Simone Weil, Martin Luther
King and Mother Teresa resided in three distinct and different places not only
in their physical being but in their specific concerns as well. At first glance these differences would
appear to create a definitive rift in comparisons between the three but at a
second glance, these differences become small and the overall message of each
of their lives becomes nearly inseparable as one way of being that defines the
secular saint.
According to Dr. Ambrosio, the secular saint is a person
who lives the question of meaning fully while at the same time they are
committed to searching for meaning along both the paths of hero and saint. It is common for the secular saint to work
toward mastering their vision. In the
case of Simone Weil, she not only lived but also died her life in search of
meaning. She died of tuberculosis that
was aggravated by lack of food. This
lack of food was self imposed as she was avoiding food in an effort to show
solidarity with her countrymen in Nazi occupied France. This act alone provides us with insight into
what makes Simone Weil and how she defines the secular saint. As someone who is trying to live a life that
is meaningful at least to themselves, to die by this meaning would be to
fulfill the meaning in its entirety.
Simone Weil, in her spiritual zeal, felt it was necessary to show
solidarity with her countrymen as a way of finding meaning for herself. She had lived her short life in such a way
that this death comes as little surprise.
She had tried to identify with others through the course of her life, in
other ways as well. She had taken a year
off from teaching to live as a factory worker, a way to better understand the
challenges of such a life. Through these
examples from the life of Simone Weil, we can see how she did toe the line
between the path of the saint and the path of the hero. Through her spirituality and love of humanity
as a whole, she exemplified the life of the saint while her commitment to
living her life out in such a way as to find herself at death’s door while in
the midst of living out the meaning of her life, she exemplified the life of
the hero.
Much of the same can be said for Martin Luther King as
well. He died as a result of following
and living out the life he believed was necessary in order to bring justice to
African Americans during the civil rights movement. Mother Teresa, on the other hand, died a
natural death without a direct correlation to the life of justice she required
for herself and those around her, however, she did die in the midst of living
out the example of the type of justice she fought for. It is, for both Martin Luther King as well as
Mother Teresa, this idea of justice that resounds so deeply within the heart of
the hero that it becomes obvious that both, despite their religious
affiliations, were living the life of the hero.
Yet, it is precisely because of their religious affiliations, with King
being a reverend and Mother Teresa being a nun that the life of the saint for
each of them is evident. Just as Simone
Weil had done as well, they lived out their vision of life fully, to the end.
Mother
Teresa ached for the recognition of the human being as well as the recognition
of their suffering. Though one may not
be able to alleviate said suffering, one must try to be respectful of the whole
human person and at least acknowledge it.
Martin Luther King believed that everyone deserved the same rights,
despite the differences in skin color.
Simone Weil believed that while people may not be able to alleviate all
suffering, no harm should be done either.
People should attempt, in Weil’s opinion, to alleviate any suffering
they can, at any cost but if this cannot be done, one must at least live their
life in a way that sees to it that all avoidable harm is, in fact,
avoided. In these stances in their
lives, there is an overwhelming sense of the justice they were each seeking
while an obvious love of humanity is also evident. For Weil, it is in her sense of justice where
we can see the life of the Greek citizen hero has been of particular influence
on her; the way that she focuses her vision on all, not just some.
In this
modern age, we have many examples of the secular saint. These examples are a backbone of our society
that people may not always recognize or consciously see as a “secular saint”
but they do exist as a model for many.
Secular saints, whether real or imagined, such as in the movies are
everywhere. Whether looking on the news
and seeing Mother Teresa serving the poor so diligently or watching the main
character George in the holiday movie, It’s
a Wonderful Life, there are examples of people who are trying to live their
life not only in the spiritual realm but also in the very human realm, trying
to find for themselves as well as others, a life of meaning.
REFERENCES
Ambrosio, F. Philosophy,
Religion, and the Meaning of Life (The Great Courses Series). Lecture
30.
Ambrosio, F. Philosophy,
Religion, and the Meaning of Life (The Great Courses Series). Lecture 31
Ambrosio, F. Philosophy,
Religion, and the Meaning of Life (The Great Courses Series). Lecture 32.
Ambrosio, F. Philosophy,
Religion, and the Meaning of Life (The Great Courses Series). Lecture 33.