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Catherine's Spirituality of the Cross

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Catherine's Spirituality of the Cross The MAs'o~~na~ The Journal of the Mercy Association in Scripture and Theology VOL. 2, NO. 2 SPRING 1992 Mercy Spirituality Towards a Theology of Mercy Mary Ann Scofield, RSM Contem~orarvChallen~es of Our Charism 1 U 0 Mary Daly, RSM 1I Catherine's S~iritualitv1 U of the Cross I1 Janet Ruffing, RSM 1I The Merciful Res~onse1 to Violence I1 Julia Ann Upton, RSM 1I Devotion to the Passion of Christ: A South African Slant I1 Jean Evans, RSM Book Review: With All Our Heart and Mind By Sidney Callahan, Reviewed by Marie Michele Donnelly, RSM Catherine's Spirituality of the Cross Janet Ruffi~~g, RSM The intractable fact of suffering in our world and detached from the concrete circumstances of Jesus' the consequences of Christian discipleship require us own mission and ministry and the reasons why he suf- as Christians and as Sisters of Mercy to reappropriate fered death as a criminal. This strand of piety focused in a healthy way an energizing and hopeful spirituality instead on the virtues Jesus demonstrated in response of the cross. Feminist criticism of a mystique of suf- to insult, persecution, and physical pain. Suffering, in fering and our own assumptions that all suffering is to a certain way, took on a salvific meaning in itself. be avoided or overcome could deprive us of a neces- Merely by suffering uncomplainingly, one could sary resource in Christian spirituality and in our mercy become holy and participate in a sacrificial love for heritage. Catherine McAuley's experiences led her to others. The virtues cultivated were humility, patience, develop a profound spirituality of the cross. This focus silence, obedience, and imperturbability. In order to on the cross of Christ was integral to her experience of participate in this mystique of suffering, one actively God as mercy and integral to her call to embody that sought or welcomed opportunities to suffer. same mercy in her world. I first examine elements in Catherine's spirituality of the cross through the lens of Segundo Galilea's lib- eration theology to provide a new way of understand- .. we can experience ing the cross. I then suggest the questions we need to peace and joy in the confront in order to develop a spirituality of the cross for today which avoids the negative pitfalls of the ones midst of pain. which most of us have rejected. This renewed spiritu- ality of the cross can provide us with the spiritual resources we need to sustain the works of mercy in What are the benefits of a spirituality of the cross both our first world and third world contexts. of this kind? First, all suffering is endowed with pro- found meaning. By uniting our suffering with the suf- An Earlier Spirituality of the Cross fering of Christ, we can achieve forgiveness for our To our late twentieth century ears, the language sins and win grace and blessing for others, both living and assumptions of nineteenth-century piety, exempli- and dead. Suffering becomes service in behalf of the fied by the Devotion to the Passion of Christ, neighbor. Devotion to the Sacred Heart and Devotion to the Secondly, we discover a stance to take toward per- Blessed Sacrament may seem privatized, morose, or sonal suffering. We become willing to embrace it and life-diminishing. This piety grew out of helplessness allow it to transform us into other Christs by our imita- in the face of overwhelming suffering from illness, the tion of his virtues. By concentrating on Jesus in his omnipresence of death, the dehumanization of the very humanity, we enter into a profound communion with poor, and grindingly unjust social conditions. Jesus that can be intimate, loving, and life-giving in From the late medieval period through the first the midst of hardship and death. We discover that we half of this century, much popular piety has focused on can experience peace and joy in the midst of pain. the image of the suffering body of Jesus. First, paint- Those who suffer most from unjust social conditions ing and sculpture began to portray scenes from the can find religious meaning in their lot in life. Women passion such as the agony in the garden, the whipping, may feel particularly identified with the physicality of and the crowning with thorns. Francis of Assisi exem- Jesus's suffering because it resembled their pain and plified this trend when he initiated the Stations of the the frequent threat to their lives in childbirth, lactation, Cross as a popular devotion. Second, representations nurturing, care-taking, and sexual violence. Ordinary of the cross graphically emphasized the dead body, experience became religiously significant by the atti- which had been avoided in earlier depictions of the tri- tude one took toward it.2 umphant cross. Third, a new image