Day 1034 - Holy Saturday - About Liminal Space

 In my opinion, trying to live as a Franciscan means living in liminality -- or betwixt and between as theologians Peter Phan and Jung Young Lee put it (1). It is living in the wilderness, in the place where earth and sky meet that is neither earth nor sky yet partakes in elements of both. It is living in interstitial space, between worlds where creativity may abound, or from the Jungian viewpoint, where the individuation process of self-realization  may occur. It is living life as mendicant on a journey. It is living life as a verb, and specifically a gerund, rather than a noun. It is becoming rather than being. Or, put in another way, as Ingham describes Duns Scotus' view of the morally good act, liminal space might be viewed as "the horizon for the encounter between the human will that chooses and the divine will that accepts" (2). In short, liminal space is where we may encounter God -- in the moments of unexpected stillness in a busy day, in the instant of catching our breath between appointments, in the expected snatch of birdsong that breaks through the noise of freeway hustle and bustle.  It is liminal space that I hope to explore in this blog, and specifically the way in which it unfolds and refolds within the Franciscan movement. It is my attempt to put meaning to the term "Franciscan Presence." What does that mean? How may one live it?

I am an Asian American Pacific Islander -- that situates me betwixt and between by happenstance of birth. I am Roman Catholic. I am a student at the Franciscan School of Theology in Berkeley, California.  I am a widow -- having lost my husband and soulmate of 34 years to congestive heart failure on Easter morning 2008. I am administrator for a free clinic for the voiceless and vulnerable in Sacramento, Clara's House. I am a nerd after having spent 20+ years in high tech as an engineer. I have been a high school teacher, college instructor, social worker, tech writer, martial arts school teacher/co-owner, and IT director. I was educated by Franciscan friars and Domincan sisters at St. Elizabeth High School in Oakland. I am on day 1034 of a journey toward becoming a member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity.  At age 59, being Franciscan has seeped into my bones, and now I am trying to wrap words around what exactly that means.

 

 .                                                                                  Skating on a glacier in Alaska - June 2009

(1) See "Betwixt and Between: Doing Theology with Memory and Imagination" Journeys at the Margin: Towards an Autobiographical Theology in American-Asian Perspective edited by Peter C. Phan and Jung Young Lee.

(2) See The Philosopical Vision of John Suns Scotus: An Introduction by Mary Beth Ingham, p. 180.