Recovering religious attitudes



RECOVERING RELIGIOUS ATTITUDES

Mario D’Couto

            It is one thing to be religious; this is what we are called to be. But, it is another thing to maintain a religious spirit – a spirit which is not so much steeped in the nitty – gritty of rituals, formulas or prayerful incantations but a spirit that really cherishes being in union with God. This can be a challenge given the kind of lives that we may find ourselves in where there is so much to do, that we forget what’s truly important and what matters really most in our lives. Fr. Adrian Van Kaam gives us a practical solution to this problem in his book, “Am I living a spiritual life?” and this blogpost/article/reflection is to address it.

            Just as a good ground is necessary to help a seed to germinate, so too a receptive heart is necessary to liberate the religious attitudes hidden in the Word. Joy, wonder and gratitude are attitudes in which the Word can mature and bear fruit. Why do these qualities seem absent from our lives? Perhaps because we live in a period that places so much emphasis on productivity that we may have lost sight of the Word from whom all goodness and joy originate.

            Like the seed among thorns, the Word may have been choked off by our anxiety over the demands of an active life. Preoccupation with professional competence has led us to overdevelop our active, aggressive qualities at the expense of these more receptive ones. Joy, wonder and gratitude have been crowded out by unhappiness and self – centredness. Competence ceases to be at the service of the Word and became an end in itself.

            In Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel, “The Brothers Karamazov”, a character named Zossima, an elder of the monastery near the village, was prized by the people for his wisdom and sought by many for his counsel. Of all this who visited him, Zossima was drawn to the sinful. It seemed to the monk that the greater the sinner, the more he loved him, for these troubled people best represented the human condition.

            What witness can such people give? Hope comes when and if the self – centred and demanding person recognizes his faults and his need for a Saviour. The Lord looks at his efforts, not at his success and loves him in his weakness. Such spiritual transformation is a life – long process. It cannot be hastened according to one’s pace. If a person is going to change, he will change in God’s time, not according to his own time. He would say, “My criticism will do nothing to lighten the burden he already carries. Perhaps the only way he will be freed to experience the attitude of joy, wonder and gratitude is by meeting in me a reflection of the sympathy and compassion of his Saviour.” 

            Zossima, the holy man, knew what it was to be gentle with the weak. He knew that God is in charge, not him. He cannot know the struggles going on in the hearts of others but he can be compassionate when he sees signs of the weakness he knows he shares with them; both need redemption. Especially sad is the person who is immersed in spiritual opportunities yet does not grow in maturity, who does not radiate joy, wonder and gratitude that seem to be a spontaneous outgrowth of a life of intimacy with Christ. What has gone wrong?

            There are many reasons that can be given. However, one thing that seems consistent is what is called ‘spiritless religion’. The word itself indicates the root of the problem – to be without spirit which happens when the spirit or the core of the person’s self seems to die. When this happens, it seems as though reality becomes so lifeless that it appears to have permeated all dimensions of a person’s life. The functional aspects may have taken over. At some point, the person allowed functionalism to become the motivating force in his life – faithfully following social rules of conduct but without giving these the personal meaning that comes from a life enlightened by the spirit.

            Life has become an automatic reaction rather than a spirit – centred response. because this person’s spirit has been denied, he can no longer meet the challenges of his own unfolding nor imbibe the spiritual nourishment the Christian community offers. His life lacks buoyancy. Is there anything that can be done to restore such a person back to a vibrant spiritual life?

            When a person finds himself dying for lack of spiritual food, he may find his way back to his own spirit wherein dwells the Holy Spirit – the source of all religious attitudes. But there is no one formula for restoration. God works in mysterious ways. It is easy to presume that all Christians should be happy and well adjusted and for some this may be true, but it is also true that there is a lot of unhappiness in our lives. If we humbly accept this fact, we may also be able to accept our need for salvation.

            We can idealize the Christian community, making the community itself the source of our happiness rather than Christ in Whom we already exist. In Him, we humbly accept the limitations that will always be within ourselves and others due to sin, but we seek as well to reach our fullest potential as saints. Without this approach, we will continue to count on our strength when all we can count on is the support of the Lord. We may begin to build a community on the basis of our own self – image rather give glory and praise to God by accepting the limits of our situation.

            We are all a fallen people. We will never know what demons of heredity or history are clinging to the other’s heart and impending the other person’s way. We cannot know to what extent his/her inner vision is distorted by past experiences nor how his/her unconscious system of defenses works against the call of his/her deepest self. All we can see in our brother/sister’s (in Christ) life is the cross he/she is carrying. We cannot know whether suffering is for him/her a purifying experience or not. Perhaps he or she has responded generously to the call of grace God has allowed to echo in his/her life. Maybe he/she is struggling in spite of repeated failures to overcome his/her faults. It could be that his or her life is the result of a series of sinful rejections of God’s mercy – but we cannot judge.

            When I see the other person suffer or struggling with a certain aspect of his or her personality, it is a reminder to me of my own weakness (Matthew 7: 3 – 5). Perhaps he/she is a reminder to all of us that salvation is from the Lord and does not come from spiritual exercises as such (although it can be additional help). Our only hope is in the mercy of God. It does not depend on our track record of religious achievements.  

            The life of the most spiritual person in the world would become a curse the moment he/she rested in satisfied complacency. When my brother/sister’s (in Christ) condition reminds me of my sinfulness, then perhaps he or she is carrying out a special mission to remind not just me but the entire community of Christians of its need for redemption.

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