Something to think about | Ignatius felt that the ironic and satirical writings of people such as Erasmus undermined the morale of the Church, the Community. So his Tenth Guideline [362] advises the retreatant to be more inclined to praise than to blame and to deal privately with those able to address the problem in the Community. In today’s world, this inclination to praise rather than blame and always assume the person is operating out of sincere motives, is sorely needed. It seems that not only in the Church, but in all of society, we are quick to find fault and blame. We hardly take the time to really listen to what a person is saying before we are already preparing rebuttals. We seem to have forgotten that we are all part of the Great Work, that all persons are an expression of God’s loving presence — even those whose opinions are totally different than ours. They are still expressing some truth. And we need to look for the truth and build together on that foundation rather than focus on differences and tear each other apart.
Praise Rather than Blame
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I was digging through Evagrius Ponticus’ Praktikos earlier this week, and noticed he was very much of Ignatius’ mind on this (or rather Ignatius was of his mind – given the dates!). Evagrius worried [Praktikos 11] about the dangers of anger for his monks, the sort where you find yourself vexed with another, stirring up your indignation. His concern is not only for the one who is angry – who risks having his soul darkened — but also for the brothers that the anger might drive off.
Our souls are darker when we stir ourselves and others up and I worry who we are driving off!
As I browse some websites where it seems that one purpose of the posts is to incite the reader to indignation over some offense or other (liturgical or moral or..), I wonder if we need to re-visit Ignatius’ and Evagrius’ advice before we drive out our brothers and sisters and allow our own souls to be darkened.
I was reading the exercises, comments, and posts. Yes, I really think we have forgotten to listen to the other person’ point of view. Furthermore, we really think our opinion, experience or involvement in the Community is really the best; and nothing else count. We are so ready to blame rather than praise and allow ourselves to form our own concept of things in life. Important is to appreciate the endless gifts God our Lord give us. Yes, we all should be mindfully of our thoughts and actions, and respect other people’s opinion. Afterall. we are God’s creation.