Contrary to popular opinion, either/or ways of living are not the hallmark of Christianity. Both/and pathways to holiness, on the other hand, are.
The Catholic Church is big on third ways, if you think about it. Ever since Jesus died, was buried, and rose again, a different way of being, of living, and of thinking, was made manifest in the world. The early Christians embraced the Way, the Truth, and the Life, without any help from civil authorities, and from a position of complete powerlessness. And yet the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, changed the world through them.
The Holy Spirit still calls us to do the same today. (more…)