182- Lectio Divina, From Pharisee to Publican

One of the most difficult things in Spiritual Life is to explain what we are supposed to do in order to make Lectio Divina work.

In fact, often Lectio Divina doesn’t work, not because God or Jesus doesn’t want to speak to us, or the Holy Spirit doesn’t want to work in us! On the contrary, Jesus is dying to speak to us. But what we don’t know is: what exactly depends on us to make it happen, what we are supposed to do in order to make lectio work.

St. Teresa of Avila puts it in a nutshell: not knowing the difference in the way the Grace of God works between the general help and the particular help, makes our spiritual life lukewarm, makes lectio divina “abort” quite often. We are often lost between two extremes and can’t find the right measure in between. The extremes are: either to use great aggressiveness, overriding the grace of God and His freedom, acting in fact with an arrogant attitude. Or, to be too passive and fail to do what we are supposed to do! So, in the end, the Grace of God, or more precisely the personal and direct action of the Holy Spirit, doesn’t occur.

If we look at the drawing above, which shows our heart, immersed in the waters of our being, about to give itself to God, and also showing the surface of the water which is the limit between God’s being/freedom and ours, we will see illustrated three different ways to offer ourselves to God, three ways of interacting with God.

It is not uncommon for people to get the general light of God, which corresponds to the moment where the two or more texts are saying the same thing, although through different words, in different places in the texts. But the part of the journey that is paradoxically more difficult occurs, when crossing from this moment to the moment when a clear light causes us to really hear what Jesus wants from us. Why is this so?

One of the reasons is that the person, after having received the general light of the Word of God, switches to almost a more receptive mode, where most of the attention resembles a ruminating state, where the person is almost in a dreamlike state repeating the words that speak to him in each text while expecting the clear will of Jesus to pop up at a certain point, out of His pure grace.

The reality, by contrast, is that there is still an important part of the journey of the descent of the word of God in us that is as yet unfinished, that is, proceeding from (a) to (b)). 

How do we go from (a) to (b)? From the general supernatural light to the particular supernatural light? From understanding that the Lord is talking about Mercy, for instance, as a general reality of the Gospel, to understanding that He is asking me to reconcile with a specific person?

Should I just continue to re-read the parts of the texts that now talk to me and wait until Jesus clarifies His request? It is most probable that nothing will happen because if this is done (i.e. switching to a more receptive attitude) we stop our collaboration with the Lord, stop showing our will.

It is as if the Lord needed a bit of encouragement to dare enter deeper within our being and point out the area He wants to heal. Lectio Divina – like any serious prayer – is an interaction between two beings, God and us, who each has his free will and is supposed to use it. If one stops showing his will and desire, it blocks the process! It is as if two persons were supposed to shake hands and one extended his hand to the mid-distance between them and the other, after having started to extend his hand, withdrew it before reaching the mid-distance. The two hands won’t meet, and in our case they won’t continue to work together - it is as if one ceased to collaborate!

The Lord will not continue to enter within us, because we are not allowing Him to do so! We are receptive, but this receptivity is passive and seems to have abandoned the aim of manifesting his own will. It is as if somebody went to see the doctor saying that he is wounded and happened to stop in the middle of the process of taking off his clothes to show the wound! How would the doctor then see the wound and apply the appropriate medicine to it? Will the doctor apply force and he himself remove the patient’s clothes? Not really! He will respect the reluctance of the patient to go further! This is in fact what is really happening! We stop in the middle of the process, thinking that by becoming more “receptive” we are really doing the right thing!

On the contrary, the desire and the intensity of the begging should increase! Not grabbing the word of God (say: Mercy) and directing it in our own way, but by directing our humble requests, face to face with the Word of God, in the right direction, namely, towards our will which is sick – in the direction of incarnation of that will.

Digging Deeper

It is by digging deeper within ourselves that we can open the way in us for the Word of God to come down, to continue its journey until it reaches the junction between the mind and the will! The word of God is supposed to point out in a certain area in our will what needs to be healed, changed and transformed on a particular day.

The temptation, however, is to unconsciously take a more spiritually comfortable attitude that will jeopardise the continuation of the descent of the Word of God in us toward our will.

