Dr. Carl Gustav Jung, the eminent Swiss psychiatrist was the son of a Lutheran pastor. His dad was well known for being a religiously rigid pastor. His mom was well known for her frequent bouts of depression.
In the early 1900s Dr. Jung became a great and world-renowned psychoanalyst. At one time, he championed Dr. Sigmund Freud’s work. In addition, Freud saw him as a great friend and a great student of psychoanalysis.
Jung over time became very critical of Freud. They had major differences on the role of sexuality and the role of the unconscious in our lives and the role of God in our lives.
Jung did not see all behavior as rooted in sexuality. He did not see the unconscious as a repository of all the negative stuff in our lives. Instead, he believed that all of us have an inborn “storehouse” of all kinds of memories that manifest themselves in dreams, myths and religious searching.
Jung went further and further afield from Freud. Eventually the two men, who once enjoyed a bond not unlike that of a father and son, fell out irrevocably.
Jung had a very strong belief in God. He spent his whole life searching for God. He spent his whole life looking for God. He spent his whole life attempting to experience God.
Jung spent his whole life persistently exploring spiritual phenomena. He had a very strong belief in some higher power. He truly spiritualized psychology in his passionate quest for the spiritual and psyche wholeness in one’s life.
Jung was guided by a constant search and quest for spiritual meaning. He had a deep need to forge a connection to something larger than his own individual self. In fact, he held a strong belief that in the second half of our lives most of our problems are of a spiritual nature.
Jung would write in his memoirs, “my whole being was seeking for something still unknown that might confer meaning upon the banality of life.” This spiritual quest engaged his interest until his death.
Jung, at one particular time, was counseling a man whose life was out of control. His journey was chaotic. He was making little progress. After many psychotherapy sessions, he continued to be stuck in his fears, helplessness and hopelessness.
Jung finally said to his client, “I cannot do anymore for you, what you need is God.” Then the client said to him, “Dr. Jung, how do I find God?”
Dr. Jung said to him, “I do not know how you are to find God but I suspect that if you were to find a group of people who believe in God passionately and just spend time with them, you will find God.”
One gets the distinct impression that Jung’s vision for the soul of any parish is that we get into small groups and find God.
Msgr. Thomas J. Morgan is pastor of St. Mary Parish and St. Thomas More Parish, Cherry Hill.
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