In 1615 Mary Ward’s spiritual experience of the Just Soul with its core values of Freedom, Justice, Sincerity and Felicity as fundamental to all the members of ‘this special state of life‘ shaped her unique charism, a spirituality different from that of the saints of her day. The interconnectedness and interrelatedness of Freedom, Justice, Sincerity and Felicity may enable us to a more Trinitarian way of relationship.
Freedom … in our relationship with the Creator God
Justice … in our companionship with Jesus who shows how God is with us, with the poor and outcast, to the point of his death on a cross.
Sincerity … in our touch with the deepest longing of our hearts where the Sprit dwells and gives utterance.
The felicity of this way of life lies in Freedom – from attachments – freedom for all forms of good works – freedom to refer all to God, to embrace that which draws us to God, letting go that which takes us away from God.
This implies right relationship with God, self, others and the universe, similar to the state of those in Paradise, before the first fall; a soul open to God … in friendship with God- in perfect harmony, innocence, having a walk with God in the garden in the cool of the day in total freedom and availability, the way our first parents were with God in Paradise – with open heart, mind and will to realise God’s original dream for humanity.
What is sincerity? Mary Ward believed that we ought to “be such as we appear and appear such as we are,” without any mask or wax coating to our appearance.
Sincerity is the virtue of the seeker of truth in whom there is genuineness, authenticity, integrity in the way one holds oneself in communications and relationships. Works done in sincerity, verity, integrity, tell of justice, of wholeness.
Sincerity brings alignment in one’s thoughts, feelings, words and actions.It brings the real Me before the real God and before the real World.
With the eyes of God I look at myself and see the truth. I am a child of God, created in His own image and likeness.
God has a dream for me; my purpose in life is to fulfill God’s plan.
However, the forces of evil tend to entice us with empty promises, distorted images of self, God and the World. This hides God’s image in us and reduces my transparency, my sincerity
A distorted image of reality, narrow ideologies, prejudice, fear, anger, doubt, anxiety, greed, jealousy etc. block my freedom to be sincere. They force me to wear mask in the pursuit of a false happiness by clinging to name, fame, wealth, health even life itself as though they were my ultimate end. These have to be conquered for the emergence of my true self – the image of God growing in me into His likeness.
Sincerity enables me to recognize, acknowledge and deal with the masks I tend to wear in pursuit of false happiness.
Sincerity leads to a genuine, joyful self-acceptance and an authentic self-esteem, an interior sense of celebration. It “is good to be me.” In God’s own mirror I see my true image, my identity, my mission, my commitment.
Why do justice and sincerity matter so much in today’s world?
What challenges do this present to the Congregation of Jesus today for holistic living in community? in ministry?
Having a harmonious relationship with oneself, nature, the other and God-“ is the best disposition for a soul of a member of the Congregation of Jesus to be in.”
Mary Ward calls us to live as authentically as she lived her life; to examine our deepest longings by looking at ourselves with the eyes of God and seeing as God sees us and respond to it with the heart of God.
May the Just Soul Vision inspire and guide us in our onward Journey of Faith to a deeper relationship with God, one another, creation.
Jane Chennakudy CJ