“Is it too strong to say that one who cannot find the other in God cannot love the other as he or she is? I think not “ -Mary Aquin O’Neil
1939 The principle of solidarity, also articulated in terms of “friendship” or “social charity,” is a direct demand of human and Christian brotherhood.45An error, “today abundantly widespread, is disregard for the law of human solidarity and charity, dictated and imposed both by our common origin and by the equality in rational nature of all men, whatever nation they belong to. This law is sealed by the sacrifice of redemption offered by Jesus Christ on the altar of the Cross to his heavenly Father, on behalf of sinful humanity.”46
Catechism of the Catholic Church
“Borrowing O’Neil’s line of reasoning, is it too strong to say that if we cannot imagine God being black we cannot truly love black human beings as they are? I think not”
“If God’s inner nature is known in God’s becoming one with the oppressed, God’s countenance will resemble the likeness of those most oppressed in our society. For example, to encounter God in prayer may suggest God’s female face as ebony and wrinkled with age as she embraces her grandchildren orphaned by AIDS. What would it be like to contemplate the face of God as poor, black, and female?”
“This prayer suggests not only our gazing at God, but also this black grandmother-God gazing at us. I believe God’s gazing upon us, with the pain of the world in her eyes, holds the power of healing the blindness of white privilege. The imprint of this gaze upon us has the power to make white theologians black with God.”
“John [of the Cross] describes a God deeply at work to radically transform the human heart. The imprint of divine love upon the human heart subverts our sustaining involvement in relations of dominance and subordination. In his writings John of the Cross describes how God’s passionate drawing of the human heart transforms desire and affectivity. For John, it is the imprint of this ‘dark’ God in human consciousness that subverts deeply rooted attachments and frees human beings for love.” – Laurie M. Cassidy (Interrupting White Privilege: Catholic Theologians Break the Silence)
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One of the best contemplative practices, for me personally, is Lectio Divina. This practice is not for everybody, but it really works well for me. In this post I would like to thank Laurie M. Cassidy for the teachings quoted in this post.
For those people who have not had the opportunity to experience Lectio Divina, here is a link to the Omega Center’s description of the practice. There are generally only four steps in this practice, but please make it your own.
- Lectio: Read and re-read the teaching and passages until the message is understood and the details become familiar.
- Meditatio: In the meditation ask, what does this text say to me, today, and to my life.
- Oratio: Consider prayer to be a simple conversation with the Cosmic Christ spirit within you.
- Contemplatio: Contemplation can take many forms, writing, drawing, sharing with others, etc. For the best results there should be a willingness to change, an openness and trust in Christ, and the decision to follow Christ’s spirit rather than our own ego. Ask yourself: What conversion of the mind, heart, and life is the Spirit of Christ asking of me?
In quiet meditation ask yourself what word or words from the teaching caught your attention. What in the passages challenged you?
Read the teaching again and speak directly to Christ who resides within you. Have a conversation (prayer) with Christ.
“But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
Matthew 6:6
Read the teaching one more time and through contemplation ask; what conversion of mind and heart is the Spirit of Christ asking from me today.
How might we journey with God to experience life in solidarity with the oppressed?
In such a journey how can we realize solidarity as integral to our lifework and salvation?
How might we take seriously the unproductiveness of human will in overcoming social sin?
How can we open ourselves to the need for grace in the struggles to overcome the destructive blindness to our attachments, thus become free to love?
God bless,
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