Julian of Norwich - Seminar

Julian of Norwich

Julian of Norwich, a visionary mystic, her life can be broken down into three periods: life before the visions; the visions; and life after the visions. From a historical or biographical perspective, there exists little data to help understand our author. What little evidence we have about her is derived from her own writings, both the longer and shorter texts and some court documents. Today in fact we still know very little about Julian of Norwich's life, before or even after her visions. Though there is a lot of academic debate about her, her life and many aspects of both, we can in fact only draw a few authoritative conclusions from her own writings and some legal documents from her time. We can piece together some information from the accounts of her visions both the Longer and Shorter texts. What we do know or know to be close to appropriate dates are as follows:

1343: December, born somewhere around New Year's.
1373: May13th, Received first revelation.
1380: 2nd Revelation
1388: Fifteen years of reflection since first revelation
1390: Further understanding (Thus the Longer Text)
1413: Still living, based on court documents of Wills being bequeathed to her.

So with these sketchy materials we have little specific information. Compared to some of our other authors there is relatively little personal information to get an understanding of our author from.

Perhaps one other historical detail worthy of mention is some background of Norwich. I would like to state that historically, Norwich at that time was the second largest city in England. It was second only to London, in size, and population, as well as wealth and social development. But even with how little we know about this woman outside of her own writings, there is currently immense interest in her and her words. Steven Fanning in his book Mystics of the Christian Tradition puts it is this way: "Julian's interpretation of her revelations has drawn intense modern interest, for she presents a view of God this is personal and unique, brimming with optimism and couched in simple and direct language." In fact that is one of the points we will focus on later while looking at our specific selections, that she presents God as both our Father and Mother, but specifically Christ as Mother and Ideal mother for us who are children of God in faith. In fact that theme of Christ as Mother, is a focus in most of the commentaries and outside sources I have found. Mary Ford-Grabowsky in the book she edited, Sacred Voices: Essential Women's Wisdom Through the Ages; states: "Julian's spirituality of the motherhood of God has made her one of the most popular mystics of our time, as she was in the fourteenth century. In a daring departure from the dominant language of her era, she portrays the three masculine persons of the Christian Trinity (Father, Son, and Spirit) as a nursing mother overflowing with kindness and love." We will notice this theme of the motherhood of God, again and again as we examine our writings. But before we get to that specific task, I would like to bring up some speculation about Julian's credentials. Cooledge & Walsh in A Book of Showings to the Anchoress Julian of Norwich: Part 1, do a very critical analysis of Julian's life, and times, both of her writings and other contemporary historical documents, such as court Wills, and other papers. They state that Julian had a very high level of academic training and they draw this conclusion from the fact that her works, both the shorter and longer texts, have extensive quotes from the bible as well as other Christian authors that precede her. They surmise: "Before she began to compose the shorter text, Julian already knew all of the Vulgate; especially, she can be seen to be deeply familiar with all four gospels, the Pauline and Johannine epistles and Hebrews, the Psalms, the sapiential books and Deutero-Isaias. We can only make conjectures about how she acquired her Latin and her learning, for she is as reticent about this as over every other part of her external life;" Again here we see hr unwillingness to discuss her life before becoming a hermit in the cell at the Church of Norwich. Cooledge & Walsh conclude that Julian possessed a high level of academic training, which they find in evidence, through her extensive quotes of the bible ad other authors that proceed her. This will to either privacy or secrecy may impede a biographical examination, but her writings lay open and ready for examination.

Before we begin just a note of textual correction of the textbook, on page footnote 69 states that this is from chapters 55 and 56 of the longer text. Yet in the three different translations I looked at the selections are actually from chapters 59 and 60.Let us now turn to our specific texts and begin to examine them. The texts are taken from two different versions of the same book, now known as the Longer or Shorter text depending on which is used. The Shorter was written after reflection upon her 16 Showings or Visions or Revelations depending on the term you are most comfortable with. Our first excerpt comes from the shorter text, and the other is from the Longer text. The Longer text was written after further understanding was given to Julian around the year 1390, close to 30 years after the initial revelations. Even though she later wrote a much expanded and revised version of her understanding of the revelations and their meaning, there is little evidence that there was ever doubt of their authenticity. Steven Fanning states in Mystics of the Christian Tradition; "Nonetheless, it is obvious that she never doubted the truth of her revelations and she was confident that somehow the infinite love and power of God would be able to make all things well." So now let us proceed to the texts themselves.

The first except we are to look at is part of her first showing/revelation. The first showing acts like a prologue to the other fifteen, it shows us her understanding of spiritual quest, and her understanding of God. It also introduces us to the concept of God as Mother. This is in strong contrast to Clare of Assai, who on page 166 of our text presents a strong masculine image of Christ as Bridegroom. In this first excerpt Julian shows us that she desired to be close to God. She hungered for Him and she sought gifts from God. She was deliberate and intentional about seeking God, and specifically sought answers to specific prayers. She sought to be brought to the point of death, so that she might experience God's closeness in a new and profound way. Through this experience she sought, sickness, Christ's Passion, and the seeking of 3 wounds. It appears that all of her prayers were answered and beyond her expectations. In this first revelation she had an understanding of six things as seen on the bottom of page 191, and top of page 192, she has an understanding of the following:

1. His (Jesus) Passion
2. The Virgin Mary
3. Divinity
4. The goodness of creation
5. Everything is made for love
6. God is good, and that which is good is of God.

Yet even after seeing all this, she desired more as she states at the end of this section: "Rejoicing in what I saw and wishing, as much as I dared, to see more, it that were God's will, or to see for a longer time what I had already seen …"

We now move on to our final two excerpts, which are both from the longer version of the text. The first is on the Trinity, which is one of our theme's from Tyson's introduction. She begins with a short statement, on page 191, but one of profound theological truth, "God the blessed Trinity, who is everlasting being, just as He is eternal from without beginning, just so was it His eternal purpose to create human nature," here we see her understanding of the triune God, and the Godhead. In the next paragraph we have the introduction of the concept of God as our Mother, yet she also has the idea of God as our spouse. In the next paragraph we have many new concepts, she states "I saw and understood these three properties: the property of fatherhood, and the property of motherhood, and the property of the lordship in one God." Julian presents us with her view of how the different aspects of the Trinity interact with us, and us with them. The first aspect, the Father, is our protection and bliss. Her understanding interprets Christ, as brother, mother and savior. Finally, the Holy Spirit is a reward and gift. These are more than concepts to Julian, who outlines the different ways that each of these aspects of the Trinity interact with us. On page 193 she states that that the trinity as Father, Mother and Lord as our nature.

In the next paragraph she focuses again on how the different aspects of the Trinity interact with humankind. She states on page 193: "And our substance is in our Father, God almighty, and our substance is in our Mother, God of all wisdom, and our substance is in our Lord God, the Holy Spirit, all goodness, for our substance is whole in each person of the trinity, who is one God." Even though her language is new, and she introduces us to the concept of God as mother, her theology is sound, unlike other authors like Master Eckhart who was sanctioned by the church for his writings and interpretations, Julian was never under such scrutiny. Julian's writings were accepted by the Church of her time. She appears to push the boundaries on what was acceptable in her time, and stretch the thoughts of her contemporaries and even some modern readers. Yet she always stays true to the God, and sound doctrine.

