Modern materialistic consciousness cannot understand that making a vow in a solemn way — be it private or public — makes an objective difference in the world. Unfortunately, the Reformation of the 16th century already misconstrued the meaning of making vows, denouncing them as a product of human will detached from the intentions of the Creator. But that is a perversion of what a vow really is.
We then have to overcome — culturally speaking — both the Reformation layer and the modern science layer, in order to get at what making a vow really is, and what it can be for us today.
Just as studies on the brains of people who engage in constant “meditation” — meaning emptying of the mind — have shown remarkable physical changes, perhaps postmodern science is able to measure the changes in the brain that happen to those making vows and seriously engaging them.
Yet such studies could only verify what experience teaches, i.e., that making a solemn vow is the most powerful antidote to distraction. It focuses your thinking and especially your acting. When there is something wrong with your vow or the manner in which you took it, it may feel like a cage, but when things are correctly aligned, your vow is a source of energy, not the opposite.
Skylar Wilson aptly connects the power of vow-making with ritual: I’ve seen what the power of a central value (embodied by a central altar at rituals like the Cosmic Mass, the Sundance, and Burning Man) can do in terms of manifesting a reality together.*
As a premodern feature of human culture, vow-making can only happen in a ritual context, no matter how minimal or sumptuous. The altar is the focal point of the ritual, just as the vow spoken at the altar becomes the focal point of one’s life. What emerges in both ritual-making and vow-taking is the power of the divinity.
God cannot be concocted by rituals or placated by vows, and nobody in their sane mind thinks that. It is, however, a human trans-cultural experience that when people with good intentions gather for rituals and vow-taking, the Shekhina, the Holy Wisdom, emerges from the people present (including non-humans) like a fox getting out of her den when all is calm and peaceful around.
This may all seem quaint and otherworldly until we realize that we are not living any more in a democracy, where human rights are recognized and in which reason is the tool for making agreements among people. If we want to defend the values of modern democracy, and even go beyond them, we need to be leaders — all of us — who are grounded very deeply.
We can’t be shattered by the daily horrible news, and God forbid we shut our ears and our eyes — a veritable temptation of the devil, if you ask me. We need to be able to afford to be shaken and come back at once like the most resilient reeds on earth.
Taking a vow and constantly reminding our vows is a very powerful tool, precisely in our trying circumstances. Who am I? I am one who is becoming whom I pledged to become, and there is no amount of evil that can change that.
* Skylar Wilson, co-author with Matthew Fox and Jennifer Listug, Order of the Sacred Earth: An Intergenerational Vision of Love and Action.
Banner Image: The annual hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, required of all able-bodied Muslims. Photo by ekrem osmanoglu on Unsplash
Queries for Contemplation
Do you consider making new vows or returning to your old ones? What are the obstacles to that?
Related Readings by Matthew Fox
Order of the Sacred Earth: An Intergenerational Vision of Love and Action (Matthew Fox, Skylar Wilson, and Jen Listug)
Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ
A Spirituality Named Compassion: Uniting Mystical Awareness with Social Justice
Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth
One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing from Global Faiths
Occupy Spirituality: A Radical Vision for a New Generation (Matthew Fox and Adam Bucko)
Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality
4 thoughts on “Vows (part II)”
The unspoken sacred vow within seems to perennially be important to me because it’s intimately related to FAITH in the PRESENCE of Our Source~Co-Creator’s Spirit of LOVE~WISDOM~CREATIVITY-Truth-Peace-Justice-Healing-Strength-Transformation~Beauty-Joy-Compassion-DIVERSE ONENESS WILL… with-in my Eternal Soul~True Heart Self in the Sacred Flow/Process of the ETERNAL PRESENT MOMENT… BEING & Becoming Our COMPASSIONATE COSMIC CHRIST~BUDDHA CONSCIOUSNESS….
A very inspiring comment!
My question for you is this: I know a woman who was married and had four children during the marriage. At some point her husband had an affair, divorced her and disappeared. She has no money to pursue invalidation of the marriage with the Vatican. Is your argument that she must still honor her marriage vows?
I found it interesting that the stained-glass window of St. Clare shows her with red hair and wearing a red robe. This announces her of the lineage of Mary Magdalene in some circles.