Some thoughts on justifying faith
I sometimes wonder if people who stumble across our blog might wonder just how Catholic it is with all the talk about intentional discipleship and the personal relationship with Jesus. That language often invites rejection from Catholics who fear a "me and Jesus" stance towards faith that disregards the importance of community. I would propose the contrary. Intentional discipleship impels us towards community.
In the 16th century, when the Reformers cried, "justification by faith alone," the bishops at the Council of Trent decreed that only faith that is active in charity and good works (fides formata, i.e., "well-formed faith") possesses any power to justify us (Gal 5:6, 1Cor 13:2). This well-formed faith, which is our response to grace, is what Sherry and I are calling intentional discipleship. The teaching of Trent stated that a faith lacking in charity and good works is dead in the eyes of God and insufficient for justification (James 2:17).
The Church's teaching tells us that the faith which justifies the believer begins with a firm belief in what God has revealed and is intimately linked with a conversion of heart and a desire to live a new life. That new life is characterized by love for others and contrition for one's sins and the adult to seek baptism – or, if already baptized – confession. Both of those aspects of a new life require me to have a regard for and participation in community. Real love is not just a sentiment, but a desire for the good of others that leads to action. Contrition for sin requires that I examine my relationship with others and begin to see how I have harmed them by both actions and the lack of action. Intentional discipleship is anything but, "me and Jesus."
So what does it mean, then, that the lines for confession are so short these days? I suggest it's not just that we've lost a sense of sin, which is definitely a part of the problem. But we've also lost our sense of honest self-awareness as well as a sense of adventure! We may well have also lost the communal aspect of being a person of faith as well. We're complacent and self-satisfied with the way things are – particularly the way WE are - and aren't ready for the radical change to which God invites us.
An article appeared in the Colorado Springs Gazette January 2 that caught my attention. It was entitled, "You're Not That Hot," and reported that researchers have discovered again and again that many people systematically misjudge their competence, virtues, relevance and future actions. We consider ourselves to be smarter, luckier, better looking and more important than we really are. Might as well add "more moral" to that list.
Until we begin to emphasize that faith is the beginning of God's work of transforming us, calling us to a new life, life in its fullness, we will not only see short lines for confession, we'll find a dearth of intentional disciples. The Gospels relate how Peter, Andrew, James and John abandoned their lives as fishermen to follow Jesus. They were literally willing to "live without nets." That's what we must be willing to do, too. By "living without nets" I mean not only the willingness to change careers, if necessary, as those fishermen did, but to live without relying upon the "common sense" attitudes our culture teaches us and our egos crave. We must be willing to abandon ourselves to the teaching of Jesus that remains so counter-cultural and counter-intuitive: loving our enemies; loving our neighbor NOT as we love ourselves, but as Christ has loved us (Jn 13:34); imitating Him who came "to serve, not to be served" (Mt 20:28); forgiving those who offend us. This is not "me and Jesus" faith.
Of course, we cannot do this on our own, but only in cooperation with God's grace. We cannot do this without the support of a rich sacramental life in which we encounter Christ's presence among us. We cannot do this well without the support of other intentional disciples who are on the same difficult, yet joyful journey. Finally, we cannot do this if our lives are not saturated with prayer, including the quiet prayer of contemplation in which we present ourselves to God as we truly are: needy, poor children who depend upon our Father for everything. All of these are integral to the formation of a well-formed, justifying faith.
Labels: community, conversion, faith
posted by Fr. Mike, O.P. @ 5:14 AM
6 Comments
6 Comments:
It is Time
It is time that Catholics wake up and come down off their “High Horse” . Their better than thou attitude whereas me out. Just being Baptized Catholic is just not enough to get through the narrow gate. Our Christian brothers and sisters have much to teach us about community, works, and the glory of the Holy Spirit!!!
I recently attended a men’s conference of 700 CATHOLIC men, WOW what a great experience. I was working a booth passing out flyers about an up coming Life in the Spirit seminar, so I got an opportunity to speak with a great number of them. I was amazed at how few had any clue as to who or what the Holy Spirit was and what importance He had on their spiritual journey.
The main speaker was Danny Abramowicz formerly of the New Orleans Saints and author of the book titled “Spiritual Workout of a Former Saint” His entire message was the Glory and Power of the Holy Spirit. During the break, as I spoke to a good number of them, they seemed to be in a daze not really comprehending the entire concept.
Community and works are another matter entirely. So if, in this blog we sound less “Catholic” maybe that’s a good thing. We Have much to learn
Frank Malone
Great testimony, Frank.