Then we come to our final selection. Here again we see a strong focus on the trinity, and especially different roles for each person of the trinity. Julian states "Our Father wills, our Mother works, and our good Lord the Holy Spirit confirms" We see a strong focus here on different roles, but each significant in how the trinity work in our life. As we have noted Julian's writings focus primarily on the trinity, but not just the trinity, specifically her understanding of the trinity. Which is now and expanded.

I see Julian as a mystic who stretches me to see an aspect of God that I had seldom approached before. (What is that) The American Catholic Priest, Sociologist and author Andrew M. Greeley always refers to God as "She", and though I enjoyed his writings it was always hard for me to relate to a female mother, because of my own family situation. Yet through these readings, I can now have an appreciation for such language and can even see a need to approach God as both Mother and Father, Christ as Brother, savior and Mother. As far as contributions to the concept of spirituality within the Christian tradition, Julian has stretched me most. She presents a close, intimate personal God, a God she experiences as both Father and Mother, and a God who is active in her life. Her visions only serve to draw her deeper into relationship with God, and seeking God even more. Therefore I would like to leave you with a quote about Julian and her writings. Austin Cooper in his introduction to Julian of Norwich, reflections on Selected Texts; states: "She comes across these centuries as a great Christian woman who has much to teach us and whose message reminds us of the beauty and joy that are inseparable from the Christian faith." And that is what I would like for you to take from today's readings, a renewed joy and sense of beauty, in God, Creation and in the spirituality we are pursuing.

Endnotes:

1. Mystics of the Christian Tradition; Steven Fanning, Routledge, New York, 2001, p.125
2. Sacred Voices: Essential Women's Wisdom Through the Ages; Ed. Mary Ford-Grabowsky, HarperCollins, San Francisco, 2002, p.91
3. A Book of Showings to the Anchoress Julian of Norwich: Part 1, Cooledge & Walsh, Universa Press, Wetterren, Belgin, 1978, p. 43
4. Mystics of the Christian Tradition; Steven Fanning, Routledge, New York, 2001, p.126
5. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999, p.192
6. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999, p.192
7. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999, p.192
8. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999, p.193
9. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999, p.194
10. Julian of Norwich, reflections on Selected Texts; Austin Cooper OMI, Twenty-third Publications, Mystic, Connecticut, 1988, p.4

Bibliography:

Tyson, John R. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. New York: Oxford UP, 1999

Cooper, Austin OMI Julian of Norwich, reflections on Selected Texts
Twenty-third Publications, Mystic, Connecticut, 1988

Fanning, Steven Mystics of the Christian Tradition;
Routledge, New York, 2001

Ford-Grabowsky, Mary Sacred Voices: Essential Women's Wisdom Through the Ages; HarperCollins, San Francisco, 2002, p.91

Cooledge & Walsh A Book of Showings to the Anchoress Julian of Norwich: Part 1, Universa Press, Wetterren, Belgin, 1978, p. 43

(First written for RS 383 Shapers of the Roman Catholic Tradition in the winter of 2003.)

A Holy Family - Seminar

A Holy Family:
A Study of Macrina the Younger
and her brothers Basil the Great
and Gregory of Nyssa

Before we begin looking at this group of siblings I would like to fill you in on some background information. I would like to do a brief run through of some important dates, in the history of Christianity and theology to frame in these 3 authors.

• 325 Council of Nicea Issue of Christology
• 367 Easter Letter by St. Athanasius outlining what we use as
• New Testament Cannon to be used by the Church
• (This cannon confirmed at future councils in 392, 397, 405, 419)
• 380 Christianity Becomes the State Religion of Rome
• 381 Council of Constantinople
• 391 Prohibitions on Pagan Religions
• (Christianity is now the persecuting Majority)

So our three siblings grew up in troubled and turbulent times in the church and society. Even though the issue of Christology was to have been settled at Nicea the Arian Heresy was still going strong. We also need to remember that the 3 Authors were relatives and close relatives. As can been seen in this quote from Platcher's A History of Christian Theology: "Basil and Gregory came from a remarkable family. Their sister Macrina may have been its most powerful personality. She devoted herself to the ascetic life, shamed Basil out of his youthful pride in his oratorical abilities, and confronted Gregory on Basil's death. Gregory's own account of her own deathbed conversation portrays a woman of deep piety and a formidable theological learning" Furthermore Cory & Landry in their writings The Christian Theological Tradition: Second Edition refer to the three Cappadocians Fathers as being the Vanguard of defense of Nicea even fifty years after the fact. The third being Basil's and Gregory's friend Gregory of Nazianzus, Cory and Landry state: "The Clarification of the original creed of Nicaea reflects important theological advances made by Basil of Caesarea (330-79), his brother Gregory of Nyssa (331/40-395), and Basil's friend Gregory of Nazianzus (c. 329-390). These three are often referred to as the Cappadocian Fathers, because the came from the central region of Asia Minor." Thus we see that they were central to the issue of Christology. I will now endeavor to give some views on the major contributions and issues the brother's addresses, and then move on to an analysis of our specific texts.

Basil The Great, Basil of Caesarea, Basil of Cappadocian Caesarea
330-379. Basil from the time of his election to the role of Bishop was a tireless worker for what he believed in, "Once elected Bishop of Caesarea, Basil worked to reconcile West and East, 'old' and 'new' Nicene's, in the struggle with Arianism." He also fought against two new heresy's the first, that the Holy Spirit was not fully god. And the second that the Father and son were unlike in nature because the son was generated and the father not. So we see that Basil's focus was threefold.

Basil's life and teachings focused on a three fold concern: Comby in his work How to read Church History: Volume 1 sums up Basil's focus this way: "the organization of charity during a period of frequent famine (he set up a relief city); the organization of community living the monastic life (he composed Major and Minor rules); and a concern to orthodoxy in a period troubled by the Arian disputes." In this regard Basil's brother continued his work. Gregory of Nyssa 335-395. In A History of the Christian Church: Fourth Edition, it is put forth this way: "The second of Basil's associates was his younger brother Gregory of Nyssa. … but he surpassed both Basil and Gregory of Nazianzus in theological depth and penetration. His extensive writings, which mostly came from the period after his brothers death, when Gregory took up his pen to defend and develop Basil's teaching," By the time of the Council of Constantinople and in the East and the Council of Aquileia both councils stood against Arianism in the year 381. Gregory of Nyssa wrote the following about the debates and struggles leading up to this council in his Theology in the streets, "Every part of the city is filled with such talk; the alleys, the crossroads, the squares, the avenues. It comes from those who sell clothes, moneychangers, grocers. If you ask a money changer what the exchange rate is, he will reply with a dissertation on the begotten and unbegotten. If you enquire about the quality and the price of bread, the baker will reply: 'The Father is greatest and the Son subject to him.' When you ask at the baths whether the water is ready, the manager will declare that the son came forth from nothing. I do not know what name to give this evil, weather frenzy of madness…"

These theological debates had ramifications on day-to-day life. I have heard that there were even brawls in the streets on the issues of Christ and the Holy Spirit. So with this in mind let us return to our text and examine our three authors.

