BRUSSELS, Belgium.
To close the year dedicated to the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the birth of Saint Teresa of Jesus, the Teresian Association, through its I.T.OUCH center, organized a conference on October 10 on "Teresa, an itinerary for our search for meaning. When the mystical experience opens a door to interreligious dialogue."
The conference, organized by I.T.OUCH center at Albertina, the Royal Library of Belgium, brought together 140 people. The event is part of the program of activities to contribute to peace and fellowship in Brussels.
Professor Maria Rosa Elosúa de Juan, a psychologist of UNED University (National Distance University, Spain) and member of the Teresian Associarion, was a speaker.
What is healthy mysticism?
Rosa Elosúa referred to the healthy and mature spiritual experience of Teresa of Jesus, as a result of the transformation of all the facets of her own being. Her attitude of "active passivity" is an invitation to shed our ego to go in search of the Other.
And interreligious dialogue?
If we only look at the elements that are common to different religions, one can reach an undesirable syncretism; if we only emphasize the differences, this can lead to intolerance. But, is it necessary to speak of interreligious dialogue or rather about inter-spiritual dialogue? According to Professor Eric Geoffroy, Islamic scholar at the University of Strasbourg and specialist in Sufism, interreligious dialogue can at times be an intellectual discourse covered by hypocrisy, while inter-spiritual dialogue is universal, inspired by the heart. There are spiritual invariants present in all traditions, he stated.
God needs all traditions to be known, because there is only one mystery, an experience of God in the heart of every human person, but the roads to get there are many, as Father Johannes Schiettecatte, Flemish Carmelite and doctor of divinity, said. And speaking of different spiritual traditions, he proposed con-cor-dance of hearts, "dance-with-heart."
What does Teresa of Jesus teach us today?
Teresa, a born communicator, has left many writings to share her experience with us. As in other spiritual traditions, particularly in Sufism and in some Eastern traditions, Teresa speaks of the search for God through 7 dwellings, an image of the progression of our relationship with God, a path from the periphery (the ego ) to the center (where God dwells). The door to the castle is prayer and the keys: humility, truth and love.
And what about I, you, we, today? Like Saint Teresa 500 years ago, every man, every woman is called to fully realize ourselves, and this process of humanization also has a collective scope. Our path to God is full of traps, and we should stay awake, listening to a God who always takes the initiative. We have the means in our hands but we are like blind, so we are invited to cross gradually certain shells that seem to constitute our identity, to advance into our own inner self, into the heart, where God dwells.
The members of the Teresian Association have contributed to the good organization of this conference.
On its website, I.T.OUCH, one can find complete information on all activities of the program as well as the texts of the speeches of the conference in various languages.
Corinne Saintes, editorial staff of Kerkebeek, magazine
Schaerbeek-Brussels Pastoral Unit
Prayer vigil
The conference was preceded by a prayer vigil on Saint Teresa, "For you I was born," which took place at the Cathedral of Brussels on Friday evening.
The decor wanted to express something of the experience of Teresa: a well, red roses entwined in the branches of a bush, a candle ....
Through four stages, we were invited to enter into the castle ... allow oneself to be touched, challenged… Live in the world entrusting our lives to Him. We heard Bible verses, poetry, and Saint Teresa’s texts. A coral for the occasion, made up of various choirs, helped us go deeper within and in silence.
Another significant element was listening to a Sufi group sing "Samâ" and pray together for peace "Salâm," after the well known verses "Let nothing disturb you."
Beauty, interior, search for God ... were the words highlighted by the Bishop of Brussels, Mgr. Jean Kockerols.
Juani Romera, I.T.OUCH