Laws of man dwindles the Catholic Faith

Last Monday (February 11, 2013) the whole world heard the shocking news about the resignation of the pope as leader of 1.2 billion Catholics. As a Catholic, I am saddened by the event. And after learning about the reasons of his immediate resignation, I begin to understand humanely. His Holiness’ decision opens a wide array of insights regarding the nature of power and service. And there are a lot of ideas pouring in through social media.

One of the bishops’ emeritus of the Philippines explains the highlight on why the pope declares the celebration of the faith since last year. One of them is the statistically decline of the faith of Catholics especially in Europe, which is considered as the seed of Catholicism, and other parts of the world. And I agree with his idea. And expectedly there is mass exodus of Catholics whose faith is dwindling and looking for steady faith. What is the usual cause of this phenomenon?

In one of the discussions in my class on religion, a student raised this question whether a person can still be saved without going to mass everyday because deep in that person’s heart he has that lively faith in Jesus. I asked her for the reason of the person’s not going to mass. And she said that he got discouraged to go to mass because of people in the church who are not acting as religious for which they are called for.

This is an example of which many of our religious leaders not serious with their calling. They run the church in accordance with the standard of the world. Sad to say, I have been witnessing this act of theirs ever since. Running the affairs of the church by using the standard of the world confuses their followers. What the followers are expecting is seeing these religious people doing and continuing the mission of Jesus with the laws of God as tool.

It is indeed a contradiction! There can be an inch of compatibility between the law of God and the law of man. The laws of God show the way in leading the people to righteousness. But the laws of man seem to be the best option for them in running its affairs. I agree with the opinion of another student that it is not the genuine love of God that is present in their hearts but it is the love of money. I hope and pray that the next pope of the Catholic Church will be someone who can reproach the religious leaders to do their sacred duty and enforce to study theology, not on education and other mundane disciplines, to better carry out their mission entrusted by Jesus to them.

Action Legitimizes Religion

I ask myself if what I am writing makes sense. It is because it is going to be religion. I understand that religion has its own territory. When people of certain religious group finds intruder, i.e. saying something against or attacking its territory, they get hurt and offended. And the natural impulse is to defend it. In theology there is a subject that devotes on how to defend religion called apologetic.

But there is another way wherein religion is being intruded. This is something very subtle because it is an indirect offense, but its effect is really deadly. By this I mean the presence of technology that gets the attention of people away from religion. It is because technology is something that is entertaining, concrete and satisfying. I am not saying that religion is not entertaining, concrete and satisfying, but it is not felt.

I believe religion calls for action. It is action that concretizes the abstract. And if I am not mistaken, Vatican II proposes that witnessing is needed in this present and modern world. It is a basic idea like when we express our love towards the beloved, we do something unusual, but it is extraordinary, in order for the beloved to see our intention and love. Thus, what is abstract is now being felt.

St. James in his letter also affirms that faith without action is dead. It means or we can infer that non-action makes faith soul-less because a body without soul is not anymore a body. It is simply a cadaver. Cadaver signifies that there is no soul present in it. Conversely faith becomes alive when it is accompanied with action. It is action that becomes the principle of faith in the midst of technology by making faith entertaining, concrete and satisfying.

A person claiming to be Christian believes in what Jesus Christ did and said. If that person puts everything what Jesus did and said into action, that person is successful in making his religion alive. It is the religious person, in participating in the mission of the Church, who gives life to his religion. I do believe that our action as Christians legitimize our religion. But if people who does not put the words and works of Jesus into action they are killing their own religion. They become the modern walking cadavers and intruders within the territory.