Macrina The Younger 327-379

In this excerpt attributed to Macrina the themes that I perceive, as most dominant are the nature of sin, justification and eschatology. Particularly the renewal within a person's soul here on earth and that renewal ultimately as seen at the top of page 89 "the reconstitution of our nature in its original form" and this particular line repeats itself more than once in this piece. And again in the final paragraph "the Apostle tells us, to consist in incorruption and glory and honour and power" And also the last part of this paragraph focus on both the grace and power to live now, and for the glory to come.

Basil the Great 330-379

Long considered the father of monasticism in the West, this excerpt focuses on life in community. From the text we see that the focus in this excerpt of Basil's writings is on Community, or Communion of the Saints. In the introduction to our text Tyson states: "Eucharistic fellowship with Christ unites many individual members of the church ('though we are many') in 'the cup of blessing,' and forms them into 'one body' (1Cor 10:16-17)" paraphrasing this passage from first Corinthians our whole excerpt is an expansion of this passage. In our first paragraph "My reasons are, first, that no one of us is self-sufficient…" We see here that Basil believed we needed others to help us in our walk as Christians. Further down he states that we were created to need the help of one another.

This focus on unity and interdependence of the communion of saints of the Christian community is the focus of the whole work. "Besides, if all we are united in the hope of our calling [Eph 4:4] are one body with Christ as our Head, we are also members, one of another [1Cor 12:12]". We see that as Tyson outlined above is an echo of Basil's thoughts here written some 1900 years earlier. He also goes on to focus on the fact that the grace/gifts the Holy Spirit appropriates to each of us are to be used for the whole. In community our gifts bless others, alone they are only of use to self. Which is not the way Basil interprets the Christian life. If we use our gifts in community our gifts are used for all. He also states that community life offers more blessings.

Thus we see his focus on Communion of the Saints as a tool to enhance our individual spiritual lives, but also as a mean's of obedience.

Gregory of Nyssa 335-395

We now come to the youngest member of this family, though by no means the least. As far as actual records we have more attributed to Gregory then either Macrina or Basil. Yet from the research done and the introduction to this talk, we see that his work was often and extension and fulfilling of things begun by his siblings.

In this series of Excerpts from The Life of Moses we have a group of snippets on how Gregory of Nyssa interprets Moses life of servant leadership as a primary example of how Christians are to life. The area's that it focus on are, The nature of God, the quest or personal journey of growth, and serving, as a way of growing in Christian maturity and into friendship with God.

On page 95 the second paragraph focus on the nature of God, and how we should desire to pursue the good, the virtue that is God. The 4th paragraph on this page focuses on the command to be perfect as God is perfect, and this pursuit or quest for perfection is done through the growth of good. At the top of page 97 there is proposed the idea that this perfection or good life is offered to all, but some choose to continue to walk in darkness.

The final section entitled 'The Servant of God' focus's on that Moses attained and how we too should be striving forward to attain those same virtues and good life, the ultimate of which is to be considered God's friend or the servant of God. This is seen in the bottom paragraph on page 97 the argument being one called 'the servant of Yahweh' is so because he has risen above the world. Then the second paragraph on page 98 focus's on the fact that all Christians have been called to serve, to live for others. And finally in the concluding paragraph, we have to command to apply what we have read from Moses life to our own life. So that we can be worthy of the name and honour of being called God's friend, that we seek and Quest for the life of perfection.

Endnotes:

1. A History of Christian Theology; Placher, William C., The Westminster Press, Philodelphia, 1893, p.76
2. The Christian Theological Tradition: Second Edition; Cory & Landry, Prenice Hall, Upper Saddle River, 2003, p. 129 (Advanced Reading Copy)
3. A History of the Christian Church: Fourth Edition; Walker, Norris, Lotz and Handy: Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1985, p.143
4. How to Read Church History, Volume 1; Comby, Jean: Crossroads, New York, 1996, p.108
5. A History of the Christian Church: Fourth Edition; Walker, Norris, Lotz and Handy, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1985, p.143
6. Gregory of Nyssa On divinity of the Son and the Holy Spirit as quoted in How to Read Church History, Volume 1; Comby, Jean: Crossroads, New York, 1996, p.94
7. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999, p.89
8. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999 p. 91
9. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999 p.31
10. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999 p.92
11. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. Tyson, John R. New York: Oxford UP, 1999 p.92

Bibliography

Tyson, John R. Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. New York: Oxford UP, 1999

McGrath, Alister E. Ed. The Christian Theology Reader
Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1997

Christian Theology an Introduction: Second Edition
Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1997

Comby, Jean. How to Read Church History: Volume I
New York: Crossroad Publishing Company, 1996

Cory, Catherine A. and Landry, David T. The Christian Theological Tradition: Second Edition Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2003 (Advanced Reading Copy)

Placher, William C. A History of Christian Theology: An Introduction
Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1983

Walker, Williston. et al., eds. A history of the Christian Church: Fourth Edition New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1985


(First written for RS 383 Shapers of the Roman Catholic Tradition in the winter of 2003.)

Spiritual Biographies - Seminars

A few years back in a course called Shapers of the Roman Catholic Tradition, RS 383. The primary text was John R. Tyson's Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology. This is a great text as it spans from Ignatius of Antioch (D.117) to many authors still around today including Desmond Mpilo Tuto, Rosemary Radford Ruether, Richard Foster and more. The book has a concise biography of the author then extensive quotations from source material for that author. As such this book is a great introduction to numerous Christian thinkers spanning church history.

This was a very small class 7 or 8 students meeting in the board room. Each week one student had to present and the other students had to be prepared to interact. Each student had to prpepare five lessons to lead. Over the next five days I will post my seminar notes. My Seminars were:

A Holy Family: A Study of Macrina the Younger and her brothers Basil the Great and Gregory of Nyssa
Julian of Norwich
Ignatius of Layola
Underhill & Bonhoeffer
Ruether & Chung

The way the course worked is the at the readings were assigned for each week and each student signed up for the weeks they would present. We went around the room picking dates and thus topics. The days not selected for student presentations, Dr. Cristina Vanin presented. This was one of the most demanding courses I took and yet also one of the most enjoyable.

(These Seminars were written for RS 383 Shapers of the Roman Catholic Tradition in the winter of 2003.)

Meme: Six Quirks

Meme: Six Quirks

Better late than never. Eric Scheske from The Daily Eudemon tagged me while I was on vacation. The rules:

6 Rules:

1. Link the person(s) who tagged you
2. Mention the rules on your blog
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours
4. Tag 6 fellow bloggers by linking them
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged
6. Wait and see how far it spreads.

Six quirks:

1. I love tattoo's and the stories about why people got what they have inked.
2. Am obesessive about what goes in which pockets, but as soon as I am home it comes out. Right Front - Car Key (No Ring) and a rosary, Left Front - Vicks Inhaller, Blistex, House and office keys on a carabeaner so they dont sit in the bottom of the picket and wear a hole. and 8GB USB jump drive. Rear Left Chainge purse, Right Rear Wallet.
3. I drink in phases, for a few years it was single malt scotch, last year was gin and tonic and this has been the summer of tequila.
4. I am an obsessive compulsive reader, and considering I have a dual form of dyslexia this is a little wierd.
5. I collect ties, neck, bow and a few bolo.
6. I like learning just for the sake of learning, I have been in University 20 years this year and hope to never stop taking courses.

6 Tags:

1. Jeff & Jeff @ Thursday Night Gumbo
2. Ellen @ Divine Serendipiry
3. Regina Doman
4. Steven & Kit @ Words on Dream Cafe
5. Karen Hall @ Some Have Hats
6. Blazing Cat Fur

We shall see what happens. It has been a while since I did a meme and am interested to see some of the answers to this one.

Pilgrimage of Santiago Compostela - A Seminar

(The following is a handout created for a seminar on the pilgrimage of Santiago Compestela, here is a link to the PowerPoint used during the presentation.)

The Road to Santiago
The Road of Compostela
The Way of Saint James

Catholic Pilgrimage:

o Catholic Pilgrimages go back to the first millennium
o At that time 3 routs were considered sacred, each offered a series of blessings and indulgences for those who traveled their length
o Each of these ancient routes had names, symbols and places associated with it.
o Jerusalem, to the Sepulcher of Jesus Christ, the Psalmists, with the symbol of the Palm branch.
o Rome, to the grave of St. Peter, the wanderers, with the symbol of the Cross.
o San Tiago, to the remains of Saint James, with the symbol of he scalloped shells. Also known as Compostela, the field of stars.

"A Few of the more wealthy pilgrims journeyed to the Holy Lands, more went to Rome, though the most popular foreign pilgrimage shrine was that of St. James at Compostela (Santiago de Compostela) in Spain."

Pilgrimages in History:

I have found many and varied accounts of how this became a place of pilgrimage. From the various sources listed in the bibliography my conclusion is; that this is a pilgrimage site that has been around since some where around 850CE. In 1123 French priest Aymeric Picaud walked the route as it is known today. There are four traditional French routes that all meet in or near Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port or Puente de la Reina on the Spain side.

Pilgrimage Routes:

o French Routes
o Tours
o Vezeley
o Le Pay
o Arles

o English Routes
o Two ports on the coast of France, and follow the Northern Route

o Portuguese Route

o On the Spanish Side of the Boarder
o From France there are two routes, the main route from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, and the northern route.

Famous Pilgrimages:

The pilgrimage traditionally was open to those with the time and or money to pursue them. After the middle-ages, the pilgrimages became more accessible to any person. Though millions perform the pilgrimage there are some more famous pilgrims, in the past and today. From history we have Pope Calixtus II, Saint Francis of Assisi and Isabella of Castile, and more recently, Pope John XXIII, and Shirley Maclean.

Pilgrimage Today:

The pilgrimage today is done many ways; to count as a pilgrimage for an indulgence one must walk the route or use non-motorized transportation. Today the route is done by horse, bike, and walking. It can also be done as a tourist, by car, motorcycle or tour bus. The University of Waterloo even did a pilgrimage tour a few years ago.

o 1985 this route was named a World Heritage Site, it is also considered a First European Cultural route
o 1996 over 100,000 pilgrims made the journey.
o From the border between France and Spain it is roughly an 880Km journey from Paris it is about
o The current Cathedral in San Tiago was completed in 1082 for the previous one had been destroyed in 977

Packing List: "It is vitally important that you take the absolute minimum amount of stuff with you in your backpack. Everybody takes too much and almost always end up sending it home or forward to Santiago in the mail or even just discarding it. It is surprising just how little you really need to take as the shops in Spain are now very good and have all the "modern" stuff that people want such as Shaving Cream, or Suntan Lotion etc. You don't need to take those things, just buy them as you need them. Personally I prefer to do it this way since it keeps the local economy running as well as keeping the backpack lighter. Some local communities seem to rely on the pilgrims walking through for their lively-hood. Some, on the other hand, hide their shops for the use of the locals only. You need to search out those sometimes when a town or village appears to have no shops.

In general, for clothes, take two pairs of everything, one to wear and one in the wash or drying on the back of your backpack.o Boots - Good ones, well worn in.

• Wool Socks - 2 pairs. Thin Socks - 2 pairs (to wear inside the thick ones).
• Light teeshirt for the day.
• Heavier shirt for the evening.
• Trousers - 2 Pairs (The ones with the detachable shorts and legs).
• Light shoes for the evening to give your feet and boots a rest.
• Shower sandals. (Could combine with the above)
• Toothbrush. Aeroplane style toothpaste (very small).
• Sleeping Bag.
• Paperwork - Passport, money, credit card, credential, maps and a "belly" pouch to put it all in.
• Wide brimmed Hat.
• Sunglasses.
• Sun screen (very important!).
• Personal Toilet Items (you decide).
• Shampoo - does for everything, washing hair and clothes.
• Lightweight backpack.
• Water Bottle (sometimes it is a long way between fountains)
• Wet weather gear, poncho, waterproof trousers. (vital for Galicia!)
• That's It!

Terms:

Indulgence: "The remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins forgiven as far as their guilt is concerned, which the follower of Christ with the proper dispositions and under certain determined conditions acquires through the intervention of the Church, which, as minister of the redemption, authoritatively dispenses and applies the treasury of the satisfaction won by Christ and the saints" (Pope Paul VI, Apostolic Constitution on Indulgences)."

Penance: "The virtue or disposition of heart by which one repents of one's own sins and is converted to God. Also the punishment by which one atones for sins committed, either by oneself or by others. And finally the sacrament of penance, where confessed sins committed after baptism are absolved by a priest in the name of God. (Etym. Latin paenitentia, repentance, contrition.)"

Pilgrimage: "A journey to a sacred place undertaken as an act of religious devotion. Its purpose may be simply to venerate a certain saint or ask some spiritual favor; beg for a physical cure or perform an act of penance; express thanks or fulfill a promise. From the earliest days pilgrimages were made to the Holy Land, and later on to Rome, where Peter and Paul and so many Christians were martyred. From the eighth century the practice began of imposing a pilgrimage in place of public penance. As a result, during the Middle Ages pilgrimages were organized on a grand scale and became the object of special Church legislation. In modern times, besides Rome and the Holy Land, famous shrines such as Lourdes, Fatimá, and Guadalupe draw thousands of pilgrims each year from the Catholic world."

Sin: "A word, deed or desire in opposition to the eternal law" (St. Augustine). Sin is a deliberate transgression of a law of God, which identifies the four essentials of every sin. A law is involved, implying that there are physical laws that operate with necessity, and moral laws that can be disregarded by human beings. God is offended, so that the divine dimension is never absent from any sin. Sin is a transgression, since Catholicism holds that grace is resistible and the divine will can be disobeyed. And the transgression is deliberate, which means that a sin is committed whenever a person knows that something is contrary to the law of God and then freely does the action anyway. (Etym. Old English synn, syn, sin; Old High German sunta, suntea, perhaps to Latin sons, guilty.)"

(PowerPoint used during presentation. You can download a free PowerPoint viewer here if you do not have PowerPoint on your machine.)

