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Aelred of Rievaulx* A Spirituality of Mercy: Aelred of Rievaulx* Katherine M. TePas Characteristics of Our Culture at the Juncture We are here to reflect together on spirituality at the juncture of modernity and postmodernity. What are the characteristics of our cul­ ture at this juncture? What are the questions and concerns of the human spirit? My reflections in these introductory remarks will focus on that culture which I have had the most time to ponder: the youth and aca­ demic culture in the United States as it moves toward the third­ millennium. Six years of high-school teaching, years of graduate studies at three universities, and my first semester of teaching at the univer­ sity level have not made me an expert on the postmodern world, but they have given me plenty to ponder. Two summers ago I was one of a dozen individuals taking an intensive Latin course at a university in the Chicago area. We were all aspiring scholars, united by our common effort to memorize Latin grammar and painstakingly work our way through Cicero's De amicitia. In spite of this common ground, we had an underlying philosophical and spiritual diversity that fascinated me. We included a devout Mor­ mon; a young evangelical whose eyes sparkled when he spoke of knowing Jesus personally; a Catholic who appreciated the Jesus story, but not necessarily the person of Jesus; a philosophy professor who did not believe in God but admired the rigorous thought of Catholic philosophers such as Aquinas and Alasdair Macintyre; and a second •This paper was presented at the January 9-12, 1993 "Scholars' Retreat" sponsored by The Abbey Center For The Study Of Ethics And Culture, Inc. at the Abbey of Gethsemani, Trappist, Kentucky. 115 116 Katherine M. TePas A Spirituality of Mercy 117 atheist who thought some people had eternal souls, while others, as aware of the almost incomprehensible suffering endured in far-away, revealed through their eyes, seemed to be dead already. famine-stricken countries and among the homeless in their own cities. One of the most vibrant characters in our group was an impas­ The majority of people I have encountered, however, do very sioned humanist who had rejected, years ago, his Christian upbringing. little to help: their right and freedom to pursue their own happiness He still believed in a subtle and awesome mystery which permeated takes precedence. They may bring a can of cranberry sauce for a the universe and an almost infinite untapped capacity within each Thanksgiving food drive, but, for the most part, they Jet others worry human spirit. This last Latin comrade was deeply concerned about the about the suffering masses. The students seem to assume that if all thousands of youth, especially those in the inner city, who had not have the rights and freedom to do whatever they want, then the suffer­ even begun to develop their human potential. Many of these never ing people can solve their own problems. When discussing whether knew the joy of learning because their lives had been sidetracked into or not they could morally spend $100,000 on a car, the chorus argued patterns of drugs and violence. His concerns were graphically substan­ that if they fairly earned the money they had the right to spend it as tiated by the daily news reports on rising gang warfare that plagued they pleased. As part of their own academic communities, the students Chicago's inner city. rest secure in their isolation. One undeniable mark of this culture at the juncture of moder­ In addition to diversity, an awareness of social justice issues, and nity and postmodernity is plurality. There is a diversity in ethnic back­ each person having an overriding concern for his or her own pursuit grounds, goals, political ideals, patterns of thinking, religious beliefs, of happiness, this age also seems marked by an intellectual ambiguity. and moral practices. This was obvious even in the Latin course. Diver­ The willingness to let others believe whatever they please has been sity is sometimes seen as an end in itself. When I asked a bright and accompanied by an absence of rigorous intellectual conversations. A pensive college senior what he wanted to do with his life, he responded postmodern combination of relativism and perhaps intellectual sloth " be different." When I further inquired for what purpose or reason seems to prevent people from trying to discern which idea or belief he wanted to be different, he had no answer. Apparently being differ­ might be more accurate. Students rarely speak in terms of truth and ent was a sufficiently worthy goal in itself. tend to react against anyone who claims to grasp a truth: such a claim Most observers of our culture see no sign that this diversity will seems cruel to them because it necessarily condemns someone else's decrease in the coming years: different ethnic and religious groups con­ position as false. There is rarely any common hunger to find the truth tinue to come to the United States and the multi-cultural movement and hence rarely any desire or ability to dialogue with others to find at universities appears to be gaining strength. Ideologies which en­ it. This lack of dialogue further isolates separate interest groups and couraged a melting-pot culture, such as nationalism, seem to have lost belief systems. their primacy. The balance has tipped from a focus on "one nation" Moreover, not only do students seem to doubt anyone's ability to a focus on the rights and freedom of the individual to do, think, to discover some ideological truth, they are also beginning to doubt and believe whatever he or she pleases. The lonely isolation of a radi­ whether physical and social sciences can ever solve the riddles of the cal individualism is usually avoided by the creation of a plethora of universe and the suffering of human society. There is a certain loss interest groups, each championing its separate causes. In some areas of confidence and hope. They have accepted the inevitability of the walls of ethnic ghettos have been broken down, only to be rebuilt change-change in society as well as change in text-book answers­ by equally isolated interest-group ghettos. but they are no longer convinced that with change comes inevitable This diversity and concern for group rights is accompanied by a progress. There were medical breakthroughs in cancer research, but sensitivity to social justice issues-or at least a great deal of talk devoted new, more horrible medical disasters such as AIDS appear before the to social justice issues. Students are quick to criticize any comment that problem of cancer has been solved. The iron curtain finally fell, but appears to be unfair or prejudiced, including comments which place brutal civil wars erupted. Germany was reunited and a neo-Nazi move­ one race, one ideology, or one religion above another. They are also ment began. There was a sense of freedom which accompanied the 118 Katherine M. TePas A Spirituality of Mercy 119 sexual revolution, but free-sex itself became a mandatory ritual-with Thus at the juncture of modernity and postmodernity, a spiri­ the young women getting themselves drunk in order to participate. tuality is needed that can survive and even blaze forth in a pluralistic, Such a loss of hope was combined with a certain distrust among ambiguous, and suffering world. A spirituality is needed which can those in the Latin course. The humanist did speak enthusiastically of unite people who do not share common values, beliefs, or ways of his hope of one day founding a new kind of school which would revital­ thinking, people who have retreated into separate interest-group ize students who dropped out of the regular system. Nevertheless, ghettos. A spirituality is needed which can give hope to people who most of the others spoke of his plans as a foolish dream doomed to have Jost confidence in scientific and social progress; people who have failure. They did not share his belief in an innate human goodness also Jost confidence in themselves and one another; people who have which Jay dormant, waiting to be awakened in rough, uneducated lost confidence in the possibility of permanent relationships, yet people youth. As already noted, one student believed some humans were al­ who still yearn to love and be loved. ready walking dead. Our culture has been humbled. This, in itself, is not necessarily Then there was the bitterness that developed in the main area a problem. The danger with being humbled, however, is that we can we had in common: our efforts to learn Latin. Those who did well slip into despair. looked down on those who were struggling unsuccessfully to keep up, and accused them of laziness. One student was convinced he could Aelred's Spirituality of Mercy not survive the course and dropped out. Those who continued the struggle looked on those who seemed to do well with relative ease and A wise friend once quipped that there is a simple answer to every accused them of a cold-hearted arrogance. problem, and it is usually wrong. With that stated, I will nevertheless One of the most poignant comments about our culture came from propose for your reflection and critique a somewhat simple answer. a big-hearted senior who was not part of the Latin course. He and his I hope that the answer I am tentatively putting forth, when combined live-in girlfriend were together raising their two-year-old daughter. with the corrections and different approaches of others, may help meet They had been faithful to each other for three years and talked of the spiritual needs of the postmodern world.
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