By Michael Patrick O’Brien–
All this week, our regular bloggers are considering, and writing about, the question of why belong to a religion when the fastest growing demographic is no religion at all? It is a difficult and timely question, and probably impossible to answer in the short space of one blog. I can think of at least three general (and perhaps initial) responses to the question.
A Clearer Way to Find and See God: During many Catholic years I have often heard the opening lines from John’s Gospel: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us…” This is the doctrine of the Incarnation, through which we humans give God a more recognizable shape and face, a less remote face, a human shape and face. As one theologian has written, “Anyone who fully accepts his or her own humanity and the humanity of others has at least implicitly accepted Christ, because Christ is in all of us and God is in Christ.” As Pope John Paul II said, “Jesus is the human face of God and the divine face of man.” This is the place where I find God and Jesus, in the faces, lives, and acts of love and kindness of other people. I have not always seen God in my fellow humans, but I have often enough to believe this is a clear way I find and encounter God, and this way was revealed to me by a religion.
Love: While studying theology at Notre Dame, I took a one-year-long Catholic Church history course, covering nearly 2,000 years in just two semesters. We studied the good and bad about the historical Church, ranging from miracles to murders, from saints to sinners, charity to corruption, and inspiration to inquisitions. Despite all the turmoil, a basic perfect truth, a goodness, and a light survived. The essence of the Church’s message prevailed during this tumultuous history, despite the best efforts of some to corrupt or destroy it. What is this enduring essence? It is the soothing words of love and comfort found in the Twenty-third Psalm. It is the Gospel Jesus commanding us to love one another and do unto others as we would have them do unto us. It is St. Paul reminding us that love is patient and kind, and endures all things, and that of the core virtues of faith, hope, and love, “The greatest of these is love.” The core message of the Catholic Church is love, and that is not a bad message for one to associate with.
Monks: I never took the vows that my friends the Utah Trappist monks took, but their words and their actions imprinted upon me the true meaning of those promises. Years of watching the monks struggle to fulfill their promises to God and to others unexpectedly revealed the existence of a pathway for me, and indeed for all of us, to take as we search for a life filled with faith, hope, and love. This path involves striving, like the monks, to keep five basic promises: (1) to listen and focus on others; (2) to build and sustain community; (3) to live with greater simplicity and more compassion; (4) to act with devotion in relationships; and (5) to develop self-understanding and try to grow from it, that is to change for the better. I might not have stumbled upon this path at all, had I not been a Catholic.
This blog touches on a profound question that requires more (and perhaps constant) thought and reflection. I look forward to reading this week what my fellow bloggers, all smarter than me, have to say about it.
