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Vol. 19, No. 5
September/October 2009
Vision is published six times a year by the
National Association of Catholic Chaplains.
Its purpose is to connect our members with
each other and with the governance of the
Association. Vision informs and educates
our membership about issues in pastoral/
spiritual care and helps chart directions for
the future of the profession, as well as the
Association.
ISSN: 1527-2370
Executive Editor
David A. Lichter, D.Min.
Editor
Laurie Hansen Cardona
lcardona@nacc.org
Graphic Designer
Gina Rupcic
The National Association of Catholic
Chaplains advocates for the profession of
spiritual care and educates, certifies, and
supports chaplains, clinical pastoral
educators and all members who continue
the healing ministry of Jesus in the name of
the Church.
NACC Editorial Advisory Panel:
Sr. Michele LeDoux Sakurai; Michelle Lemiesz; Linda
Piotrowski; Rev. Freddy Washington, CSSp;
and board representative Norma Gutierrez,
MCDP.
NACC National Office
4915 S. Howell Avenue Suite 501
Milwaukee, WI 53207-5939
(414) 483-4898
Fax: (414) 483-6712
info@nacc.org
www.nacc.org
How God Changes Your Brain: Breakthrough Findings from a Leading Neuroscientist. By Andrew Newberg, M.D., and Mark Robert Waldman. Ballantine Books, New York, 2009. Hardcover, 348 pp., $27.
By John Gillman, Ph.D.
The title of this book is a teaser, an attention grabber. The co-authors rely upon solid research to describe the neurological changes in the brain brought about by faith in God and regular spiritual practice. Both Newberg, a physician who specializes in neuroscience, and Waldman, a counselor, collaborate at the Center for Spirituality and the Mind at the University of Pennsylvania.
Written in a clear and lucid style, the narrative explains how belief in a loving God or an angry God affects different areas of the brain. The authors also cite studies using brain scans to demonstrate that daily meditation over a period of eight weeks results in increased activity in the anterior cingulated, that part of the brain associated with emotional regulation, learning, and memory. Faith and prayer stimulate the brain and slow the aging process, Newberg and Waldman conclude.
The chapters titled “What Does God Feel Like?,” “What Does God Look Like?,” and “Does God Have a Heart?” address respectively, the varieties of spiritual experience, visual representations of God, and the perceived personalities of God. A discerning reader will not always agree with some of the concluding observations. In projecting the “Future of God,” for example, the authors assert that “a God that maintains its [sic] mystery” will replace “the biblical views of an all-powerful, all-knowing creator,” a view that is waning (p. 82). In fairness, I suspect that the God of the Bible also would like to be credited with being mystical. After the burning bush encounter, Moses undoubtedly would concur.
Throughout the book, invitations such as considering “The Chemical Nature of God” or wondering “Is There a God Neuron in Your Brain?” draw the reader ever deeper into an exploration of the bridge between the physical and the spiritual, the neurological and the theological, the human and the divine.
In addition to summarizing the data from a multitude of studies, the authors also turn the last three chapters of this work into a self-help guide that 1) recounts the eight best ways to exercise the brain (the fifth way is -- believe or not -- to yawn, the best is to have faith); 2) describes how to find serenity through intention, relaxation, and awareness; and 3) provides a model for engaging in compassionate communication. Three brief appendices offer information on resources, workshops, and research.
The strength of this book is the ability of the authors to integrate a multitude of studies, including their own, into the narrative. I recommend this as a resource for both chaplains and CPE supervisors.
John Gillman is ACPE/NACC CPE supervisor at VITAS Innovative Hospice Care in San Diego, CA.
A New Heart: Eleven Qualities of Holiness. By Robert Morneau. Orbis Books, New York, 2008. Paperback, 143 pp., $12.
By Colette Hanlon, SC, BCC
Bishop Robert Morneau has a special gift of tapping into simple concepts in profound ways that elicit ongoing spiritual searching. Over the years many of us who have heard him speak at NACC conferences or read his other writings appreciate his wisdom and simplicity as we observe his growth on the journey.
In this volume he builds on another gifted seeker’s prayer. Dag Hammarskjold, a past secretary-general of the United Nations who hailed from Sweden, asks God for a pure, humble, loving and faithful heart. Morneau builds on his request and adds his own: a heart of courage, joy, praise, gratitude, kindness, hospitality, and hope. The chapters are spread over 11 weeks, each theme developed daily through the use of excellent quotes from classics and contemporary authors. Then Morneau offers a brief reflection and a suggested action.
Do not be lulled into complacency by the apparent simplicity of the theme development. Morneau’s prose and poetry flow from a deep relationship with God. He is, indeed, a pilgrim person, and he invites his readers to embrace the spiritual journey as well. His preface begins with the words: “Ezechiel the prophet is a messenger of hope.” We are blessed in having our hearts lifted by Bishop Morneau a modern messenger of hope.
I would recommend this book for retreat or daily quiet reflection. May the pondering give us new hearts to know God more intimately.
Colette Hanlon is a chaplain at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, MA.