Empty For God
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Date
1996
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Tangaza University College
Abstract
In the religious life we are often taught about detachment from all things. The
reformer of my Carmelite Order, St. John of the Cross, was a doctor of detachment. In his
famous philosophy of detachment, or nothingness, he says that to possess everything desire
nothing. When you turn towards something you cease to cast yourself upon the all. For to go
from the all to the all you must leave yourself in all. And when you come to the possession
of all you must possess it without wanting anything. If I desire everything I get nothing.
Added to my spirituality as a Carmelite, the culture from which I come, Indian culture, has
a similar tone. In Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, we find a lot of emphasis on
detachment. According to these religions, desire is the cause of every evil. The book of
Ecclesiastes is not very far form these ideas.
While I was in Tanzania during my summer holidays last year, a Sister was supposed
to go to India on the 24th. of July; some of our members went on the 20th. to give her some
letters that had to be taken to India the same month. But surprisingly these people came back
bringing the news that the sister was dead! She was a medical doctor by profession. It made
me think that in life it is useless to be exhausted by many things. At the end we do not
know what will happen to us. When death invites us we cannot refuse the invitation no matter
who we are, or what we are. All learning, skill, fame, or whatever we have will go with us
to the tomb. But this does not mean that we must be pessimistic about the life we live. What
is needed is a detached interest in life. This is what the Book of Qoheleth says.
During my study of the book of Qoheleth (Ecclesiastes) I found much similarity
between the thoughts of Qoheleth, John of the Cross, Cartnelite spirituality, and the culture
from where I come; all of these emphasise detachment. My daily experiences too taught me
that, my life is not authentic and strong if it is not attached to the Corner Stone, the
foundation life - Jesus. Jesus said if your life is not build on me, it is like building a house
on the sand, when the storms of life and floods of trials come, your house, will not stand
erect (Luke 6:46-49). If we build our life on pleasure, pride and possessions, they will not
prevent our house falling apart when the winds of destruction blow against us. To build our
life on Jesus we must let go that which is not God and hold on to that which never perishes.
That is why, Our Lord himself said, 'go and sell everything' ( Luke 12:33: Matthew 19:21.)
So I thought of making a further study of Qoheleth and St. John of the Cross, to get more
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light on detachment.
Many think that John of the Cross and Qoheleth are cynics or defeatists or anti life.
They are not pessimists nor skeptics. Qoheleth was suspicious of possessions, pride and
pleasure. His daily experiences taught him the lessons of life. Pleasure comes and goes, and
leaves a person empty and void. The pride of life which takes satisfaction in domination and
doing ones own will. This pride too comes to an end. And as for possessions they give
tension rather than relief. St. Paul said there are only three things that last faith, love and
hope (1 Cor. 13:13). John, fell in love with God the giver of life. It was in union with God
that he saw how fleeting are the things of the world and how vain are our struggles to attain
them. It is said there are three kinds of people who tell the truth, wise men, poets and
mystics. Qoheleth is a wise man and John is a poet and mystic. John made the Wisdom of
God, Jesus Christ the giver of life as his constant companion, his pleasure, pride and
possession. John possessed God and God possessed John. Qoheleth and John bring out their
practical knowledge from their own personal experiences. To the materialistic world of today
Qoheleth and John offer a suitable answer.
Some one was asked, what do you read? I read the bible and the religious constitutions
was his answer. The Bible for my Christian life and the constitutions for my religious life.
So I have taken Qoheleth for the scriptural part and St. John of the Cross for the religious
life. The word of God finds expression in the life of the people. Religious life is one of the
ways where the word of God is lived. That is the reason for taking Qoheleth and St. John of
the Cross for my study of detachment.
Qoheleth is not a systematic man who puts his writings on a logical basis. As he
reflected on his experience, he put it on paper. Since he says so much about the futility of
human life, I took only a few passages from his book. John is systematic. John wrote
extensively on different things, but for me it is impossible to summarize the teachings of
Qoheleth or John of the Cross. For most people life seems to consist in pleasure, pride and
possessions. People dedicate the whole of their life trying to attain pleasure, pride or things
(material or non-material). So I have limited my research only to these three areas.
The first letter of John states that "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and
the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is the world 1 John 2:16.
The world here is the one who deliberately rejects Jesus and therefore God. Pleasure belongs
to the concupiscence of the flesh, possessions comes under the lust of the eyes, and pride
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comes under the sphere of pride of life. Therefore my study will be concentrated on the
detachment of pleasure, possessions and pride. I have taken very few passages form Qoheleth
and St. John of the Cross in my study of detachment. Here I am not making a summary of
their teaching on these subjects but how they are relevant to us today.
The reason I narrow down my research and concentrate on pleasure, pride and
possessions is this: religious make three vows, namely chastity, obedience and poverty. St.
Thomas Aquinas said that in the vow of chastity we promise to give up goods of the body
and thereby we keep ourselves free to love each and everyone. To love each and every one
we have to make some sacrifices. Pleasure is one of the goods of the body. Therefore there
is no room for self-centered pleasure. By the vow of obedience we give up the goods of the
will i.e. the need for power; pride is put to rest. And by the vow of poverty we renounce the
goods of the world i.e. the urge for possessions. Therefore the study of John of the Cross' and
Qoheleth's thoughts will help us to be detached and reinforce within us our commitment to
God.
The goal of John of the Cross is to reach God or union with God. We attain this
union through the way of faith, love and hope. This way is blocked by our attachment to
the creatures of this world. Pride perverts faith, pleasure perverts love and possession perverts
hope. Therefore our inordinate desire for these three "p's" has to be eliminated. These
alienate us from loving union with God. For Qoheleth all things are vanity and chasing after
the wind, because the enemy death comes and puts an end to all that we have and possess.
But for John of the Cross total negation is necessary to empty the self form our inordinate
craving for the things of the world. St. John of the Cross clearly states:
Hence, we call this nakedness a night for the soul. For we are not discussing the mere
lack of things; this lack will not divest the soul, if it craves for all these objects.
We are dealing with the denudation of the soul' appetites and gratifications;
this is what leaves it free and empty of all things, even though it possesses them.
Since the things of the world cannot enter the soul. They are not in themselves an
encumbrance or harm to it; rather, it is the will and appetite dwelling
within it that causes the damage. (The Ascent of Mount Cannel, Book 1, Chapter 3).
So Qoheleth and John of the Cross are good masters who say we get nothing by
wanting every thing. I hope my research will enlighten the reader. And help every one to
appreciate the thoughts of Qoheleth and St. John of the Cross, so that the people may live
a life of sharing and love.
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Keywords
Putting Qoheleth And St. John of the Cross in Context, The Social, Historic and Political Situation, The Religious Conditions, Contemporaries of Qoheleth and John, Qoheleth and The Bible