4. Faithful in Christ

This section will explore our Christian discipleship and witness. The summons of the Gospel, "Repent and believe," immediately points to our sinfulness and need for a Savior. We place our faith in Jesus Christ and invoke his grace in the Church. Where we are weak, God is strong. Left to our own devices, we would be doomed to failure and endless death. The Good News seeks to restore the harmony lost through sin. We are to respect our natures and all human dignity. We are to be good and faithful stewards of the world that God has given us. We are to follow the Ten Commandments and to see in them the manifestation of a love for God and neighbor. Finally, if we are to be prophets of the Gospel for others, then before we talk ABOUT Jesus we should be in the habit of talking TO Jesus in prayer.

Sin vs. Grace.

It is not easy to summarize such themes as sin and grace. I will resort to the shortcut of lists. Sin and grace epitomize the entire life struggle of the human family. Not only are we born into a sinful condition (original sin) and touched by its consequences; so too are we culpable for adding our own transgressions to that primordial disobedience. In response to the reality of sin, God has not remained passive. Through the gift of Jesus, we are offered liberation from sin in baptism, receiving sanctifying grace and-- through the other sacraments and our general relationship to God and to his Church-- we receive the actual or helping graces to live out the new life for which we are called. If sin can be defined as selfishness and disobedience; then grace can be interpreted as God's gift of his divine love and life. This grace is made available for those who would have selfless and obedient hearts. By the presence of God's Spirit, grace is given as a gratuity from God. This grace forgives sins and transforms the person ever more and more into the likeness of Christ. This last point is important because from baptism on, as new Christs, we are made more lovable and able to love others in Christian witness. A person who is in God's good graces partakes in the supernatural life of in the love and life of God himself. Filled with optimistic hope, this person lives with his sights on heaven. Sin would break off this relationship with God as well as with others. If love unites, sin divides. Sin disrupts our harmony in ourselves (frustrating ourselves from within) and with others (causing shame and division from without).

Chief Effects of Sanctifying Grace:

1. It sanctifies and makes us pleasing to God;

2. We become adopted sons and daughters of God;

3. Our persons become temples of the Holy Spirit; and

4. We become inheritors of the kingdom of heaven.

Effects of Actual Grace:

1. It enlightens our minds to God's will; and

2. It strengthens our wills to avoid evil and to do good.

Virtue.

Supernatural grace also offers us an assortment of supernatural powers--

A. Theological Virtues:

1. Faith - We believe all the revealed truths simply because God said so, no matter how seemingly impossible.

2. Hope - We firmly trust that God will be faithful to his promises to us and will in his mercy give us the means toward and the reality of obtaining perfect happiness with him.

3. Charity - We love God unconditionally and above all other persons or things, for his own sake. Also, as a consequence of this love of God, we love our neighbor as ourselves.

B. Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit: (Making us alert and preparing us to follow God.)

1. Wisdom - Enables us to judge correctly of the things of God.

2. Understanding - Gives us insight into the mysteries of faith by which we are to live.

3. Counsel - Enlightenment, especially on practical matters.

4. Fortitude - Gives us Christlike courage to love God in the face of all.

5. Knowledge - Enables us to see God reflected in all creatures, praising and desiring only him in them.

6. Piety - We are attracted to reverence God as our Father and all others as his children.

7. Fear of the Lord - Great awe and reverence for Christ which keeps us from offending him by sin.

C. Effects in Us from the Gifts of the Holy Spirit: Charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity, goodness, long-suffering, mildness, faith, modesty, continency, and chasity.

D. Moral Virtues: (Disposing us to lead a moral life.)

CARDINAL VIRTUES - like "hinges" from the Latin "cardo," all the other moral virtues hang upon these--

1. Prudence - disposes us to make right judgments;

2. Justice - disposes us to give each their due;

3. Fortitude - disposes us to do good despite trouble;

4. Temperance - disposes us to control desires and to correctly use things which please the senses.

OTHER MORAL VIRTUES--

1. Filial Piety and Patriotism - disposes us to honor, love, and respect nation and family;

2. Obedience - disposes us to follow superiors;

3. Veracity - disposes us to truthfulness;

4. Liberality - disposes us to use worldly goods wisely;

5. Patience - disposes us to bear trials;

6. Humility - disposes us to acknowledge limitations; and

7. Purity - disposes us to chastity, etc.

Examples of Virtues Reaffirmed in Scripture:

Romans 14:17 - Kingdom of God is a matter of justice, peace, and joy.

