In my final post I simply want to express gratitude for the opportunity to learn about myself as a Marquette lawyer, and my passions in the law, by making the choices of what to say in posting over the course of this past month.
As I see it, the Law School’s Blog is a collective forum for sharing diverse opinions, the dynamic evolution of legal concepts, and freedom of expression, and for honoring the unique attributes of each writer. Each individual contributor chooses to contribute to the discourse on justice, the law, and the interrelationship of those concepts in our world, which far too easily becomes compartmentalized into unrealistic and unhelpful hierarchies like legal and non-legal, students and faculty, lawyers and non-lawyers. That this forum exists, and exists at Marquette University Law School, is a gift, as it reminds us that we have a completely free choice, always, of how to exist in a world that needs lawyers with compassion, integrity, and purpose so badly. That choice is determinative and illustrative, for each person, of an inner fire that is the only source for renewal of a continued, sustainable commitment to being Marquette lawyers, who are, first and foremost, men and women for others.
To find passion for whatever facet of legal discourse one fits into is to tap into the source of renewable energy for a lifetime of legal service that both restores wholeness to others, and does the same thing for the individual who serves.
The Jesuit Pedro Arrupe writes, “Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in love in a quite absolute final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything.”
In this passage, I see connection between the Ignatian spirituality principle of finding God in all things, and the Marquette Law School Blog. Its contributors (lawyers, legal scholars, law students, and workers for justice) tell us with love and passion how they sustainably serve the community in every post, because the act of writing is, inherently, a creative process that comes from within, from inspiration paired with focused purpose.
Blog posts are testimonials of inspired ideas, dedicated advocacy, humorous but respectful banter, and a desire for contribution to a community that serves justice. I see in them a reflection of Arrupe’s love, manifested uniquely as the love of the ideals of the best that legal education, legal practice, and legal discourse can be. The verb “inspire,” from the Latin inspirare, can mean influencing, moving, or guiding by divine or supernatural inspiration. It can also mean to infuse with life or breath. This is similar to the Hebrew word ruach, meaning spirit or breath, which, in the context of mankind, is created by God, forms humans in the image of the Divine, animates them into life, and imparts in them the forces of will, reason, and conscience (Job 12:10; Isa 42:5). As an ideal, the law, also, is animated by will, reason, and conscience. Indeed, the prophetic words of Isaiah connect these concepts, and speak of the breath and spirit of the law as the way justice will manifest through us in the world:
Isaiah 42 (New International Version) The Servant of the Lord
1 “Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him
and he will bring justice to the nations.
2 He will not shout or cry out,
or raise his voice in the streets.
3 A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
4 he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.
In his law the islands will put their hope.”
5 This is what God the LORD says-
he who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it,
who gives breath to its people,
and life to those who walk on it:
6 “I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness;
I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people
and a light for the Gentiles,
7 to open eyes that are blind,
to free captives from prison
and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
Ruach also permeates the New Testament, as discussed in the Gospel of Mark, wherein the Pharisees are criticized by Jesus for strict adherence to Sabbath law over the choice to act with mercy and kindness, placing the letter of the law above the spirit of the law (Mark 2: 1- 28, 3:1 – 6). I like to think the MULS Blog illustrates the best of both the letter and the spirit of the law, both the grounding in intellect and the passion and fire of inspired truth.
The Blog’s homepage, its left side filled with dozens of subjects and the right side filled with unique and gifted contributors, reminds me of a diamond: the jeweler, holding the perfect uncut stone, cuts facets in order for the light to shine forth to its greatest beauty. Through its facets, the inspired MULS Blog illustrates finding Law, and God, in all things through the passionate truth of its structure and contributors.
My thanks to Michael O’Hear, the MULS Blog editors, and my fellow contributors for this experience, which has taught me so much. One is always, and gratefully, a student of law and of life. Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam.