WE have to be more aware of these
spiritual operations
that are involved in our thinking, judging, reasoning and, of course,
in our praying, desiring, wishing, etc.
We actually have responsibilities toward them, since we
need to develop and use them properly. We just cannot take them for
granted and presume that everything would be fine simply by following
what we consider as 'what comes naturally' or thinking and reasoning
that are based more on feelings and emotions, instincts and social
trends around, than on anything else.
These spiritual operations have requirements that have to
be met, and they can be tough, considering our human condition that is
wounded and weakened by sin. They also need appropriate dispositions
that have to be developed, and they can be difficult to acquire, given
a general atmosphere that is unfriendly and unhelpful to such
dispositions.
They have their proper source and end that obviously can
only be God. And again, considering the way things are in the world at
present, this proper source and end may not be known and properly
appreciated. In fact, there are signs that it is ridiculed.
To abstract is to discern the essence of things from their
external incidentals or the sensible and tangible properties of these
things. That's what we do whenever we say, for example, that something
is a chair when we see something that looks like a chair and is used
as a chair. When we abstract, we get what is the universal principle
behind things, removing it from the particularizing or singularizing
properties and qualities of those things.
In other words, we consider things as they are in their
ultimate status and identity, without getting unduly entangled with
their properties, qualities and other incidentals. When we properly do
the process of abstraction, we avoid what Christ warned us about with
respect to judging things through appearance alone. “Do not judge by
appearance,” he said, “but judge with righteous judgment.” (Jn 7,24)
To transcend is to go beyond a certain level without
necessarily leaving that level. In this article, I refer to going
beyond the material to enter into the spiritual world without leaving
the material, or going beyond the natural to go into the supernatural
without leaving the natural.
This power to transcend has something to do with what
Christ once said: “Do not store for yourselves treasures on earth
where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and stead, but
store up for yourselves treasures in heaven...” (Mt 6,19-20)
These spiritual operations are crucial for us to get in
touch with the ultimate dimensions and causes of what we consider to
be reality, and of course, in the last analysis, to get in touch with
God.
Our problem is that we fail to go deep and wide enough in
our consideration of things. We get stuck in some shallow levels—the
sensible, material or physical, or at best, the social and cultural,
etc.
I am afraid that the younger generations today have
practically lost these capacities to abstract and to transcend. Many
people are mainly guided only by their senses, their feelings and
primitive instincts. They do not seem to have been weaned from that
level.
That is why we can observe many irregularities in their
thinking, judging and reasoning. If it's not rash judgments and all
kinds of fallacies that they fall into, it's biases and personal
preferences that shape their thoughts and desires.
Nowadays, many are trapped by the allurements of the new
technologies that instead of liberating them from the limitations of
the previous generations are giving them with a new form of slavery
and bondage. From time-savers, these technologies have become
time-wasters.
Thus, they easily fall into narrow-mindedness and bigotry
in their thinking, and rigidity in their ways. They are into a
free-fall into self-indulgence. It goes without saying that they find
no value in praying and in cultivating a life of piety. They are at
the mercy of the worldly things. They have lost the sense of the
sacred.
It's a big challenge to parents and teachers and to any
authority, including the Church people, to recover these crucial human
powers. I would say that nothing less than a miracle is needed here.
Thus, we need to do a lot of prayer and sacrifices for this intention,
begging God to intervene in a more dramatic way.
In the meantime, it would be good for individuals to
appreciate once again the value of abstracting and transcending, and
for families and schools to create the proper environment and systems
that would facilitate the learning of these basic human skills.
that are involved in our thinking, judging, reasoning and, of course,
in our praying, desiring, wishing, etc.
We actually have responsibilities toward them, since we
need to develop and use them properly. We just cannot take them for
granted and presume that everything would be fine simply by following
what we consider as 'what comes naturally' or thinking and reasoning
that are based more on feelings and emotions, instincts and social
trends around, than on anything else.
These spiritual operations have requirements that have to
be met, and they can be tough, considering our human condition that is
wounded and weakened by sin. They also need appropriate dispositions
that have to be developed, and they can be difficult to acquire, given
a general atmosphere that is unfriendly and unhelpful to such
dispositions.
They have their proper source and end that obviously can
only be God. And again, considering the way things are in the world at
present, this proper source and end may not be known and properly
appreciated. In fact, there are signs that it is ridiculed.
To abstract is to discern the essence of things from their
external incidentals or the sensible and tangible properties of these
things. That's what we do whenever we say, for example, that something
is a chair when we see something that looks like a chair and is used
as a chair. When we abstract, we get what is the universal principle
behind things, removing it from the particularizing or singularizing
properties and qualities of those things.
In other words, we consider things as they are in their
ultimate status and identity, without getting unduly entangled with
their properties, qualities and other incidentals. When we properly do
the process of abstraction, we avoid what Christ warned us about with
respect to judging things through appearance alone. “Do not judge by
appearance,” he said, “but judge with righteous judgment.” (Jn 7,24)
To transcend is to go beyond a certain level without
necessarily leaving that level. In this article, I refer to going
beyond the material to enter into the spiritual world without leaving
the material, or going beyond the natural to go into the supernatural
without leaving the natural.
This power to transcend has something to do with what
Christ once said: “Do not store for yourselves treasures on earth
where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and stead, but
store up for yourselves treasures in heaven...” (Mt 6,19-20)
These spiritual operations are crucial for us to get in
touch with the ultimate dimensions and causes of what we consider to
be reality, and of course, in the last analysis, to get in touch with
God.
Our problem is that we fail to go deep and wide enough in
our consideration of things. We get stuck in some shallow levels—the
sensible, material or physical, or at best, the social and cultural,
etc.
I am afraid that the younger generations today have
practically lost these capacities to abstract and to transcend. Many
people are mainly guided only by their senses, their feelings and
primitive instincts. They do not seem to have been weaned from that
level.
That is why we can observe many irregularities in their
thinking, judging and reasoning. If it's not rash judgments and all
kinds of fallacies that they fall into, it's biases and personal
preferences that shape their thoughts and desires.
Nowadays, many are trapped by the allurements of the new
technologies that instead of liberating them from the limitations of
the previous generations are giving them with a new form of slavery
and bondage. From time-savers, these technologies have become
time-wasters.
Thus, they easily fall into narrow-mindedness and bigotry
in their thinking, and rigidity in their ways. They are into a
free-fall into self-indulgence. It goes without saying that they find
no value in praying and in cultivating a life of piety. They are at
the mercy of the worldly things. They have lost the sense of the
sacred.
It's a big challenge to parents and teachers and to any
authority, including the Church people, to recover these crucial human
powers. I would say that nothing less than a miracle is needed here.
Thus, we need to do a lot of prayer and sacrifices for this intention,
begging God to intervene in a more dramatic way.
In the meantime, it would be good for individuals to
appreciate once again the value of abstracting and transcending, and
for families and schools to create the proper environment and systems
that would facilitate the learning of these basic human skills.
No comments:
Post a Comment