Very well said.
God wants spiritual fruits, not religious nuts.
It’s easy to get caught up in the extravagance and grandeur of the Church, her disciplines, dogma, protocol, and traditions that often, we loose sight of the Spirit at work in our world. By not cultivating the interior life, none of the religion we practice bears any fruit. To be a Christian means to be a man or woman of the Spirit and of prayer. Without these two forces in our lives, we will misuse the time we have been given on earth.
One of my frustrations and concerns is that too many in the Church focus on the outward signs of our faith at the expense of being attentive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit within themselves. To allow oneself to be arrested by the beauty of the Church — the silken vestments, lace linens, and golden statues — at the expense of being present to the least among us is a grave injustice and a serious fault in living one’s baptismal promises. A mature faith will never lose sight of the realities of this world. It will always pursue that which is of God. Faith, then, is truly wise — it is rightly ordered.
True religion liberates us and gives direction to our lives, but it can never be practiced apart from an intimate relationship with the Spirit, which propels us on our journey to our last end.
Just a short reflection before bed… Good night.
3 Comments
3 July 2008 at 5:18 AM
Yes, well said indeed.
5 July 2008 at 8:43 PM
Karlo,
I enjoy reading your blog and I wanted to comment on a few items in this entry that I believe should be expanded upon and clarified.
It seemed as if negative caricatures of religion were juxtaposed with positive portraits of spirituality through out the piece. To start, “disciplines, dogma, protocol, and traditions” are placed in contraposition to “the Spirit at work in our world”. Further, the interior life is separated from a life of religion. The great saints of the Catholic Church were all formed for their particular vocation by the discipline, dogma, protocol, and tradition of the Church before pursuing it. This applies especially to the missionary saints to whom I will return shortly. Their interior lives were shaped by a necessary foundation in the negatively characterized elements of religion above. However, this foundation was not laid independently of the Holy Spirit. Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P. characterizes the interior life as simply “hearing the word of God and living by it” – he by no way means to separate the dogma and traditions of the Church from this equation.
Second, while I emphatically disagree that too many people focus on the outward signs of our faith and of the Church today, addressing the comment as it stands juxtaposes the “outward signs of faith” to “the promptings of the Holy Spirit within”. Again, I think the distinction is too sharp. I understand the point that the Levite’s wordy prayer at the front of the temple was not as well received as the tax collector’s humble acknowledgement of his own sinfulness in the back of temple – but nevertheless, external signs of devotion are made fruitful by being united with the gifts of the Holy Ghost and I do not think the two should be contrasted so sharply.
Further, attention to the beauty of the Church is negatively opposed to helping the poor and it seemed to be implied that a mature faith was not to be concerned with the beauty of the House, but solely those who are meant to inhabit it. Again (and my final point should becoming clearer), the distinction is too sharp. Though the jar of oil could have been sold for 300 days wages and given to the poor, the Lord praised Mary for her act of devotion to His body. Beauty cannot be opposed to truth or goodness! It is right and just for the Lord’s House to be made beautiful! This is not meant to discourage charity towards the poor in any way, but rather to show how the two can and must work together. The great missionary saints of Holy Mother Church were not simply social workers charged with caring for bodies but were (and are) charged with nurturing souls. This work is not accomplished in whitewashed agnostic space, but places fitting for the King of kings to dwell. The two go hand in hand –first and foremost the souls of those who worship in the material should be beautiful as they constitute the Bride of Christ, but this is not to neglect the beauty of the place of worship.
I believe the important point of clarification is Aristotelian – matter and form. The Holy Ghost is the form than gives life to the material religion of the Catholic Church. Most of the above juxtapositions (most likely overly emphasized to prove a point) deny the import part the matter plays in unity with the form. Christ’s body, the Church, is nourished by His Divine Spirit and neither aspect should be neglected by the faithful.
Its late for me as well. I hope this didn’t come off as high handed or pretentious. Let me know if any points need clarification or further discussion.
A.M.D.G.
Hope the summer is treating you well!
6 July 2008 at 10:24 AM
Marcellinus,
First, thanks for the blog visit. It is good to see that there are actually some tough souls out there patient enough to read my little thoughts. If anything, the blog is a personal journal and a kind of store room for interesting stories, pictures, quotes, and other myriad thoughts that keep me up at night. Glad to hear that you enjoy it – any curiosity and edification caused by the blog is definitely within the scope of my humble site!
With regard to your comments, a few things. If it can be any excuse, given the personal purpose for the blog outlined above, my short post on religious nuts and spiritual fruits was born out of a frustration I have been having with what I find to be very troublesome qualities in some members of the Church. I have met many who speak so negatively about certain trends and people in the Church that it becomes difficult to see the Spirit present in their lives, as well-intentioned as they are. The letter to the Ephesians reads, “No foul language should come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for needed edification, that it may impart grace to those who hear” (iv.29). Some live off of high-sounding words but have no depth and meaning behind them. There are those, too, who do not live that inspired practice of religion of which you speak, which is made up of that delicate but necessary interplay between the prompting of the Holy Ghost and the external signs of devotion we express as individuals and as the Church. Indeed, as you say, “external signs of devotion are made fruitful by being united with the gifts of the Holy Ghost.” Agreed!
I agree with you completely, as well, when it comes to the pride of place beauty enjoys in our tradition. How many have been so caught up in the beauty of our churches, liturgy, music, and art that their souls have been uplifted and re-oriented towards God the Blessed Trinity? For many, such experiences have been the beginnings of their journey towards Christ and His Church. My frustration (and I hope my point is clear here) comes with those who idolize these beautiful material things as if they are what makes up the entirety of our lives as Christians. They prowl on every word of the priest waiting for a mistake and ready to judge him on it – at the expense of hearing the Divine Word and being shaped by It. They are seemingly obsessed over gold-threaded vestments and lace albs – at the expense of being present to the naked, hungry, and thirsty on the church steps. They value gold statues, chalices, and expensive incense – without concern for the scandal it causes many in and out of the Church. For those who are caught up in the material treasures of the Church and nothing more, I direct this humble post.
My thoughts apply also to those who rely only on the spirituality of the Faith without giving due attention to authentic acts of religion. We believe in the sacraments and the Incarnation as well as the Holy Spirit. As always, there is a necessary balance and integration that is necessary here.
Refined, the quote might read instead: “God desires true religion and true spiritual fruits.” To pursue one at the expense of the other is to fail seriously in living the Christian life. But as you and I both know, herein also lies the challenge. Our words, thoughts, and actions – our very lives must embody this mystery so as to be faithful witnesses of Christ and of the Church for everyone we meet. Because we are co-heirs of Our Lord and His instruments in this world, how great is our vocation to be Christ for everyone.
I hope that this clarifies my rash and undeveloped thoughts in the post. After this discussion (as welcomed and appreciated as it is!), I’m realizing that perhaps my time for writing on the great mysteries of our Faith shouldn’t be at two in the morning…
Thanks again for the thoughts!
In Christ,
KARLO M. LEONOR
S. Augustino, clarissimum lumen Ecclesiae, ora pro nobis.