I have just come back from 4 days vacation time at Charlestown in Cornwall. It gave me more time to consider what is going on and the things that are of concern for me.
I am very concerned as a Catholic priest about the seemingly systematic demolition of the initial spirit of Vatican II so that collegiality seems to be no longer be operative and this is no-where more apparent than in the work of Interfaiuth dialogue which is of particular concern for me and in our liturgy. The language version for the new English translation of the Missal is abominable. In its effort to be faithful to the latin text it has destroyed all meaning and it not only sounds ugly but it is atrocious English. The Bishops seem to be unable to use their voice to overpower the nonsense of the Vatican curial offices! I was somewhat encouraged though by the launch of the support for the Vatican II Council. I hope this cuts some ice!
I am writing a paper on 2 books The Jewish Dharma by Brenda Shoshanna and the book on Thomas Merton and Judaism Both have had a great deal of influence on me awakening for the first time in my life a proper appreciation of the Judaic faith. That is a terrible admission after over 40 years as a priest. - the passage below comes from my Jewish friend Brenda who is a psychotherapist and Zen teacher in New York City.
There is so much in the Merton book but I am particularly taken with his friendship with Rabbi Abraham Herschel a couple of whose books I have on my shelf but never really read. I am now encouraged to do so. In fact there are so many lines that I would like to follow up but where is the time to do all these interesting things.
Steppingstones To Love: (Exercises for Everyday Life)
Nourishing Self And Others
1) Favorite Food
What is your favorite food in relationships? What is it you hunger for daily? How do you get fed? Does someone else feed you? Do you feed yourself? Is there some other way you could get this particular nourishment? Take a little while and find out.
2) Emotional Indigestion
What kind of food are you now absorbing in your relationships that you cannot digest? Why do you keep eating it? What do you want from it? Is there some other food that could substitute?
3) Offerings
What are the offerings you bring to life? What are you willing to give unconditionally? Spend time considering what it is that you can truly offer that will nourish and gladden others and yourself as well. When a large part of our lives consist in making these kind of offerings, we fall in love with life itself.
I had a message today from my friend Dom Sebastian Moore a monk of Downside and over 90 but still one of the most radical prophets of of age that I know.
he reminds me in his note:-
"For me as you know Eckhart Tolle has opened the inner door, of which Jesus speaks, into the kingdom of love and wonder. Remember how the door opened for him: he said " I cannot live any longer live with myself" and then something in him said 'that's a funny thing to be thinking. Are there two of me, I and the self I cannot live with' Than the voice said 'maybe only on of them is real' - "
PLEASE give me your feedback so I know I am not just wasting my time writing all this stuff down with nobody listening!!! Please snd here or email you comments and additions
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2 comments:
Dear Fr Patrick
I have been reading your blog. I couldn't agree more about Vat 2. It does need to be defended. In some circles it seems to be seen as another aberration of the 1960s.
I suppose the case for will have to argued for many years to come. I hope the growth in contemplative prayer at the grassroots will help in this process.
DevonPaul
Dear Patrick
We too are rather frustrated and disillusioned with the direction the Vatican is taking. It seems to become much harder now to have a dialogue with other traditions without having to comment on the backward steps the Vatican is seen to be taking. There are so many rich contemplative and mystic traditions within the church which are not being highlighted suffciently, particularly at a time when there are so many people searching for spiritual nourishment. Rather thatn change the language of rites, perhaps it is time to teach christian contemplative practice which will keep the gates of dialogue open. We are so touched by the willingness of the Zen tradition to give transmission to non-Buddhists. Could one imagine such generousity to come from a Christian tradition without having to renounce previous beliefs?
So what to do?
Marcus and Jenny
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