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21st Century Franciscan Spirituality, 21ST CENTURY SPIRITUALITY, Creation Spirituality, Fr. Justin Belitz OFM, Michelangelo
Creation Spirituality by Fr. Justin Belitz O.F.M.
Spirituality is simply “The way you relate.” Every day you are relating – to yourself, to others, to things, to life experiences, to God, etc. My experience, however, is that most people do not pay attention to HOW they relate.
Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, the saints and holy people of all major religious, as well as indigenous peoples related to all of creation as the expression of ONE Divine, Cosmic, and Unconditional Love Energy. This Energy they referred to as God.
Today, this way of relating is referred to as Creation Spirituality. In this model all creation is ONE. God, for example, is identified as the Love Energy that produces and sustains all of creation. That means we humans are connected in this Love Energy. The human race is indeed ONE FAMILY. If you relate to the universe this way, you will relate to every human being as a brother or sister.
At present, scientists tell us that 13.7 billion years ago there was a cosmic explosion called the Big Bang. From this single point emerged all of creation – 100 billion galaxies. Inside each of these galaxies there are 100 billion stars. In our own galaxy, the Milky Way, there are also 100 billion stars. One of these is our sun.
So where is God in this enormous reality? God is the Intelligence that permeates every part and every aspect of creation. The Universe is expanding all the time but the expansion rate is absolutely perfect. If we were to alter the expansion rate 1 millionth of 1 percent, the entire universe would collapse. God is the intelligence that orchestrates this magnificent reality. God is not outside of the universe directing traffic. God is the moving energy that is within the cosmos supporting and sustaining every part of this glorious creation.
Please note that all parts of the cosmos work together to create a vast network that is impossible for us humans to comprehend fully. In cosmic reality, everyone and everything is of equal importance. This is a model that creates “power with” everyone and everything. This way of relating is call Creation Spirituality.
When applied to human beings, the Creation Model imagines God as Divine Love Energy. Unconditional Love Energy is what creates, and sustains in existence, every living being, including the human race.
In an effort to understand God and to find a way to talk about God, the ancient Hebrews thought of God as “breath”. The Hebrew word “Ruach” when pronounced correctly sounds like breath, ‘Ruach’. Ruach cannot be construed as a person. It is a force. The Hebrews compared it to wind because it can be felt and experienced, but it cannot be seen. In this metaphor God is seen as the force we call Life.
This Life Principle is ONE. Life Energy is the same in all living things: plants, animals, and humans. This Love Energy is given freely and equally throughout the cosmos. There is no hierarchy in Love Energy. All are equally blessed with this gift. As Scripture says: God makes the sun shine on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust Mt. 5:45. In this Creation Model of relating, all parts of creation are of equal value and together they share the Unlimited Power we call God.
When you imagine God as ONE Divine Life Energy, then you know that we are connected to every other living being. You realize we all share the same Energy that created and sustains us. With this understanding follows the principle: When I generate and project Love Energy, I generate and multiply that same Energy within me, AND in the external world. When I radiate and share Unconditional Love, I feel joyful and happy AND I become an instrument of God for making our world a more loving place. In this reality I am a co-creator with God!
In the same way that we cannot separate the dance from the dancer or the music from the orchestra, so too we cannot separate anyone or anything from God. We are all ONE.
Because we are connected to all living things in the Universe, we cannot attack another living being, without attacking ourselves. Imagine Frank refusing to talk to his brother, Gus. Frank intends his action to be a punishment for Gus but in fact, Frank is punishing himself. His negative energy will have a negative effect on his life and even on his physical wellbeing.
In the 21st Century, the Creation Model of Spirituality is becoming more common in religions institutions. In the Catholic Church, for example, a gathering of all the bishops of the world met in Rome from 1962 to 1965. This meeting was called the 2nd Vatican Council. It was an ecumenical meeting, which means that
Representatives of other religions were invited and participated. The purpose of this gathering was to help the Catholic Church (and our world) to get back to the Spirituality of Jesus, which is the Creation Model – one that leads to unity.
One of the major ideas of the 2nd Vatican Council is this: Truth is infinite. Because the material world is limited, no one person or institution can have all the truth. Therefore the Council suggested that Catholics share their understanding of the Truth with other denominations. BUT it also suggested that they be open to the expressions of Truth from other religious traditions. This kind of thinking can help organized religion move toward unity, understanding, love and compassion.
800 years ago, St Francis created a movement (not an institution). His little community was known as the band of “Little Brothers”. In his mind, all of the Brothers were of equal importance. All had a voice in governing the community. Those is positions of leadership were called “Ministers” and were to carry out the directives of the Brothers and to serve the needs of the brothers.
Soon after Francis formed the “Little Brothers” the leadership of the Church demanded that Francis create an institution. Over many years, like most institutions, the Creation Model of Spirituality got lost and the ideal of Francis suffered contamination in the form of a hierarchal model of spirituality.
In 1978, the Franciscan Province of the Sacred Heart (to which I belong) followed the directives of the 2nd Vatican Council and went back to the ideal of Francis. The Friars gathered all members of the Province for a full week of meetings. With the help of a professional facilitator WE (the rank and file) decided what the priorities and the direction of the province would be. After that we elected our leaders and told them: “This is your agenda.” The body of the province once more took over the leadership of the community and gave direction to those in positions of authority. The leaders now are in the role of “Servant Leadership.” Leadership is once again in the hands of the community.
In the Creation Model, “Servant Leadership” is the ideal not the “Hierarchical Model” so common in the business world. As you well know, in business the people at the top tell the people down below what to do. It is a “power over” model, not a “power with” model.
At present, there is a huge movement toward Servant Leadership in business. In Atlanta, GA there is a center called Greenleaf Servant Leadership. This organization is training young and old, experienced and inexperienced individuals, in both the theory and practice of Servant Leadership. In this model executives are “servants” not “bosses”. In this model, the purpose of leadership is to create equal relationships among all the employees. Businesses using servant leadership have contented workers who are more productive than the average employee. In this model, employees have a voice in how the company is run. Wages are spread equally throughout the company and employees are dedicated, motivated, and happy.
The Creation Model of relating is also being taught by the Scientific Community. Quantum Physics is proving that the Cosmos in which we live is truly a mystery!
Laboratory investigations show conclusively that all reality is ONE. When anyone thinks a thought, the energy of that thought vibrates throughout the Universe. Human thoughts can and do effect physical reality. Science tells us that because of our ability to think, we are truly co-creators of our world. We are not, and cannot be, alone and separate from the Cosmos. We are the Cosmos.
The Creation Model in the 21st Century is effecting people and institutions all over the world. Consider number of countries over the past 50 years that have moved into democratic models of governance. The British Colonial System is completely gone and in its place are independent countries. Today hundreds of thousands of people are leaving countries of dictatorship and violence to find homes in countries where there is equality, understanding and peace.
When you understand the true reality of the Creation Model of Spirituality – that
we are all one, one with each other, one with God, one with the Cosmos, and one with all of nature, – your thoughts will change, your perception will change, and your expression of reality will change, all in the direction of Universal Love.