Endnotes:

1. A History of the Christian Church: 4th Edition, Walker et. Al. McMillian, 1985, p.414
2. http://www.caminosantiagocompostela.com/
3. http://www.therealpresence.org/
4. http://www.therealpresence.org/
5. http://www.therealpresence.org/
6. http://www.therealpresence.org/

Bibliography:

Walker, Williston. et al., eds. A history of the Christian Church: Fourth Edition New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1985

Egan, Kerry Fumbling: A Pilgrimage Tale of Love, Grief, and Spiritual Renewal on the Camino de Santiago
New York: Double Day, 2004

Coelho, Paulo The Pilgrimage
New York: Harper Collins, 1995

Harrison, Kathryn The Road to Santiago
Washington DC: National Geographic Society, 2003

Moore, Tim Spanish Steps: One Man and His Ass on the Pilgrim way to Santiago
London: Jonathan Cape, Forthcoming August 2005

Gitliz, M. David & Kay Davidson, Linda The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago, The Complete Cultural Handbook
New York: St. Martins Press, 2000

Web Pages

http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/
http://hermans-way.schippie.net/
http://www.ariege.com/cheminstjacques/info.html
http://www.xacobeo.es/comezo.asp?idioma=ingles
http://www.ozdocos.com/Stjames.htm
http://www.csj.org.uk/compostela.htm
http://users.erols.com/ed.mcclelland/spain04/
http://www.archicompostela.org/
http://www.grupocompostela.org/
http://www.catholicculture.org/
http://www.santiago-compostela.net/xuntapubs.html
http://www.caminosantiagocompostela.com/
http://www.discoverytravel.co.uk/
http://home.vxu.se/eolpj03/santiago.eng/
http://n.webring.com/hub?ring=wayofstjames
http://savvytraveler.publicradio.org/
http://www.therealpresence.org/

(All Sites available March 13th 2005)
(First written for RS272 Sacred Places Winter 2005.)

The Journey of a Quester! - An Essay / Spiritual Biography

The Journey of a Quester!

One always begins a journey with the first steps. It may often lead you some place you never expected. My journey is such a journey. I was born and raised in Kingston, Ontario. My father was Irish Catholic and my mother was not. How I ever came to become a Christian is a mystery to myself and to many others. Yet this paper will attempt to examine some of the contributing factors.My father was very active in the Catholic Church until I was in about grade six. He was a third order Knight, in the Knights of Columbus. I remember wanting to be a squire, a junior knight when I got to be old enough. But then my parents started fighting every week about why we went to church. Eventually we stopped going to church because of my parents fighting over it. It was only years later when I discovered my mother's leanings in this area that I understood why. I was an altar boy at this point. In fact I had become a senior altar boy, which meant I lead the other altar servers in helping to officiate at mass. Whenever I hit hard times in life I always return to the Catholic Church, for mass, to say the rosary; both of these always provide comfort and encouragement.
Coming from such a mixed home it is not surprising that I was always attracted to religions and religious experiences, and that I struggled to establish my own beliefs and practices. So in order to examine the quest I have been on so far, I will look at groupings that have had an influence upon the shaping of the man I am today. These groupings are:

1. Events that profoundly affected me.
2. Books or authors who have helped to mould me.
3. People who have poured into my life.
4. Organizations that have helped to shape me.

By examining a few examples from each of these four categories, I hope to understand how I have come to be the man that I am and why certain people, places, or events have had such profound effects upon my development to date.

First, I will do an examination of some events. The earliest, profound spiritual event I can recall is the first time that I was a senior altar server. The priest lifts the Eucharist for blessing, and then the chalice, and then he lifts both, and these three times are supposed to be special times for prayer. The first time that I was a senior altar server, during the lifting of these three, I remember praying, "God what do you want me to do with my life?". I had a vision and heard a voice say to me "Be my priest!", and even at that age I knew how sinful I was and I said, "Not me". Each time the communion elements were lifted, I asked the same thing and the third time, I saw mass being said, yet I was the one at the altar lifting the elements, presiding over mass, not kneeling there ringing the bells. This event has always remained with me. As an adult I now try to serve God and others. My grandmother always called me the spiritual one, and she always wanted me to be a priest. But I never shared this event with anyone until I was a student in campus ministries at Queen's many years later. This event always comes to mind when I must make hard decisions in life. It has helped me to try to steer a narrow path. I have left jobs rather than lie, or compromise my principles. This event comes back to mind, when I have major decisions to make, or paths to choose in this world.

The second event I want to examine is my confirmation. It was a strange time; I had started to doubt the Catholic Church and even the Christian tradition. I was studying martial arts and Shaolin Buddhism, I was in grade eight, and we were never told how, if you choose to not be confirmed now, you could go about it later. So I remember going through the classes and doubting it. Even on the day of the confirmation, I remember thinking, as the Bishop anointed me, "Why am I doing this?", yet going ahead and being confirmed. This event left me doubting for many years - doubting God, Christianity, and even myself. It was like a test and I felt I had failed, and had not had enough faith. My salvation and spiritual life were in doubt for many years after. During any major decision in life I think back upon this event, and try to recall the mistakes I made then by not asking questions and seeking options. Now I try to do both of those things - seek options and continually ask questions about the processes I am in, the paths that are open to me, or the decisions I must make. I ask these questions of myself, my close friends, those who are mentoring me or whom I consider spiritual parents or advisors, and of the Christian community that I am part of at the specific time. I try to use these different sources as a form of discernment in all major decisions - my wife, the men in my bible study, Peter Frick … all the others who pour into my life.

The next event is one of the strangest. Some would call it chance and some people would call it divine providence. I was in the checkout line at A&P in Kingston; I grabbed a Horoscope from the rack and threw it on the belt. The guy behind me, Jeff Forrest, asked, "You don't really believe that do you?" I said, "I don't know, but if nothing else, it is worth a laugh." Then he said, "I believe something and I know it is true - Jesus Christ." Well Jeff and I ended up meeting weekly for a few months, then I came to believe he was a bible-thumping freak. I stopped returning his calls and even changed my phone number so he could not keep calling me. Yet our meetings, and having looked at Matthew in the New Testament together, would have a lasting effect on me. A few years later while I myself was a student at Queens and was involved with Campus Crusade for Christ, I went to an Easter service with Eric Rose, my mentor at the time. There I ran into Jeff Forrest; he was amazed to see me at church. He asked what I was doing there. I said I had become a Christian. He then took me around and introduced me to some of his friends and family, who had all been praying for me since we had first met and discussed the Bible. This event caused me to realize the importance of community; a small community that you care about and help and who care about and support you - prayer being the greatest support you can give to someone else.

The final event I would like to look at is a strange meeting at a party at Queen's. At that point I was not practicing any Christian religion; I was doing tarot readings in the pubs on campus to make some extra money. I went to a party and while there I met a 'witch' who claimed to have clairvoyance. She started a reading on me, and while looking 'into my soul', she freaked out, said that I wasn't suppose to be here yet, that I was born a generation early and because I was here now I had to choose; either I would be the black knight and serve the evil one, or I could be a white knight and serve light. This incident really scared me; I knew I was capable of very evil thoughts, and it was always harder to choose to do good over evil. Like Paul in the New Testament, it was easier to do what I did not want to do and always harder to do what I wanted to do. From this meeting with 'Alexis' I knew I would have to be deliberate about my life and spiritual growth, (for it would be so easy to become what I would not like or enjoy) and that I must learn discipline in the mental and spiritual life. As I had previously disciplined my body in martial arts, I now would have to seek a holistic approach to life and my personal development; I would have to develop body, mind and spirit and try to seek balance between them.Each of these events was a challenge or a test, a time of trial and choice. Through each of them I was forced to grow and choose and learn how to be, and to learn how to be good at being. Each was a tool used in shaping me, as were a series of authors of specific books. We will now examine a few of those.

