A PROPER UNDERSTANDING OF DYING TO SELF

Fr Jim Cogley

A closer look at Christ’s teaching about dying to self, points not to the true Self made in God’s image but to the ego or small self that always wants to be in control. Put bluntly if ‘I’ could do it ‘I’ would be delighted and ‘I’ would get the glory. This is just egocentricity in disguise. The spiritual journey is all about the disenthronement of the ego and allowing the true Self that is synonymous with Christ to occupy center stage. There is a form of religion that is utterly ego-centric and masquerades as the real deal. This is where in the name of God, the ego, instead of diminishing in stature, grows in strength, and is recognized as having achieved so much. Herein lies the essence of pride. Look at me a truly self-made spiritual person clothed in the integrity of my own making and recognized for my kindness and generosity. I have achieved Nirvana by becoming the architect of my own salvation. Then at my funeral at least three admirers will need be needed to give the eulogy as ‘my’ greatness is extolled!

While giving a seminar in the sex offenders unit of Mountjoy Prison recently we were astounded at the level of openness to Spirit and the hunger for Truth that was evident. This was more than I have ever encountered when working with even religious or more spiritual groups. It made me think of Christ saying to the Pharisees, the law abiding ones who were into ‘do it yourself’ salvation, that the tax collectors and prostitutes were closer to the Kingdom than they. This was a truly shocking and radical statement that at that time, or any time since, and was enough to have him crucified. In that prison were men many of whom would die there and many more who were facing homelessness when released having been rejected by society, family and friends. These labelled individuals had been utterly broken, as they had broken others, to the point where ego as we know it was almost totally non-existent and so there was nothing left but openness to Spirit.

In Luke's Gospel there is a short passage where Christ denounces the pride that full of its own importance as the way to be brought forward places itself up front and extols the virtue of humility. He said when you give a dinner don’t just invite the ones you consider important like family friends and neighbours. Instead bring the ones you would least consider to be important, the blind, the lame and the lazy. This can be interpretated at an inner level to mean don’t just invite the parts of yourself that you like and are naturally closest to you. Instead invite the wayward parts, the rejects of your life, the estranged parts of you, those parts that belong to your untold story. Allow them to come to the banquet and when they take the lowest seats, as they will, do the unthinkable, bring them up front. In other words, honor them and make them feel comfortable. This is powerful teaching on the integration of our shadow and recognizing that it contains essential elements that contribute to our wholeness and destiny.