1 Colossians 13:4-7 - Patience, kindness, humility, politeness, selfishness, forgiveness, forbearance, trust, and hope.

Galatians 5:22-23 - Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, patient endurance, kindness, generosity, faith, mildness, chastity, and self-control.

Ephesians 4:32-5:6 - Kindness, compassion, mutual forgiveness, following the way of love, and giving thanks.

Grace.

Many years ago, the religious writer, Karl Adam, wrote an introductory book on Catholicism in which he caused a little unwarranted controversy by reminding Catholics that although the action of the Holy Spirit belongs properly to the Church, the grace of God is not limited to it. Indeed, it is even by the grace of God that one is moved from unbelief to belief initially. God acts where he wills. This being the case, many of the graces of God may have fruit even outside the visible confines of the Church. Having said this, it needs to be mentioned that the grace of God draws us all to greater unity as well as to holiness and that this reality is most manifest in his Church which strives for sanctity and which embraces peoples the world over. Grace is God's gift to keep us from despairing in the face of sin. Where ever sin abounds, the gift of grace can subdue it. There is nothing which can ultimately conquer the grace of God. It makes what seems impossible, possible.

Sin.

In reference to the flip-side of grace and virtue, there is the harsh reality of sin.

Internal Sins:

1. Morose Delectation - complacency in regards to a sinful object offered by the imagination;

2. Sinful Joy - voluntary complacency in an accomplished evil deed, by ourselves or others; and

3. Evil Desire - longing to do something forbidden.

Deadly Sins:

1. Pride - esteeming ourselves as more than we are and desiring to be treated as such;

2. Covetousness - strong desire for possessions, especially of another;

3. Lust - desire for unlawful bodily pleasure;

4. Envy - willful discontent or resentment, consented to, at another's good fortune;

5. Gluttony - overeating or drinking;

6. Anger - strong feeling of displeasure, often resulting in loss of temper; and

7. Sloth or Accidie - laziness that causes neglect of duty.

Catalogues of Sins from the Scriptures for Christians to Avoid:

Mark 7:21-22 - From the heart comes evil ideas which lead to immoral things or evil things; theft, murder, adultery, greed, deceit, indecency, jealousy, slander, pride, and folly.

Wisdom 14:25-26 - Murder, robbery, corruption, faithlessness, disorder, falsehood, harassment of innocent people, ingratitude, moral decay, sexual perversion, broken marriages, . . . .

Romans 1:29-32 - Wickedness, vice, jealousy, fighting, malice, speaking evil of another, insolence, pride, boastfulness, disobedience to parents, having no conscience, not keeping promises, and showing no kindness or pity.

1 Colossians 5:11; 6:9 - Greed, worship of false gods, slander, drunkenness, stealing, adultery, and homosexual perversion.

Other sins can be determined by looking at transgressions against the ten commandments, disregard for the law of love, reflecting upon the opposites to the virtues, discerning what might be violations of the natural harmonies and laws, any disobedience against just laws (civil or ecclesial), etc. Sins against the theological virtues include these:

Against Faith:

1. Direct denial of faith by words, signs, or actions;

2. Lack of faith or infidelity; and

3. Defection from faith or apostasy.

Against Hope:

1. No desire to possess God as final happiness;

2. Giving up hope of salvation in despair; and

3. Trusting too much in one's own strength or in presumption of God's will in reference to something he will not do.

Against Charity:

1. Failure by necessity of means to make an act of love to God;

2. Failure at the age of reason of making an act of love to God and/or returning to a state of grace. One must make frequent acts of love throughout life;

3. Hatred of God is a direct violation;

4. Hatred of self or the other extreme of egoism are sins against charity;

5. Failure to love our neighbor, including enemies (enmity), and failure to forgive them;

6. Refusal to give customary signs of forgiveness;

7. Failure to help another in need (act of charity);

8. Failure to offer fraternal correction;

9. Seduction or inducing another to sin;

10. Offering scandal to others in unbecoming words or conduct, or good actions with only the appearance of evil;

11. Formal cooperation in a sinful action; and

12. Material cooperation as in concurrence in or preparation for an evil deed.

Degrees of Sin & Our Growing Identity.

