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Hearing the Call of God: Toward a Theological Phenomenology of Vocation

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Hearing the Call of God: Toward a Theological Phenomenology of Vocation HEARING THE CALL OF GOD: TOWARD A THEOLOGICAL PHENOMENOLOGY OF VOCATION Submitted by Meredith Ann Secomb B.A. (Hons) B.Theol. M.A. (Psych) Theol.M. A thesis submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy National School of Theology Faculty of Theology and Philosophy Australian Catholic University Research Services Locked Bag 4115 Fitzroy Victoria 3065 Australia March 2010 ii Statement of Sources This thesis contains no material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma. No parts of this thesis have been submitted towards the award of any other degree or diploma in any other tertiary institution. No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the main text of the thesis. Signed: _____________________ Date: _____________________ iii Abstract This study contributes to the development of a theological phenomenology of vocation. In so doing, it posits that the distressing condition of existential unrest can be a foundational motivation for the vocational search and argues that the discovery of one’s vocation, which necessarily entails an engagement with existential mystery, is served by attentiveness to what is termed the “pneumo-somatic” data of embodied consciousness. Hence, the study does not canvass the broad range of phenomena that would contribute to a comprehensive phenomenology of vocation. Rather, it seeks to highlight an aspect frequently overlooked in the vocational search, namely the value of attentiveness to one’s experience of the body in the context of prayerful engagement with the mystery of God. The questions addressed by the study arose from my experience of working at the interface of psychology and spirituality. People who have been subjected to extreme suffering frequently find that their usual modes of self-experience and of relating to the world have been stripped away. They experience agitation and restlessness. They are exposed to a mysterious and disturbing void at the core of their being and a profound existential self- question arises from that experience. Existential concerns have been addressed throughout the ages, engaging as they do both an interior experience of mystery and an ensuing self- question. Hans Urs von Balthasar explores these dynamics and articulates the self-question as “Who am I?” Another to address these issues is Bernard Lonergan who asks what it is to “be oneself.” For Balthasar the question is answered only by the discovery of one’s God- given vocation and mission. For Lonergan the question is answered by the authentic exercise of one’s capacity for self-transcendence. Ultimately, I suggest, both approaches are complementary. Both Balthasar and Lonergan envisage the possibility of lives lived in obedient attentiveness to the mystery of God’s grace. For Balthasar that attentiveness will result in alertness to the vocational and missionary calling with which God uniquely addresses each person. For Lonergan such attentiveness will result in being in love with God and in a life oriented ultimately towards the mystery of God’s love for us and our calling to serve in love. Balthasar and Lonergan complement one another in showing the full range of dynamics that constitute iv the human person. In relationship with God and with others, and through the authentic exercise of self-transcending intentionality, human beings not only find fulfilment but live lives that reveal the glory of God. Taken together, the ways in which Balthasar and Lonergan address these foundational human questions provide a comprehensive philosophical and theological underpinning for the consideration of vocation. In this study, I also draw on the work of the Lonergan scholar, Robert Doran, to help identify the dynamics of interiority that contribute to being adequately attentive to the manifestation of mystery in human consciousness. Doran’s notion of psychic conversion, and in particular his expansion of that conversion in an organic direction, serve my concerns. Doran provides an explanation for the tranquillity and rest that the human person seeks. For Doran such rest arises through attunement to God wherein there is no longer an object to which intentionality is directed. There is instead a nonintentional abandonment to the love of God, an experience that can overwhelm us by its impact upon our consciousness. I suggest that particular spiritual phenomena manifest at these times, such as the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the spiritual senses. The exercise of the gift of wisdom as well as an alert cooperation with the experience of the spiritual senses enables the development of a connatural attunement to God. I explore how it is that spiritual senses become evident in human consciousness and suggest that theological reflection needs to attend to a highly refined form of pneumo-somatic data that is available for attentive receptivity. Non-judgemental, accepting acknowledgement of the data of embodied consciousness is particularly important in the context of being exposed through faith to the new horizons of God’s love for us. Such love can upset our previous equanimity in its challenge to encompass new demands and, in the process, can generate anxiety and dread. It can have a decentring effect. I reflect on postmodern thinking which gives significant attention to the dynamic of decentring, as well as to the body and its engagement with mystery. Throughout the study, I emphasise the value of attentiveness to the felt-sense of embodied consciousness as a means for engagement with mystery. Through such attentiveness, human beings can learn to be attuned to God and to align themselves with God’s will for them in daily decision- making. People will thereby be helped to find the unique way in which God wishes them to love God and lovingly to serve others. In the ensuing discovery of their vocation, they find an answer to their existential self-questions. v Acknowledgements I gratefully thank my supervisors, Professors Anne Hunt OAM and Anthony Kelly CSsR. They gave me freedom to explore and provided a secure and encouraging foundation for that exploration. My supervision sessions with them were fun, and I thank them for this as well as for the astute direction they gave me. I thank Rev. Dr. John Follent O.C.D. whose relish for Hans Urs von Balthasar kindled my own. I also thank Rev. Dr. Thomas Daly S.J. for the enthusiasm with which he introduced me to Bernard Lonergan S.J. and for bearing so patiently with all my questions. For the support over the years of the Australian Lonergan Workshop I am very grateful. By accepting me into their ranks and giving me the opportunity to try my hand at giving papers, its members contributed to my ability to offer this present study. I particularly thank the ALW president, Dr. John Little, for his gentle encouragement and friendship. This study has been informed throughout by the insights, derived in my psychological practice, from those whose suffering was openly and transparently shared with me. I learned so much from them and my thoughts have been greatly influenced by all that they taught me. Though I cannot name them, I remember them individually and thank each one of them for the privilege of sharing in their journey. I thank my dear friends who constantly helped me discern my path and gave encouragement and support in all sorts of ways: Amanda Dunlop, Bernadette Reeders, Bernadette Micallef, Glenys and Richard Gijsbers, Jan Dohnt, John Foster and Pat Gibney ( requiescat in pace ). Finally, I thank my husband, Dave, for encompassing my spiritual journey over all these years, and for coping with the shock of exposure to paths little travelled. Without his support none of this would have been possible. vi CONTENTS Statement of Sources .................................................................................................. ii Abstract.......................................................................................................................iii Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................v CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 1 1. A Phenomenological Method................................................................................... 2 2. Aims and Limitations ............................................................................................... 8 3. Outline of the Thesis.............................................................................................. 10 CHAPTER 2: VOCATION AND DISCERNMENT ................................................................ 13 1. Vocation and Contemporary Culture...................................................................... 13 2. Vocation in Scripture and Tradition........................................................................ 16 3. Some Contemporary Approaches to Vocation ....................................................... 23 4. Discernment in Scripture, Tradition and Contemporary Thinking........................... 30 5. Summary and Conclusion....................................................................................... 42 CHAPTER 3: VOCATION AND MISSION IN HANS URS VON BALTHASAR ......................... 44 1. Experience: The Foundation of a Theology of Vocation.......................................... 44 2. An Aesthetic Precondition and the Role of Faith ...................................................
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