My PhD project and research involves developing a theology of healing. I investigate the texts of Hl. Hildegard of Bingen as a foundation and will also examine contemporary theological and philosophical scholars and works who treat this theme. From this, I will develop a theology of healing for the purposes of using this as a foundation for how CHRISTA conceptualizes and approaches healing.
I was once told, "A good theology is one that can be used." I wholeheartedly agree!
Therefore, it is my intent to apply this theology and to refine it in a way that would be truly useful, practical, and good for the soul.
"Good for the soul" does not mean it will be easy -- as healing is a process. And like any other NGO, we have our own way of addressing how and what we mean when we say 'good for the soul.' But I believe our ways will be effective and meet unmet and ignored needs. More importantly, we will know the fruits of our work according to the transformation of the people we would be serving -- all in relationship with God.
If we are talking about 'healing' (and concepts associated with it), what do we mean by healing in a theological sense? CHRISTA, after all is a religious NGO, and approaches healing in a spiritual sense -- not in a direct service, psychotherapeutic capacity. We have an explicit spiritual objective aimed at the salvation of souls. What does healing look like if we are talking about salvation? Is this a relevant question for modernity?
As I do my research, I find that I am unsatisfied with concepts I am dealing with -- 'Healing,' 'Sin,' 'Sickness' -- none of these have a proper nor elaborate understanding in the Roman Catholic church. This is a fair assessment as the current scholarly literature and basic Catholic texts available for your everyday layperson demonstrates.
The laity are left to adopt general understandings as they are presented to them by the Church OR to a concept of healing that is related to a post-Christian approach that is in fact secular instead of Christian.
Our understanding of healing in the Catholic church has not been sufficiently elaborated upon, let alone theologized ... and 'healing' is primarily taken for granted.
One of the reasons I love Hildegard is because she was sehr praktisch in how she theologized and philosophized. By our standards today, we often fail to understand her, and therefore, misunderstand what she is saying mistaking perceived idiosyncrasy for in reality, sheer brilliance.
Hildegard understood the connection between one's relationship with God and woundedness. In other words, the health of a person was intimately tied to their relationship with God. This requires a lot of unpacking, as Hildegard can easily be misunderstood. But what we find within her thought and system is one that ultimately has an actual answer and response to healing that we can actually implement. What this response is will become clear as our apostolate develops.
Not bad for someone from the medieval period!
No comments:
Post a Comment