appeared, the Pieta Finally, the veil between this world and the next - an archetype of female grief, a widow holding her becomes transparent; hope for eternal life helps us only son's dead body.' endure the present hardship. Heaven is infinitely better This piety expresses a profound sense of identifi- than "this miserable world" or "this vale of tears". We cation with Jesus in and through suffering. In Jesus, can endure our limitations or powerlessness in the face God's awareness of our brokenness and hardship and of present suffering, including the loss of children, God's solidarity with suffering men and women are parents, spouse, or companions in community because manifested. Gradually, this emphasis on how much we will all be reunited in heaven. To cling to a present Jesus suffered for us, and how we enter into relation- relationship is to prevent the beloved's passage into a ship with Jesus through suffering and conflict became better life. There were, however, some dangers in this form father's premature death, and her mother's inability to of piety. Some spiritualities of the cross resulted in manage the family finances and her subsequently diffi- submission to the status quo in church and society. cult death left Catherine and her siblings orphans in The poor or oppressed were told to imitate Jesus in his their teens. humility and obedience rather than resist or revolt. Financial difficulties again required her to move The privileged benefitted from this piety of passivity from the more congenial Conway home to the eco- because it rendered the poor more pliable to their nomically comfortable but religiously hostile exploiters.' Armstrong household. From there she moved to the There was also great potential for deforming the Callaghans who loved and respected her. They offered divine image into a cruel or sadistic father who could her a genuinely familial environment, religious toler- be satisfied only by the agonizing death of his son. ance, and eventually left her their fortune. Such a God could become angry and vindictive, ready to punish or crush the non-repentant sinner. This spiri- tuality can so erode self-esteem that people feel per- petually guilty and easily coerced into compliance by (Catherine's) experience taught authority. This criticism of spiritualities of the cross her that although suffering is has become familiar in our time, especially in libera- tion and feminist theologies. Finally, the creation part of. life, it is often itself, "this dear sweet world," could be so devalued reversed in sudden and that people felt little incentive to improve the quality of present life, to prevent or relieve suffering, or even unexpected ways. to appreciate the good gifts of the creator God in natu- ral beauty and relationship^.^ Catherine's formative experience was thus one of A Liberation Spirituality of the Cross an alternation of difficulty and comfort which always Segundo Galilea identifies three aspects of an somehow turned out all right. She learned to cope with authentic spirituality of the cross. (1) "We are limited this unpredictability in her experience by reliance on and vulnerable; illness, frustration, suffering, and prayer, especially The Jesus Psalter. She read and death are integral parts of our life." To place this expe- meditated on the Scriptures and imitated the virtues of rience in the context of our following of Jesus opens the suffering Christ proposed in the Devotion to the us to a release of spirit within us. In Christian faith, Sacred Heart. Catherine was so discrete about her suffering and death do not have the last word, but are inner life that we can only assume that this early hard- ultimately overcome in the mystery of God's mercy ship and bereavement deepened her intimacy with which meets us in Christ. (2) "The cross is the price Christ. Her experience taught her that although suffer- and path of conversion. Because we are immersed in ing is part of every human life, it is often reversed in egoism and the tendency toward sin, the path of con- sudden and unexpected ways. version to the following of Jesus is a path of repen- Even as her Devotion to the Passion gave meaning tance for sin and resistance against our own particular and significance to her suffering, she also grew to trust form of egoism."'(3) "The cross as suffering and con- this Mystery which somehow encompassed her and tradiction, as persecution and even death, is a result of cared for her in a most fundamental way. Her trust in faithful commitment to Jesus and his Gospel of the providence was as strong as her attraction to the suf- Kingdom." This is the fullest meaning of participation fering Christ. And she discerned a loving and compas- in the paschal mystery because this is the primary sionate God in and through the events of her life.' form of Jesus' own suffering witness.
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