By Neal Faciane T.O. Carm.
Why are so many people ANGRY?
Why is there so much RAGE in our world?
During the time in which we now live, we have seen many signs of a world crying out in pain, everything from senseless mass killings, to terrorism, gun violence, road rage, and rioting. In addition, we are seeing an increased awareness in our present day of the reality of sex trafficking, sexual abuse of children, and a multitude of various types of addictions that all tear down the value of the life that God intended for us. Many of our youth no longer believe, nor are they grounded in the home to know that there is a God who loves or cares for them. We see many of all ages giving up hope and turning more and more to outer means to dull the pain that is felt within. We seem to have lost touch with the deepest desires of our hearts. And when we allow our faith to fade, that deep fear and finality of death raises its ugly head. It may be this same deep fear that is masking itself outwardly as anger and rage. From this point on a downward spiral begins to take place and apathy and frustration begin to infiltrate those souls. Any glimmer of hope for a life beyond this one here on Earth for them dies. So, when faith fails and hope dies, there is little love for God or for our neighbor to be found. The value of the lives of others no longer overrides the selfish desires of the ones who live without faith, hope, or love. Of course, this is not happening to everyone; but, like the Covid 19 Pandemic of the Year 2020, we are seeing a breakdown of the spiritual health and wellbeing of individuals spreading more and more.
For most of us, the Covid 19 Pandemic gave us the time necessary for a major reset in our lives. From this time, where our lives were put on hold, we experienced an almost inescapable stillness instead of the “breakneck” pace that our busy lives had accepted as the “normal”. We began to see things in a new light. And in this new perspective, we became aware of feelings which had grown numb due to the stress experienced in our prior daily lives. Our lives became filled again with many wonderful and powerful feelings.
Not only did we begin to see much beauty in our world, but we also began to realize how we had allowed many past injustices to continue for far too long. We were already angry, because we could not freely “get” or “do” the things that we wanted. In addition, we experienced an intense anger caused by the fear that the pandemic always kept hovering over our heads. This fear, which was completely understandable, caused many to remain in complete isolation in the safety of their homes. But anger over the many injustices took to the forefront and that anger was so intense that it overcame the fear of death and dying.
For many, there seemed to be a need to lash out against these injustices immediately. Before we knew it, we saw peaceful protests turn into riots, which resulted in not only destroyed business and public property, but also resulted in many cases, injury to other people. The very people that these protests intended to help were left physically, emotionally, and economically injured. Now anger and frustration are just feelings; but, if we let those feelings fester into uncontrollable rage, especially where we harm others, then we need to look deeper into the root causes of such behavior.
Perhaps, we may need to see this “reset time” as being a real game changer for us. Are these times of anger and frustration indications that we may need to look more in the stillness of our hearts for a solution? As we slowly emerge from the worst of the Covid 19 pandemic, can we return to that inescapable stillness again? Whether we are aware of it or not, when this need to look within occurs, as Saint John of the Cross a 16th century Discalced Carmelite priest states, “we are being stirred by our deepest desires; that is, the longing of our hearts for God alone.”
Maybe our challenge will be to seek a solution through our relationship with God within. This relationship, of which I am speaking, is not intended to be one of selfishly seeking God, just to tingle the senses or to seek spiritual consolation after consolation, which can become just another type of addiction. Rather, I am speaking of a relationship, which ultimately motivates each of us to reach outside of ourselves to the people and the world that surrounds us. When this relationship leads to changes in society which stem from hearts that have been transformed in the love of God, they might become more effective in achieving their goal.
Perhaps we “as a people” are to expect a deeper experience of what Saint John of the Cross refers to as the “Dark Night” in our community, our country, and our world. We can certainly see how this process has already begun. When I speak of St. John of the Cross’s Dark Night, I am not referring just to living through some terrible event or events; but rather, I am speaking of the process of the radical purgation and inner transformation that occurs in one’s life. And this process of the “Dark Night” is one that sheds the light of Christ on that which has been hidden deep within one’s being. It does not end in just the “bringing to light” of those things that may have been hidden; but it “eventually” brings about a radical transformation in our relationship with God, which in turn, influences the way we live out our lives with others. And this “eventual” transformation through love expands the boundaries of our souls, which can lead to effective changes in our communities, our country, and our entire world. We might even begin to see that the church, which is the Body of Christ, is not exempt from living through these same “Dark Night” experiences.
I recall that back in the Year 1999, I attended a short course titled, “The Coming of the New Millennium” in my local church parish. The Catholic priest that gave this course outlined a timeline of the history that showed us that about every 500 years in our history had brought about some radical revelation for mankind. And about every thousand years of time had brought about an even more radical type of change, sometimes for the good and sometimes for the bad. So, the question that I often wonder is whether the year 2020, with all its many catastrophes, the beginning necessary to start the radical change in the New Millennium? Time does not always yield to our “microwave mentality”, so ten to twenty years is just a blip in the timeline of a thousand years.
Has humanity reached a point in time, in which we will come to terms with our own inner paradigm shift? If so, I believe that we will find that even though there are many things for us to “do” in life, real effective change in our world will take place when we understand that it is not so much about “doing” as it is about “BEING”. This “being” that I am referring to is an inner realization of the importance of who we are as children of God. We begin to see that we live our lives on the outer surface of who we really are deep within. This is not an intellectual process; but rather, it is an inner spiritual journey of faith into the “center of our center”. And it is the Holy Spirit that guides us and transforms our lives. When we yield to the stirrings of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we not only begin to truly know ourselves, but we also find that God lives deep within our hearts. True humility enters our lives. We painfully begin to see how we have drowned out the deepest desires of our hearts with unhealthy attachments to the things of this world; the worst of which have made us less than “fully human, fully alive”. On this matter, St. John of the Cross says that we can never become more than that of which we have formed a “disorderly attachment”.
So, “What is your deepest desire?” Have you heard the screams of a world crying out in pain? Do you wish to live a life dominated by fear, anger, or even rage? Or do you wish to live a life transformed in the love of God?
And you may ask, how might one begin this inner journey? St. Teresa of Avila, another 16th century Discalced Carmelite, says that for us to advance spiritually, we must seek detachment, have true humility through self-knowledge, have love for our neighbor, and above all else live a life of prayer.
And might I remind you that this is a journey where we cooperate with the grace of God. No matter how quick we want to reach a destination on this journey, we yield to God’s time.
Let us begin that journey with prayer.
Father, we ask that your miraculous intervention into our lives continues from the healing of our physical needs of the Covid 19 pandemic to the healing of our spiritual needs during this time of turmoil in our world where anger and rage seem to be more and more prevalent. Grant us the grace that we might be able to still our restless hearts and listen to that small quiet voice where You speak to us within. And grant us the grace to be able to see and appreciate all that you do for us. Draw us ever closer to you and grant us peace. We ask this through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.
Neal Faciane is a 66 year old retired Veterinarian, who lives in Lacombe, Louisiana. He has been a Professed Third Order Carmelite since 1998. He just celebrating his 45th year anniversary with his wife Nadine. He has had a lifelong love with St. John of the Cross, mostly out of necessity. His spirituality has helped him grow in the love of God. He also has given numerous power point presentations on St. John of the Cross, everywhere from his church parish, to other Carmelite groups, and even to 122 incarcerated men (at their request).