Jesus himself said to the Pharisees: “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick” (Luke 5:31, Matthew 9:12; Mark 2:17). He warned the Pharisees by saying: the persons who think they are doing well, don’t need Him. And here is the essential question that the practice of Lectio Divina reminds us of on a daily basis: are you spiritually healthy? Are you doing well? Are you ill? Are you blind? Often our attitude, or if you prefer the spirit in which we practise Lectio Divina, seems to say that yes, we are fine. This is the big risk we run when we practise Lectio Divina in a rather half-hearted way.

By faith, out of the mysterious and deep light of faith, we know that since God is God, pure, holy, immense, there must be in us (compared to Him) some dark area, some wounds that need healing, some things that need change. But we don’t see them yet! While we have this general light telling us that the will of God for us today for instance is “Mercy”, we don’t see how it applies in us! Jesus will not force himself on us, showing us what He wants to change! Faith tells us that some area in us needs healing and needs to learn mercy, needs to soften and be more forgiving, and welcoming, but we don’t know how and toward whom! Faith, true faith, tells us that we are blind; faith, true faith is pushing us in a renewed way today, out of our comfort zone, telling us that we are not fine, that we need Jesus!

We shift our attitude, from an attitude of sufficiency, to an attitude of need, dependency and indigence. We accept true vulnerability, the need for divine help and true change.

We can humble ourselves by switching our attitude from the Pharisee’s attitude (one who feels he is really fine and doesn’t really need anything in particular right now from God), to the attitude of the Publican, who has come face to face with his true self, devoid of lies, welcoming God’s light, as crude and harsh as it can be, because he knows that this is the source of possible healing. We can switch attitude, from the person who doesn’t need a doctor to the person who is in urgent and vital need of a doctor and for healing, from the self-satisfied Pharisee to the spiritually poor Publican who counts on God’s mercy.

Who begged for his life? The blind man in the Gospel. It was vital for him!

When I continue my Lectio Divina, what is my attitude? Am I focusing on my healer, Jesus, or I am just relaxing and spending some quality time with God? Am I dealing with the text, trying to figure out some message that is for me, or am I hardly able to bear my state and am asking for the mercy of God, for his healing and to show me my real illness!

Once the blind mean sees, he sees his own defect, his own lack, the space in him for Jesus.

Faith tells me that despite all the progress I might have made, I am still in need of starting today anew, and that I am a really blind person, a really ill person in need of Jesus!

This is the real question Lectio Divina pushes me to ask every day: am I in need of Jesus today or are we just nice buddies? Or a comfortable worshiper? Or just a scrupulous member of the faith who has to fulfil some sort of prayer routine just to feel that all is well?

The general help of the grace of God puts a switch into our hands every day, so we can move from the Pharisee attitude to the Publican attitude.

“To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 18:9-14)

Humbling oneself is really in the hands of each human being! It is the heart of the art of spiritual life. We all need to learn this art!

“many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first” (Mathew 19:30; 20:16)

Humble yourself before God and He will fill your heart. It is in your hands, within your capability, it is your decision! Gathering together your energy every day, pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, this is within your capability, within your means.

Lord Jesus, show us the way to truly humble ourselves. Our Lady, help us and show us how we should even beg more once we start to see the supernatural light of God; open the way in us for the Word of God, to beg our Doctor to show us our wound by opening all our being without any condition or restriction. Show us O Mary, the journey into ourselves, the journey of descent, humbling ourselves, creating a greater space within ourselves for Jesus’ vital healing! Show us Our Lady how to renew it every day.

Remember, there are many passages in the Scriptures which give us the indication of the necessity to humble ourselves in order to receive the Grace of God, i.e. the particular help of the Grace of God, which is the personal and direct intervention of the Holy Spirit in us: 

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.” (1 Peter 5:6)

“For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Matthew 23:12 and see Luke 14:11).

“He has brought down rulers from their thrones, but has exalted the humble.” (Luke 1:52)

“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.” (James 4:10)

“But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."” (James 4:6)

“This is what the Lord GOD says: 'Remove the turban, and take off the crown. Things will not remain as they are: Exalt the lowly and bring low the exalted.” (Ez 21:26)

“You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.” (Ps 51:16-17)

151: Soothing Spiritual Fanaticism

In this post I do not claim to offer a full spiritual or psychological analysis of religious fanaticism. I wish I could. I am not an expert on the subject. But in the spiritual realm, there are analytical elements that can be added to the normal elements dealing with fanaticism. It is some of these points, rather, that I would like to share, that require us to pause, ponder and think, for in essence we all in one way or another are very keen on certain things in life, and this for many reasons (i.e. freedom for instance... Remember the May 1968 French saying: 'it is forbidden to forbid').

