Why I Need the Church and Not My Own Spiritual WayThere is a lot of discussion and confusion in relation to personal spirituality, finding your own truth, and finding the right religion, church, or spiritual path. It is discussed among friends, families, peers, coworkers, the media, and very often in school. I am not qualified to give a whole theological account on the purpose of the Catholic Church, but I can tell you about the relief, peace, and happiness that I have found from Her (the Church, is commonly referred to as the Bride of Christ, thus I use the pronouns "Her" and "She." See Isaiah 62:4-5; Isaiah 54:5-6; 1 Cor 11:2; Eph 5:22-33; Rev 19:7-9; Rev 22:17) I am a fallible human being. I make mistakes. A lot of my opinions are wrong. I often seek my own gain instead of the gain of others. I don't possess all of the knowledge in the world. How then can I be the one to interpret the Bible? How can I decide all that is right, good, and perfect? How can I be the definer of truth? I can't. Thankfully, I don't have to be the major decision maker of right and wrong. I don't have to know everything there is to know. That's because Jesus, the Head of the Church knows (See Eph 1:22-23, Col 1:18). The Church is the Body of Christ--the communion of Christians, with Christ as the Head (See 1 Cor 12:12-13). As I wrote earlier, The Church is also the Bride of Christ; the Beloved of God. She is made up of people from every walk of life. From a person with no brain activity to the pope himself. As a man and woman become one flesh, Jesus becomes one flesh with us in the spousal relationship between Himself (the Head), and His Bride (The Body; the Church). I don't need to go through life alone or try to come up with my own "truth" or "way." Jesus is the truth and the way (See John 14:4). Here is the thing though: some say Jesus is the truth, and with that, they need to condemn and judge others for being wrong. Then, some say Jesus is the truth, and with that, they can have sex with whomever and whenever because love is love and Jesus is all about love. I admit that I've said something like, "Jesus is the truth, and Jesus died on a cross, so I have to constantly punish myself and perform great penances if I want to follow Jesus." These can't all be the truth as relativism suggests. Quite honestly, I don't want to have the burden of creating my own truth. I don't want to have the stress of creating my own spiritual way because I am broken and needy. I need the Church. If I want to know Jesus, I want to know ALL of Him--head to toes--Not just my own conception of Him. Let's get back to the Body of Christ imagery. Imagine if I had the Head of Christ and I put it on my own body. Yeah, it's really weird to think about it, but please humor me! Imagine, I have just the Head of Christ on my body and I am the one and only "bride" of Christ. Well, I have OCD, judgments, social anxiety, bad math skills, depression, inclinations for overindulgence, and sinful desires and actions. Our dear Jesus can be with me. I can have His Head, but I am one poorly functioning body. I'm one poorly functioning bride of Christ. Now, let's take Jesus, the Head, and put Him back on His Body, the Church; the Church made up of every believer with all of the different gifts. We have the physically fit, the mentally fit, the financially fit, the spiritually fit, the academically fit, the emotionally fit and so forth (See 1 Cor 12:4-26). Where I am lacking, someone else has the strength (See Col 1:24). Think of a cathedral or a basilica or the beauty within Vatican City. These church buildings reflect the beauty, intricacy, and limitlessness of the Church (See Col 2:19). Filled with paintings, statues, marble, mosaics, stained glass, incense, blessings, linens, flowers, designs, oils, relics, music, chants, rituals, words, prayers, instruments, pews, tiles, embroidery, ceramics, and gold. From the little, etched design around the entrance of the cathedral to the brilliant gold of the tabernacle that Jesus (the Eucharist) sits within. I could spend hours at a cathedral looking at every saint displayed on the stained glass windows or kneeling down on every kneeler in the cathedral to get another perspective of its beauty. See, cathedrals reflect the Body of Christ with Her intricacy and adornments--adornments fit for a bride! The Body of Christ is the Bride of Christ after all. It is fitting to have Her bedecked with jewels (See Isaiah 61:10, Rev 21:2). I am filled with awe. The Church has never-ending resources, gifts, and works of art (materially and non-materially) like a cathedral. Just think of a few of the things we have. For one thing, we have the Bible--the canon consisting of the books of the Old Testament and New Testament! And when the Bible brings controversy and confusion, then thank the Lord for the Catechism. When we're confused or need an answer, we can turn to a giant book that explains the teachings of the Church--that guides us with our study of the Bible. Then, if we don't understand the Catechism, we've got the numerous volumes of the Code of Canon Law that takes these big theological and moral concepts even further in depth. Do we need help understanding the Bible, the Catechism, or the Code of Canon Law? No worries! We've got Pope Francis and all the popes before him with their homilies, books, and encyclical letters. We've got bishops who are our shepherds and priests who are our fathers. Then, when these big smart dudes overwhelm us, we can turn to the simplest of people to help us: our mother, Mary Mother of God. Reflecting Mary's disposition and grace, we've got bands of consecrated women as our mothers and sisters. Still, do we sometimes find these "holy" people intimidating? No worries. We can't forget about laypersons! I'm a layperson (woohoo) and loving it. Ordinary people like you and I who just want to get to heaven through family, careers, and ministry. Actually, laypersons can be enormously more devoted to God than many priests and religious. We laypersons may not be radically shaving our heads as a sign of our commitment to God, but we are shaving away the traces of bitterness and selfishness that is so common in our society. And when we're lonely or feel like the people around us are failing us? Well, there is all of heaven on earth. I'm talking souls upon souls cheering us on during this earthly voyage. From martyrs to angels, to children, to persons hardly anyone knew existed. Many of these saints have left behind writings, works, institutions, and so forth for all people of every nation. Look up the 36 Doctors of the Church or any of the saints. Now, where do we get to participate in these awesome resources like the Bible, the Catechism, Canon Law, and homilies? Where do we get to sing songs of praise to God next to Pope Francis and our relatives in Asia? Where do we get to meet our brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, and heavenly souls--our loved ones who have gone before us? Where do we get to see before our very eyes the Bridegroom (Jesus Christ), coming for His Bride (the Church; the Body of Christ)? Where is the great wedding feast of the Lamb that is spoken of throughout the book of Revelation? We get it all at the HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS! Yikes! Are you overwhelmed by the multitude of resources that were just listed? Isn't it too complicated for our simple-mindedness? Oh, yes it is! So, all of this crazy, complicated, intricate, beautiful, exquisite stuff comes to us little humans in the simplest of forms. It is so simple, you're not going to believe it. Seriously, some of you are not going to believe it, it's so weirdly, miraculously simple. The Body of Christ is the Eucharist (Jesus in the form of bread and wine). Appearing as bread and smelling like wine, we get to receive Christ from His precious Head to His dear Toes. By eating the Eucharist, we take in the whole Church (See the Last Supper discourses in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, John 16, and 1 Cor 11:16-17)! Christ is in us and we are in Christ! Mass is a wedding feast--makes sense if that is where Christ, the Head of the Church meets the Body of Christ, His Bride. Wow, I feel like I'm going to faint from excitement! That's my spiel, all! That is why I need the Church and not my own spiritual way.
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AuthorJacqueline St. Clare: I spent six months in a cloistered convent, and now I'm a college student! Archives
April 2021
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