Silence of Passion

Finally, we come to the virtue of "silence of passion", which does NOT mean that we should eradicate all passion or emotion from our lives. Blessed Chaminade recognized the value of passion and emotion in helping us be transformed to be more like Christ. Even a cursory examination of Chaminade's own life will reveal a passionate man: passionate about living for Christ and about helping others grow spiritually. This is a man who wore disguises and risked his own life during the French Revolution to bring sacraments to faithful Catholics. This is a man who spent three years in exile imagining how he could re-Christianize his homeland once he was allowed to return. This was a man who re-animated the faith of thousands of people. It is hard to imagine him doing that without passion. But it was a directed, concentrated passion: a passion for his mission.

At one point in his life, Chaminade had been a science teacher. One of my favorite images (in my mind) is of Father Chaminade teaching a classroom of students about science. We know from letters he wrote, that he frequently used experiments in the classroom. As a teacher, I know how easily my passion for my subject can bubble to the top; I imagine Father Chaminade excitedly discussing some scientific truth with his students revealing his passion for helping students learn.

This virtue challenges us to be mindful of our passions and emotions: to focus and cultivate those passions that help us live better, and to let go of those passions and emotions that are holding us back. 

Silence of Imagination

As with the pattern we have been following, the virtue of "silence of the imagination" calls us to cultivate a rich imagination that can be applied to making our lives and the world a better place. As Fr. Lackner writes in Virtues for the Mission, "Only through the exercise of imagination can we reconfigure situations and free ourselves for new possibilities." I would illustrate this with an example:

In the 1960s, India had serious food shortages that threatened to starve millions of people. Many economists said that India would never be able to feed itself. But Norman Borlaug, a scientist, developed a unique strain of wheat, called Dwarf Wheat, that had high yields of grain with a shorter stalk, so it didn't fall over in softer soil. Dwarf Wheat was grown in India and changed the course of a nation, and saved millions of people from dying of starvation. But the key here is that Borlaug could imagine something that no one else had considered possible before him. He used the power of his imagination to create a better world.

Fr. Lackner also points out that one way of exercising this virtue is by reading fiction and "going into" the characters. This kind of close reading, during which we begin to identify with characters: their emotions, thoughts, experiences, etc., is one way of developing empathy, and of de-centering the self. It's a way to remind ourselves that we are not the beginning and the end, and to help us become aware of others.

Imagination, when directed in a wholesome way can be a powerful tool for good in the world. It can expand our vision of what is possible, give us hope for the future, and help us live more fully the life of Christ.

Silence of the Mind

By now, dear readers, I'm sure you've realized the pattern that all the "silences" follow. Silence of the mind is about controlling our thoughts so that we can purge thoughts that aren't good for us and embrace and cultivate thoughts are are good for us. To some degree, thoughts are like words, in that they can come into our minds unbidden, and we don't always have the clarity to separate the good from the bad, or the discipline to embrace the good and let go of the bad. Again, I defer here to Fr. Lackner in Virtues for the Mission, he writes, "...we also become what we think and what we remember." (p. 15) And later, he writes, "...the point of this virtue is to develop a habit of acting in such a way that those memories that assist us to be the kind of person needed for the mission are to be treasured, and those that handicap us are to be silenced and released." (p. 17)

One of the central points to be made here is that much of what goes on in our minds is constructed from our everyday experiences (conversations, radio shows, TV, movies, magazines, books, the internet, etc.). To a large degree, the quality of my thoughts varies depending on the quality of these mind-engaging experiences. If I fill my day with intelligent conversation, beautiful radio, thought-provoking TV shows and articles, then my thoughts are going to tend toward those things; if, on the other hand, I am surrounded every day with hateful/angry speech, music and TV (images) that degrade others, and magazines and internet articles that tell me that I need to meet certain cultural norms to be considered "popular", "beautiful", or "worthy", then I'm likely to be trapped by thoughts that tear me down instead of building me up.

I can't emphasize this enough: the quality of our mental state is largely dependent upon what we put in there, what we expose ourselves to. There is so much crap out there, I have become convinced that an important 21st century skill is learning to curate the segment of culture and reality with which I interact. I intentionally limit my radio mostly to NPR and a classical radio station; I don't watch TV at all; I subscribe to "The Economist" and "WIRED" magazines and the New York Times; and my selection in books should be pretty evident to any regular reading of this blog.

The virtue of "silence of the mind" challenges us to be intentional about filling our minds with things that help us become better people (i.e. more Christ-like), and to let go of those things that hold us back. Fr. Lackner points out, "He [Jesus] is calling them [the disciples] to a new understanding, a new perception, a new way of seeing reality." (p. 15) It occurred to me that this is primarily what we do in the classroom as teachers. We try to help our students see the world from new perspectives and open their minds to new possibilities.

Silence of Signs

The second of the "five silences" is the "Silence of Signs". Like all the silences, this virtue is not about not giving any external signs, but rather of 1) bringing our body language (especially facial expressions) under our conscious control, and 2) using our body language with charity in kindness and truth. As Fr. Joseph Lackner says in his book Virtues for the Mission, "The discipline of this virtue involves being intentional about the way we act and developing a repertoire of behaviors which invite rather than stand in the way." (p. 14)

Most of us have had the experience of receiving a withering look from someone we respected, looked-up to, loved, or whose approval we desired. Most of us have been a single person on the outside of a group bunched together in close conversation, and felt the sting of "being left out". If we are honest with ourselves, we are also sometimes the person giving the withering look or using non-inviting body language to keep someone else away/out. These are the kinds of behaviors that the virtue of "silence of signs" invites us to examine and transform.