The first is a group of books - books that I have worked through many times. Some of these were Dr. Neil T. Anderson's books, especially The Bondage Breaker, Harvest House 1990, and Victory over the Darkness, Regal Books, 1990, as well as Mark I. Bubeck's The Adversary, Moody Press, 1975 and Overcoming the Adversary, Moody Press, 1984. These books were worked through again and again, alone, with friends, and with pastors or counsellors. They helped me to break from the past; they helped me to see the possibilities for the future. They helped me to establish my identity in Christ Jesus. They were tools in my healing of both spirit and mind, of emotions and soul.

Next I want to look at the works of John Eldredge, specifically Wild at Heart, and Waking the Dead, both have been extremely useful in helping me to connect to my heart, to learn to listen to it and to learn to live from it. They have been the most recent tools used in my development. I have read them myself, worked through them one-on-one with a friend and pastor, and I have lead a small group that has worked through them. The main thrust is that God has a plan for each person and that plan is revealed by one's desires, and to truly live at one's potential one needs to listen to one's heart and follow it.

Another author who echoes the same sentiment in his books is Paulo Coelho, especially in The Alchemist. It is the story of a boy who has a dream and who becomes persuaded to pursue it. In doing so he has many adventures, and does come to fulfil them. Many times in the book it states, "If you pursue your dream the universe will conspire with you to make it happen." I believe that the universe in this statement could be interpreted as The Holy Spirit. I do believe that if you try to live your dreams you will receive help to make them happen. From both Eldredge and Coelho I am trying to learn to listen to my heart, and to learn to live from it.

C.S. Lewis is also a mentor to me, through his writings of theology or fiction. Every time I read one of his works, or reread them, I am challenged to grow. What first really caught my attention was his statement in his space trilogy that humans were 'bent' . This concept of fallen humans having a bent nature resonated with me. It challenged me to learn how to live in a way that was not bent. His belief that this world is not all there is, that it is like 'looking through a glass darkly' echoes my own feelings of life and spirituality. Thus reading his works is a constant reminder of a spiritual truth I believe and a challenge to live in that belief.
From these authors we will now look at specific people who have poured into my life and their influences in helping me to develop and grow, as a person. First I would like to look at my first mentor, Eric Rose. Eric was on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ, and was a worker at Queens my first few years there. I really struggled those years, wanting to change and grow but not knowing how. Every time I cancelled bible study or personal time with Eric, he would stand outside my apartment and pray for me. Even though changes, lasting changes, did not take place in my life and actions for years, Eric was one of the first to really work at helping me become the type of person I want to be. He modelled it by his words, and his action.

Next I want to look at Rob Bartman(not his real name). Rob was a fellow student at Queens, and Ron and I did bible study together over many years. Rob and I both struggled with sexual addictions. Rob fell sexually and confessed it to his church. He was punished by the church and removed from leadership for a year. I stood by Rob through this, and later when I had some problems and struggles, Rob stood by me. He once stated, "What I admire most about you Steven is that you don't give up; you may stumble and fall but you always get up and press on." Rob was always in my corner because I was there for him. Having that support and encouragement even in tough times, helped me to make the changes I really wanted to make in my life. It also taught me to be there for other people, to stand by them through thick and thin, to stick to them, sometimes even when they try to push me away.

Peter Frick is the next man we will discuss who has helped in my spiritual journey. Peter is currently one of my mentors. He receives his spiritual direction from the Jesuits in Guelph at Loyola house, and in turn he provides spiritual direction to me. He is like a sounding board for my emotions, spiritual struggles, intellectual endeavours and my relationships. Peter plays the role of teacher, counsellor, guide and friend. We have met regularly for three years now, sometimes weekly, sometimes every few months as needed. When I call, he always makes time to be there and listen and encourage.

The final person I will discuss is Pastor Bob Bauman. Bob and I met when I was a manager at Starbuck's; Bob was a regular customer. I suggested that we work through John Eldredge's, Wild at Heart together. We did so and are now working on a second book together. Bob is like a brother; he is there for me, but because we travel in different circles, we can share stuff with each other that would be hard to share with those that we know in a different way. Bob and I each play the role of guide and confidant to each other. We both truly seek the best for the other. We are there for when one stumbles or struggles, to encourage, challenge and lend a hand up. Currently, next to my wife, Bob and Peter are the two most important people in my life. I know I could call them at any hour of the day and I believe they know the same about me.
Finally let me move from individuals to organizations. There are a number of organizations that have contributed to my spiritual development. They have each played crucial roles at different periods of my life. Each of these four is a Christian Para-church organization. They are Campus Crusade for Christ (CCC), Promise Keepers (PK), Cursillo and The Navigators Campus Ministry (Navs).

CCC, was instrumental in my becoming serious about being a Christian, about being a man, and a man of faith. It was through Eric and many others that I saw, for the first time outside of the Catholic Church, true examples of what it means to be a man of faith, to try to live that faith daily, to let faith permeate every aspect of your life. There were many examples, from Eric, to different speakers at conferences, fellow students and student leaders at Queens and other schools with whom we interacted.

After many struggles with who I was versus who I wanted to be, I went to a Promise Keepers conference in Detroit Michigan, at the Silver Dome. It was amazing to see 75,000 men in one place, wanting to be men after God's own hearts. At my first conference, after lunch, one of the Musicians started, impromptu, the 'Our Father'. To hear the deep rumbling of so many men praying that prayer as a song together, was life-changing. I went on to be in men's bible studies for the next three years working through different books and studies put out by this organization. That was when real growth and change started to happen in my own life - growth that was visible to those around me with changes in habits and behaviours. Finally my actions started living up to my theology. Choosing to seek out this group and to stay committed to it, was a pivotal point in my development.

The next organization I would like to look at is the Navigators. When I was a student at Queen's I lived in the Navs' house on campus with six other Christian men. Later, as a part-time mature student at the University of Waterloo, I worked for The Navigators Campus Ministry for three years. I was responsible for student and staff development across the country. This included running retreats, conferences, short term and long term missions' projects, and overseeing the day-to-day support of the Campus staff across the country. This was my first major ministry job. I was now doing what my heart desired, working to serve others and pour into them as I had been poured into by so many others. It was a challenge, in that working in ministry, your life comes under a microscope. You must live above reproach. So many people have fallen while in ministry or leadership positions, and hurt the Church's name or Christ's name. I did not want to be one of them. So I needed to apply what was learned through individuals and groups discussed earlier, on an even more vigilant level. This has continued to help me to realize that every aspect of my life must fall in line with the word of God, and must be for the good of God, others and myself if it is to be fruitful and worth the effort.

