{"id":1321,"date":"2017-07-02T00:05:10","date_gmt":"2017-07-02T00:05:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/?p=1321"},"modified":"2025-10-21T18:15:04","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T18:15:04","slug":"still-rejoicing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/still-rejoicing\/","title":{"rendered":"Still Rejoicing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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My father reminded me of this good advice when I was in my teens: “…whatever is true, … whatever is lovely, … think about these things.” My response was something like ‘…because they won’t last.’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wasn’t happy about saying that at the time. I still regret it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I can’t, of course, undo what was done. And the time for telling my father “I’m sorry” has long since passed. In any case, I said “I’m sorry” too often, and that’s almost another topic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The quote is from Philippians 4:6<\/a>–9<\/a>. I’ll get back to that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the advice from Philippians isn’t easy for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it’s been getting easier as I work though a massive backlog of bad habits. Nothing unusual there, since we’re all dealing with consequences of a bad choice described in Genesis 3:1<\/a>–13<\/a>.1<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a><\/a>My inner housecleaning got a boost about 11 years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s when my wife told me I should talk to a psychiatrist. As usual, she was right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We knew I had problems. Now we know more about what they are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That didn’t make them go away, but it helps me deal with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most obvious problem was depression. It still is, but now I don’t have to fight the controls just to make my brain work. Antidepressants keep my body from running through neurotransmitters faster than they’re produced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I even have moments when I feel good about who I am and what I do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s a nice change of pace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like I said, antidepressants didn’t make my problems go away. But they make dealing with Asperger’s\/ASD\/whatever, plus PTSD<\/a> and assorted other glitches, a whole lot easier. Let’s face it, I’m a mess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Melancholia was being redefined<\/a> as depressive reaction while I was growing up, then to depressive neurosis. Maybe it’s just as well that my condition wasn’t spotted then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We’ve been learning a great deal about mental illness. There’s a great deal left to learn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s been some time since I ran into the notion that medication and faith don’t get along. But I’ll repeat what I’ve said before: being and staying healthy is a good idea, within reason. (March 31, 2017<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If I’d spent more than four decades of my life in a different way \u2014 I wouldn’t be where I am today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Joy, Zest, and Mud<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>As it is, I had an opportunity to reason my way out of suicide; and developed a knack for seeing beauty in just about anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeing a crescent moon, or noticing symmetries and order in drying mud<\/a>, didn’t give me an emotional rush of wonder and delight very often. It still doesn’t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I learned to appreciate the beauty that’s built into this universe. It’s always available for inspection, no matter what sort of emotions I’m experiencing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Decades later, I learned that paying attention to such things can help us find God. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 341, 1147)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A dictionary says that joy<\/a> can mean intense happiness: particularly ecstatic or exultant happiness. Ecstasy<\/a> can mean intense joy or delight, getting so emotionally whipped up that rational thought and self-control are impossible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ve run into folks who seem to approach faith with a zest and enthusiasm worthy of a homecoming game pep rally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s okay, I suppose. But I very much prefer a faith that still works when all the light and color has drained from the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Emotions Happen<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Experiencing emotions is part of being human. They’re not good or bad, by themselves. It’s what I decide to do with them that matters. (Catechism, 1767-1770)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using my brain is part of being human, too: or should be. Doing what is right is easier when my emotions are in sync with my reason. But how I feel shouldn’t determine what I do. I’m expected to think.<\/strong> Catechism, 1777-1782)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My faith depends on what I decide to think is true: not how I’m feeling. (Catechism, 30, 142-150, 156-159, 274, 1706)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it’s not all about cold logic. Now and then we get a glimpse of the beatific vision. The beatific vision is contemplation of God in heavenly glory. (Catechism, 163, 1028)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s what I’m told, at any rate. I don’t know from personal experience. My metaphorical mirror isn’t all that shiny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.”
\n(1 Corinthians 13:12<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

That’s okay: since, like 2 Corinthians 5:7<\/a> says, “we walk by faith, not by sight.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a Catholic, I must believe that by using reason, we’re “…capable of understanding the order of things established by the Creator…;” and that “conscience is a judgment of reason … a law of the mind….” (Catechism, 1704, 1778)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s not blind faith, or the sort that avoids facts and reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Swooning Saints and Ham Sandwiches<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Maybe it’s just as well that I haven’t gotten the ecstatic ‘beatific vision’ experience described in some tales of Saints like Teresa of \u00c1vila<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Swooning Saints were a staple of some Medieval and Victorian pop literature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Saints are real. Some of the tales, apparently not so much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Garrigou-Lagrange’s advice for folks getting “visions” like that makes sense to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Basically, they should calm down, go to the kitchen, and eat something. They’re hungry, or tired; possible both:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“…These swoons should be eliminated as much as possible; they should be resisted and the organism strengthened by more substantial food….”
\n(“The Three Ages of the Interior Life: Prelude of Eternal Life<\/a>,” Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange (1938-1939) via Google Books<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

My cure for that sort of ‘mystical experience’ would be a ham sandwich.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Again, there’s nothing wrong with emotions. Affective piety<\/a>, intensely emotional devotion to some part of our Lord’s life, is important for some folks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What gets us in trouble is letting emotions replace thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expecting the sort of mystical ecstasy Teresa of \u00c1vila<\/a> reported isn’t reasonable. Folks like her don’t come along very often. She was remarkable, even for a Saint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Wanting happiness, within reason, makes sense. I put definitions of happiness and the beatific vision at the end of this post.2<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On a related point, I’ve been learning that Christian mysticism makes sense. The real thing, that is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think David Torkington<\/a> does a good job of discussing differences between today’s Pelagianism retread and serious mysticism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also recommend studying “Jesus Christ The Bearer Of The Water Of Life….” At upwards of 26,000 words, it’s not light reading. But it’s worth the effort, I think:<\/p>\n\n\n\n