As previously mentioned, mortal sin is traditionally understood as a violation of the divine law in a grievous matter with full knowledge and consent. This sort of sin denotes a rejection of God's grace and the offer of salvation. Modern work in psychology has challenged whether or not an individual can always clearly commit such a sin since factors like ignorance, habit, immaturity, drug abuse, a worldly milieu, etc. can drastically affect the culpability of the person. Also, there has arisen an understanding of the human person, not so much in terms of isolated events, but as an individual molding his or her identity in the continuing process of making life's choices. Certain theologians, like Fr. Bernard Haring, have thus coined a new term, "fundamental option," which refers to the many sins and virtues in one's life which orientate the person either negatively away from God or positively toward him. The process or journey, so to speak, is not resolved until death. Whether or not all aspects of his proposal can be assimilated into the older conceptualization is unclear. It would seem to me that a person might still be able to give the full measure of himself, for good or evil, in a single act. Of course, whether a person has committed one mortal sin or a dozen, is all rather academic-- even in the older way of reckoning. One death sentence or twelve, it is still the same and hell just as terrible.

Certain acts might be judged as ALWAYS objectively wrong, but because of extenuating factors, not always sinful. Other acts might be so serious that they would always constitute sin in conscious human persons; however, the gravity would be measured in terms of their knowledge and free responsibility. We should do everything possible to avoid a serious "subjective" mortal sin. The confessor, unable to read another's soul, is often unable to definitively determine from a grocery list of sins whether or not a person is damned or not. Fundamental option theories cannot be used as an escape from culpability, either. After a lifetime of selfish manipulation, it would be highly unlikely, although not impossible, for a person to cease being evil prior to death. Being creatures of habit, we are molded by our acceptance or rejection of grace-- in lives of grace or of vice. God-willing, we will develop the good habits called virtues which nurture us in sanctity. This touches upon why lesser or venial sins are not a matter to be dismissed lightly. A lifetime filled with such petty transgressions, as the sum totals up, create a sinful person of no little depravity. The irony which makes it difficult to distinguish good people from evil ones is that bad people sometimes, almost in spite of themselves, do good things; and good people, once in awhile, do bad things. The two kingdoms are mixed and it will not be until the Judgment Day that we will be able to distinguish who is clearly in which.

Sin & Choice.

Even wicked people do not choose directly what they see as evil. They select what appears to be good to them. Consequently, the bank robber, who kills three people to get some extra cash, views the money as an overriding good, if only for himself. He may care little or nothing for the tactics he uses or for the deprivation he causes others. He has deluded himself by seeking that which is only an apparent good. Not only should we avoid breaking the commandments, but the Christian understanding here is that the violation of another for some personal ends cannot be tolerated and is evil. Many have numbed their consciences in regard to terrible violations of the moral law. Does the drug dealer really care about the addict or is he just a cash cow? Is the substitution of unconditional tolerance for the judgment of the Gospel really in the best "eternal" interests of active homosexuals? What kind of love is it that would sacrifice a beloved's sanctity before God and the Church so that they might play house and fornicate prior to marriage? Where is trust, mutual respect for their persons, and an openness to new life-- when the wife is made to pop contraceptive pills like candy? How can a nation allow 4,000 abortions a day and then say that human rights are a real priority? Sin is all around us-- it is always linked to human selfishness. We must not be afraid to name it and claim it. Only then can we repent from it and ask God to assist us in changing our lives.

In the history of sin, there have been many variations on the theme of selfishness. Sin is the violation of the rightful good of another for some selfish end (like stealing money). It may be the violation of either an ecclesial law (like not keeping fast days) or of divine law (like violating the commandments). It can also be the infringement of a natural law by desiring and doing something in perversion to human nature (homosexuality, beastiality, pedophilia, etc.). Further, sin may be constituted by the desire and/or the act by which something which would ordinarily be good is bad because we are not entitled to it (as in a single person having sexual relations with another of the opposite sex). Taking to excess something which is good is also sinful (lust or gluttony). Attaching some deprivation to a good thing may be sinful, too (as in starving ourselves or violating justice in marriage by refusing the marriage bed).

We can sin, not only by deed, but in thought, in word, and in the things we should have done, but failed to do. When former President Carter mentioned lust in his heart, he was echoing an ancient understanding that sin begins inside of us. If we want to perform an impure act or violate the rights of another, then even the plotting and desiring of it constitutes sin. The Lord wants us totally converted to him-- body, heart, mind, and soul.

