God is My God : The Generative Integrity of Louise de Marillac

Psychology and spiritual theology are used in this personal reflection on Louise de Marillac’s generative integrity. Christian generativity is fulfilling others’ needs and doing God’s will without any expectation of return or even success. Louise had trouble trusting God, herself, and others because she lacked nurturing in her early childhood. She was able to overcome this through her friendship with Vincent de Paul and “her unique relationship with the generative Jesus.” These two elements enabled her to become generative herself. She wanted to imitate the hidden life of Jesus by doing God’s will, unseen by all but God. Author Vie Thorgren notes that Louise was particularly concerned with “the generativity of Jesus on the cross who cries out in thirst.” Louise wrote that when he thirsted without asking for relief, he “increased His own sufferings” in order to “apply His merits to all souls.” According to Thorgren, the Daughters of Charity were to “unite [their] service” with “the thirst of Jesus which is perfect charity.

Relationships: Gift for Elizabeth, Gift for Us

Vie Thorgren identifies three “gifts of relationship” in Elizabeth Seton’s life that empowered her and others around her. She explains how these are relevant to us and how they are “helpful for an understanding of charity that embraces justice.” First, Thorgren explores Elizabeth’s relationship with her father, and with God by extension, and how both gave her the first gift, “the authority of the Father’s Daughter.” In Jungian psychology, the Father’s Daughter is a woman who is practical, adaptable, and capable of gaining others’ trust. As a Father’s Daughter, Elizabeth knew the difference between authority and control. Authority is legitimate because it is exercised within the context of a relationship. Control is simply domination. Thorgren says the second gift was Elizabeth’s capacity to “midwif[e] the laboring Spirit”—she was able to make death a “blessed time” for the dying because she was unafraid of it. Similarly, Thorgren concludes, we must be unafraid of the death of old ways of life as fairer ones are created. The third gift, “real presence,” enduring love without barriers, is something we must demonstrate to bridge the gap between rich and poor

Undressing J.D. Salinger: Fashion and Psychology in The Catcher in the Rye and Teddy

A thesis submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Georgia Southern University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts. Under the direction of Richard Flynn