ABSTRACT
Ever since the publication of her 1984 article, "Impasse and Dark Night" in the volume Living with Apocalypse that brought the contemplative vision of the Carmelite tradition to bear upon intractable contemporary societal issues (the dark night not only of the soul but of the world), the writings of Sr. John of the Cross's delineation of this dark night involves a purifying movement from a selfhood in which love is entangled, complex and unfree through a joyless darkness in which the self is stripped of its former identity and becomes transformed in union with God and others. In the spirit of M. Shawn Copeland's apt and memorable introductory characterization of the work of theology as "rowing toward God in an anguished world," these writers tackle the impasses that paralyze our society today: white supremacy (Laurie Cassidy);the Covid 19 pandemic (Maria Teresa Morgan and Susie Paulik Babka);the preferential option for the poor (Roberto Goizueta);the global climate crisis (Margaret R. Pfeil);the de-colonializing of faith and society (Alex Mikulich);racial [in]justice (Brain Massingale);grace in a violent world (Andrew Prevot);and preaching the wisdom of the Cross (Mary Catherine Hilkert).
ABSTRACT
On the cusp of Shelter-in-Place order Last face to face: visit with Capuchin directee leaving novitiate on way to catch last plane out Online: arduous airline cancellations Day Planner: Criss-cross pages with cancellations–travel, haircut, opera, lectures, dinner party, monthly spirituality class with Francis can novices… Coverage of the pandemic exacerbates all my pent-up grief that roils to the surface: children ripped away from parents seeking asylum at the border;one hundred Americans killed daily by guns;ban on Muslim immigrants;attacks on synagogues;massacres at black houses of worship;ICE agents raiding homes;US withdrawal from UN Human Rights Council, human trafficking, desperate refugees crisscrossing the globe… Walk: shoulder my way through damp corridor of wild mustard and radish stalks towering above me Savor rustle of the stalks, chill dew on bare arms YouTube: Bearded seventy-nine-year-old sage, author of Spiritual Unfoldment, interviewed by UK Conscious TV. Three million gallons, eight-hundred-mile ocean oil slick, ten thousand sea animals/birds destroyed, environmental and economic impact unparalleled Online: Since 2016: US withdrawal from Paris Climate Covenant, rollback of ninety-five environmental protection legislations–drilling, extraction, toxic substances, water pollutants, methane emissions, carbon emissions, greenhouse gasses….