The final organization I would like to look at is Cursillo. Cursillo is a renewal movement that started in Spain, in the Catholic Church. It came to North America, via some pilots that were training with the U.S. military. Since coming to North America it has spread, and there are now Anglican, Presbyterian, Lutheran, and other chapters. Cursillo is a four-day retreat weekend, with guided talks and discussion. Its focus is on the fact that as Christians, we are all called to live a spiritual life and to be involved in practicing the spiritual disciplines, that we need to meet with small groups for accountability and large groups for fellowship. It also has a strong focus on the fact that we are to serve - serve God, our Christian community and the world. Throughout my Cursillo retreat weekend in 1997, I filled a whole two-hundred-page journal. I came to see my life as a whole and not compartments - the work Steven, the church Steven, the jock Steven - but just Steven a Christian, called to live and love, to laugh and cry, to serve and allow myself to be served. If I had chosen not to go on this retreat I could not be here in school now studying for the ministry. I would probably be dead in a gutter somewhere. Cursillo was also pivotal point in my seeking wholeness in my life, instead of living different fractured and contradictory lives in different circles.

It is difficult looking back at where I have come from; there is a lot of pain and hurt there. Yet I have always been surrounded by good people, caring Christians who have supported me, challenged me and called me to be more than I believe I could be alone. God deserves the credit for that, and the people who were open to being used by Him.


Appendix #1
TimeLine of Steven R. McEvoy

• 1970-Present Member Roman Catholic Church
• 1970 February Baptised in the Roman Catholic Church
• ? Learned to do Tarot Readings by grandmother
• 1980 1st time as Sr. Altar Server
• 1985 Made Senior Rugby team in Grade 9
• 1984 June Confirmed in the Roman Catholic Church
• 1986 February Rugby Tour of UK
• 1987 Jeff Forrest
• 1989 Spiritual Gifts Course in Catholic Church
• 1989 Met Alexis - Witch @ Queens Party Tarot Cards
• 1989-1993 Student @ Queens University Waterloo
• 1989-1998 Involved with Campus Crusade for Christ @ Queens University, Carleton University, University of Guelph
• 1990-1993 Attended Pentecostal Assembly's of Canada Church Kingston
• 1990-1993 Involved with Navigators Campus Ministry @ Queens University
• 1990-1993 Involved with St. Mary's Catholic Youth Group
• 1990-1995 Counselling for abuse, Kingston, Cambridge, Ottawa, Guelph
• 1991 Steubenville Franciscan University Charismatic Catholic Conference
• 1993 Member Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec in Ottawa
• 1993 Promise Keepers in Detroit MI
• 1994 Member Fellowship Baptist Church in Kingston
• 1994-1998 Member Presbyterian Church of Canada, Guelph, On
• 1994 Promise Keepers in Detroit MI
• 1996 Cursillo, Toronto Presbyterian
• 1998 Week of Divine Healing, Youth with a Mission Course at Jacobs Well Ministries St. Petersburg, ON
• 1998-Present Student @ University of Waterloo
• 1998-2000 Member Congregation at Renison College University of Waterloo
• 1999 Staff at Waterloo MB Church
• 2000-2003 Work for Navigators
• 2000-2002 Member St. Michael's Catholic Parish Waterloo
• 2003 Member Lincoln Avenue Church Waterloo,
• 2003 Return to Catholic Church
• 2005 Started attending meditations from Opus Dei

(First written for RS 270 The Psychology of Religion Fall 2004. - Sections of this essay were removed for personal reasons and some names and places were changed.)


Other Articles Examining Who I Am:
Mad Celtic Warrior, Poet and Priest! - An Essay - 2003
The Journey of a Quester! - An Essay / Spiritual Biography 2004
New Year's 2006
Who Am I? Who Am I? -2008
Confessions of a Bibliophile #5 - How I Became a Bibliophile, From Dyslexic to Addict - 2009
New Year's Goals 2010
Steven R. McEvoy Interview - 2012
2014 My Goals
Who I Am - 2014

Feast of Saint Joseph 2018
I have greatly sinned 

Steven R. McEvoy Q & A IT Employee Spotlight

...

Quest, Pilgrimage and Sacred Place - An Essay

Quest, Pilgrimage and Sacred Place

For my pilgrimage, I must go back a few years. My pilgrimage began years before the actual journey and has yet to be completed. It began with a name, the name of Thomas Merton. In my readings, I kept running across this name, references to this man, his body of work, quotes by him. It seemed that every time I was intrigued by something, it was somehow linked to Thomas Merton. Then in my first year here at the University of Waterloo, I did a course with Dr. Michael Higgins, "Faith Quests". One of the books we did was Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander; it was the first Merton book I was to read, though definitely not the last. My pilgrimage is three-fold. The first was into the writings of Thomas Merton and the writings about him. Second was a growing desire to visit Gethsemani where Merton was a monk. Finally, is the continuing desire to return to that place for a longer time. In examining my quest, we will look at Merton the man and the Monk. We will look at my journey to Gethsemani, and we will look at the hunger to return.

Thomas Merton (1915-1958) was an enigma. He was a monk, a man and a myth. He created the myth with his bestseller The Seven Story Mountain and then spent most of the rest of his life trying to change that story. Allan Bloom, in The Closing of the American Mind, states: "The discovery of culture and the folk-mind means that there cannot be universal principles of understanding. Reason is a myth that makes mythmaking impossible to comprehend." This was one of Merton's problems. He made the myth, but the myth was no longer the man. In a previous essay, I examined the man, the monk, and some of his writings on monasticism. Monks have often been on the leading edge of religious life, and theological reform. The earliest desert fathers were trying to get back to a truer, purer form of Christianity. Then the Benedictines were an attempt to return to the fathers. The order Merton belonged to, which was founded in about 1100A.D., formed a stricter, more austere form of the Benedictine monasticism. Merton Himself continually pushed the boundaries; he was a monk who rebelled, but rebelled respectfully. Michael W. Higgins said it best, "Merton's life was fraught with contradictions, polarities and wild paradoxes." Yet the legacy of his writings continues to affect new generations of readers. Many of these readers like myself have been drawn into pilgrimage to Gethsemani.

