The world and its worldlings?
I admit that I’ve grown weary of them.
I cannot say that I
despise the world and its worldlings. That would not be fair. The world and its
worldlings, simply put, are under the control of the Evil One and in dire need
of redemption. A fiery hell awaits the unredeemed. A fiery hell awaits every
soul that rejects the Gift of God and the way of life presented to us by
Christ.
Eternal banishment, and its accompanying eternal punishment,
is a gravely serious matter.
I have chosen a path that leads away from the dire
consequences of rejecting Christ.
It is not an easy path to walk. It is, in fact, quite
challenging.
Jesus said, If any want to be my followers, let them deny themselves
and take up their cross and follow me.[1]
Following Christ [not just trailing along behind him but, rather, earnestly
endeavoring to emulate the life that he lived] is a constant uphill journey
where I am locked in a never ending battle with the darkness and depravity of
my own human selfishness.
This battle is the “front line” for all of us.
This battle is the Conversatio Morum [Conversion of Life]
that is part of the Benedictine Vows and Oblate Promises. Everything related to
the Benedictine Vows and Promises of Obedience and Stability is directed toward
creating and cultivating an environment where Conversatio Morum can occur.
Conversatio Morum is the objective of Benedictine
monasticism. An ever-deepening conversion of life is the point of it all.
Conversatio Morum is, in fact, the objective of the
Christian life. Without it we grow stagnant and stale, more “in” Christ’s way
than “on” Christ’s way. Without Conversatio Morum we will ever be discovering
ways to dress up and justify the darkness, depravity, and selfishness of our human
condition.
Jesus said, Truly I tell you, unless you change and
become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.[2]
We do well to remember that the children in the time of
Jesus were submissive and obedient to the authority figures in their lives … to
their parents and to their religious teachers. Most of the problems in the
Church today are caused by adults acting like modern
children … spoiled, selfish, disobedient, and
constantly insisting that the Church bend her standards to suit their unrestrained inordinate interests.
Historic Hebrew childlikeness is the image that Jesus
expects to see in those of us who profess to be his followers. So much of the
behavior that we see in the modern Church presents a stark contrast to the model of childlikeness
that Christ sets before us.
I have no difficulty feeling compassion for the world and
its lost worldlings that are blind to the reality that Satan holds them in his
nasty grips. I cannot say the same about these embedded camps that exist in the
modern Church.
Honestly.
There are growing numbers of people and people groups in every Church parish that are
constantly exercising themselves in ways that undermine legitimate Church
authority, disturb and destroy the peace of others, and are constantly causing
relational problems. They are everywhere. They are in every parish. Banded together in groups, they know
how to exercise themselves in ways to generate maximum effect. These are people
that profess to be Catholic followers of Jesus.
There is no legitimate excuse for these behavior patterns. Everything
taught by Jesus [everything taught by the Church] is opposed to these behavior
patterns.
I look at the Church, and at local parishes [ours included], through
Benedictine eyes. [Saint Benedict and his Rule have cultivated me to see as a
Benedictine.] Benedictine monasteries are, after all, microcosms of the larger
Church. What would Benedict do, what does the Rule of Saint Benedict insist be
done, when people exercise themselves in ways that adversely affect the health
and well-being of the community?
A lot of modern “followers” [according to Benedict and the Rule] would be experiencing varying
degrees of excommunication until they learned to behave themselves and
made satisfaction for their errant behavior. Benedict also teaches in the
Rule that none of the brothers are to associate or have anything to do with those
undergoing the redemptive and penitential tool of excommunication.
I cannot help but to
withdraw and distance myself from those that make it their ministry to cause
trouble in the Church … from adults acting like modern children … spoiled,
selfish, disobedient, and constantly insisting that the Church bend her
standards to suit their interests, especially when there is no observable interest
in Conversatio Morum.
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and
after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and
taught them saying:
Blessed are the
poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those
who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the
meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are
those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the
merciful, for they will receive mercy.
Blessed are the
pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the
peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are
those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven.
Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you
and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be
glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted
the prophets who were before you.[3]
Christ’s words, from the very outset of his earthly
ministry, called [and still calls] people to a radical Conversatio Morum … to a
radical conversion of life.
[Photo - 2007] I was watching one of the brothers pruning the apple trees inside the cloister at the Abbey of Gethsemane OCSO.
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