Father Chaminade recognized that our facial expressions, eye-contact (or lack thereof), and body language send powerful and clear messages. His challenge to us is to become more aware of this aspect of ourselves. In some ways, I think this is one of the hardest virtues to practice, for two reasons: 1) unless I look in a mirror, I cannot see myself or my facial expressions as I go through my day; and 2) my facial expressions and body language flow from my sub-conscious and are thus even more difficult to control than my speech!

This is the virtue I personally find the most difficult. I know that my face is very expressive, and I know I have a "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard" look; and try as I might, I have yet to purge that instinctive look. I know that it is neither uplifting nor charitable for me to give someone such a contemptuous look, but because it is instinctive, and because I cannot see my own face (although I have a good sense of what this "look" "feels" like), I struggle with this one.

Above, I mentioned a book by Fr. Joseph Lackner entitled Virtues for the Mission, which is published by NACMS in Dayton, Ohio. I highly recommend this text for anyone interested in learning more about Chaminade's "System of Virtues". It is probably the best modern resource available on this topic. I regularly re-read it to encourage self-examination.

Silence of Words

The first of the five silences is the "silence of words". Contrary to popular belief this virtue is not about not speaking; rather, it is about using words and speech prudently and with charity. Father Chaminade defined silence of words as "speaking only when you will it, and willing it only when necessary." All of the virtues of preparation have this two-fold aim: 1) to bring a normally subconscious or instinctual aspect of my life under my willful control; and 2) to use that willful control to sanctify that aspect of my life.

So often, the words that come out of my mouth are an instant reaction or a reflex. I often speak without thinking, and I don't think I'm alone. This is something I see with my students...words just pour of out of their mouths, and often their words have little to no meaning. The first part of this preparation virtue encourages each of us to become more mindful of our words and the ways we use language, to stop and think about what we're about to say. The goal of the first part is "to speak only when you will it." In other words, I should bring my speech under my conscious and deliberate control.

Once I have conscious control of my speech, and I'm no longer reactively/reflexively blurting things out, I then have an obligation to work at using my speech (and my silence) for the benefit of all. There are times when words are needed; and in those moments, it's important that we speak with love, kindness, and consideration (taking Jesus as our model). It is important that we speak Truth, and that we raise our voices against injustice. These are times when speech is necessary.

There are also times when silence is what is needed. Sometimes silence is needed to open space in our minds for thought. Sometimes silence is needed to open space in our souls for God. And in moments filled to the brim with abundant beauty and outrageous mystery silence is needed...moments when no words can do justice to what we see and feel.

The System of Virtues and the Five Silences

Blessed Father Chaminade, a french priest who lived from 1761 to 1850, was a wise man and a master of the spiritual life. One of his great contributions to the development of the interior life is what he called "The System of Virtues". Essentially, Father Chaminade believed that true Christianity involved living a life of Faith, Hope, and Love (Charity) (the three theological virtues), and in growing in that life to the point that it the would replace some of the more undesirable, or less virtuous, traits that we all have.

The System of Virtues was divided into three sections, each one setting the stage for the next:

The Virtues of Preparation - the work of consecrating oneself to the ideal, Jesus Christ; and the work of making normally involuntary actions voluntary, so that we then have power over them (more on this later). This involves a heightened self-awareness and a willingness to enter into self-examination.

The Virtues of Purification - Once the work of "preparation" has been begun (and it is important to note that it really never ends), only then can we really work at the purification virtues, which seek to help the soul have confidence in God, exercise patience, resolve to persevere even after failure, and to develop a resistance to temptation.

The Virtues of Consummation - As their name implies, Blessed Chaminade thought of these as the highest spiritual virtues, and he believed that they could only truly be worked at after reasonable progress had been made in the virtues of preparation and purification. The idea was that the first two kinds of virtues paved the way for a person to struggle with the final set: humility (removes all consideration of ourselves as the end of our existence), modesty (removes from our influence on people all our deficiencies), abnegation of self (removes all personal interest in our relations with the world), and renouncement of the world (takes from us all consideration of the world as the end of our aspirations)

This brief summary is based primarily on the text of a talk by Father William Ferree, SM, given in 1936, which can be found in Dougherty, Benjamin, ed., A Ferree Resource Collection (Dayton, Ohio: NACMS, 2008).

I would like to write more on each set of virtues at a later date, but for the moment, I think this will suffice as an introduction to the System of Virtues. What I would like to talk about more is what Blessed Chaminade called the "Five Silences". I will go on in later posts to enumerate each silence and give more information pertaining to it, but as an introduction here are the five silences:

Silence of Words
Silence of Signs
Silence of Imagination
Silence of the Mind
Silence of Passions

Look for more information on each of these in follow-up posts throughout the week!

Chaminade Week

You've probably all heard of "Shark Week". Well, I'm having "Chaminade Week" on the blog here. For those who are enjoying Marcus Aurelius' "Meditations", never fear, we'll be back with more of that next week. But I want to take a brief break from that to talk a little bit about Father Chaminade's "System of Virtues" and what he called "The Five Silences". So stay tuned. I'll post an introductory post today, and then each day I'll post something about one of the "silences".

Also coming up...based on the comments and feedback from my post about "integrity", I'm putting together a follow-up post on current academic assessment methods in the US, and how we can begin to fix that broken system.

Stay tuned!