Here I will be trying to understand and analyse the mechanism behind 'christian fanaticism'. My interest, moreover, is not in what other religions think on this issue as I believe in leaving each to his own.

The little Pharisee in us

First and foremost, some might be tempted to think that they are not fanatical, that they are cool, open minded,... That is all well and good. But one important fact in the Gospel, it must be remembered, is striking: the presence of the Pharisees. They are amongst the most heavily criticised people in the Gospel. This should surprise us. They are, after all, a group of followers within the Jewish faith (and many will become Christians), rather akin to an elite group, of the purest amongst the pure: the word "Pharisee" in fact means "chosen". What is striking is that the Gospel - which is written for us and not for those Jews who remained in the Jewish faith - criticises them quite strongly.

When we read the Gospel, the temptation is to keep our distance from this criticism and say that it is not addressed to us, but rather to the Pharisees, remarking: "look how awful there were". However, in fact the Gospel is inspired by the Holy Spirit and written for us. So why are the Pharisees mentioned? The reason is simple: inside of every human being following Jesus there is a secret little (or bigger) Pharisee, who often escapes from our grasp.

This in fact affects the depths of the human soul and the religious attitude: whenever we are presented with a desirable object engendering possible worship, we have deep inside of us some mysterious mechanism that triggers behaviour quite similar to that of the Pharisee. It is in fact a mode of behaviour common to all human beings, and not just to some Jews living in Jesus' time. One can be perfectly Christian and yet have the attitudes and ways of a Pharisee.

It is worth bearing in mind, therefore, that all criticism (constructive and positive criticism) that we find in the Gospel about the Pharisees is very strong medicine that is being given to all of us, and more precisely to that hidden Pharisee in us.

That the Pharisee is always well-intentioned is important to remember! But this is not enough. Although he wants to defend the purity of faith, at the end of the day, the means he uses are not the right ones. In this light one cannot refrain from thinking of the parable Jesus recounts, which applies most significantly to the Pharisee:

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye." (Matthew 7:3-5)

Jesus was not displeased by the zeal of the person he was blaming. Rather He encourages the person to take part in the sanctification of his brothers. Jesus points to the "means" used ('you will see clearly [how] to remove'): in other words, how do I help my brother? This observation, I feel, is rather pertinent, for the result is: "then you will see clearly [how] to remove"... It seems that the overzealous behaviour shown here is rather based on the 'old man' in us than the 'new man'. If the old heart of stone is removed, and a new humble and meek heart is transplanted, then the Spirit of God will be able to move the person to see more clearly and really help his brother.

"Hypocrisy" and "double standards" seem to be the characteristics of this type of mentality. A greater importance is given to external things (the outside of the cup (Matthew 23)) over internal things (the inside of it). But above and beyond this, thank the Lord, is God who sees only the heart of our brothers, and therefore only He can be the Judge because He sees the truth therein and can assess its worth.

I can consequently have great "fun" re-reading the best Bible-thumping chapters ever written, allowing the Light of God to shine in me, trying to fish out and corner that little escaping naughty pharisee: chapter 23 in St Matthew. As a result then when, for example, I am sitting close to a person whose body odour is offensive, the thought can be nourished in me that my sins smell exceedingly more in the eyes (rather in the 'nose') of God than the smell coming from this person. I myself am merely annoyed by this smell, while the truth is that it is God who is hugely offended by my sins. In this way my sins will have a powerful impact on me. This will calm down my hypocrisy and bring me to spiritual realism.

The mechanism of fanaticism

I would like to suggest a possible route to the birth of some types of catholic spiritual fanaticism.

The world we live in is quite chaotic, confusing and psychologically impoverishing. Instead of elevating us, giving us a sense of security, unifying our life around God's Presence amongst us, it offers us few values and references, and all that we find is unpredictability and random behaviour. This reality pushes us to go on a Quest for the Truth, a search for things more stable and long lasting and for a sense of security and peace. We search for our 'Messiah'.

As we journey on this quest, we might come across a more alive Christianity, a renewed discovery of Catholicism, and be overwhelmed by some graces that God gives us. The initial lack of order in our life, psychological instability, sense of loss, fear and weakness will then start to diminish because of the action of the Grace of God.