The Commandments.

Our Relationship to God.

1. You shall not worship false gods.

2. You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain.

3. Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.

Our Relationship to Each Other.

4. Honor your father and your mother.

5. You shall not kill.

6. You shall not commit adultery.

7. You shall not steal.

8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

9. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife.

10. You shall not unjustly desire what belongs to your neighbor.

The Greatest Commandment.

When Jesus asked what is the greatest commandment, his answer echoes the pattern in the Decalogue of our relationship to both God and to neighbor. Christ says that we are to love God with our whole heart, with all our mind, and with all our soul. Loving ourselves as precious in God's eyes, he reminds us to love our neighbor as ourselves. This is not a static kind of love, it means forgiving and not rendering evil for evil.

Reflection on the Decalogue.

The first commandment reminds us that ours is a jealous God; there is no other before him. He is the one and only! He does not want us wasting our lives on false gods or empty superstitions. Even though there may not be many traditional worshipers of idols cast in stone or bronze, or of figures from nature like the sun or animals, this prohibition is still violated. We see this in dangerous occult toys, like tarot cards and ouijaboards. These things are hazardous to our souls because they sidestep God's dominion over us and his will for us. They might even invite spiritual evil to penetrate our lives. This commandment also condemns sacrilege whereby persons, places, or things sacred to God are defiled. Even interest in the popular horoscopes can sometimes escalate beyond simple curiosity and become habitual false guides. God wants us to follow him alone.

The second commandment urges us to treat God's name respectfully. This necessarily prohibits blasphemy, making false oaths in God's name, and cursing.

The third commandment tells us to make the Sabbath day holy. For Christians, this obligation is transferred to Sunday. (It is interesting that most Protestant religions accept at least this one precept or legislation of the Roman Catholic Church. Otherwise, along with our Jewish brethren, they would respect it on Saturday.) We sanctify this day by prayer, worship, avoiding unnecessary work, rest, and joy. Therefore, something like failing to participate at Mass on Sunday is not merely a violation of the laws of the Church, but in a very direct manner, an infringement upon this commandment to give God his due.

The fourth commandment exhorts us to respect our parents by loving and helping them, especially when they are in need. While young and under their immediate authority, children must obey their parents. Reciprocally, parents must give a Catholic education to the children entrusted to them. Their spiritual and material welfare is essentially in their hands. The parents may extend or endow school teachers and others with something of their own authority. This commandment speaks to us in a less direct way about authority in general. All just authority comes from God. We are called to obey spiritual and civil authorities when they make legitimate demands. However, if there is a conflict between the laws of human beings and those of God, God comes first.

The fifth commandment prohibits us from either harming our own bodies or those of others. This commandment expands beyond murder or suicide to the various partial degradations: including such things as mutilation, striking another, harmful drugs, drunkenness, and carelessly taking risks with our lives. Abortion is a direct violation of this commandment. Our right to choose should never be deemed a higher priority than another person's right to life.

The sixth commandment, taken alone, forbids all external sins against chastity. Once sexual activity is condoned outside marriage, as in fornication, it is logically difficult to confine afterwards, as in adultery. The premise is already adopted. Some fifty percent of the couples who live together prior eventually get divorced. The seed for failure is already planted. Sin is a mighty poor preparation for the nuptial sacrament. Considered with the ninth commandment, all interior sins against chastity are likewise condemned. The human sexual powers are given for the propagation of children and for the fidelity of a man and woman in marriage. Outside of marriage, it is a great evil to exercise these powers, which are not simply expressions of our flesh, but of our very persons-- who we are! Inside marriage, these powers must not be distorted in their purpose or in the motivation of two people in love drawn to union. Lust, even in marriage, is a sin and a degradation to what it means to be truly human. It re-categorizes the beloved from a personal subject to an impersonal object. Instead of self-sacrifice and surrender-- thinking of the other's needs and happiness-- we selfishly treat the other as a disposable thing with which we can seek our own gratification. If the beloved is no more than an object, then the stage is set for adultery because objects are interchangeable. This is the antithesis of the Gospel. Marriage is called to be a permanent union. Adultery is a gross violation of that permanent union which is to reflect the fidelity between Christ and his bride, the Church. The adulterer plays the role of Satan who would lure us away from our divine groom and from the wedding banquet of heaven.

