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Knowing self ... the starting
point to all else
The Editor of ERNN, Brian Coyne, is one
of the participants in the current 15-month Qavah spiritual journey
sponsored by the Christian Brothers for people working in Edmund
Rice Ministries. Here's a personal reflection and an overview of
what's coming out of this stimulating endeavour...
  ARVED
INTO A LIMESTONE wall of the Arts Faculty at the University
of Western Australia are those two words immortalised by the Greek
philosopher, Socrates, "Know Thyself".
In many ways they might also describe the philosophy at the root
of the Qavah spirituality program being offered by the Christian
Brothers to those many lay people now coming in to take up positions
of employment and vocation in the many missions of the Edmund Rice
Network. In order to teach other people, help them, or lift them
up, it is probably a good idea to have a pretty good idea of who
you are, and what you really believe, first.
The Qavah program seeks to take the individual through five
related journeys over the course of about fifteen months. Some of
this takes place in the three residential seminars where all participants
from around the country come together in one place. Apart from the
residentials though, participants also contract to work with a personal
spiritual mentor or director on a one-on-one basis. They also develop
their own reading and reflection program - and some assistance in
this is provided by the Qavah formation team or the spiritual mentor
if required.
The
Adelaide Residential began with a moving welcoming ritual
in which young men from CBC Wakefield Street came in
holding jig-saw puzzle bits of this beautiful map of
South Australia. They read to us welcome messages in
the Pitjinjarra Aboriginal language which they are learning.
As each welcomer finished his reading he laid his piece
of the map on the floor. When the map was assembled,
the participants then contributed symbols – like
the wine, the seafood, the almonds, the wheat, the oranges
and the Sturt Desert Peas (the Floral symbol of South
Australia). These symbols were then used throughout
the week in our liturgies and other moments of reflection.
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The third important element outside the residentials is the participants
are encouraged to get involved in some ministry of helping others
at the margins outside of their normal vocational work. Some choose
to work with the homeless, others with people with disabilities,
others again with the aged. We're encouraged to undertake endeavours
that do truly take us outside our normal "comfort zone".
All of these activities though are tied back into the five journeys
or stories which are the focus of the residential programs: the
Personal story; the Australian story;
the Edmund story; the
Universe story; and the Jesus story.
At the heart of Qavah though is the meaning of this Old
Testament word which means "waiting
on The Lord". This is why I chose the reference
to Socrates as the opening to this article. To help others, we need
to know ourselves, but to know ourselves we need to know our relationship
with this great Mystery at the very heart of our lives and of all
life which we try to condense into that deceptively simple three
lettered word, G-O-D. To know God we need to learn patience and
the art of listening.
Anne
Davoli (St Paul's, Gilles Plains) and Br Peter Faulkner
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To me, Qavah is ultimately about the business
of learning to listen. This is what comes through in
many of the sessions we have had, firstly at Marburg in Queensland
in March and a few weeks ago at the second residential at The Monastery
in Adelaide. As well as the formal presentations, and plenty of
excellent socialising, each day has a period set aside for "Qavah
time". It is time spent with self, developing
patience and the art of listening for what God has to say to us
in our lives and leisure and work.
I suspect it would be true to say for most participants that none
of us really knew what we were letting ourselves in for when we
enrolled. The brochures and website information we had read give
some insight, much the same as I have tried to do here. In hindsight
though I don't think the problem is any lack of communication skills
on the part of anyone trying to explain what Qavah is. The answer
to the question "What is Qavah?" is a bit like the answer
to that deceptively simple question that the disciples put to Jesus
so long ago: "Can you teach us to pray?" Qavah does not
have a simple answer that can be condensed into one sentence, or
even a brochure. Qavah is a process. It is a process of re-orienting
self much as one might re-orient a portable radio to better pick
up the signal from a distant broadcasting station.
In this case though one is not just turning self in some physical
sense as you might turn the transistor radio on its axis - one is
turning the whole self - physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
And we're not so much doing the re-orientation of self to pick up
some crackly signal coming from a radio station far, far away. What
we're trying to "pick up" here is not a broadcast. It
is a narrowcast: what is God saying to little old me? And it is
"the voice of God within" that we're better trying to
hear. I know I'm finding this whole thing a very personal encounter
with this Divine Mystery we address as God. I suspect my colleagues
through all the different words they might use to summarise their
experience that they are also.
Now that we're more than half-way through the program the feeling
I pick up from my colleagues is that everyone is finding it hugely
beneficial at a diverse number of levels.
The major elements in the Adelaide Residential
While all five "stories" are given time in each residential,
in the Adelaide Residential the emphasis was on the exploration
of the Christ story and the Universe story. Effectively two full
days were given to this with presentations from Adelaide Theologian,
Fr Dennis Edwards, and Christian Brother Ecologist, Br Peter Faulkner.
