[Pearls Ep 128: Answering atheism Tuesday.]
As we finish considering the events of Martha and Mary we can look at some ways the world considers this.
The problem Martha was having was not seeing the forest through the trees – or the Messiah through the dinner preparation.
Most times when we lose sight of God, at that heart of it is our “core wound” (also called our root sin, or our predominant fault). Some of us over-achievers may actually have more than one core wound, but there’s usually one specific area where we are particularly weak and susceptible to temptation. In the postscript we have a short primer on root sin (it is treated in more detail in our Spiritual Vaccination and Christian Meditation retreats).
In the case of Martha, perhaps her core wound is envy – envious of the attention that was being given to Mary.
Here’s the key, our core wound is first and foremost a spiritual wound – it is our own very personal scar from original sin.
With all that, what does the world have to say about Martha and Mary?
Let’s start with eastern mysticism in the form of Buddhism. Martha veers off the 8-Fold Path by not having the Right Intention. Here’s what the Buddha has to say about Right Intention, “All that we are is the result of what we have thought: it is founded on our thoughts, it is made up of our thoughts. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him, as the wheel follows the foot of the ox that draws the carriage.”
Christ has revealed that we are meant to be much more than just our thoughts; but if we stick with the Buddhist assessment, we can agree that Martha certainly has some bad thought patterns going on. Fair enough. But what is at the source? Buddhism’s analogy to a core wound is a “habit energy.” Here’s where it gets particularly dicey. In Buddhism you make friends with negative habit energies and realign them with the energy of mindfulness. In other words, your habit energy is just a friend in the making – it’s mostly a matter of mindfulness.
Now to be sure, Buddhism offers some genuine insights into the human psyche – and that is exactly why satan loves it, and eastern mysticism in general – there are some rays of truth, but denial of Christ, who is Truth itself. In the final analysis, it’s just you and your habit energies and your mindfulness – and plenty of room for the ancient enemy to smuggle in his deceptions.
OK, let’s move on to secularism of the Marxist variety that is so much in fashion these days. Well, first Marx does away with the “nonsense” of souls and core wounds – you are nothing more than neurons and ganglions that most of the time make frightfully bad decisions and need to be crushed into submission by an all-powerful government. Until that happy future arrives there is only oppressor and oppressed. Guess which camp Martha falls into?
The world gives us two hopeless options – the soulless self-help of the east, or the soul-crushing tyranny of communism. China, not to be outdone, seems to have hit upon a stunning combination of both at once.
Here’s our simple take-away from Martha and Mary:
- When we find we’re getting worked up, it’s time to pause, turn our mind and heart toward Christ, to call on the Holy Spirit, and pray for the intercession of our Blessed Mother.
- Once we have a clear head, we should reflect on what happened in the company of the Holy Spirit, and what it tells us about ourself – probably it is revealing our core wound to us.
- We seek God’s grace, particularly through the Sacraments, to heal and overcome our woundedness.
Blessings on your journey with Christ –
Steve and Karen Smith – Interior Life
Post Script: Our Core Wound
Jesus gives a succinct illustration of principle of the core wound in His interaction with the rich young man. Jesus reveals the young’un to himself – “you are lacking one thing.” In that case, it was the virtue of poverty.
You know, all of us are lacking “one” thing. Just as we all have human characteristics that are unique to us, such as our fingerprints and unique mix of gifts and talents, we also must grapple with our own unique tendencies to sin. We each have one or two areas where we are most inclined to fall into sin.
Our root sin may be any one of the capital sins (pride, lust, envy, anger, sloth, greed and gluttony). Some spiritual masters simplify the list to three potential root sins (which incorporate several of the capital sins) – pride (pride and sloth), vanity (envy, anger and greed), and sensuality (lust and gluttony). This is based in part on St. John, “For all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh (sensuality) and the lust of the eyes (vanity) and the pride of life (pride) – is not of the Father but is of the world.” (1 John 2:16)
Often our root sin is a perversion of a particular strength. Someone who is naturally empathetic and gifted at hospitality and providing comfort to others may fall into sensuality. A person who is particularly capable at accomplishing great things in the world, instead of doing them for God can be turned to do them for their own glory (vanity).