Japan, Lolín Menéndez rscj
The interior life and spirituality are directly related to each other. In the Constitutions of the Society of the Sacred Heart, those approved in 1815 and later on revised in 1982, we find sections about the relationship between the interior life and spirituality.
“The Spirit of the Society is essentially based upon prayer and the interior life …” Abridged Plan 5 (1815) and Prayer,17 (1982). Those who wrote the Constitutions of 1982 cited this sentence directly from the original Constitutions in order to emphasize that our spirituality depends essentially on our interior life.
Then, how is this interior life to be nurtured? “Prayer, the contemplative outlook on the world, union with Christ in daily living makes us grow in the interior life.” (Constitutions of 1982, 23)
We could say that the contemplative outlook on the world and union with Christ in daily living are prayer itself. So, if our prayer life is healthy, the other two will flow from it naturally. The basis of our prayer is in “contemplating Jesus, we learn from His attitude and responses how, in all our relationships, to witness to the liberating power of His love” (Constitutions of 1982, 17) and that “we apply ourselves to study His interior dispositions in order to unite and conform ourselves to them”. (Constitutions of 1815, Abridged Plan) Does it mean to learn Jesus’ attitudes and responses, that is, His interior dispositions? Jesus followed the will of Father and acted in love. Based on His interior dispositions, we live with his “contemplative outlook on the world”. This means that we “find God in all things”. In people’s suffering, and unjust situations, and in people’s joy and daily living, we try to “center our life in the Heart of Jesus” (Constitutions of 1982, 103). This contemplative outlook impels us to act in the place where we are living and in order to act, we need to unite ourselves with Christ in daily life. As the document of General Chapter said, “our lives are the strongest expression of our spirituality” (General Chapter 2000, p.38)
I cited those sections from the Constitutions and the document of General Chapter 2000 about the connection between the interior life and spirituality. This connection between then is essential to our spirituality. However, my concern is how to relate our prayer to our lives, our reality, although we are living a life based on prayer and the desire to be united and conformed to the Heart of Jesus. If “we could learn from Jesus’ attitudes and responses” (Const. of 1982, 17), we would “witness to the liberating power of His love”( Const. 1982, 17). We would live in community where this love and prayer are shared. But, sometimes, our community life can be the source of suffering, although we are trying to live an interior life which is based on a deep and intimate relationship with Christ. Or, after an 8-day retreat, we have a new insight and we are happy. Many say that they soon forget that insight on return to daily life. I have had the same experience. I wonder what the effect of it and an 8-day retreat really is. Does the retreat change my life? The encounter with Jesus during a retreat has its influence on daily life. That makes me wonder what the connection between prayer and life really is.
Anthony DeMello SJ once said that “meditating on and imitating externally the behavior of Jesus is no help. It is not a question of imitating Christ, it’s a question of becoming what Christ was. It is a question of becoming Christ, becoming aware, understanding what’s going on within you”. (Awareness, p.156) According to the Constitutions of 1982, “Becoming Christ” means “to learn His attitudes and his responses”. What de Mello said is exactly what the Constitutions say. But, he added, that I need to become aware and to understand what’s going on within me. Unless in my interior life I am aware of what’s going on within me, prayer won’t influence my daily life.
I also want to look at the psychological aspect, because our interior life is closely related to our psychology. For example, experiences of loneliness influence prayer. What happens in me when I am lonely? At that time, I “lam loneliness” itself. But, is it my true identity, “loneliness”? No, isn’t. To feel lonely was the situation at that time. Coming home, loneliness disappears. It does not last for a long time. But, at that time, loneliness fills. One is not aware of the love of Jesus, a love more precious than anything. One clings to feelings. In such a situation, I wonder whether the attitudes and responses of Jesus have been truly learnt, what Jesus experienced at times of loneliness among people.
The interior life is deeply connected to spirituality, but I cannot say that if someone has an interior life, she or he is necessarily living it in daily life. The connection between the interior life and reality is important. The interior life cannot influence our daily life without this awareness. The interior life is intimately related to awareness. I can tell Christ in my prayer that I am suffering. I can pray. But I cannot liberate myself from this suffering. Why? Although I pray, I am not aware of what was going on inside me. When, later on one feels “risen”, that doesn’t mean that there was no longer suffering. It means to be aware that sufferings cannot touch the true me, the “me” loved by God.
Imagine that you experienced a trauma, in your childhood. You may think that your trauma was already been, but it hasn’t healed and remains deeply rested in your deep subconscious. What happens? The trauma will reappear on some occasion when you encounter a similar situation. You don’t realize that this trauma is still alive in you and when occasion arises, you will become aggressive towards other people. Unless you are aware of how your sad memories work in you, they will eventually surface even though you may pray deeply. So, the interior life, spirituality and reality are all closely related to each other.
I would like to take an example from the life of St. Madeleine Sophie. Her life, the interior life, spirituality and reality were truly integrated. Sophie’s childhood doesn’t seem to have been happy. The French Revolution was at its peak. The church was infected with Jansenism. Her brother Louis, who very strict with her, followed Jansenistic tendencies in Sophie’s formation. As a result, she believed that she could not experience joy without suffering. She suffered very much and Louis’ treatment distorted her faith and caused trauma. But, later on Louis bought a picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This picture was put on the wall of the Barat home and the family prayed before it. Something happened in Sophie. She encountered the love of Sacred Heart of Jesus. As Sophie grew older, she was still intimidated by Louis and those around her could do nothing. Although she suffered and was traumatized her interior life, in which she experienced the love of the Heart of Jesus, kept her peaceful, and she in turn never tried to dominate other people.
Sophie’s spirituality was based on her prayer and her interior life. In her prayer, in her contemplation of Jesus, she “learned His attitude and responses”. That is why she responded in love and gentleness to the negative actions of persons around her. Sophie “witnessed to the liberating power of His love”. In Sophie’s response, she was able to unite and conform herself to the interior dispositions of the Heart of Jesus. That is, her interior life was intimately related to reality.
If our prayer life is healthy, our interior life, spirituality and daily reality will be closely intertwined.
From a talk given at the workshop on Asian Spirituality, Taipei, August 2006
Toshiko Takahashi rscj
Province of Japan
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