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Australian
Story:
Geraldine Hawkes, Chair of the Commission for Australian
Catholic Women (pictured at left) shifted our focus
leading a provocative discussion on the changing perceptions
of women and men in their relationship to the Church
and their faith. It was part a relating of her personal
story of migration to Australia and finding her own
self-perceptions of where she stood, and part the story
of the work of the Commission for Australian Catholic
Women as they endeavour to work through the issues in
their brief from the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference.
Mrs Hawkes also addressed the challenge of interfaith
dialogue arguing that "genuine dialogue requires
respect, acceptance and affirmation of those
involved and preparedness to learn from one another's
human experiences and to assist in the interpretation
of those experiences."
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Story:
Fr Dennis Edwards gave a series of Powerpoint assisted
presentations on current bible scholarship and theological
understanding of Jesus and his relationship to us. The
titles of these presentations were:
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"Jesus' Acts
of Healing and Liberation"
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In summary, Fr Edwards endeavoured to get
the place of miracles and the healing acts
of Jesus in a better nuanced perspective
against contemporary understanding in the
Western world. In his summing up he argued:
- Healing miracles were a central part
of Jesus' ministry (see Luke 7:22)
- The gospels call them acts of power
(dunameis) or works (erga) rather than
miracles (thauma). In John they are called
signs (semeia)
- They can be understood in different
ways: they can arouse faith; others see
Jesus as curing by the power of Beelzebul
(Mk 3:22-30)
- Their meaning is understood in the light
of faith and real relationship with Jesus
(Mark 5:34)
- Jesus rejects as evil the idea of authenticating
and spectacular miracles (Lk 4:12, Mk
8:11-13)
- They function as gospel - they show
God's will to save enfleshed in Jesus
of Nazareth
- They express the healing and the Shalom
associated with the coming of God's Reign
- They are a sign that God's Reign is
already present in Jesus' ministry
- They function as promise of the fullness
of the kingdom
- They express God's desire to liberate
men and women from suffering
- For Jesus the experience of healing
is an experience of the power and the
presence of the eschatological Spirit
(Lk 7:21-23; 11:20).
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"Jesus
Preaches the Reign of God in Parables"
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In summary, Fr Edwards sought to unlock
the manner in which Jesus used Parables
as a communication device. In his summing
up he argued:
- Jesus is not simply communicating in
parable about the Reign of God
- Rather, hearers who are open to the
parable are being led to experience the
Reign of God in and through the parable.
The parables mediate the experience of
the Reign
- There is an intrinsic link between the
religious experience of Jesus and the
parables in which that experience is expressed.
Jesus, an artist in his use of parable,
mediates what he experiences through his
art
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"The Death
of Jesus"
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In summary, Fr Edwards was exploring the
action of God in the Cross:
- Jesus is led by the Spirit in every
aspect of his ministry and is radically
open to the Spirit in his passion and
death
- While Jesus experiences abandonment
(Mark 15:34), he is not abandoned by the
one by the one he calls Abba, the one
in whom he has put his trust
- The Spirit of God is present as the
power of love at work in the cross transforming
the brutality and suffering into an event
of redemptive love
- Jesus in death is raised up in the power
of this life-giving Spirit and then, identified
with this Spirit, sends the Spirit upon
the disciples (Rom 8:11
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"The Significance
of the Resurrection"
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In summary, Fr Edwards was exploring the
centrality of the Resurrection as confirmation
of the words and deeds of Jesus:
- The resurrection establishes that the
crucified Jesus was right:
- In preaching the kingdom
- teaching total trust in God
- his claim to authority
- His identification with the poor
- His assurance of forgiveness
- His call to discipleship
- All this is the revelation of God
He argued:
- The resurrection of the crucified motivates
the transition to the Gentile mission
- A line of Jewish tradition connected
the end time with universal salvation
- The resurrection, inaugurating the end
time, necessarily raises the question
of the mission to the Gentiles
- This was to be taken up particularly
by Paul
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Story:
Br Peter Faulkner, who has a deep interest in EarthCare
and Ecology led us on a passionate exploration of his
own long history of involvement and study of the Catholic/Christian
concern for our environment and sustainable use care
of the resources God has provided to us. His presentation
was followed by the fifth presentation by Fr Dennis
Edwards entitled: "Jesus Christ and the Universe".
Fr Edwards explored these following key questions:
- What was Jesus' attitude to creation during his
ministry?
- How did the early church understand the meaning
of Jesus Christ in relation to creation?
- How can we think about Jesus Christ in relation
to our contemporary understanding of the evolution
of the universe and of life on Earth?
- Does salvation in Christ involve the other creatures
of creation?
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| Edmund Story:
Br Michael Dyer, leader of the Qavah presenter team,
led us in a fascinating and all too brief exploration
of how the outlook of Blessed Edmund Rice might be better
intregrated into our own work. What perspectives does
Edmund Rice offer that continue to have application
in how we approach our life, and our work?
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Edition
16: October 2004 Holy Spirit Province
