I apologize for my brief blogging hiatus—this week has been busy with STAND work, and with family obligations. Since I am currently on a plane home to Tucson and would like to get in some much-needed sleep, this won’t be a very long post; however, I do want to take a minute to outline something that all Christians, particularly those of us in the blogging world, should keep in mind.
I am a Catholic nerd. I love Gregorian chant, incense, candles, domed and spired basilicas, ornate vestments, and the Tridentine Mass. I love spicing up discussions by pointing to the writings of obscure Popes and Ecumenical Councils from the ninth century. I love words like “Magisterium,” “transubstantiation,” and “hypostatic union.” I often go around humming the national anthem of the Holy See (it’s surprisingly catchy). And, of course, because I am a Vox Nova blogger, I have a keen interest in arguing about the proper way to apply the principles of our faith to the secular world. In principle, I do not believe that there is anything wrong with any of this. In practice, however, these “hobbies” of my faith, in addition to sometimes acting as sources of pride, often distract me from the true “work” of faith, just as our various secular hobbies can often distract us from our real responsibilities as students or workers.
This “work” that the Father requires of us is best summed up by Thomas à Kempis in the title of his immortal devotional, The Imitation of Christ. As Kempis writes, such imitation is rooted in the virtues of simplicity and purity, the “two wings [by which] we are lifted above Earthly things.” Or, to use the well-known words of the Prophet Micah, we are ultimately required “only” to “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.” I put “only” in quotes because this task—the task of rooting our every thought, word, and action in simplicity and purity, in justice and mercy, in humility and faith—is anything but easy. And for those of us who have a higher-than-normal interest in what one might call the external “trappings” of our faith—the liturgy, the theological and social doctrines of the Church, etc.–it is all too easy to miss the forest for the trees.
Please don’t misunderstand me. I do not suggest that these “trappings” are not important, even vital. Christ established a Church on Earth with Peter as its Earthly head, to ensure that His teachings would be passed through the generations and applied appropriately to each age of human history. Through this Church, He established the liturgy to make His Sacrifice on Cavalry eternally present (through the Holy Mass) to believers in every generation, and the sacraments as the means by which the faithful might obtain the merits of this Sacrifice. It is the duty of the Faithful to strive to understand, defend, and propagate these beliefs. But ultimately, just as with the Sabbath, these teachings and practices were made for man; man was not made for them. The Church, her teachings (both social and theologica), and her liturgy were given to us by Christ to help us conform our lives to His, to help soar to Heaven on those wings of simplicity and purity. If we do not use them to this end, if we see them as ends unto themselves, if we think that our obligation to God is fulfilled through argument and debate, then we will never be true Christians. We will never be able to save our own souls, much less evangelize a culture that is in desperate need of simplicity, purity, and humility, of faith, hope, and charity.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In