I recently succumbed yet again to one of Amazon's irresistible book offers. Having a Kindle is downright dangerous -- it allows us to carry around constantly a world-class library. Most of the time, especially when traveling, I love having unlimited reading options at my fingertips -- without having to have a separate suitcase of books. During a 10-hour transatlantic crossing, I am able to access a variety of reading material, from the Complete Works of the Fathers of the Church to the latest murder mystery, with the press of a button. No chance of boredom here!
One of the downsides of unlimited choice, however, is that occasionally I will choose the wrong book and unknowingly wade into its depths before realizing my mistake. My latest mystery choice was something called The Woman in Our House by Andrew Hart. An Alfred Hitchcock-type of suspense novel, it's about a woman who hires herself out on false pretense as a live-in nanny. Unfortunately, she is actually a psychopath who thrives on hurting others. Of course, as I got attached to the innocent host family of mother, father and two small children, I read my way into suspense and fear. I found that I could read only a few pages at a time and then would have to switch over into spiritual reading to restore my balance and peace -- especially before turning off the light at night. My mother would always tell me that the last thing we think about at night is the first thing we think about in the morning -- and I certainly did not want to wake up in fear!
Padre Pio once said, "I shudder to think about the harm done to souls by a lack of spiritual reading!" I was beginning to realize as I put this book down each time the effect it was having on my soul. I could feel the downward pull it was having on my peace and joy -- and yet, I was intrigued by the story and wanted to know how it ended. Unfortunately, before I could get the to end, I had to read even more danger and suspense-- even more horror!
Last night, before going to sleep, I turned to my antidote reading called Bearing God: The Life and Works of St. Ignatius of Antioch, The God-Bearer by Andrew Stephen Damick. What a wonderful entrance to the thought and writing of St. Ignatius, who wrote to the churches of Asia Minor as he was being taken to Rome to be devoured by wild beasts! St. Ignatius was a disciple of St. John the Evangelist. In fact, it is believed that Ignatius was ordained as bishop of Antioch by St. Peter himself! It is sooooo good to read the writings of the earliest Fathers of the Church, to see what emphasis they put upon the practice of the early church.
In the section I was reading last night, Damick was unfolding Ignatius' emphasis on the Incarnation -- Jesus' actual humanity--- against the Docetists-- who believed in the divinity of Jesus, but not His humanity. Ignatius insists that if Jesus is not truly man, then how can we be clothed in Him, putting Him on in baptism (Ga. 3:27)? According to Ignatius, without the real union of both the divinity and the humanity of Jesus Christ, there is no point in being Christian. That same union is also to be found in Christians and in everything they do!
For Ignatius, the same principle of the Incarnation extends also to the Eucharist -- the union of the physical with the divine. The Protestant Reformation removed belief in the Eucharist to a symbol, rather than a reality. They preferred "four bare walls and a sermon" to belief in the holiness of the Eucharist -- the union of physical and divine. Traditional Christians believe in the union of the uncreated God with the created world, as the Incarnation of Jesus Christ present in the Eucharist. The Incarnation was the beginning of the redemption of the created world. The union of God and man would henceforth be accessible to every one of us in the Eucharist.
The Son of God giving us His incarnate flesh and blood to eat and drink would give us DIRECT ACCESS to His saving divinity. Jesus told Philip that he would see the Son of Man as Jacob's ladder -- with the angels ascending and descending upon Him. What does this mean except that through His humanity, we have direct access to God Himself, who comes to us in the Person of the Son of Man?
Ignatius uses his teacher and mentor's theology (St. John the Apostle) in his writings. Even though John's Gospel may have been written too late for Ignatius' reading, it is possible and probable that Ignatius heard about the words of Christ himself from John:
I am the bread of life.... This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die....the bread that I shall give is my flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world....He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father has sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of me (Jn. 6).
Without quoting Jesus directly, Ignatius echoes these words when he refers to Jesus' Body and Blood as food and drink -- the "medicine of immortality."
As I turned to Ignatius last night for rebuilding and strength after feeling my energy draining away from definitely "nonspiritual" reading, I found peace, joy, and renewal flowing into me. I had been to Mass and Communion that morning, and when I read "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in Me, and I in him," I realized that fear, worry, and anxiety could find no place in me because I now live in Jesus, and He makes His home in me. I was able to turn off the light and sleep soundly, waking this morning refreshed and at peace!
Along with Padre Pio, I have to wonder how people survive this world without spiritual reading.
No comments:
Post a Comment