Mystery and the Human Person

Mystery and the Human Person

Cl. Mario D’Couto SDB

            In one of my previous articles called “Suffering: A Problem or a Mystery,” [Please check it out in my old posts] I had tried to distinguish these two aspects of reality based on the understanding of Gabriel Marcel. A mystery is not like a problem that can be solved; it is to be lived. The human person is to a large extent a mystery and that is precisely because he or she is a being made up of so many things. We, human beings, are not just creatures in the physical sense. We are also spiritual, social, psychological, emotional and last but not the least, we are all contextual beings. If we were not contextual beings, then life would be meaningless and would make no sense at all.

            Louise Hageman goes on to elaborate on this theme in her book, “In the midst of Winter.” A religious person (not a priest, cleric or nun but a person who is committed to his work) respects life and its mystery. However, according to the Christian existentialist, Gabriel Marcel, the contemporary individual is no longer rooted in mystery. Frequently, in present day culture the human person is regarded as an ‘object’ among the rest and is presented merely as a problem to be solved by technical methods alone. Marcel does not deny the value of the scientific and pragmatic intelligence, for there is a definite sense in which the human person is rightly included with the other things that are subject to technical control and measurement. However, this is not the only way in which man and other beings ought to be treated.

            The human person is both a thing and more than a thing, for he can undertake an evaluation of his own life. Such evaluation raises the question: who is it that asks about the meaning of his being and of the world? Who is it that calls this life into question? As we inquire about being, we are ourselves an affirmation of being because only human beings can question.

            Finally, the human person is a mystery because each individual, every man, woman and child is an embodiment of the Spirit, of Almighty God. He has breathed into each of us His Spirit (Genesis 2:7). I firmly believe that it is the mysterious dimension of human life that makes it so sacred and that it is why it is to be revered.

            Considering the number of atrocities done to human life be it in the form of violence against women, abortion, female infanticide and other such forms, it is indeed alarming. Perhaps, I suppose what Marcel said is true; the contemporary ‘human being’ is no longer rooted in mystery. When we lose the mysterious dimension of ourselves or if we fail to recognize it, then the other becomes an ‘object’ and ceases to be a ‘subject’. When such things happen, the above mentioned social evils are but a natural consequent. It’s only a change and a conversion of heart that will help us to get back that mysterious element into our lives where we will be able to see things the way God sees. This, of course, is only achieved when we spend more time with God in quiet moments during prayer. [For more information about prayer please check the older posts, “Prayer” and “Silence – The Other Side of Prayer”]



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