Liberation Theology
remains a contentious issue in the Catholic Church. Traditionally, it is blamed
as drifting from the sacred to the secular shore in its interpretation of
faith, worship and life founded on the existential situation of the believing
community. The central criticism is that it is mixing up sacred and the
secular, religion with politics, faith with human sciences denying the immunity
and supremacy of faith-tradition and scriptures to the historical milieu. It is
guilty of giving birth to different versions of theology within catholic
tradition like Feminist, Dalit, Asian, African and Black. Hence there has been
a close supervision of Liberation theology, and its impetus for the
re-narration of faith with historico-critical consciousness. On the other hand, criticisms also mounted targeting
lives styled upon this theological framework accusing them of activism,
irreligious behaviour, superficiality, ‘social work’ against the pastoral care
of the souls and illegal trespassing into secular affairs reserved for the
laity. Among different reactions to the notifications and criticisms, the
protagonists of liberation theology and their supporters, worked in response, to
present the profound spiritual depth that has inspired this new method of
theology and form of life.
This paper is
based on such an attempt in “The Mystery of God and Compassion for the Poor:
The Spiritual Basis for Theology”[1] by
J. Matthew Ashley. Ashley responds to the Vatican Notification on the
Christology of John Sobrino arguing that it would better understand him if it
had an insight into his spirituality. In the article, Ashley begins from Hans
Urs von Balthasar, Karl Rahner and Maria-Dominique Chenu the twentieth century
theologians who re-emphazised the medieval wisdom of the internal causal relation
between theology and spirituality. If every theology was an expression of its
spirituality, liberation theology would be no exception. On this, he has
recourse to Gustavo Gutierrez and Jon Sobrino as proofs.
From the recent
writings of Gutierrez Ashley quotes, “Gutierrez writes simply, ‘Spirituality
gives theology its most profound meaning’”.[2] In
this respect, Ashley points Chenu to have had lasting impact on Gutierrez. He gives
a sample but important quote of Chenu used by Gutierrez on the relation between
theology and spirituality; Ashley writes,
In his essay on the study of St.
Thomas Aquinas from the late 1930s, Chenu gave expression to this insistence in
a way that had a lasting impact on liberation theologian Gustavo Gutierrez, who
quoted his words [in his work We Drink
from Our Own Wells: The Spiritual Journey of a People (1984) 147 n.2] almost
half a century later: ‘The fact is that in the final analysis theological systems are simply the
expressions of a spirituality. It is this that gives them their interest
and their grandeur… One does not get to the heart of a system via the logical
coherence of its structure or the plausibility of its conclusions. One gets to the heart by grasping it in its
origins via that fundamental intuition that
serves to guide as spiritual life and provides the intellectual regimen
proper to that life’. [Emphasis mine][3]
In the case of Sobrino,
Ashely quotes him as acknowledging the nexus between spirituality and
theology. He presents Sobrino as
confident about that for every liberation theologian:
According
to Jon Sobrino it [fundamental relationship between spirituality and theology] is
generally held by liberation theologians as a group: ‘Liberation theology,
therefore, has been gradually becoming more and more a spiritual theology too.
Spirituality is a dimension that is as original and necessary for it as is
liberation, and the two of them require one another. This is how many of us see
things at present… We believe, furthermore, that spirituality is being
understood not only as one dimension of theology but rather as an integrating dimension for the whole theology. [Emphasis mine] [4]
This way setting
the foundation clear that liberation theology is a spiritual theology, and has
spirituality as its source and inspiration. Ashley goes forward with his
concern to present the spirituality of Sobrino, and places it as the ladder to
perceive his controversial Christology
notified by Vatican. Blaming the ignorance of Vatican about this relation, he
promises a new light on Sobrino if Vatican would yield to his method of knowing
the works of a theologian:
I have argued that there is, in
fact, a “fundamental intuition” at work in Sobrino’s Christology, a
spirituality. I suggested that on at least some of the issues named in the
Notification we can understand what is at stake by considering this
spirituality, which leads Sobrino to take his bearing on the normative sources of
Scripture and tradition in novel ways. […] Of course, to say that a theology is
inspired and formed by a particular spirituality does not in itself justify the
particular approach a theology chooses and the conclusions it draws. It does,
however, aid in understanding the theology better, and it opens up lines of
dialogue with other theologies that are shaped by different spiritualities.[5]
Our interest lies
in the section that lays out the spirituality of Sobrino. We summarize presenting
it as a sample case against the doubts ascribed to the spiritual/doctrinal
depth of liberation theology.
Spirituality:
Jon Sobrino
 |
| Jon Sobrino |
Instead the definition
refers to the spirit which guides everyone to lead an authentic life - ‘holy
spirit/divine’. He has his foundations in the Pauline theology who explains
authentic Christian life as ‘living according to the spirit’. He derives it
from there. He would even word it as ‘being-human-with-spirit’. Spirituality,
in the writings Sobrino therefore stands for the whole process of individuals
or group who guided by the spirit strive to lead an authentic life i.e. to fulfill
the fundamental vocation one has received as a human being.
 |
| Ignacio Ellacuria (1930-1989) |
First, ‘being honest with reality’. It means to
apprehend reality in its truth and embrace it raw without any manipulation. We
do this in contrast to a general inclination to perceive it to suit one’s life.
