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By Christopher William Morris a Thesis Submitted in Fulfilment of the Requirements for Th i The Cross Now Rooted Breaks In Bloom: A study of Bruno Barnhart’s ‘Wisdom Knowing’ and Wholeness in Christian Life. by Christopher William Morris A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Divinity 2020 ii Abstract This thesis is a study of the work of the Camaldolese Benedictine monk, Fr Bruno Barnhart (1931-2015). He envisions the Christian life from the perspective of wisdom and centred in participatory knowing. Barnhart develops a vision for wisdom today inspired by the Second Vatican Council and framed around four key ‘turns’: an umbrella turn, ‘the sapiential awakening’ representing the fundamental turn towards a wisdom approach; and three further turns to respond to today’s diverse context - ‘the eastern, western and global turns.’ The thesis will show how the four turns can be interpreted as four principles of ‘wisdom knowing’ - a core principle (radical participation) and three dynamic principles (nonduality, creative freedom, and communion). It will argue that wisdom knowing contributes to two issues identified by scholars of the discipline of Christian spirituality. Firstly, the need to foster wholeness in Christian life through engagement with multiple perspectives. Secondly, in light of the diversity of these perspectives, to develop processes of interpretation to discern Christian specificity. The discipline proposes the category of lived experience to address these issues. The relationship between lived experience and wisdom knowing provides the basis for further investigation into its potential for cultivating wholeness in Christian life. The investigation will centre on the three dynamic principles of wisdom knowing and their significance as orientation points for three key areas of Christian lived experience: nonduality for self-transcendence; creative freedom for life-integration; and communion for the movement towards fullness of life in God. iii The findings of the investigation show how wisdom knowing merits consideration as a way to cultivate wholeness through its engagement with lived experience and also three areas of Christian history: nonduality highlights the unity at the source particularly alive in the early church; creative freedom provides a means to navigate the growth of rationality in the period of the Enlightenment in terms of the incarnational process; and communion offers a process to engage with postmodern conditions whilst maintaining a unitive horizon. The potential of wisdom knowing is further revealed by developing a framework to demonstrate its practical application through theological, personal and textual engagement. The thesis concludes by making recommendations for its wider application in the life of the church. iv Declaration of originality I hereby certify that this thesis contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree of diploma in any university or other institution and affirm that to the best of my knowledge, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference is made in the text of the thesis. Signed: Date: 26 May 2020 v Acknowledgments I express my deep gratitude to my supervisors for their guidance at every stage. To Rev. Professor Austin Cooper OMI for his constant affirmation of this project. His own love and living of wisdom ensured the project maintained its sense of wisdom throughout. To the Very Rev. Dr. Kevin Lenehan for his theological insight and unwavering encouragement. I also acknowledge the generous support of the Camaldolese Benedictine community of Big Sur, California. The community’s warm welcome to spend time with Fr. Bruno and to make the hermitage a second home I hold dear to my heart. Particular thanks to the Prior Fr. Cyprian Consiglio and Fr. Raniero Hoffman for their ongoing support. My own Camaldolese formation is fundamental to this project and I also thank the Australian Camaldolese Oblate community, especially Fr. Michael Mifsud. I express my deep gratitude to the community of the Catholic Theological College, Melbourne. To the former Master and now Bishop, the Most Rev. Assoc. Prof. Shane Mackinlay for giving me the enormous honour of joining the staff and the space to embark on this project I am immensely grateful. To all the staff of CTC, their encouragement and friendship is deeply valued and has provided a fertile environment to engage in the work. I appreciate the support of the Dean, Dr Rosemary Canavan, the Postgraduate and Research Coordinators, Rev. Dr Phillip Gleeson SDB and Rev. Dr. Max Vodola, and the staff of the Mannix Library. vi I also acknowledge the community of St Ambrose’s and the Sancta Sophia Meditation Community, and to the many groups and individuals with whom I have shared this work over the years. Special thanks to Sr Felicia Holland, Trish Murray, Bronwyn Checkley, Sr Helen Duffy, Jude Caspersz, Gavan Carey, Nanette Walsh, Dr Birute Arendarcikas RSM, and Rev. Assoc. Prof. John Dupuche. Many thanks also to Adam Jarvis for his generous editorial work. I am very grateful to my family for their love, support and formation: my father Kerwin (deceased), mother Merle (deceased) and siblings Liz, Steve (deceased), John, Jane, Pauline, Margaret and Tom. To my wife Louise and children Evie and Agatha, I dedicate this work to you. Spirituality is lived and formed by the particularity of place. My ‘spiritual’ place is within our home and its love is imprinted on this work. To Evie and Agatha, thank you for your creativity and wisdom of wonder. To Lou, my deepest thanks for your unconditional love and grace. vii Table of contents Abstract .................................................................................................................. ii Declaration of originality ........................................................................................ iv Acknowledgments ..................................................................................................v Table of contents .................................................................................................. vii Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Significance and possibilities of Barnhart’s work ........................................... 5 1.2 Issues addressed by the thesis..................................................................... 7 a) Wholistic perspectives ................................................................................. 7 b) Christian specificity ................................................................................... 10 1.3 Aim of the thesis ......................................................................................... 10 1.4 Scope of the thesis ..................................................................................... 12 1.5 Method of the thesis ................................................................................... 15 1.6 The cross now rooted breaks in bloom ....................................................... 19 Chapter 1: Barnhart’s wisdom knowing .............................................................. 21 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 21 Part 1: Barnhart’s life and works .......................................................................... 21 1.1 Life history .................................................................................................. 21 1.2 Writings ...................................................................................................... 33 a) Three periods of Christian wisdom ............................................................ 33 b) Barnhart’s three key works ........................................................................ 35 1.3 Barnhart’s style and influences ................................................................... 39 a) The sapiential awakening of the 20th century ............................................ 41 b) The eastern turn ........................................................................................ 43 c) The western turn ....................................................................................... 43 d) The global turn .......................................................................................... 44 Table 1: Barnhart’s significant influences ............................................................. 45 Part 2: Barnhart’s approach to wisdom ................................................................ 48 2.1 Wisdom in context ...................................................................................... 48 2.2 Barnhart’s transcendent wisdom ................................................................. 51 2.3 Wisdom knowing ........................................................................................ 54 viii a) Core principle: knowing by participation .................................................... 55 b) Dynamic principles: unitive, creative and communion ............................... 57 Part 3: Wisdom and literary form.......................................................................... 60 3.1 Wisdom literature........................................................................................ 60 3.2 Poetic discourse ......................................................................................... 62 a) Poetry as knowing by participation ...........................................................
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