In the Evangelical church, we knew that a purely “me and Jesus” faith was unbalanced, because the bible speaks constantly of the necessity of being a part of the believing community, singing and praying and breaking bread with one another, and serving one another in love. We held that community was an essential part of the life of faith. Without it, one is likely to backslide, grow lukewarm, revert to the ways of the world, and even possibly lose one’s faith. We discouraged people from trying to go it alone with just Jesus.
For me, relationship with Christ not only brings me closer to God; it also brings me closer into His Body. The closer I am to Christ, the closer I am to His Body, and the more I want to help build it up and help bring others to Him, and thus into God and into the Body. As a Catholic, the sacraments have only deepened and increased that desire.
The role of the laity as the Church defined it at Vatican II is to go into the world, and bring the message of the gospel into the world. But it’s difficult to do that without support or preparation. We need faith, sacraments, and prayer. And, as Fr. Mike pointed out a the end of his post, we need the believing community, intentional disciples, led by good pastors, to teach us, form us, encourage us, and build us up. Then we really can fulfill the closing words of the mass itself: “The mass has ended. Go forth, and serve the world with love.” And in so doing, help to bring the world itself to Christ.
Anyone, Catholic or Protestant, can slip into a "me & Jesus" faith. A pretty accurate sign of it is Jesus begins to look more and more like me, rather than the other way around. That's another reason why community is essential - it teaches me and reminds me of who Christ really is, not only through Scripture and Tradition, but also as He chooses to be made manifest in His Body composed of people so different from me!
Yes, Fr. Mike, great point. It is very easy in a "me and Jesus" scenario for Jesus to be really "my image of Jesus" or "what I want Jesus to be". Whereas, as He is made present through His Body, involves flesh and blood that is not me. That pushes back. I read something of Fr. Carron's recently where he quoted Lewis', "A Grief Observed" and the comments in there about how the memory of his wife, even though based on facts, was in fact, over time, more and more an imaginary woman. Not her. Because, unlike his wife when she was alive, there's nothing to push back or surprise him. Very much like you said, it shows the need, I think, for why a Christian cannot be an island.
Jack:
We have such a highly developed theology of communion but so little practice of explicitly spiritually based community - of "fellowship". But fellowship is the experience of community around and because of intentional discipleship.
There was a wonderful, all weekend-long discussion of this very issue on Mark Shea's blog in November. It might be helpful to hear Mark's words about the fruit of the famously Nameless Lay Group that we started in Seattle:
"The Nameless Lay Group was a fundamentally lay initiative, undertaken for the express purpose of trying to encourage one another, not in our *feelings* but in our lives as *disciples*. Much attention was paid to a combination of intellectual and spiritual substance with what is best described as "Christian friendship".
We read, for instance, Josef Pieper's book on the Four Cardinal Virtues. We tried to make our needs and struggles known to one another and support one another with prayer and mutual discernment. Finally, I think it is important to note that mission and witness are intimately bound up with the sacrament of Confirmation. The gifts necessary to the work of mission are given to us in baptism and, particularly, in Confirmation. The Nameless Lay Group did not give me a sense of mission. What it did was school me in the friendship of God through Christian friendship.
Friendship, as distinct from eros, is supremely the love that is the consequence of a shared vision. Eros looks into the eyes of the Beloved. Friends stand side by side looking at something else. You cannot make friendship happen, any more than you can make eros happen. But you can prepare the ground for it and ask God to give the seed. That was what the Nameless Lay Group was, an attempt to "make straight his path" in the hope and prayer that God would then come and walk among us. And He did, for which I am grateful.
The test of discipleship is not feelings. The test of discipleship is fruitfulness. I believe the NLG was fruitful in a lot of ways. Certainly, it was a support in my own life to my family and my particular vocation as a Catholic writer.
In addition, the (in my view) enormously important work of the Catherine of Siena Institute was a direct outgrowth of it. And it has influenced the thought and priesthood of Fr. Michael Sweeney (now President of the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology) and (through the school and the Western Province) the ripples continue to go out.
Other members have gone off to other works of mission as well in all sorts of different ways. One of them (and a very dear friend and a fine Catholic scholar) has, for instance, just written the definitive scholarly history of ethnic cleansing in postwar Poland.
For myself, I can only say that this period of intense creativity, love, friendship and challenge within the context of the Tradition during the 1990s at Blessed Sacrament has left an indelible stamp on who I am. I don't believe in living in the past and crying "O Moment! Stay!" But I will be grateful for that time and those people till the day I die.
Sherry,
Yes, I remember that discussion about the "NLG" on Mark Shea's blog. I remember being struck at the time of how much it shared with the experience I have with my CL fraternity group.
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