HOPEFUL CATHOLICS

WHAT IS METAPHYSICS ANYWAY? The Greek word “physica” means 'what is natural', 'what can be observed and measured'. Generally it is the physical world and the exploing of the physical world. It is the realm of science . Science suggests a theory, experiments with it, and aims to arrive at scientific facts - something that is proven to be true. An example that is giving paracetamol to people with a headache and it healing them. These facts which have been proved then give rise to new theories which need to be tested, and so scientific knowledge grows. We know a lot of facts, and we have some pretty impressive theories that people are working on, like cures for cancer and Einstein’s theory of relativity. The Greeks had another word, "meta", meaning "above and beyond" which they added to the word “physica” to describe thinking about the principles which govern all human thought and activity including how scientific research is carried out. They called this branch of study “Metaphysics” . This is the realm of principles which are not observable, and need to be assumed. Simply put, it is the overall view of things which each one of us adopts. These can be described as “world-views”. There are many of them like the way cynics think everything is meaningless, or sceptics think you can’t trust anything. There is definitely a Christian World-view. THE Christian WORLD-VIEW I listened to a discussion between Dr Jordan Peterson the psychiatrist and thinker and Dr Christopher Dawkins the famous atheist, in which Peterson demonstrated that the scientific endeavour arose out of the Christian world-view. He said there are certain axioms or principles underlying science. They are the following: Truth tends towards unity, it doesn’t contradict itself. There is a logical order that is intrinsic to the cosmos. That fundamental order is good. It is intelligible to human beings. Discovering that order and aligning ourselves with it makes life more abundant. Ultimately, the truth will set you free. He goes on to make the point that these axioms are religious and derive from the Judeo-Christian tradition. Otherwise, how can you account for way science emerged in Europe? Then he states the fact that this system of thought is under attack from all quarters today, which threatens the whole search for knowledge including science. Until recently, the Judeo-Christian metaphysical substrata underpinning science was intact, and enabled great advances in our universities. Now they are being questioned threatening to erode excellence. I ask, how has this happened? It is because people have taken the clothes of Christianity, and rejected the body within. Without the body the clothes become a helpless pile. Christianity does not have a body of thought and knowledge at its centre - it has the person of Christ, the incarnate word of God. The knowledge is not in our minds, but in our hearts and being. It is fundamentally a relationship, heart to heart with God, not a set of con victions . This relation leads us to the fullness of life and also of science.

