Page 3 – The Waltonian

On March 30, Dr. Amy Richards, a professor in Eastern’s philosophy department, gave a lecture on “The Annunciation of Mary and Second Person Ethics.” In this lecture, Richards explained how Mary’s response to the Annunciation of Christ serves as an example to humanity of how to respond to the other and defines what it means to be a person. Specifically, Richards highlighted three elements of Mary’s response to the angel Gabriel: her desire to understand, her receptiveness to the other and her acknowledgement of and docility to the truth.

Through her analysis of Mary’s response to Gabriel, Richards concluded that humans are ultimately recipients of grace standing in relation to one another: recipients of grace, because it is by others’ grace toward us that we are even alive, and standing in relation to one another because it is unnatural for man to separate himself from community. Reacting to common modern philosophy, she argued that instead of being autonomous and “free” individuals, we are actually defined in relation to one another, even without realizing it. Everything that a person has, he or she receives because of grace–God’s or another person’s.

Mary demonstrates this sensitivity to things outside herself in her pondering of the angel’s greeting; she questions herself based on something outside of her. Instead of first asserting her will onto the situation and refusing to be changed by another, she instead seeks understanding and then submits to the truth.

I agree wholeheartedly with Richard’s argument, though some elements of her lecture were new to me. As a Protestant, I had never considered the example of Mary to be especially important. When thinking of whom to look to as an example in the Bible, I always automatically went to Christ. This is most definitely not a bad thing, but other biblical figures, especially Mary, are also valuable examples and are sometimes more appropriate to use when discussing what it means to be human because, though Christ was fully human, He was also fully God, which is something the rest of humanity is lacking. Mary’s reaction when confronted with the divine will is relatable in a way that Christ, while still the ideal, sometimes is not. Her desire to understand God’s will is quintessential to the human experience, and this desire is found everywhere: theology, philosophy, science, math; nearly all of human civilization is built on the human desire to understand the Divine. Mary is (in this way) no different from us; however, Mary does differ from the rest of humanity in other parts of her response to the Annunciation, and in this way she serves as an example to strive toward.

I also agree with Richard’s analysis of modern philosophy and how the example of Mary stands in opposition to the current isolationist view of man. It seems everywhere we look current culture is glorifying the “ideal” of bearing our burdens all by ourselves, unconnected to any significant community. Modern literature is a prime example of this. However, I have found this idea of humans being dependent on others to be surprisingly freeing. Though this paradigm shift doesn’t happen all at once, learning to see yourself not as an isolated unit but instead deeply connected with others changes the way you see yourself and your friends. I have learned so much about what it means to cherish and love your friends and also the importance and impact my own actions have on others.

Mary’s submission to God’s will instead of imposing her own will on the situation is a beautiful example of how to react to the other. Though of course we shouldn’t submit to everything everyone tells us, we should submit to the truth, as Mary does, which includes serving our friends. Mary’s example tells us much about what it means to be human and how we can best serve God and love others.

With the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric illness and incredibly low research funds, eating disorders are severely misunderstood by many, even though 30 million people–10 percent of the population–struggle with some type of eating disorder. Speaking at Windows on the World to inform college students about these illnesses were three panelists: Joan Barnes, Brian Cuban and Kristina Saffran, who shared their personal experiences with and triumphs over eating disorders.

Brian Cuban, author of “Shattered Image,” struggled with body dysmorphia and bulimia for 27 years, afraid to tell anyone about his illness because he felt like he was the only male struggling with these problems. Joan Barnes is an esteemed entrepreneur, the founder and former CEO of Gymboree and author of “Play it Forward: From Gymboree to the Yoga Mat to Beyond.” Officially diagnosed with an eating disorder in her mid-40s, Barnes began using laxatives at just 10 years old. She explained she felt “cool” in college, and afterwards, able to juggle relationships and work, in addition to managing her weight using dieting pills and laxatives. Similar to Barnes, Saffran also had her first anorexic episode at age 10; her symptoms, however, were physically apparent, so her parents noticed and intervened. She relapsed again at age 13 and was put through more intensive therapy, diagnosed with chronic anorexia. Now fully recovered, Saffran founded Project HEAL, an organization committed to raising awareness for eating disorders.

