering its sight of God is to punish it, to fast harshly, to enter into penance and recant of any luxury or vain delight.

Let us never lose sight of the loving kindness of God in such things. Love forms the soul, love restores and sustains it. Sin is not a condemnable thing which attaches itself as would a parasite (though what the ancient fathers would call ‘passions’ would fit this description), sin is that which draws one's mind away from the contemplation of the divine, it causes the mind to lose sight of wonder and to interpret things as mundane or even evil. Glory be to God for all things. There are yet certain things and actions which lead one into such sin/distraction, and out of the wisdom of spiritual direction, one can be faithfully directed against the 'unhelpful'.

§25. Divine knowledge, once it is awakened in us, teaches us that the perceptive faculty natural to our soul is single, but that it is split into two distinct modes of operation as a result of Adam's disobedience. This single and simple perceptive faculty is implanted in the soul by the Holy Spirit ; but no one can realize this singleness of perception except those who have willingly abandoned the delights of this corruptible life in the hope of enjoying those of eternity, and who have caused every appetite of the bodily senses to wither away through self-control. Only in such men does the intellect, because of its freedom from worldly care, act with its full vigour so that it is capable of perceiving ineffably the goodness of God. Then, according to the measure of its own progress, the intellect communicates its joy to the body too, rejoicing endlessly in the song of love and praise: 'My heart has trusted in Him and I am helped; my flesh flowers again, and with all my being I will sing His praise' (Ps. 28:7. LXX). The joy which then fills both soul and body is a true recalling of the life without corruption.- Diadochos of Photiki (5th Cent.), 'On Spiritual Knowledge'.

C. S. Matthew, MMXIII 

On Theology

Glory to you O Lord, glory to you.

If you are a theologian you pray truly, and if you pray truly you are a theologian. - Evagrius Ponticus c.346-399AD.

It is my aim in the writing of this blog to write in an understandable language. Theology is a beautiful science, it is a record of the mark of love in history, the way that God has touched the hearts of His people. The theologian being a prayerful creature and not exclusively academic or rational, seeks to practice what he preaches, but furthermore, to preach what he practices.

Theology is a continuing dispensation of wisdom to human individuals. It is a living science because it is concerned with the living God, the giver and sustainer of all life.

Moses receiving divine wisdom (theology) at the burning bush.

Perils of Theology

The theologian should never glorify himself, through the expression of their finely formed thought and musings on the divine, rather, they, like the Virgin Mary, should point away from themselves to their creator and the source of that glory. 'My soul magnifies the Lord'

There is a danger which the theologian must be very aware of. Though they may understand in their minds the theology which has been revealed to them, they must be able to translate that effectively so it may be understood, or at least, made legible, by the persons they wish to speak it to. 

Theology can be an effective tool in the healing of souls.

This is particularly difficult with theology because too often it is not concerned with dogmatic, objective, or conveniently set down and recorded apologetics which can simply be reworded into contemporary language. Rather more, theology is concerned with the heart, which is to say, that instinct, 'feeling' which draws it to God. Love.

§14. When a man begins to perceive the love of God in all its richness, he begins also to love his neighour with spiritual perception. This is the love of which all the scriptures speak. - Diadochos of Photiki (5th Cent.), 'On Spiritual Knowledge'. 

To be lost for words is a good thing for the theologian.

To be incapable to share the experience of that love is a fortunate thing in that it is certain proof of the irrational origin of that experience or thought. God speaks irrationally, which is to say, beyond reason. Love is irrational, it causes people to do things which they would never consider under usual circumstance. God wills that all may come to enjoy the love which he offers to all.

Every theological statement falls short of the understanding of the speaker. Our understanding is weak, and our tongue is even more defective. - Basil the Great c.330-379AD.

C. S. Matthew, MMXII 

Eyes to See

Glory to you O Lord, glory to you.

To see, to hear, to think, to search, to comprehend.

We are sensual creatures, processors of that which we interact with.

Everything which interacts with the soul leaves a trace of itself and the soul is constantly interacting with newness, newness of already existent things.

To speak is to love.

Language, that act of love, the desire to engage with another, is performed through the usage of sensational things which are commonly understood.

Today being Saint Lucy's day I am contemplating the idea of communication.

She who had her eyes removed, and received them again through a grace of God.

Last summer I spent three months in a very foreign environment to my own, working alongside agricultural communities in North-East Brazil, I had to communicate with people in a language and culture I did not understand. It soon became apparent that the tiny lexicon I had with me would be sufficient.

Living with a family cut off from the rest of the village on the top of a canyon, where night was deepest black and the bathroom consisted of a bucket with a dried squash skin for a ladle, I quickly realised that any difficulty of living was on mine, not their part. These people knew how to live, they did it naturally yet I, I found every movement challenging. I haven't even mentioned the rats which would run across the rafters throughout the house.

Anyway, I was greatly received by them in expression of love and curiosity. And though I didn't speak much, if any, of their language, I was willing to learn. But learning did not consist in practicing calls and responses, it was to be found in interaction with them, in watching television, feeding the hens, eating the food. My actions, my gestures, my presence. These were the real forms of communication. Language was only secondary to that.

I became quite desperate in my desire to communicate with these persons with whom I had been made in  contact. All this change of scenery had been, for my soul, a great deal of new information which needed to be made sense of.

My eyes saw not as their eyes,

A bucket remained in the shape of a bucket, that which the bucket spake of was different.

We relate to this on an every day basis. For some, the water may be hot, for others, tepid or even cold.The difficulty of language is made easier when it is understood as being that act of communion with another person, another human, weak and precious as oneself.

It is to Saint Lucy that I owe this insight.

Lamenting in these struggles, and continuing to unpack my possessions, I looked above the bed to see a weather faded image of a lady with two eyes on a plate, and I understood her to be Lucy. Seeking her aid, I prayed that she may intercede for me so that I can be granted a closer understanding of what it means to be there for others as guide, listener, and counselor.

§78 We share in the image of God by virtue of the intellectual activity of our soul; for the body is, as it were, the soul's dwelling-place. - St Diadochos of Photiki, 'On Spiritual Knowledge'

C. S. Matthew, MMXII