The initial Graces we receive give us the peace we were earnestly longing for. But what happens is that since we are still beginners, these graces fall into the hands of the ' old man'. Thus we receive them and understand them in a very base human way that prevents us from treating God, the Truth, for who He is. There is an unconscious deviation that occurs in us. Good intentions are always present. But they are not enough!! One can inflict a lot of damage with good intentions, starting with oneself!

When Peter says to the Lord, when was announcing that He will suffer, die and rise: "no never"... who was talking here? The Old Man in Peter. When Peter says that he will follow Jesus despite Jesus warning that he cannot do so, who is speaking here? When Peter cuts the ear of the guard, who is acting here? The Old Man in Peter!

It is not enough to have the New Wine, i.e. Jesus in our life. We also need the Old Wineskin to be transformed, purified, changed, into the New Wineskin!

When Jesus performed miracles, fed the crowds, stopped the wind, healed all illnesses, what was people's reaction? He greatly resembled a Political Messiah, with all the necessary solutions : food, clothes, shelter, and peace! They wanted to make him a King! The Messiah King! But who is reacting in them here? The Old Man. How does he react? According to the base human way.

The 'Pearl', the 'New wine' is being given to swine: the old skin. This will not work, it will not bear fruit.

It is worth stressing once more that Jesus is not questioning people's zeal. Yet, it is not because we have zeal that validates the use of baser human means. Emphatically not! When God's Graces fall into soiled hands, old hearts of stone, old skins, they become Idols - i.e. they are unconsciously worshipped like God! Our attachment to them is true spiritual idolatry, where importance is given to what we have understood, what we have felt, and not to God himself, the Giver.

The Old Heart tends to accelerate, rushing to conclusions, to interpret according to human values, hopes and desire. One light, one grace, is now given prominence according to the desire of the moment, the part becomes the whole. One light is transformed into an entire doctrine or conviction. We start to focus on things that matter to the Old Man in us... but in fact they are only a part rather than the whole of theTruth. We rush on, not wanting to wait until all the Truth is revealed to us, until the entire picture is painted before our inner eye. The attachment to such things is already the seed of fanaticism.

In essence, it becomes evident that Graces which have been undermined by selfish/subjective needs, can generate fanaticism, and lead us astray from God's ways.

Strangely, after having been 'poor', for a long time, in the spiritual sense, as we search for the Truth, any crumb of light that enters into our perception becomes the object of our new born fanaticism. If any person comes and challenges us, or touches this newly received part of the Truth, we become very confrontational, aggressive and insistent. Our approach becomes radical and fundamentalist. We build up in our mind the convictions we want, with the little we have, and totally disregard the different thinking or behaviour of anyone else.

Ironically, deep inside of us, we are unaware that our thinking and emotions are dominated by fear: the fear of losing our grip on the little crumb of light which has fallen into our hands, and which has become our "god". There is a subtle but vibrant idolatry at work here. A crumb of the Truth now becomes all the Truth. Now, into the bargain, we became very zealous about it.

Total blindness, total lack of humility! Who can save us? Nobody. Why? Spiritual pride has already taken root in us and it is impossible to convince a person who has spiritual pride.

A person with common human earthly pride is open to redemption, because an appeal can be entertained when it emanates from a higher point of view or perspective: an established spiritual life, God. But if you are dealing with a spiritually proud person, this is simply a dead-end! In fact this person actually claims to spiritual knowledge!

Fear, lack of full growth, a degree of ignorance, generate fanaticism and the dogmatic self-righteous insistence that comes with it. A zeal that does not emanate from God, for God is humble and meek.

Fear of losing what was gained when the light was experienced is enough to give him or her grounds for "certainty".

All this shows a lack of growth. A fragmented and reduced approach to the real God, the real Jesus, the real Gospel. It illustrates a very superficial understanding of Christianity, and quite a serious degree of spiritual blindness. "...you said, you see, therefore your sins remain" said Jesus to the Pharisees toward the end of Chapter 9 in St John's Gospel.

More significant even than this is to know that all fanaticism bears a degree of heresy in it, because one choses part of the Truth and not all of it. The challenge of doing the latter - choosing all the Truth - is infinitely harder, because grasping the whole Truth engenders quite a different way of behaving, and is necessary. It is a humble and meek way, and is founded on gratitude for the generosity and mercy shown by the Lord.

