Suffering With Spiritual Culture Shock

The above right is a picture of Archbishop Burke at a confirmation at St. Francis DeSales traditional parish in St. Louis. He celebrated a Papal High Mass in Latin complete with canopy and cappa magna. For a description of the ceremony and more photos check this out: http://www.institute-christ-king.org/SFdSConfirmations2005.htm. The left photo is of a traditional Souix Sundancer who is pierced in the chest and connected to the Sundance tree. This photo was taken in the late 60's, but things haven't changed---except you can no longer take photos at Sundances, so I have none of my own. But back to Archbishop Burke.

I guess this whole pomp and circumstances trend is baffling to me. Why in this world, or any other world, would God need to be worshipped by a celebrant dragging a twenty foot silk cape behind him, under a canopy carried by four accolytes, surrounded by a cloud of incense. Who is really being worshipped here? Is this a Mass, a Shakespearean drama, or a princely outing where the peasants are overawed by the splendor and pomp? The cynic in me thinks that because it features AB Burke it's a political statement about absolute power in the hands of the hierarchy.

I admit, I'm probably a little jaded about this because I just got back from a completely different spiritual ceremony. Yes, there was some costuming and there was a lot of cedar incensing and purifying, and there was a lot of singing, and there were a lot of sacramentals including staffs, and there were processions. In fact there were a lot of superficial similarities, but then there were also profound differences. The Sundance ceremony was enacted by people who ranged in age from 10 to 71 both male and female. Most of them go without food and water for four days and three nights, not two hours. The men voluntarily undergo piercing because they believe their flesh is the only thing of the Creator's which is theirs to offer, their only real personal possession. The ceremonial leaders also pierce, and their costuming is no different than any other dancer's. It's not really a show, four days is a long time. As the days progress it becomes a real endurance test for participants and supporters, but it also transports you to a different, sort of timeless, reality. A reality where healing in a profound way takes place. And yet the cynic in me wonders about this extreme as well, and wonders whether God needs any form of ceremony, or is it only mankind who needs these ceremonies. But the spiritual energy at a Sundance is different because the mindset is different. Here's a true story of one man's attempt at finding forgiveness and healing.

One of the dancers has a personal commitment to stand in the dance circle for the entire four day ceremony. He pierces and attaches himself to the tree in the early morning of the first day and then tears from the tree in the afternoon of the fourth day. He's out there day and night for the entire ceremony, only leaving the circle for bathroom breaks, and he must be escorted out for that. In other words he's totally exposed for the entire ceremony.

I've been told he's a convicted pedophile and that this is his way to atone for his crimes, reconcile with his victims, and keep his urges under control. As far as his Sundance community knows, he's been entirely successful in the ten years or so he's been dancing at this Sundance. They would know because they keep a very close eye on him. He's a part of their 'family' and they are obligated to help him, without judgment, but also without any blinders about the nature of his affliction.

I've watched this dancer do this for four years, and although I don't really know him in any meaningful sense, I really like him. There's an honest innocence about him, which is endearing, and a dedication to his recovery which can't be denied. You can't stand exposed like he does for four days and be in denial about your truth. This year, when he finally tore off from the tree, there was spontaneous applause--a huge no no--and tears and smiles all around. There was not one single person, dancer or supporter, who wanted this man to fail. In some weird way he stood out there representing the worst in all of us, and the potential for the grace and forgiveness we all need. He was smiling from ear to ear when he walked out of the circle, having completed his own therapeutic spiritual ritual, chastened, exhausted, sunburned, and triumphant. It was a sacramental moment.

Then I get to come home and view AB Burke in full regalia and read how our hierarchy is still hiding unrepentant pedophiles. I'm suffering serious cognitive dissonance---a true spiritual culture shock. I have to keep reminding myself that there really are bishops like Geofrey Robinson who really do get it. It's just that some days that's hard to do.

My mind keeps going back to the Sundancer and the way the two traditions differ so vastly in how they deal with issues of human frailty and failure. Although I could never recommend a Sundance as a therapeutic tool for pedophilia, nobody doubts that it works for this particular man. He's not a young man, and he's not in any kind of physical shape, and he's diabetic to boot. Somehow he makes it through all four days and is a better man for it. It takes real trust in the tenants of your spiritual tradition to risk the potential health hazards inherent in this form of spirituality, especially in view of the fact we all know people die. It doesn't happen very often, but it does happen. Dancers know they are truly risking their health and their lives committing to the Sundance. But they do it anyway because the communication they recieve from the Creator is worth any physical risk. Their is no priest standing in for them with God, they seek Him on their own, and many of the prayers they dance are danced for others.

It's a humbling experience in a completely different way, from the humbling experience implied in cappa magnas, and matching socks and shoes and that's why I'm suffering from spiritual culture shock.