LOVE v WILL POWER For years I have heard spiritual guides saying that it is our wills that are crucial in the prayer of the heart. I have to admit that I have found it difficult to make sense of this, because it sounds like muscular Christianity which I have found inadequate. I imbibed a strong moralising religion as a child, which meant learning what was right and willing myself to do it – this was especially reinforced by the image of a fearsome God who was keeping the score. The result was a sense of failure combined with frequent resolutions to do better. I know that was not true religion, which is about relating to the God who is love. What I was practicing was a throwback to Old Testament keeping of the law. I think that is what Jesus was talking about when he described John the Baptist as the greatest man born of woman, but added ‘yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he is’ . He said: ‘Since John the Baptist came, up to this present time, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence and the violent are taking it by storm’ . (Matthew 11, 11). Muscular Christianity with its stress on will power uses violence against self and even against others to take the kingdom of heaven by storm. So why do the greatest spiritual guides keep saying that the will is central? A clue lies in The Catechism of the Catholic Church’s chapter on prayer (paragraph 2563). The explanation begins with the heart: “The heart is the dwelling-place where I live. According to the Semitic (Jewish) or Biblical expression, the heart is the place ‘to which I withdraw.’ The heart is our hidden centre, beyond the grasp of our reason and of other people; only the Spirit of God can fathom the human heart and know it fully.” The Catechism’s explanation then shifts the focuses to the heart’s movement and actions beyond itself: “The heart is the place of decision , deeper than our psychic drives. It is the place of truth, where we choose life or death. It is the place of encounter, because as images of God we live through relationship: it is the place of covenant” (my underlining). I find the words ‘decision’ and ‘choose’ more helpful than ‘will’. As I spend time in silent prayer seeking the face of God, with the conscious attempt to love him and let myself be loved by him, it is the constant renewing of the decision and choice which gradually solidifies an attitude of love in my heart. Much of the time, there is no feeling or understanding of this living relationship, but, as time goes on, I am aware that that relationship is an attitude developing in my heart. That awareness rises up from my heart to my mind more and more throughout the day and night. It is like a catch of a tune springing up in the mind. But the word ‘will’ or 'will power' certainly describes the strength needed when there is temptation. I find that it is easier to resist temptation when I am aware of the Father’s love and Jesus’ closeness. It is when these are obscured that my will must operate most strongly. Usually it is not a matter of willing to do something, but rather a tenacious clinging on in the dark to the hand of God. That takes grit, in which I am often lacking, but as the relationship grows I expect my will to grow stronger. WHAT IS THE USE OF TEMPTATION? We might ask: what does temptation have to do with contemplation? Temptation is never far away from one who contemplates. The Evil One knows only too well what power for good flows from the lovers of God. He hates contemplation and tries to disrupt it whenever he can. Thankfully, God shields his lovers much of the time, but at others he permits us to be tempted. It is not that he is abandoning us then, but he is turning the Devils weapons back on his own head. Each time we overcome temptation with the help of God's grace, not only is the Devil weakened, but also our own inner self grows stronger. It is in that struggle, that we are tested and purified like gold in a furnace. When undergoing temptation it is important to remember four basic Catholic teachings. God will never allow us to be tempted beyond our strength. But often we will not appreciate what strength we have with the aid of God's grace until after struggle is over. All temptations eventually pass. Temptation is not sin. Sin is where we willingly indulge a temptation and welcome it into our souls. Then it restricts our capacity to experience God's love. In that state of deprivation we allow evil to become stronger in ourselves and the whole world. Temptations arise from virtues that are wounded and twisted. Anger, for instance, is a God-given power of our soul to remove evil with extraordinary force. When anger is diseased, that force is used to harm and hurt. The saints and spiritual teachers mean something much deeper than 'will power' when they use the word 'will'. We shall consider that in Chapter 12 in this series 'Prayer of the heart'. QUESTION How are you finding my thoughts on the prayer of the heart/contemplation? I am sure I myself only see a small part of this deepest activity of our spirit. Would you care to add something of your own thoughts and experience? Use the 'comment on this article' button below.

On the feast of the Presentation in the Temple (2 nd February), the readings of the Mass shouted one message to me, God is counter-intuitive . We read from the prophet Malachi's book which is the last in the Old Testament. He prophesied that the final age in the long story of humanity would begin when “the Lord you are seeking will suddenly enter his Temple” . Every time the Lord entered his Temple in the past it was dramatic - the arrival of the breath-taking cloud of his presence made people fall to the ground in worship. But today the Lord enters quietly as a tiny baby in his mother’s arms. The event was unnoticed except by an old man and an old woman, Simeon and Anna. Surely, the High Priest and all the ministers of the magnificent Temple should have been there for such an epoch-making occurence. No, these two humble people represented the real achievement of Israel from the time of Abraham - holiness. For all their amazing history, the Jews had only produced a small group of devout lovers of God, but, in God’s eyes that is enough to call down the Messiah. God only needed a small plot of good earth for the Word of God to leap down and sow the seed of the new age. Were King Herod and all the civic dignitaries summoned from Jerusalem to officially meet the new-born King? No, just some night-workers, shepherds from the hills around Bethlehem. How counter-intuitive is that? Horoscopes are foolishness, yet when God manifests the world’s saviour to the gentile world, it is Magicians, star-gazing writers of horoscopes that he chooses to be the representatives of the world. Fools they may be, but also earnest seekers of the truth. They are the best that a needy world can offer. You have to be earnest fools to travel hundreds of miles believing you have discovered the route in the stars. Finally, God chooses you, the least of his children, to be his dearest child! On second thought, it isn’t that God is counter-intuitive, it is us who have everything backwards. When mankind fell, what a fall we had! Thank God the resurrection is now under way. But it is holy, humble, earnest fools who will be God’s tools as he brings it about.