“Contrary to the widely-circulated myth that recovery is impossible, appropriate treatment can make life without an eating disorder truly a reality,” Saffran’s website emphasizes. Throughout the panel, Saffran, Barnes and Cuban focused on the real possibility of a full recovery from an eating disorder.

Loneliness and shame appeared to be the main reasons the speakers didn’t get help sooner. Cuban especially cited these as reasons he lived with his disorder for 27 years: his fear of being the only male suffering with these diseases kept him from even researching online more about bulimia, afraid to find out he was really the only guy struggling with these illnesses. Saffran urged friends of individuals struggling with eating disorders to speak up because people dealing with these problems need friends to support them. The panel emphasized the importance of support and community especially because “curing” these diseases involves more than maintaining a healthy weight. Individuals struggling with eating disorders also have to combat their negative thought processes as well. Barnes and Saffran described this process as being “inwardly vigilant”; a “relapse” is really just the final, outward manifestation of a negative mental cycle that started long before the eating disorder began. Because so much of the problem is mental, it is important for people struggling with these issues to have a supportive community to help them stop the cycle before it begins.

Sources: JoanBarnesspeaks.com, theprojectheal.org

Abbie Storch, Eastern alumna (‘16), is already well on her way to “waking up the world.” After graduating with an English major and a music minor, she is now a master’s student in religion and literature at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music.

“Essentially, the degree program is an interdisciplinary course of study that draws from classes in Yale Divinity School and the graduate English and comparative literature departments. It’s a perfect program for me,” Storch explains. “My interest in the intersection of religion and literature began during my study abroad in Oxford, where I spent an entire semester delving into the poetry and devotional writing of Gerard Manley Hopkins, a Roman Catholic priest and Victorian poet. I toyed around with the idea of pursuing a master’s or Ph.D. in English, but I decided on the master’s in religion and literature at Yale because the program allowed me to pursue studies in literature within the larger community of the Institute of Sacred Music.”

Along with taking diverse classes, including a course in Anglican history and theology, as well as a class in 20th-century British political literature, Storch also finds time to sing in a professional chamber choir, the Yale Schola Cantorum.

“Singing in Schola has been such an incredible experience,” she enthuses. “Most of the singers in the group are voice and conducting students at the Yale School of Music, and I feel really humbled to be singing such amazing choral works alongside them.” In addition to performing four to five concerts a semester at various locations in the Northeast, every spring, the choir tours internationally. This coming March, Schola will be touring India with the baroque orchestra of the Juilliard School, singing pieces composed by Indian and American composers written specifically for this tour.

“There are so many things I want to do,” Storch responds when asked what her future plans entail. She plans on getting licensed in massage therapy. She explains, “Many people have observed the epidemic of loneliness that afflicts contemporary society, and human touch is a way to counter that loneliness. I’ve been thinking a lot about my call to baptismal ministry–the ministry of all baptized believers–and I think that a large part of my call is to affirm the goodness of the bodies of others.”

She continues, elaborating on her more academic aspirations: “I’ve always said that I want to go into publishing, and that’s the simplest answer, I suppose. This summer, I worked for a literary review in Seattle, and I’m currently interning at the Yale University Press, which has given me a good idea of what it’s like to work in book publishing. But I also see myself doing the kind of work that Krista Tippett does on her radio show ‘On Being’–using the medium of language to ‘expose virtue,’ to explore the ways that individuals are living lives of truth. In short, I’m not certain what my publishing aspirations will lead to, but one thing that I know for sure is that in the publishing world, I want the message I communicate to be one of faith, hope and love.”