The seventh commandment rejects stealing and dealing unjustly with another. Even if we accept stolen goods, we have broken this commandment. All sorts of things fall under this heading: idling, charging unfair interest, not paying debts, not giving a just salary, and stealing someone's good name. Restitution is demanded in cases where we have stolen or damaged the goods of others. This last matter draws this commandment to the eighth.

The eighth commandment would have us be a people of truth and good will. We are not to lie or to slander others. If we stumble into this sin, then we need to repair the damage caused by our falsehoods.

The ninth commandment, as mentioned under the sixth, requires us to be mindful of our thoughts. To occupy ourselves with sexual fantasies regarding others, not only breaks down our will in reference to actions, but degrades the one whom we are imagining. This is destructive to the dignity of the person who is reduced to an impersonal object in obscene films and other pornography.

The tenth commandment, like the ninth, reminds us that God wants our conversion, both in external action and in our internal disposition. To be open to the grace of his presence, we must free ourselves from within, of those persons or things which we might covet before God. In actuality, we might not commit a sin against justice, but we might "want" to do it. Even this needs to be weaned away. We need to reach a point in our spiritual life where we do not WANT to steal from or to hurt another.

Catholic Discipleship.

We Are Shown the Way.

There is much which could be discussed in the life of the Christian which falls under discipleship. Jesus shows us the way to the Father. His Mother hears the Word of God and it bears fruit in her very flesh, as the Woman of Faith. Like new Christs, the Twelve and all the followers of Jesus in history reveal something of what it means to be a disciple. During the course of any Christian study, commandments, confession, communion, baptism, and the sacrament of the sick deserve their own attention. All these things speak to our following the call of Christ. We pursue him out of love and obedience.

Precepts of the Church.

1. To keep the day of the Lord's Resurrection holy by worship at Mass on Sundays and on Holy Days of Obligation. We are also to avoid activities which would hinder renewal of soul and body, e.g., needless work and business activities, unnecessary shopping, etc.

2. To lead a sacramental life: to receive holy communion frequently and the sacrament of reconciliation regularly.

  • Minimally, to receive the sacrament of penance at least once a year if in serious sin.
  • Minimally, to receive holy communion at least once a year, between the First Sunday of Lent and Trinity Sunday. (However, weekly Sunday Mass attendance is still required.)
    • 3. To study Catholic teaching in preparation for the sacrament of confirmation, to be confirmed, and then to study and to advance the cause of Christ.

    4. To observe the marriage laws of the Church; to give religious training by word and example to one's children; and to use parish school's and religious education programs.

    5. To strengthen and support the Church. This consists in assisting one's own parish community and parish priests, as well as the worldwide Church and the Holy Father.

    6. To do penance, including abstaining from meat and fasting from food on the appointed days.

    7. To join in the missionary spirit and apostolate of the Church.

    The Beatitudes. (Matthew 5:3-10)

    1. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the reign of God is theirs.

    2. Blessed are the sorrowing; they shall be consoled.

    3. Blessed are the lowly; they shall inherit the earth.

    4. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for holiness; they shall have their fill.

    5. Blessed are they who show mercy; mercy shall be theirs.

    6. Blessed are the single-hearted; they shall see God.

    7. Blessed are the peace-makers; they shall be called sons of God.

    8. Blessed are those persecuted for holiness' sake; the reign of God is theirs.

    Corporal Works of Mercy.

    1. To feed the hungry.

    2. To give drink to the thirsty.

    3. To clothe the naked.

    4. To visit the imprisoned.

    5. To shelter the homeless.

    6. To visit the sick.

    7. To bury the dead.

    Spiritual Works of Mercy.

    1. To admonish the sinner.

    2. To instruct the ignorant.

    3. To counsel the doubtful.

    4. To comfort the sorrowful.

    5. To bear wrongs patiently.

    6. To forgive all injuries.

    7. To pray for the living and the dead.

    Conscience.

    What is Conscience?

