The Archer: A Journey Toward Spiritual Maturity

By John A. Rich

This is the personal story of a missionary priest in the Philippines. Upon his return to the States he began an inner spiritual journey to discover his true self. He uses the science of psychology and dreams to learn about the unconscious part of his personality. The art/science of Astrology is explored to find his potential energy for personal development. He believes the spiritual challenge for the New Millennium is becoming spiritually mature, being fullly alive and responsible for ones actions, and developing ones full potential as created by God. This is all within the context that the universe is a unified whole, interconnected and interdependent.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Sep 1, 2000
• ISBN: 9781469793894

John A. Rich

John A. Rich is a Maryknoll priest retired from overseas assignment. He has degrees in Philosophy (BA), Theology, Religious Education (MRE), and Anthropology (MA). At present he lives in a small cottage in Huntington, Long Island, NY. He helps out in two local parishes. He continues to do spiritual direction through the use of dreams and astrological consultations for the spiritual journey.

Book preview

Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Chapter One Where It All Began

Chapter Two Where It Really All Began: Cosmogenesis

Chapter Three Spirituality and Astrology

Chapter Four The Beginnings of Astrology (Study of the Stars)

Chapter Five Astrology in the Bible

Chapter Six The Spiritual Journey: Inner and Outer

Chapter Seven The Challenge Ahead: Spiritual Maturity

Chapter Eight Where Do We Go From Here?

Bibliography

About the Author

To the Renner Family, Margaret, Mary Frances, Rob, Paul, and Mary Louise

Acknowledgements

Since this is a book about who I am and my spiritual journey it is impossible to mention all the people who were influential in my life. This includes my teachers, mentors, friends, and those who were a part of my journey.

Both Frank Maurovich, from the Maryknoll Magazine, and Bob Gormley of Seven Bridges Press (formerly of Orbis Books) encouraged me to personalize more my original text. Frank edited and critiqued what I had written. Thanks to Joe Rini who kept my computer working so I could organize the materials and figures.

Finally, I want to especially thank my best friend, Peg Renner, who encouraged me throughout the long process of writing and finding a publisher. She asked specific questions and suggested wording that helped me clarify my ideas. Without her I would not have finished.

Introduction

The Archer is a mythological and archetypal figure, who is also the centaur, both man and beast. He brings together the mundane and the cosmic, the human and the animal. He raises his bow and aims his arrow into the future. He is also known as Sagittarius. He loves to expand horizons, travel to distant lands, and find adventure in exotic places. He has an optimistic and generous attitude which helps him make friends easily. But he could also be gullible and unreal. He has a sense of humor and loves fun times. Religion, philosophy, and spirituality are a part of his make-up. Sagittarius loves learning, teaching, and is a seeker of wisdom.

If you examine his figure you will notice that his strength is in his legs which allow him to excel in athletics and travel to foreign lands. But the wanderlust in his eye does not make him good at long term commitments. He enjoys his freedom and does not want to be tied down. The Archer, it is said, brought the arts of music and medicine to humankind.

I identify with the Archer. I was born with my Sun in Sagittarius and have been activating these characteristics throughout my lifetime. It would seem that he is the person I have been trying to become, the dynamic principle that would help me fill my life with meaning, purpose, and joy. My Sagittarian energy has helped me become a co-creator in God’s universe. This book is a journal of my growth toward spiritual maturity.

I will present my conviction that energy is a symbol that will help us relate to our Creator as the Ultimate Source of Life. The Creator’s first act was an energetic birthing that gave rise to everything in the universe. The Divine energy is present in all creation. Everything is alive with this Spirit.

Everything is Sacred. The Creator’s presence is truly everywhere and all life is interdependent.

I will try to show that there is hope if we can let this Spirit enliven our vision of life, heal and change the old ways that are no longer viable. But we have to start with ourselves and acknowledge the flow of Divine energy that exists within us and in all of creation.

I recently received a letter from Mila Calogmoc of Mapawa, Maragusan, Mindanao, Philippines. It brought back many memories of my work among the indigenous, non-Christian peoples of the Philippines. When I first visited Maragusan, Mila was just a little girl who had a deep wound on the bottom of her foot. I dressed the wound and replaced the bandages every day for three days. Mila is now a wife and mother of two children. She remembered that I provided iodine tablets for the Mansaka women since they had goiter problems from lack of sea food in their diet. The problem has not gone away in the past twenty-five years. Iodine was still needed. Through the modern convenience of E-mail I was immediately able to provide help. Her letter reminded me that my mission work in the Philippines had not been in vain and that my missionary priesthood was a Sagittarian vocation.

