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CIS Newsletter
N.35
September 2006
Deep
Emotions
Scholars in various disciplines are turning their attention to emotional intelligence. This phrase was the title of a bestseller published about ten years ago. The author, Daniel Goleman, describes how we all have some useful skills related to our emotional response to events in our lives. Two of these competences are (1) the ability to identify and name one's emotional states; and (2) the capacity to manage one's emotional states. These are skills we need to develop so as to grow to our full potential.
In an interesting section of the Acts of the Apostles, we find Peter saying to the pagan Cornelius, 'In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him.' The text continues: 'While Peter was still speaking these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the word. The Jewish believers who had accompanied Peter were all astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit should have been poured out on the Gentiles also.'
The idea of emotional intelligence can be useful in appreciating the deep meaning of this important moment of the Church. Consider the emotional response of the Jewish believers. The situation was very new; quite unpredictable. Peter had been preaching the word of God at the house of Cornelius. This means that he was preaching to Gentiles. It was an utterly new situation. Cornelius and his household had simply no blood links whatsoever with the Jewish people. Peter had been inspired in a dream that God does not have favourites. This was the reason that had brought him to Cornelius.
Let's stop here for a while and reflect. God does not have favourites. Or does he? What about the chosen people, Israel? What about the chosen disciples? What about us today: chosen to be members of the Catholic Church, not to mention those among us chosen for a special vocation? God seems to be choosing all the time. He seems to be favouring one group and disregarding another. How could we make sense of Peter's claim that God is impartial?
The answer can be found in the way Jesus lived. Jesus was well aware of the special vocation of the Jewish people in the history of salvation. Nevertheless, he did not consider this a hindrance or limitation. Remember his dialogue with the Samaritan woman at the well. 'There will be a time,' he said, 'when everyone will worship God neither in Jerusalem nor on the mountain, but in spirit and in truth.' He considered his people's special vocation a way of serving other peoples, not of lording it over them. God wants everyone to be saved. To accomplish this, the means he adopts involves choosing a small group out of the many. He chooses some for the sake of the many. This is neither choosing some so as to abandon the many, nor choosing some because he cannot handle the many. He chooses some for the sake of the many. Seen in this light, it is not surprising that God eventually sends his Holy Spirit also on the Gentiles.
But what about the emotional response of the Jewish believers? The text says: 'they were all astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit should be poured out on the pagans too.' Their astonishment was caused most probably by the way the Spirit came down freely, arbitrarily. In fact, there is some question on how best to translate that verb: came down. It could also be translated as 'fell upon', somewhat like the rain. Sometimes it rains in Valletta but not in Zurrieq; sometimes in Zurrieq and not in Valletta. The Holy Spirit seems to be falling on people in the same unpredictable way. And the Jewish believers are astonished.
They could have experienced other emotions. They could have been overjoyed. Or they could have been enraged. These two possible emotional reactions: don't they remind us of something? They remind us of the parable of the Prodigal Son. When the prodigal son returns and is accepted by his father, the servants' reaction was one of rejoicing and feasting. The emotional reaction of the elder son, on the contrary, was anger. How could the father give his forgiveness so freely? So we have three emotional responses here when facing the utter generosity of God. We can be astonished, we can be overjoyed, or we can be enraged. How can we apply this to our own lives?
Now we may recall the two emotional intelligence skills mentioned at the very beginning: the ability to identify emotional states, and the capacity to manage them. Our spiritual life can gain a lot from these skills. The reality of national, ethnic and religious differences is all around us; perhaps even more than in the time of the Apostles. We don't have a monopoly on God's attention and God's love. He pours his love on whomever He wants. Can we identify our emotional states when faced with this fact? Can we manage our emotions when what we cherish for ourselves is sometimes denied us but in fact given to others? Are we like the Jewish believers, astonished, that God may allow others with a different viewpoint from ours be right? Or are we, perhaps like the elder son, enraged? Or, perhaps like the servants, overjoyed?
What is needed here is growth. We need to grow in our capacity to manage these deep emotions. Our lives depend on them, often without us knowing it. The French philosopher and mystic, Simone Weil, talks about the needs of the soul. The kind of identification and management of emotions I'm talking about is essentially this: a need of our soul. Without such awareness, our soul shrivels and weakens. In a multi-ethnic, mult-religious environment, if we're not careful, our soul gets confused. It withers and eventually dies. Weil, in her book The need for Roots, written in England while she was sick and in exile during World War II, uses the analogy of the garden. The human soul is like a plant that thrives or dies, depending on the type of environment in which it grows. The plant without its nutrients dies. The soul without its nutrients dies as well. The nutrients of the soul include our acceptance of the utter freedom of God in bestowing his favours and blessings on anyone he chooses.
The emotional reaction of the elder son is a sign of our soul dying. With God's grace we will even be able to shift from the emotional reaction of the Jewish believers, astonishment, to that of the servants in the parable, rejoicing. In other words, we will be able to rejoice that God, in His infinite wisdom and mercy, takes care of all those we tend to consider different, estranged, unlovable or on a lower rung of the ladder. Unlike us, He can indeed handle the whole lot! When we will arrive at such rejoicing we will be blessed indeed. We will have become like Him.
For your reflection:
1) Can you identify your emotional states, especially those that are relevant for your spiritual life?
2) In what way has God chosen you for the sake of the many?
3) When others seem to be preferred, does it disturb you?
4) What nutrients does your soul need?
Fr. Louis Caruana sj
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Prayer
for Detachment
I beg of you, my Lord,
to remove anything which separates
me from you, and you from me.
Remove anything that makes me unworthy
of your sight, your control, your reprehension;
of your speech and conversation,
of your benevolence and love.
Cast from me every evil
that stands in the way of my seeing you,
hearing, tasting, savouring, and touching you;
fearing and being mindful of you;
knowing, trusting, loving, and possessing you;
being conscious of your presence
and, as far as may be, enjoying you.
This is what I ask for myself
and earnestly desire from you. Amen.
Blessed Pierre Favre SJ
{Piere Favre (1506 - 1546) was one of the original companions of St Ignatius. Ignatius considered Favre most gifted in directing the spiritual exercises.}
We
would like to remind you that the Centre for Ignatian
Spirituality offers personal spiritual direction to all
those who would like to have any kind of spiritual
experience like Ignatian retreats in every day life.
Retreats can be tailored according to the needs and
circumstances of the retreatant. CIS can call on experienced
Jesuits, other religious and trained lay people to accompany
retreatants through these experiences.
Anyone
interested can contact the Director on 21344349 or 99864561
or email vince@maltajesuitretreats.com.
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