So, what do you do when you are asked a question about something that is really important to you, but you have no idea how to answer it?
Well, if you are me, you might bumble around spurting out stupid things, hoping that the other person will grab on to something you can explain... until you realize that you are just shooting yourself in the foot, so then you just shut up.
This happened to me recently.
The question was something to the effect of: "Why pray, when you can spend the same amount of time doing something practical?"
Basically: contemplative nun vs normal person.
In other words, do cloistered nuns have a place in today's society? If one must be a nun, why not be a religious nurse, or teacher, or something that requires physical/visible contributions to society?
Well... I can pull out my Bible, my Catechism, Church Fathers, Lives of the Saints and repeat the traditions of 2,000 years + some. However, this would only be helpful if I were talking to someone who believed in the power of prayer. But when someone doesn't have the same founding premises as I do, what can I say? And how can I prove the benefits of a life dedicated to prayer naturally, from purely a philosophical/natural level? And simply?
This person is a blessing in my life, because he helps me get rid of the fluff. In talking to him there is a rule:
Rule 1: No complicated answers.
Ok. So here is my non-complicated answer... I hope:
• For a society to excel, the people must be virtuous. (Read Aristotle's Ethics & Politics, Aquinas' On Kingship, De Toqueville's Democracy in America.)
• Virtuous people (i.e., the happy people) are focused on the greater good. (Aristole, Plato, Scriptures, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, experience, etc.,.)
• Virtuous people become closer to perfection by continually striving to be better. These heroes are civil servants, volunteers, who do good things because they are good. "No greater love than giving up a life for a friend." They live to serve.
• Holy nuns live to serve. Some serve as nurses, etc.,. however, even as contemplatives, they view themselves as raising up humanity. They dedicate their whole life to contributing to the greatest good: valuing every person and helping every individual to heal from his/her own brokeness, or in their language, sinfulness. They do this by offering up prayers and supplications.
• Now say there is no God; and/or say their prayers don't really do all that they believe. Are their lives a waste?
No. They offer hope. They offer a place of peace. They are real examples of total self sacrifice, a virtue that even Hollywood tries to capture. Millions of people over centuries and even at this moment flock to places dedicated to prayer and healing, because at some point, all persons seek release from suffering.
Contemplatives offer real solutions: they live redemptive suffering (using suffering for good) and teach others how to do the same. Thus, they inspire others to be first class citizens, to walk the better, though harder road. They, by their own lives of prayer, learn how to rely not on events or persons to make them happy, but to find happiness in what cannot be taken away. In this, they are grounded and centered. This centeredness is very attractive to "normal" persons, who try to find this in everyday ways, such as in yoga. (Every culture has some form of persons specifically assigned to contemplation.)
AND even, if they have no contact with "normal" persons, they can be happy with themselves because they are living for a cause and entirely dedicating themselves to it.
• Now say there is God; and say their prayers really do all that they believe.
:-) Wouldn't you say they have the most noble life?
1. They strive to in every moment be focused on the will of God and conform themselves to perfection. In their seclusion and prayer focused life, they limit the distractions that the more "practical" secular life offers.
2. They are spending their lives in serving others, and not just anybody. They serve complete strangers and often the rejected, lonely, sick, and the hated.
3. The hope and peace that they offer others is greatly magnified because they have a unique connection with God, who is the Author of healing, joy and peace. Miracles through their intercession are possible and are more valuable than anything science can offer.
Well, if you are me, you might bumble around spurting out stupid things, hoping that the other person will grab on to something you can explain... until you realize that you are just shooting yourself in the foot, so then you just shut up.
This happened to me recently.
The question was something to the effect of: "Why pray, when you can spend the same amount of time doing something practical?"
Basically: contemplative nun vs normal person.
In other words, do cloistered nuns have a place in today's society? If one must be a nun, why not be a religious nurse, or teacher, or something that requires physical/visible contributions to society?
Well... I can pull out my Bible, my Catechism, Church Fathers, Lives of the Saints and repeat the traditions of 2,000 years + some. However, this would only be helpful if I were talking to someone who believed in the power of prayer. But when someone doesn't have the same founding premises as I do, what can I say? And how can I prove the benefits of a life dedicated to prayer naturally, from purely a philosophical/natural level? And simply?
This person is a blessing in my life, because he helps me get rid of the fluff. In talking to him there is a rule:
Rule 1: No complicated answers.
Ok. So here is my non-complicated answer... I hope:
• For a society to excel, the people must be virtuous. (Read Aristotle's Ethics & Politics, Aquinas' On Kingship, De Toqueville's Democracy in America.)
• Virtuous people (i.e., the happy people) are focused on the greater good. (Aristole, Plato, Scriptures, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, experience, etc.,.)
• Virtuous people become closer to perfection by continually striving to be better. These heroes are civil servants, volunteers, who do good things because they are good. "No greater love than giving up a life for a friend." They live to serve.
• Holy nuns live to serve. Some serve as nurses, etc.,. however, even as contemplatives, they view themselves as raising up humanity. They dedicate their whole life to contributing to the greatest good: valuing every person and helping every individual to heal from his/her own brokeness, or in their language, sinfulness. They do this by offering up prayers and supplications.
• Now say there is no God; and/or say their prayers don't really do all that they believe. Are their lives a waste?
No. They offer hope. They offer a place of peace. They are real examples of total self sacrifice, a virtue that even Hollywood tries to capture. Millions of people over centuries and even at this moment flock to places dedicated to prayer and healing, because at some point, all persons seek release from suffering.
Contemplatives offer real solutions: they live redemptive suffering (using suffering for good) and teach others how to do the same. Thus, they inspire others to be first class citizens, to walk the better, though harder road. They, by their own lives of prayer, learn how to rely not on events or persons to make them happy, but to find happiness in what cannot be taken away. In this, they are grounded and centered. This centeredness is very attractive to "normal" persons, who try to find this in everyday ways, such as in yoga. (Every culture has some form of persons specifically assigned to contemplation.)
AND even, if they have no contact with "normal" persons, they can be happy with themselves because they are living for a cause and entirely dedicating themselves to it.
• Now say there is God; and say their prayers really do all that they believe.
:-) Wouldn't you say they have the most noble life?
1. They strive to in every moment be focused on the will of God and conform themselves to perfection. In their seclusion and prayer focused life, they limit the distractions that the more "practical" secular life offers.
2. They are spending their lives in serving others, and not just anybody. They serve complete strangers and often the rejected, lonely, sick, and the hated.
3. The hope and peace that they offer others is greatly magnified because they have a unique connection with God, who is the Author of healing, joy and peace. Miracles through their intercession are possible and are more valuable than anything science can offer.
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