Anxiety has been plaguing us
globally (i.e. Remes et al., 2016). Because
anxiety is closely associated with depression as a stress-related disorder
(i.e. Kumar & Akoijam, 2017), the world-wide epidemic of anxiety may mean
that so many people in the world have been under distress and gasping for a
relief in depression.
The global epidemic of
anxiety can trace its possible origin to Genesis 3, when Eve and Adam disobeyed
their Creator, God, and allowed Satan’s destructive influence affect the
original harmony between God the Creator and the human. The disharmony in our relationship with God
means our anxiety, as it is a reflection of our insecure attachment with God.
This based on research studies on anxiety, juxtapositionally applying the
mother-child attachment theory of Bowlby and Ainsworth (i.e. Ainsworth, 1989)
to a possible correlation between out attachment to God and our well-being
(i.e. Bradshaw et al., 2010, & Ellison et al., 2012).
Upon the fall by biting the
forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve began experiencing anxiety, as they hid
themselves from God – feeling shame but not really sorry for God by not being
obedient to Him. Their self -awareness of being naked signals that they gained
ego, as a result of the fall. Thus, Genesis 3 reminds that the today’s epidemic
of anxiety has its origin to Adam and Eve becoming self-awareness with ego upon
their fall, as ego-consciousness, shame, and anxiety are significantly
associated (i.e. Muris et al., 2018).
To juxtapose the current
state of anxiety epidemic with Dante Alighieri’s “Divine Comedy”, it is like “Inferno”. Fortunately, since the Father
in heaven, the Creator, who remains to be rachum
v’chanun (compassionate, merciful, and gracious), sent His only begotten
Son, the Christ, to us out of His chesed – unbreakable everlasting love of God for us – so that he can
shepherd us out of “Inferno” of
anxiety epidemic state. That is why the Son is the Christ, whose mission is to
deliver us from the “Inferno” of
anxiety, which is associated with our sins since Adam and Eve, to the “Paradiso”, where we are totally free from
anxiety, as well as any other effects of the Original Sin. As Moses and Joshua
led the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land in Canaan in Exodus, Christ the
Good Shepherd (John 10:11-18) and the Holy Spirit, another Parakletos, (John 14:16, 26), lead our exodus journey from the “Inferno” of anxiety to “Paradiso” of freedom. The journey is our
“Purgatorio”. Upon becoming followers of Christ and receiving
the Holy Spirit, we leave the “Inferno”
and enter into the “Purgatorio” with
the hope of successfully entering the “Paradiso”.
So, what are we to do to
embark on this exodus journey of the “Purgatorio”
from the anxiety “Inferno” to the “Paradiso” of freedom?
More psychiatrists and
psychologists to combat this mental health epidemic? Perhaps so, but this is a typical answer by
those who do not know God. These mental
health clinicians may provide helpful therapeutic service to some extent. As a
pastoral psychologist, however, I meet many clients who express their
frustration and dissatisfaction with conventional mental health treatments
(psychotherapy and medication) , seeking a pastoral approach to overcome
anxieties and anxiety-related psychosomatic problems. In response, my role for
them is to facilitate the growth of faith for them so that they can benefit from salutogenic effects of grace that God has given us through Christ the Son and
the Holy Spirit, another Parakletos, nahum,
who can naham (experience sorrow for us)
out of rechem (compassion).
Is the pastoral psychological
service evidence-based? Yes, according to Hook et al. (2010) and a
comprehensive review of relevant research studies in the Handbook of Religion
and Health (2nd ed) by Koenig, King, and Carson (2012) . More
empirical research studies to further verify clinical efficacy of pastoral
(religious and spiritual) therapeutic approach to treat anxiety and other
psychosomatic distresses are forthcoming. Now science is finally catching up
with clinical efficacy as what Antonovsky (1979) has called “salutogenesis” within our inner core, facilitated through God’s
grace, which comes through Christ and the Holy Spirit, who is another Parakletos. However, salutogenesis in
the pastoral context is based on faith (pistis,
which literally means trust and confidence) in the source of salutogenic grace:
God, as indicated by Jesus in Mark 5:34 ; 6:1-5.
Salutogenesis through faith-based
pastoral psychological care focuses on faith’s combatant and protective effects
against anxiety and its related problems, such as stress-induced depression, as
it was made known by Jesus, about 2,000 years ago, as various Gospel narratives
describe. In his Sermon on the Mount,
Jesus “prescribed” the best inoculation to anxieties and distresses. In Matthew 5:25-34, Jesus reminds us that the
best way to fight anxiety is to find the locus of life in God, rather than ego
- nothing else, by encouraging us to seek God’s Kingdom and justice first
(Matthew 5:33). The Kingdom is the “Paradiso”,
the state of freedom from anxiety, and this true freedom only comes through
Christ (John 8:34-36). Thus, to be in the Kingdom, which Jesus calls us to seek
first to be free from anxiety, we must find our life in Christ, as it is the
freedom as Paul describes in Romans 8. In fact, Jesus’ call on us to be
delivered from the “Inferno” of
anxiety into his Kingdom, the “Paradiso”,
the freedom in Christ, is echoed by St.
Augustine of Hippo. In “Confession”, St. Augustine said, “Fecisti nos ad te, Domine, et inquietum est cor nostrum donec
requiescat in te”( You have made us
for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you).
Now, how can we seek the
Kingdom of God, the freedom, in order to
overcome and prevent anxiety?
