Recently I posted a quotation from Julian of Norwich* on Facebook:
All shall be well,
and all shall be Well,
and all manner of things shall be well.
and all manner of things shall be well.
Now Facebook is not my favorite thing, but every now and then I become ensnared by photos of animals doing hilarious, sweet, or ultra-cute things, and I continue to scroll through the pages watching for comments from friends and family. In response to this particular quotation, a friend wrote that she especially loved the story of the cat that kept Julian company in her hermitage. I had not heard that story but responded that I believed it. And my friend wrote back that she believed all stories about cats.
The result of this overall exchange was a chuckle and a brief re-connection with someone I had known professionally and warmly some years ago. Though now separated by time and distance, we were able to one again touch and smile as close friends based on our mutual love of both cats and spiritual response to the writings of a Catholic saint.
In my brief and infrequent forays into facebook, however, I have noticed a distinct division between this type of exchange and the raucous, angry, divisive type of commentary that goes on as par-for-the-course. Many people have gotten off facebook altogether because of these exchanges. In fact, just last night I heard someone comment that it is impossible even to have a conversation these days with those whose opinions differ. Immediately, one is attacked as evil, as enemy, as stupid or uncaring, if one's question indicates a minority opinion from the majority.
Normally, I will not comment on the political forum; in fact, I flee from it altogether as I would if I found myself in the midst of an angry mob. There is no sense in trying to have a discussion or conversation with those who are carrying bricks and bats and looking for something to destroy, any more than one would step into the street on the night of Kristallnacht* 1938 to discuss the actions of the Nazi troops. The one time I questioned a comment on getting rid of the electoral college, I was attacked with a volume and a venom that immediately shut me down.
In reflecting on these two fb experiences, the whole "story" of Ignatian discernment of spirits suddenly became real to me. Ignatius was a Spanish Basque knight and soldier born in 1491, who loved stories of heroism and battle, of romance and chivalry. When he was severely wounded in battle and recovering in his family castle, he looked for books to read about adventure and great deeds. All that was available to him, however, were the Bible and stories of the saints. Eventually, Ignatius began to realize that when he read stories of heroism, he was left feeling unsettled and anxious -- I think I would characterize the feeling as "mildly disturbed." When he read stories of the saints, or the life of Christ, he was left with a feeling of peace and calm that remained even when he was no longer reading.
From his experience with noticing the effects certain kinds of reading had on his spirit, he developed The Ignatian Spiritual Exercises based on discernment of spirits. In the past, when I have heard about "discernment of spirits," I thought of some esoteric "woo-woo" kind of thing, kind of way beyond me. Now that I am actually listening to CDs based on the Ignatian spirituality, however, I realize that this is everyday experience to which we barely pay attention.
It took Ignatius paying attention to his own spiritual response to different kinds of experience to reveal that God has given to all of us a gift of discernment. Certain things make us flee in fear; other experiences draw us with warmth, humor, and connection. Certain experiences unite us; others repel us or disturb us. When we begin to credit our own interior response to words and situations, we can be led into peace and joy and learn to avoid the things that disturb us.
What amazes me about facebook is that the people who are perpetually angry seem to be addicted to the anger and vituperation. Day after day, they appear to be shaking their fists and asking others to join them in their outpouring of hatred and division. Unfortunately, the prevailing mood does not stop at facebook, but has now taken to the public square in a movement much like Kristallnacht.
*( I have asterisked both Julian of Norwich and Kristallnacht, intending to reference them at the end of this post, but actually, they are both so available on the internet with better explanations that I will leave them to the reader.)
Learning to listen to our own spirits and believing that God wants unity and peace first within us and then among one another could be the secret to healing our nation and our souls.
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