There have literally been hundreds of books and articles written about Merton and his works. I cannot do justice to that industry here, but I will summarize some of the key points in his development, in hopes that understanding his development can help us understand why others are drawn into his works, and through that to this special place. Also, it explains why I have been drawn into this quest.
Thomas Merton was born in 1915 in the south of France to an American mother and a New Zealander father. He died in 1968 in Bangkok of accidental electrocution. His life was a constant oscillation between retreat from and attack on the world. When he was 6 years old, his mother died. At age 10, he was enrolled at a private school; often being sick, he spent most of his time alone and in nature exploring abandoned monasteries. At 15, he moved to England and was soon after orphaned. Then, at age 18, he visited Rome; he found himself drawn to churches, and there he discovered Christ. He attended Cambridge and then Columbia University. He graduated in 1935 from Columbia and then he taught at a junior college. In 1941, at age 26, he entered the Trappist Monastery of the Abbey of our Lady of Gethsemani. In 1949, he was ordained as a priest. The year before this he published The Seven Story Mountain. Yet all of these are just facts. Who was the man Thomas Merton? He was a seeker, a quester, and a pilgrim. Michael Higgins in Heretic Blood states: "He knew that the route to human authenticity was lonely, full of risk, a pilgrim's terror." Merton the man was such a pilgrim, willing to face pain and trials, to follow the quest. In following Merton's journey I have been on a quest myself.
Yet Merton was much more than just a man; he was also a poet, and as a poet, he saw his role to be a reclaimer of words: "Merton saw the scar of the fall in language and he came to understand the poet's role as nothing less than the restitution of the word; the restoration of its sacredness, and its liberation from the uses of deception, slick rhetoric, and ideological manipulation to become once more the quiet servant of truth." Also, "The word must be cleansed. As we are made whole by the Word, so words are made whole by the poet." But he recognized the constraints in that he was a monk who took a vow of silence, yet he could not stop the flow of his words. This is summed up by Higgins: "His diaries communicate his earnest struggle with the many contradictions that defined his life; the writer who is vowed to silence; the Columbia bohemian who is a consecrated religious; the solitary man compelled to address the public order; the "hidden one", marked by fame." He not only recognized these contradictions within himself, but he worked at resolving or balancing out the ones he could.

Merton was an intellectual, he was probably brilliant or even genius, but genius is often seen as madness. He was not a typical theologian; he was more of a religious thinker. Allan Bloom, in The Closing of the American Mind, states: "I must reiterate that Rousseau, Kant, Hegel and Nietzsche are thinkers of the very highest order. This is, in fact, precisely my point. We must relearn what this means and also that there are others who belong in the same rank." Merton was such a man. He did not think for us but he wrote to make us think. Yet we only saw what he wanted us to see, or what he was willing to show us. "The masks of the Gethsemani diarist are many: there is the monk as a rebel, the monk as visionary, the monk as artist, the monk as divided self, the monk as conscience of the nation, the monk as troublesome charge, the monk as renegade, the monk as dutiful son, and the monk as guru. As an assemblage of masks, of personae, they tell us something about the essential Merton. They tell us what he would have us know." And this leads us to a second view - Merton as monk.

Our Merton was not only a man, he was also a monk, and a monk of the 'strict observance' at that. The problem with Merton is that once you have categorized him, the next piece of his writings you read breaks that mold or box you have just put him in. Michael Higgins describes him this way: "Merton was, and remains, a phenomenon, an utterly engaging figure, controversial, iconic, the paradigmatic monk for our century." As such he draws seekers, or questers, into his body of work or into relationship with Gethsemani.

Now that we have looked at the man and some of his writings, let us look at the place. Gethsemani was founded in 1848 by the Trappists (an order of Cistercians founded in 1098 in France). It is settled on more than 7000 acres of land outside of Louisville Kentucky. It is a place of great beauty, and profound spiritual impact. From the first of Merton's books I read, I had wanted to visit Gethsemani. I received the chance to make this trip by chance. A friend of mine had moved to Texas after graduation; he worked there two years, but did not enjoy living in the States. He asked me to help him move back. He didn't have a license to drive and I did. He flew me to Texas and we rented a UHaul to move him back. My condition for helping him was a side trip to Gethsemani. We loaded up in Texas on a Wednesday morning. We drove all day and through the night. We arrived at the monastery late the next afternoon. We were greeted with a sign:and again at the door to the visitor's center:
and we were received like as Christ. We only had a few hours. We were given free rein of the public places on the site and we walked, prayed, and stood silently. As we were leaving, my friend mentioned to me that though he grew up in a tradition that did not consider place or buildings sacred, he did feel something very different here in this space. We drove away in silence for many miles, both caught up in our thoughts and our prayers. This short visit gave me an even greater thirst for Merton's writings and for things monastic. Now we return to the man, Thomas Merton.

When Merton entered the monastery he had clear ideals and views. As time would pass, things would become less clear to him. As can be seen from two final quotes, in his own words: "It is true that when I came to this monastery where I am, I came in revolt against the meaningless confusion of a life in which there was so much activity, so much movement, so much useless talk, so much superficial and needless stimulation, that I could not remember who I was." And "When I first became a monk, yes I was more sure of 'answers'. But as I grew old in the monastic life and advanced further into solitude, I became aware that I have questions. And what are the questions? Can man make sense out of his existence?" Merton was thus a spiritual quester whose quest began in earnest when he thought he had reached the grail. We can all learn from Merton. We can apply the essence of the contemplative no matter where we are.

And in that spirit, I know I will return to Gethsemani for a weekend, a week, a month. And I know I will again leave the place changed and transformed. To begin again the quest and pilgrimage back into the world.

(Here is a power point I used while presenting this material.)

Endnotes:

1. Bloom, Allan, The Closing of the American Mind, New York: Touchstone 1987, p.307
2. Higgins, Michael W., Heretic Blood, Toronto: Stoddart, 1998, p.9
3. Higgins, Michael W., Heretic Blood, Toronto: Stoddart, 1998, p.180
4. Higgins, Michael W., Heretic Blood, Toronto: Stoddart, 1998, p.133
5. Higgins, Michael W., Heretic Blood, Toronto: Stoddart, 1998, p.150
6. Higgins, Michael W., The Making and Remaking: The Many Masks of Thomas Merton Michael Keenen Memorial lecture, Second Lecture 1988, Muenster: St Thoman College, 1988, p.10
7. Bloom, Allan, The Closing of the American Mind, New York: Touchstone 1987, p.240
8. Higgins, Michael W., The Making and Remaking: The Many Masks of Thomas Merton Michael Keenen Memorial lecture, Second Lecture 1988, Muenster: St Thomas College, 1988, p.9
9. Higgins, Michael W., Heretic Blood, Toronto: Stoddart, 1998, p.2
10. Merton, Thomas; The Monastic Journey Ed. Brother Patrick Hart London: Sheldon, 1977, p.424
11. Merton, Thomas; The Monastic Journey Ed. Brother Patrick Hart London: Sheldon, 1977, p.424

Bibliography:

Aprile, Dianne The Abbey of Gethsemani
Louisville, KY, Trout Lily Press, 1998

Bloom, Allan. The Closing of the American Mind.
New York: Touchstone, 1987

Downey, Michael Trappist: Living in the Land of Desire
Mahwah, New Jersey, Paulist Press, 1997

Higgins, Michael W. The Making and Remaking: The Many Masks of Thomas Merton
Michael Keenen Memorial lecture, Second Lecture 1988
Muenster: St Thomas College, 1988

Heretic Blood.
Toronto: Stoddart, 1998

Merton, Thomas The Monastic Journey Ed. Brother Patrick Hart
London: Sheldon, 1977

The Hidden Ground of Love. Ed. William H. Shannon
New York: F, S & G, 1983

A Vow of Conversion.
New York: F, S & G, 1988

The Pasternak Affair.
New York: F, S & G. 1960

Spiritual Master. Ed. Lawrence S. Cunningham
Mahwah: Paulist, 1992

McEvoy, Steven R. Thomas Merton, The Man, the Monk, on Monasticism
U Waterloo, 1998, Essay for Peter Frick

(First written for RS272 Sacred Places Winter 2005.)