Today
is the Feast of Epiphany: revealing, making known. It is the feast
of the Divine Child being recognized by the Magi. Today we will reflect
on the way in which John Paul II reveals himself and especially his
prayer to us. We will listen to what he says himself in the second
and third chapters of CROSSING THE THRESHOLD OF HOPE, and then to
what he says in some other places and to what some contemporary commentators
say about him.
The
way Messori Vittorio asks the question in the book about how the Pope
prays raises powerful expectations. He implies that if we know how
the Pope prays we will understand the "secret of his heart,"
that is to say we will understand the man. Then because Messori claims
of him that "no one is put in such a close relationship with
God," to know how he prays, is somehow, to know how we ought
to pray.
"Perhaps it is worth starting," the Pope replies, "with
Saint Paul's letter to the
Romans.
The apostle comes to the heart of the matter when he writes: 'The
Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness: for we do not know how
to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible
groanings.'" (The italics within quotes are the portions underlined
by the Pope in his original manuscript.) Then he goes on to explain
to us not how he prays but why he prays. "Our prayer begins with
God… In the conversation of prayer God is the initiator."
In prayer he says "the true protagonist is God. It is Christ
who constantly frees creation from slavery to corruption and leads
it towards liberty for the glory of the Children of God. The protagonist
is the Holy Spirit 'who comes to the aid of our weakness.'" (From
the context I assume that "protagonist" means "the
one who takes initiative." This is one of the confusing translations
in the book. Another irritating feature is the deliberate use of non-inclusive
language e.g. "man," meaning male and female, instead of
an inclusive word like "people.")
Then
the Holy Father goes on to say that, according to Saint Paul, prayer
reflects all created reality; it is in a certain sense a cosmic function.
"Man is the priest of all creation; he speaks in its name, but
only in so far as he is guided by the Spirit." Later speaking
of how necessary prayer is for the world he writes; "in the end
it constitutes the easiest way of making God and his redeeming love
present in the world."
The Pope says he prays about "the joy and the hope and the anguish
of the people of our time." (Vat II; Gaudium et Spes) "Gospel
means 'good news' and is always an invitation to joy. It is a grand
affirmation of the world and of man. God is the primary source of
joy and hope for man. This is the God whom Christ revealed….
The gospel above all is the joy of creation…. Creation was given
and entrusted to humankind as a duty, representing not a source of
suffering but the foundation of a creative existence in the world.
A person who believes in the essential goodness of all creation is
capable of discovering all the secrets of creation, in order to perfect
continually the work assigned to him by God… The work of redemption
is to elevate the work of creation to a new level."
Where
do we learn to pray? The books of Psalms, he says are irreplaceable?
Prayer is a work, or labor, of glory. It is not something we do for
God, but something God does for us. We learn too from the tradition
of mystical prayer in the East and West.
The Pope returns to the original question as to how he prays and says,
"The Pope prays as the Spirit permits him to pray… in his
concern for all the Churches every day the pontiff must open his prayer,
his thought, his heart to the entire world…. He prays for the
suffering… and for the dead".
"Prayer
is a search for God, but it is also a revelation of God…. through
prayer God reveals himself above all as Mercy that is a love that
goes out to those who are suffering…. A person who prays makes
God, who is merciful love, present in the world."
The
Pope's perspectives are very encouraging for anyone who meditates
in the tradition taught by John Main. For both men, prayer is a way
of being present to the Spirit praying within us. John Main once defined
meditation as "accepting the gift of one's being." The Popes
statement that we are all priests of creation is a very beautiful
way of expressing the same truth.
To
me, however, the Pope's text is rather disappointing in view of the
initial expectations that were set up. In the end it tells us what
the Pope thinks about prayer rather than what he does or feels when
he prays.
Maybe,
there is another way in which the book CROSSING THE THRESHOLD OF HOPE
tells us about the Pope and how he prays. Many commentators on the
present papacy would say that Pope John Paul is a pessimistic man,
always seeing dangers and uttering warnings and corrections. They
say that he has no concept of a loyal opposition and so he fills every
post with people who are in his own image. All of this fits him for
authoritarian leadership. As far back as 1985 the critical but loyal
TABLET of London had a leading article which said;
"People
are beginning to notice the creeping paranoia which seems to be seizing
Rome. For what kind of mentality is it which sees virtually the whole
church as cracking up and falling apart? Which harbors dark suspicions
of all but a few handpicked and specially certified bishops? Which
cannot trust religious orders, who have lasted centuries, to know
their own business…. The ordinary Catholic in the street is not
much concerned with ecclesiastical politics… but he does register
a general climate of distrust when Cardinals are treated like delinquent
schoolboys and religious orders like Fifth Columnists."
If
there is any validity in the foregoing observations, that the Vatican
acts in an authoritarian way and that the incumbent Pope is unduly
fearful about the state of the Church, this does not appear in the
pages of his book. He comes across in the book as a humble man, full
of hope and joy, and commitment to collegiality with his fellow bishops
in the leadership of the church. In reflecting on the state of the
Church, John Paul expresses trust in the future, relying on Jesus
promises. He comes across as a man without a doubt in the world.
However
the key to understanding him may be in the crucial message given at
the beginning and at the end of the book. It is summed up in the words
of the angel speaking to Mary, "Be not afraid." This seems
simple but it is not. Whoever really believes in God trusts in him:
and whoever trusts him is free from fear.
The
believer is often incapable of puzzling out God's plans and seeing
his hand behind painful human history. "In order to set contemporary
man free from fear of himself, of the world and of others… it
is necessary to pray fervently that he will bear and cultivate in
his heart that true fear of God, which is the beginning of wisdom.
This fear of God is the saving power of the Gospel. It is a constructive,
never destructive, fear."
If
we hear the Holy Father speak these words, firstly, to himself, we
may be getting closer to knowing what happens in his heart when he
prays. It may be that he is as afraid as anybody else of being overwhelmed
by life. In prayer he is facing the fear that he covers up when he
faces the world.