According to two 16th
century Spanish Catholic mystics – St. Teresa of Avila and St. Ignatius of
Loyola, it is all about completely entrusting God by surrendering and
dissolving ego to God, as Teresa’s “Nada
te turbe” (nothing disturbs you) prayer and Ignatius’ “Suscipe”(receive) prayer reflect.
These poetic prayers invite us, as St. Teresa of Avila and St. Ignatius
of Loyola did, to surrender our ego to the will of God – offering it up, asking
God to receive it. To let go of our ego, which tends to focus on the worldly
things rather than God, Teresa prayed:
Vénganle desamparos,
cruces, desgracias;
siendo Dios tu tesoro
nada te falta.
Id, pues, bienes del mundo;
id dichas vanas;
aunque todo lo pierda,
sólo Dios basta.
And, Ignatius prayed more
radically:
Toma, Señor, y recibe mi
libertad,
mi memoria, mi entendimiento y
toda mi voluntad,
todo mi haber y mi poseer.
The above words in the two
16th-century Spanish mystics’ prayers are about denouncing our worldly
attachment by resolving ego into God, and reflecting what Paul said in
Galatians 2:20. Perhaps, this is like what nekkhamma
is for nirvana in Buddhism’s Dharma
teaching.
To put this important
denunciation of worldly attachment and resolution of ego in Sikolohiyang Pilipino (Filipino
indigenous psychology), we find our true kapwa
(authentic self identity) in oneness with Christ (i.e. John 14:20; 15:1-9), as kapwa requires another being to
understand who we are. When we surrender
and resolve our ego completely to Christ , we find our kapwa in Christ, namely becoming one with him, as Paul said in Galatians 2:20. When we attain
this state, we can begin to experience the Kingdom – the “Paradiso” freedom from anxieties. Until then, on our
exodus journey through the “Purgatorio”,
we say to ourselves, making salvific and salutogenic self-fulfilling prophecy,
“Nada me turbe….nada me espante…porque
quien a Dios tiene nada le falta…por eso sólo Dios basta…Si, porque sólo Dios
basta, no me preocupo….tu gracia me basta…”, as St. Teresa and St. Ignatius
have prayed on their exodus.
In my pastoral psychology
practice, I invite my clients, especially those who speak and understand
Spanish, to reflect their journeys in “Pugatorio”
upon below prayers of St. Teresa of Avila and St. Ignatius of Loyola.
Nada te turbe,
nada te espante,
todo se pasa,
Dios no se muda;
la paciencia
todo lo alcanza;
quien a Dios tiene
nada le falta:
Sólo Dios basta.
Eleva tu pensamiento,
al cielo sube,
por nada te acongojes,
nada te turbe.
A Jesucristo sigue
con pecho grande,
y, venga lo que venga,
nada te espante.
¿Ves la gloria del mundo?
Es gloria vana;
nada tiene de estable,
todo se pasa.
Aspira a lo celeste,
que siempre dura;
fiel y rico en promesas,
Dios no se muda.
Ámala cual merece
bondad inmensa;
pero no hay amor fino
sin la paciencia.
Confianza y fe viva
mantenga el alma,
que quien cree y espera
todo lo alcanza.
Del infierno acosado
aunque se viere,
burlará sus furores
quien a Dios tiene.
Vénganle desamparos,
cruces, desgracias;
siendo Dios tu tesoro
nada te falta.
Id, pues, bienes del mundo;
id dichas vanas;
aunque todo lo pierda,
sólo Dios basta.
Santa Teresa de Avila, Nada te Turbe
Toma, Señor, y recibe mi
libertad,
mi memoria, mi entendimiento y
toda mi voluntad,
todo mi haber y mi poseer.
Tú me lo diste, a Ti, Señor, lo
torno;
todo es tuyo; dispón de ello
conforme a tu voluntad.
Dame tu amor y gracia, que esto
me basta.
Santo Ignacio de Loyola, Sucipe
(Spiritual Exercises, 234)
In seeking the Kingdom, St. Teresa of Avila said, “sólo Dios basta” and St. Ignatius of
Loyola said, “te gracia me basta”. These reflect what Jesus spoke to Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9. As these Spanish mystics of the 16 century
have done, we can also attain the state of peace – freedom – the Kingdom, the
state of “nada te turbe, nada te espante”
– Christian version of what is nirvana
in Dharma teaching of Buddhism. But, we
must put the Kingdom as our priority, as Jesus has called us in Matthew 6:33. In seeking the Kingdom
first, St. Ignatius of Loyola cried to
God, “Toma, Señor, y recibe mi libertad, mi
memoria, mi entendimiento y toda mi voluntad, todo mi haber y mi poseer”. “Mi libertad” is not “verdadera liberta”, because we cannot
attain the Kingdom unless our ego is totally surrendered to God through Christ.
And, St. Teresa of Avila was not fooled
by “la gloria del mundo”.
When we resolve our ego by
totally surrendering it to Christ, there is no longer “mi”, “my”. We do not have to claim what is ours, because
we find our true “self” (kapwa) in
Christ, upon crucifying our ego with the flesh of Christ on the Cross. When we find our kapwa in the risen Christ – finding our true “self” in the true
freedom (verdadera liberta de la ansiedad
y la angustia), our heart is in peace and can joyfully sing, “sólo Dios basta”…. “te gracia me basta”.
Let us seek Christ and the
Kingdom that he has promised, as in him, through his grace, we attain the
Kingdom – our true “self” and freedom from anxiety and distress. Our “Purgatorio” is our trials to attain the
freedom in the Kingdom, our “Paradiso”,
filled with everlasting joy.
*****
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