NB If you want to read about Spiritual Sins, read the First book of “The Dark Night of the Spirit" of St John of the Cross (Chapters 1-7), where the author addresses the seven spiritual capital sins: a reflection of the usual seven capital sins transposed onto the Spiritual Realm: spiritual greed, spiritual gluttony, spiritual lust, spiritual pride, spiritual laziness, spiritual jealousy,... All momentous sins!

The healing process

The needed purity

If a fanatic has a little seed of humility and repentance, he or she can find a way to heal and grow spiritually.

As a first step it is important to trust God and entrust ourselves to Him. This attitude is essential. It comprises a sincere wide and deep act of Faith in God. We are not the managers of our Spiritual Life, we did not call God, we do not deserve even one of His innumerable Graces. Everything flows from His immense Mercy, calling us to follow him. He Called us, it is not we who called Him.

It is God who knows that the greatest part of our being still needs to be purified and changed; that the Old Man is still very alive in us; that a big part of our make-up is still raw material. The work is one of transformation, of daily effort, of daily steps to take, of daily growth. Therefore it is extremely advisable, everyday, to place into the hands of God one end of a figurative woollen ball by concentrating on doing Lectio Divina as well as possible. If, everyday, we repeatedly ask Him to hold one end of the thread, if, everyday, we put it back into His Hands, He will finally possess the entire ball in his hands, but more importantly, the thread will be absorbed by Him to subsequently become the means of transforming us.

It is important to realise that spiritual life is like human growth: it takes years to become an adult. It takes years for a small seed to become a big tree! This means that we should not cease trying to achieve our first victories, but consider that everyday there will be a battle, and that we need to win it. We should not be satisfied with a few crumbs but aim for the abundant Table of Food God has ready and waiting for us. This means that patience, resilience and perseverance are the unavoidable keys to success in this situation.

It must also be kept to the forefront of our thinking that rushing, jumping to conclusions, taking short cuts over important steps, forgetting the daily spiritual realism, make us go astray.

Every day entails its own effort, pain, and growth. Spiritual realism dictates that 'today' is what matters the most. It is not beneficial at all to discard the necessary steps. Neither is it beneficial to look behind, or be attached to the "old edifice". Let it fall if it has to - and unavoidably it has to!

It is important as well not to mix and confuse one light with the Uncreated Light, Jesus himself, and to forget also the thousands of other lights the Lord wants to send us. As mentioned before, it is important to avoid transforming a grace we have received into an idol... into a "god". Only God is God, and anything created that falls into the narrow space of our mind cannot be idolised. God is infinitely wider that our little brain and understanding. One truth calls for another truth until the Truth is formed, until the whole picture of the Truth is formed. And remember, the Truth is not a theory, it is a person: Jesus.

Jesus, the Good Shepherd

It is also useful to remember that fanaticism is fiercely insistent. On the other hand Jesus was meek and humble. He said to the Samaritan Lady (St John chapter 4): 'I am thirsty.' He did not start by saying: 'you have the wrong religion, you are an adulteress,...' Conquering others for Christ requires a lot of delicacy and forethought as well as patience, both of which constitute a purer form of Love.

The Church, in the final analysis, provides a better and more balanced judgement. Why try to out run the Church? Why run in a different direction to the Church? Why claim that the Church makes various assertions when it is you who make them, and do so in your own way? After all, who gave you permission to do so? What are your credentials?

It is of the utmost importance to believe in the Church. "To Believe" is not to stop at what we see. It is to go deeper, with pure intentions, to find Jesus and the Holy Spirit instead of seeking out trouble! St Francis of Assisi confessed to a known adulterous Priest. Why? To show us how his faith was stronger than appearances, that he saw and believed in the sacred Priesthood of this Priest! Do we have such faith?

It is important, also, to have recourse to the deposit of God's Wisdom which the Church holds in trust. Submitting to the Holy Spirit who is alive in the Church, who speaks through the Church and in the Church is a true wise choice. Thus it is beneficial to have recourse to the Church for solid doctrine in order to find in her, God. Likewise it is always very good to humbly consult God through his Priests, such behaviour, in fact, being endorsed by St John of the Cross who says that God loves this way of acting.

As a final reminder, let us remember that the Lord did not blame us for wanting to remove the speck from the eyes of our brothers, but He stressed the fact that we need to learn how do it: by removing first the beam in our own eye! The Lords wants us to really learn what is true love, true Mercy, true compassion, so we are more qualified to remove the speck from our brothers' eyes, not with aggressive fanaticism, but with peaceful, meek, compassionate Mercy.