    In speaking a bout conscience, it might be best at first to say what it is not. It is not the comical stereotype of an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other, whispering opposing advice. Neither is it merely an arbitrary feeling that something is either good or bad. Conscience is an attempt of the mind to make an appropriate judgment about whether an action is either right or wrong. True judgment demands knowing the facts and deliberating (applying moral standards) over them prior to an action. We are obliged to follow our conscience even when a false judgment is made. However, as soon as we learn otherwise, (that an action we thought good is actually bad), we must accordingly adjust to agree with a now properly formed conscience. Judgment can be flawed for all sorts of reasons. Nevertheless, we are obliged to follow our conscience even when a false judgment is made. As soon as we learn about our error, that an action we thought good is actually bad, we must accordingly adjust to agree with a now properly formed conscience.

    What are some of the ways we can make misjudgments? Well, we might be perplexed, scrupulous, lax, etc. When in doubt, we suspend judgment and do not act until a "certain" conclusion has been reached. Conscience needs to be properly informed and a judgment must be made according to the appropriate law (i.e. natural law, the ten commandments, and especially the law of love).

    We are Accountable.

    In all of visible creation, only human beings are called by God to accept responsibility for their actions. We are neither pre-programed robots nor animals who live according to blind instinct. We have been given free will and an intellect capable of discerning God's design from both the natural order and from revelation.

    Set Free By the Truth.

    Given the present situation, in the Scriptures and Tradition, we find guidance for ourselves as we continue upon our search to discover what is worthy of us as human beings. In the formation of conscience, the Catholic Christian needs to consider that the power to bind or to loose from sin which was given the apostles, still resides in the Church, and principally in the bishops under the direction of the successor of St. Peter. Rather than a principle of enslavement, it needs to be viewed as one of liberation. "The truth will set you free" (John 8:32).

    A Dynamic Christian Conscience.

    There are extremes in conscience which might not be viewed as healthy. The "static" conscience would have the Church spoon-feed everything. This dismisses the power of the Spirit to enlighten us; it is a fleeing of responsibility. The "dynamic" conscience goes to the other extreme of embracing revolution or even rebellion. No one can tell them what to do, even the Church! The true path is between these two. "We can qualify this as the dynamic Christian conscience. This is the conscience which leads us to have a responsible attitude to someone, to Jesus, to the community, to the Church, etc. Every person who fits into this category feels a responsibility for a progressive search and striving to live out a life ideal according to the mind of Christ" (Formation of Conscience by the Canadian Bishops).

    Prayer & the Spiritual Life.

    Next to the Eucharist, this section is the most difficult to offer. Talking about prayer and actually praying are quite different things. Analogies bring this home. Would a young man like to see and hold a pretty girl, or just dream about it? Would we get the same joy from reading a cookbook as actually eating the meals described therein? Of course not. Similarly, anyone can talk about God and Jesus and yet such an intellectual exercise pales in comparison to knowing the Lord personally and dialoguing with him. Hence, I will offer only the barest outline. Prayer and spirituality may take any of a multitude of forms. However, even if one were to investigate all the various forms of prayer, still one could not penetrate the mystery of spirituality and real dialogue with God. Spirituality is not so much something which is taught as it is something which is lived. In the Christian milieu it is intimately tied up with our sacramental life and charity. Having said this, we might find some guidance in modeling our own prayer lives on the ways others have encountered the mystery of God in the past.

    On the most basic level of spirituality might be the formal prayer which is already composed for us by others. This is literally the meat-and-potatoes of prayer for Catholic Christians Those words which are derived from the Scriptures would be of particular importance, like The Lord's Prayer, the first half of the Hail Mary, and the Magnificat. Throughout the history of the Church, the psalms have been very important and still form the staple for The Liturgy of the Hours which is prayed by religious, priests, and even many laypeople throughout the world community. Indeed, this prayer, combined with the Mass, is the most visible sign of the Church praying unceasingly. Other formal prayers would include The Hail Mary, The Hail Holy Queen, The Act of Contrition, and The Glory Be. Of course, the great prayer which contains so many of these lesser ones is The Rosary which would remind us to meditate upon the sacred mysteries. In addition, there are an assortment of devotions used in the Church. Some of them follow seasons of the year; i.e. the popularity of The Stations of the Cross during Lent.

    It is always presupposed that these formal prayers become more than the empty repetitions of another's words. These words which are given to us by the Church need to become our words. We do this by reflecting upon the meanings of these prayers and then making them our own. They are guideposts to show us how to pray, as well as supports when we go through dark times of doubt and confusion.