Either, we hide/deny the truth or distort it to denude its challenges and those
that go against our interests. Being honest therefore, is to let reality be
what it is. It is to enter into self-appropriation to purify the self of
prejudices, interests and idealogies to be open in humility to apprehend the
other horizons. Sobrino writes with certainty that such genuine engagement
results in compassion, because one gets exposed to poverty, injustice and
suffering on a massive scale systematically produced, maintained, covered over
and tolerated. If this weren’t the case, he is quite bold in claiming that we
haven’t had a genuine encounter with reality. He writes, “When we respond [to
reality] with mercy, we are being honest with reality”.[9]
Our choice to
continue to be committed to the suffering lot is what he phrases it as ‘being faithful to reality’. This involves
individual acts of charity and broad initiatives to alter the unjust structures
of society by fighting for justice. Since it presupposes struggles, challenges,
disappointments and discouragement, Sobrino affirms that we are accompanied by
hope in such moments. The hope, he would further explain it as more than
subjective feeling but as a profound trust in the dynamism of reality that
makes an upward evolution towards greater perfection. He would even present
spirituality as precisely perceiving reality with such optimism. He writes, “This
dimension of being-human-with-spirit – that responds to what there is in
reality of crisis and promise and that unifies the different elements of this
response to reality so that, when all is
said and done reality is more promise than crisis – is what we call
‘spirituality’”[10]
This trust in
the genuine goodness and abundance of reality makes one fully surrender to it.
He calls this as ‘being carried by
reality’. He writes,
There is a hope-filled, honest,
loving current [in reality], which becomes a powerful invitation to us, and
once we have entered it, we allow ourselves to be carried along by it. Just as
there is a original sin that becomes a structural dimesion of reality, so also
there is an original grace, which becomes a grace structure of reality... To
accept that grace [emerging from reality] is to plunge headlong into reality
and allow ourselves to be borne up on the ‘more’ with which reality is pregnant
and which is offered to us freely again and again despite all.[11]
Our life as a
result becomes characterized with dis-selfinterested totally available to the
transformation of society. The three together are constitutive as they help us
realize the end of our life, our ontological vocation as a human being. Since
this applies to every human being, he calls it as fundamental spirituality. To
put it, in theological language, Spirituality for Sobrino is spirit guided life
that helps one to accomplish the will of God in one’s life. This involves the
process of discernment, commitment and total surrender to the divine will.
Hence these three constitute spirituality. In this regard Ashley finds in
Sobrino echoes of Karl Rahner’s ‘hearer of the word’ and the four week
spiritual exercises of Ignatian Spirituality.
Among many who
accomplished it, Sobrino finds the perfect model in Christ. His incarnation,
mission, death and resurrection are nothing but the three features – being
honest with reality, being faithful and being carried away by the reality
respectively - of our spirituality. Thus he makes it as a Christian
spirituality, a following of Jesus. He writes, “Christian spirituality is no
more and no less than a living of the fundamental spirituality that we have
described, precisely in the concrete manner of Jesus and according to the
spirit of Jesus. This is the following of Jesus.”[12] However,
he notes that we shouldn’t blindly imitate him, instead should discern our
vocation, thus able to make a creative contribution to reality.
Conclusion
Our aim in this
paper was to present the spiritual inspiration of liberation theology and
active participation in the struggles of social justice; as against the
traditional accusation of it as activism and opposed to spirituality. From the
article, we have argued that every theology is an expression of spirituality;
liberation theology would be no exception. To present a sample case of the
spirituality of liberation theology we have used Sobrino. Based on Sobrino we
can summarize spirituality of liberation theology into the three axioms: (i)
God continues to speak to us in and through every day events, hence there god
is manifest in the world, he does not stand distant. (ii) A truly spiritual
person discerns the will of God and commits to it till the last breath of his
life. In their language, it is truly engaging with reality and being committed
to it. Hence active participation in eradicating injustice, poverty through
acts of charity or social struggle is founded on deep spiritual life. (iii) In
leading such a life we fully follow Jesus, who has accomplished it long back.
Hence it is Christian spirituality.
[1] Matthew J. Ashely, “The Mystery
of God and Compassion for the Poor: The Spiritual Basis for Theology”, Hope and Solidarity: Jon Sobrino’s Challenge
to Christian Theology, edited by Stephen J. Pope (New York: Orbis Books,
2008) 63-75.
[2] Gustoavo Gutierrez, “Memory and
Prophecy,” The Option for the Poor in
Christian Theology, ed. Daniel Groody (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame
Press, 2007) 33 as cited in Ashley, 63.
[3] Ashley, 63
[4] Jon Sobrino, “Spirituality and
Theology”, Spirituality of Liberation:
Toward Political Holiness, trans. Robert R. Barr (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis
Books, 1988) 46 as cited in Ashley 63-64.
[5] Ashley, 73.
[6] Jon Sobrino, “Presuppositions
and Foundations of Spirituality”, Spirituality
of Liberation, 13 as cited in Ashley 65.
[7] Ashley, 65.
[8] Sobrino, Spirituality of Liberation 14-20; “Spirituality and Following of
Jesus”, Mysterium Liberationis:
Fundamental Concepts of Liberation Theology, eds. John Sobrino and Ignacio
Ellacuria (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1994) 681-685 as cited in Ashley 66
[9] Sobrino, “Spirituality and
Following of Jesus”, 683 as cited in Ashley, 66.
[10] Sobrino, “Spirituality and
Following of Jesus”, 677 as cited in Ashley, 64.
[11] Sobrino, “Spirituality and
Following of Jesus”, 685 as cited in Ashley, 67.
[12] Sobrino, “Spirituality and
Following of Jesus”, 686 as cited in Ashley, 68.
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