After working 19 years in the Philippines I was assigned back to the U.S. to be the director of a theological renewal program for missionaries on furlough. I was very optimistic and grateful because I could now share my mission experiences with others. I returned with many questions and areas of interest that needed to be explored. My priesthood training had left me with an identity as priest, but not as an individual. I was ordained as an Alter Christus, an Other Christ; an identity that was unattainable. We were taught that priesthood was a special vocation which was a way of life, and not just a profession. Actually, I performed well as a priest but I did not know who I really was. I was determined to use all the means necessary to discover my true identity.

When I left, the Philippines was suffering from depletion of natural resources. In Mindanao loggers were destroying the forests, miners were digging into the earth, and foreign investors were turning the small farms into big businesses harvesting a single crop-either bananas or pineapples. The once fertile soil was leaching into the rivers. Chemical sprays from the agro-industries poured into the bays and onto the coral reefs where fish and marine life were being poisoned. I needed to find theological support for preserving the environment because I envisioned an impending disaster.

As I began to take responsibility for the renewal program, I realized that there was not only a need for theological renewal but also, more importantly, for personal and spiritual renewal. If the returning missionaries were like me, then we all needed a spirituality for our active life-style which we did not receive in the seminary.

Being director of the Mission Renewal Program I attended all the courses offered because I felt that they would help me in my work. Vatican II had opened the window to new methods in theology. Fr. Robert Imbelli was on the cutting edge of the new Systematic Theology. Bro. Luke Salm taught us the modern approaches in Moral Theology. I also attended a course by Dr. Kathleen O’Connor on women in the Bible. I became friends with Fr. Thomas Berry who promoted his Creation Theology based on modern scientific facts about the creation of the universe. He stressed the need to be aware of the ecological crisis facing the human race and how to reverse the destruction of our environment.

In order to facilitate my job as program director and discover my inner identity as a person I asked for therapy. I went to a psychiatrist and started relating my life story. After many sessions I decided this was going nowhere. A friend of mine was in therapy with a Jungian analyst and she explained that the use of dreams could put me in touch with what was happening here and now. I switched analysts. The Jungian analyst kept me current with how I was processing my job with the renewal group. She helped me surface my identify and to heal some of the dysfunction that I experienced at home and in the seminary. Dream analysis put me in contact with a deeper part of myself, the place where the Holy Spirit dwells. I wanted to become the person who God created me to be and who was different from all others, yet who also happened to be a priest. I realized my spirituality would flow from the discovery of who I was. This led to my taking courses on dreams from the Jungian Institute in New York City.

I had experienced the Creator’s presence and care through the rites and rituals of the Catholic Church. I had felt the presence of Jesus in my life, especially at prayer and when I was sick and depressed. The call to be a missionary and proclaim the Good News of the Reign of God was very real for me. I worked hard in the Philippines and enjoyed the challenges but I had a poor identity. I did not know how to relate well. My classmate and best friend, Fr. Ed Richardson, died in Korea. Another left the priesthood and married a Korean woman. Fr. Vincent Capodanno, another classmate, who worked in Taiwan, had joined the Navy and was appointed as a Marine chaplain. He was assigned to serve in the Vietnam War. On furlough he visited me in the Philippines just three months before he was killed in Vietnam assisting his grunts in battle. These became issues of abandonment like I had experienced in childhood. I was bringing plenty of stuff to therapy.

The analyst also introduced me to the ancient science and art of Astrology. At the suggestion of my therapist I sent my birth date, time of birth, and place of birth to an Astrologer. The tape from him was so accurate that I was convinced that this was a valid tool in the quest for self-identity. I began taking courses in Astrology and within a few years became a certified Astrologer.

I studied spirituality and how to be a spiritual director according to the Jesuit tradition and method. Then I attended a workshop directed by Rev. Harold Edwards, a Unitarian pastor from Texas, who studied Catholic spirituality because his denomination did not have a history of spirituality. He was also an Psychosynthesis analyst and through him I discovered that dreams and guided imagery could be useful tools for spiritual directors. This was so helpful for me that I repeatedly attended his workshop long

enough to become a staff member and shortly thereafter I was able to conduct workshops on my own.

I have discovered that the path to spiritual maturity begins with loving ourselves. When we love ourselves, we are capable of loving others, including all of creation. I also believe that a truly loving relationship with another person or persons can help bring us to maturity and advance our growth in spirituality. In relationship we can see who we truly are.

Motivated by my Sagittarianness I’ve had opportunities to learn how people see life differently. My travels have taken me to many countries and exposed me to many cultures. I gave leadership workshops in Asia, South America, and Africa. While there I was able to visit with the people and get a flavor for their cultures. I realized