    The next level of prayer, if we may speak of it as such, would be in our own formulation of words to speak to God. We might bring to God our various fears, hurts, and even doubts. This last point is very crucial because when we have sometimes grown close to God in prayer, and find ourselves enjoying it, God might ironically withdraw the early satisfaction we received. Suddenly we find ourselves struggling to pray. This is not a sign that God is upset with us or that we have been abandoned; rather, it is a sign of God's love calling us to spiritual maturity. He does not want us to pray for the good feeling we get from it or even to get the things we want. No, God wants us to love him simply for being God. I suspect that an immaturity in our modes of loving often harms our relations with others and inhibits or prayer life. The small child has such a bargaining attitude. A child will tell his mother and father, "Give me what I want and I will love you forever!" The immediate inference is that if he does not get what he wants, then neither will he love them. Marriages fail because of this kind of selfishness. Translated to the spiritual life, it is a pathetic affair, with people angry with God or alienated from the Church-- all because they preferred "my will be done" to "thy will be done." God will give us many gifts; however, we run the risk of loving gifts more than him. For this reason, he might sometimes make himself seem absent to wean us away from the trappings of faith in order to possess the real thing. Even the greatest saints, like St. Theresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross, experienced these "dark nights of the soul"; the challenge is to use them to grow in holiness and not to stumble backward.

    There is a still deeper level to spirituality whereby one does not so much talk to God but rather communes with him in the quiet of the heart. It is not completely passive, but it does consist in being sensitive to God's presence and allowing him to speak to us. These days there are so many distractions and even just plain noise, that this wondrous level is often missed. Making retreats away from distractions might help; but, it must be asserted that this kind of prayer already presupposes a mastering of the lower levels.

    The general types of prayer can be distinguished. There is adoration of God and Goad alone. We literally worship God's greatness and exalt his name. Often this adoration is considered synonymous with praise, although a distinction might be made. If adoration is lauding God for just being God, praise might be focused upon him as a Creator who has been generous and wondrous in his gift of creation. Outside of prayer, we might praise any person for some trait or action well done. Thanksgiving comes close to this latter definition, and it means making some return to God for his goodness and bounty to us. Just as we might thank our mother for a well-cooked meal, so too we can thank God for what he has done for us. One of the most elementary types of prayer is petition. We believe that God hears prayer and he wants us disposed to place our needs and our trust in him. Again, there are parallels in human relationships where we might trust a parent or a close friend with all that is dear to us. Supplication ultimately means acceptance of the will of God, especially if God does not answer our prayer in the way we would have liked. The initial prayer of the Good News was repentance and contrition. We feel remorse for what we have done-- our sins put Christ to death on the cross-- and we want to make amends. This condition of prayer, repentance, leads to a particularly Catholic form of oration, the prayer of satisfaction or reparation or propitiation. Join to our Lord, adding our crosses to his on Calvary, true reparation for sin can be made. The indignities against God caused by sin require restitution. We offer ourselves with Christ as the price to heal for sin.

    In the history of the Church there is a treasury of spiritualities from which we might draw. Lately I have seen several new translations of St. Francis de Sales' Introduction to the Devout Life and new renditions of the Ignatian Exercises. There are strong Trinitarian spiritualities and Marian devotions; there is the prayer of the desert fathers regarding the four senses (sensing, thinking, feeling, and intuition); there is the Benedictine spirituality and lectio divina; the Augustinian prayer and its relevance to the present moment; the Franciscan way and poverty; the Dominican model and the intellect; the path of devotio moderna with St. Teresa of Lisieux and also Thomas a Kermpis' The Imitation of Christ; the exercises and Ignatian spirituality; and there is the spirituality of contemplation as the highest level of prayer, heralded by St. Theresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross.

    Contemporary society is in search of a genuine spirituality to fit our various types of lives and temperaments. The wonderful mystery of it all is that there are so many ways to God-- from the charismatic renewal (stress on the Holy Spirit) to the traditional Marian devotions-- and that they can all exist under the same roof of the house Jesus built, the Catholic Church.

    In conclusion, the greatest prayer of all is the one in which we partake as a community, the Mass. The Mass is where we beseech God for mercy and help; however, far more importantly, we adore and praise him. Adoration is the first and most important task of the prayer of the Christian; ours is a love which rejoices in who our Father is and then in what he does for us. At Mass, we ask God to transform us just as he changes the gifts, so that we might be new Christs.
     

  • Listing of Catholic Prayers and Beliefs

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