In a comment to my previous post, JohnH made the excellent observation, "Surrender is the key to orthodoxy." In this contribution, he captures the essence of what it takes to conform our minds to the teaching of the Church. This surrender does not mandate a mindless, thoughtless, unquestioning acceptance; but rather it is an attitude that recognizes that Christ entrusted His Church with the authority to teach in His Name, and that on those points that matter most, the Church is preserved from teaching error. With this attitude, we can gradually learn to conform our minds to Church teaching, by reading and re-reading Church documents with the mind of the Church. Then we add prayer to the mix, where we ask God to give us the grace to believe that which has been proclaimed as true.
When I went through a "re-version" to the faith, a number of years ago, I too had a great deal of difficulty with a some of the major points of Church teaching. I found the regular inclusion of the following Act of Faith in my prayers to be quite effective in converting my mind to an orthodox understanding of our Faith.
O my God, I firmly believe that You are one God in three divine Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; I believe that your divine Son became man and died for our sins, and that He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe these and all the truths which the Holy Catholic Church teaches, because You revealed them, who can neither deceive nor be deceived.
I found myself focusing particularly on the last sentence, over and over, until it washed over me like a refreshing stream of grace. From that moment on, my mind was like an open book, waiting to be written by Our Lord. Reading the Church documents was finally accompanied by an understanding that had previously eluded me. I firmly believe that, without God's grace, one could never arrive at this state. I thank Him for the unmerited gift of Faith, yet I know that all good things come to those who ask.
I'm also reminded of a passage from Scripture, which is relevant here.
And Jesus exclaimed, "I bless you, Father, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to children. For that is what it pleased you to do. (Matthew 11:25-26)These are hard words, especially for those with advanced education in studies pertaining to our Faith. But a challenge that can most assuredly be overcome through diligent prayer.
"Surrender is the key to orthodoxy." That is an excellent description. Just as St. Peter after hearing the "Bread of Life" sermon was confused about what it meant; when asked if he would also go replied "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life"
Wonderful post Rex!
Thanks for putting into words what I can only vaguely explain.
Peace, Paul.
I do like your post, but all too often "orthodox" Catholics make compartments of their lives, surrendering to authority, but manhandling others in the Church.
Surrender is also the key to serenity, and that means surrender in my other relationships: to my spouse, to the child I raise, to friends who are in need, and even strangers.
As I see it, the real key is to know when to exercise leadership, and sometimes that doesn't look like surrender, especially when unjust or incompetent authority must be challenged. I would hope that someone doesn't approach such a thing without careful prayer and reflection.
I know many truly orthodox people who are devoted in their approach of surrender to their faith. And I would not presume, Paul, that you are not. Your blog and posts mark you as a thoughtful and faithful person. I would leave my criticism in place for those who surrender when convenient, but otherwise address their non-clerical brothers and sisters with no small amount of ill-humor, bile, name-calling, and the like. Such is not orthodoxy. It is more like angry self-righteousness.
Todd, thanks for your comments. You make a number of good points. I hope to springboard off of a couple of the ideas you have raised in an upcoming reflection on the exercise of authority in the family.
Obedience is so key to being orthodox. It is also something I have long struggled with.