Care of the soul – search for the sacred in a time of Coronavirus 2020
Gerard Spillane is a retired priest of the Archdiocese of Melbourne.
At the present time many people are struggling to locate the sacred in their lives for a host of reasons, perhaps none more so than the world being confronted with a serious and deadly pandemic. Thomas Moore, a spiritual writer and therapist wrote in 1992 that the great malady of the 20th. Century was ‘loss of soul’. [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)] If we add to that, that the malady of the 21st Century is the superficiality of modern life, we may find some answers for the dysfunctions that confront people today. The impact of the present pandemic has led to confusion, uncertainty and a malaise as to what the future holds for communities. Society has been forced to adapt to a different way of life: to being confined and working from home, restricted travel arrangements, shopping, contact with family and friends, and limited access to churches and religious practice.
What has led to this loss of soul or search for the sacred? Some social scientists suggest a lack of compelling religious explanations for the cosmos or as Pope Francis reminds us in Laudato Si appreciation of God’s gift of creation, that religion has little or no place in the public forum and should remain a private affair, worldly materialism and consumerism, the disconnection of people from family and community, and the frenetic pace of life and addiction to social media.
Our life-style distracts us from the sacred. Whether you agree or not with the above many people are left with the feeling that they are missing something, a spiritual centre that could lend direction and vitality to their lives. (K Pargament, Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy p.246) For some the solution is to seek therapy because their problems relate to depression that grows out of spiritual emptiness, anxiety due to feelings of an inauthentic way of life, and the various ‘isms’ of the false gods of consumerism, workaholism, narcissism, nihilism, hedonism, alcoholism etc.
People often say they are spiritual but not religious which acknowledges that spirituality is very much a part of their personhood, but due to the above ‘isms’ many have lost touch with their soul or feel soulless. How to reconnect with their sacred core, the spiritual centre which gives them meaning and a way to provide direction and coherence in life? Some have found a solution in Mindfulness, a generic term that refers to various forms of relaxation, chilling out, wellness, and exercises in meditation such as yoga. Mindfulness refers to a psychological state of awareness of the present moment of thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations. Such pursuits may well be helpful but they fall short of what Pargament calls the search for the sacred.
This search embraces a desire for the transcendent, of a deep personal relationship with God as expressed in various, religious traditions. Two areas that facilitate this spiritual experience are prayer and meditation, particularly in the Christian tradition as founded in Monasticism of St. Benedict. Such spiritual practices, as well as the use of ritual, are pathways to one’s deep desire for the transformative presence of a loving God.
Another writer, Gerald May, medical practitioner and therapist, captures this spirit of a deeper relationship with God when he lists the following five qualities or characteristics for a more integrated and wholesome life. They are: honesty, dignity, community, responsibility, and simplicity. As well as accentuating the individuals’ desire for these qualities, they focus as well on the needs within society, particularly the central one of community.
It’s worth quoting May when he puts this in a faith context. He says, The journey we take, if it is to be authentic, cannot be a private thing between ourselves and God; we are called not only to love God above all else, but to love our companions as our very selves. He then elaborates by noting that the power of God’s grace is nowhere as brilliant nor as mystical as in communities of faith. Its power includes not just love that comes from people and through people, but love that pours forth among people, as if through the very spaces between one person and the next. Just to be in such an atmosphere is to be bathed in healing power. (Addiction and Grace, pp.172/173)
Given the fears surrounding the present pandemic and the dysfunctionality of life in society, it is sobering to acknowledge such thoughts about the faith community that gathers in churches, mosques and synagogues to pray and worship a loving God. The Christian tradition is for the faith community to worship as one on the Lord’s Day of the Resurrection, to give thanks to God and support one another in prayer. For Catholics, the celebration of the Eucharist is the very core of this communal journey of faith to be transformed by the grace of God, as St. Paul constantly reminds us in his Epistles. Perhaps a last word from Gerald May for those who have become disillusioned with the Sunday gathering for all sorts of reasons: One of the powers of the faith community is its capacity to provide a lasting steadiness through all the waverings of its individual members. When I cannot pray, the prayer of countless others goes on … For some, an even greater power comes through sacramental rites of the faith community. (p.174)[/s2If]
