Human/Spiritual Integration

There is great woundedness among us in the times in which we live. And, so, there is a danger, as Pope St. John Paull II tells us, of tending toward either over-spiritualizing OR giving into the flesh in a disordered way. He said there is a dualism among some Catholics, where we can lack a human/spiritual integration. We can tend toward angelism – spirit good, body bad; or animalism – if it feels good do it. And, in either extreme, we lack the integration spoken of by St. Paul of our call to be “transformed” from within.

Pope Benedict XVI continued to reiterate St. John Paul II’s TOB teaching:

“Eros, at its deepest level, is the desire within us that ‘seeks God.’”

Raniero Cantalamessa explains further:

“In the world we find eros without agape; among believers we often find agape without eros.” The former “is a body without a soul” The latter— agape without eros—“ is a soul without a body”; it’s a “cold love” in which “the component linked to affectivity and the heart is systematically denied or repressed.”

Jesus and Mary were perfectly integrated humanly and spiritually. They knew deeply Their dignity and identity as “children of God.” We on the other hand, all grew up with imperfect parents to varying degrees; and often we can find ourselves lacking in our openness and receptivity to God’s unconditional love and acceptance of us; when we find ourselves in those rooms of woundedness in our hearts.

The danger comes, for us as religious and priests, when we enter the consecrated life without first having contentment and security in who we are as “children of God”. We may have head knowledge; but if we haven’t opened our hearts to receive this knowledge, we lack a solid foundation upon which to build our espousal relationship with God (and His Church for Priests.)

And this is where things come out side-ways. We then need to find our identity and security in something other: what others think of us, how successful we can be, material pleasures, disordered relationships, sexual promiscuity, alcoholism, food, WHAT WE DO, and the list goes on.

But, there is great hope for one who finds them self in this category… and many of us probably do to one degree or another; though some to a much greater degree if there has been a lack of emotional bonding and affirmation in our earlier formative years (See Dr. Bob Schuchts -JPII Healing Center, or Suzanne Baars – Deprivation Neurosis).

If we find ourselves stuck in our spiritual lives, not moving forward, this is a sign that Jesus is knocking at a room in our heart that He wants to come into. But, we are having a hard time hearing Him and inviting Him in if we escape into any of our disordered or worldly ways.

So often we hear in the spiritual life that a primary virtue is humility; that it is the root virtue that allows for all the others to flourish. Humility is truth. We must be open and honest with ourselves and with God about our struggles, longings, aches and desires in life… be they rightly ordered or disordered. Jesus cannot come into those rooms and areas in our hearts and lives where we are in need of His redeeming graces, light and truth, unless we invite Him in. We must be real and vulnerable with Him about who we are. He already knows, but we need to know that He knows, and commune with Him about it. And, how powerful the Sacramental life becomes when our hearts are disposed to receive Him fully into those rooms in which we find ourselves most needy, struggling or ashamed.

“Oh that you may suck fully of the milk of her comfort… that you may nurse with delight at her abundant breasts… When you see this your hearts will rejoice, and your bodies flourish like the grass!”

St. Bernard of Clairvaux and Christ nursing at the breast of Mary/Mother Church.

Are we who are consecrated to God, and called to profound communion with Him, allowing ourselves to be still enough to receive His nourishing love and grace?

We are being called to “suck fully” of the nourishing milk of the Holy Spirit that flows forth from Mother Church and the spiritual breasts of our Holy Mother. May we have the grace to go beyond sexualizing this image, to enter into the profound mystical graces available as we transcend the natural to the supernatural senses.

How can we nourish others if we are not first nourished ourselves?

May we all heed St. Peter’s call:

“Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation; for you have tasted the kindness of the Lord,” (1Pet 2:2).

Let us nurse at the BREAST OF GOD, as we enter deeply into the the Sacramental life of the Church; where our Eucharistic Lord is the nipple with which we bond deeply, and the Holy Spirit is the milk which fills and nourishes us. And, Mary is the perfect Mother who reflects to us the maternal aspect of God’s infinite love.