(as defined in the Catholic Encyclopedia)
-that this society aims at producing holiness in its members, and is possessed of means capable of securing that result, and
-that the lives of its members correspond, at least in some measure, with the purpose of the society, and display a real, not a merely nominal holiness.
Today Pope Benedict XVI addressed newly ordained bishops, emphasizing the importance of sanctity.
I have been pondering several things lately as a Catholic who is doing advocacy work for social justice. I feel as if I have one foot in two worlds at times: I am seeing issues with the eyes of those who are being oppressed as a minority, that is people with disabilities, and I am also trying to convey this worldview to society at large, a society which is unaware of many of the issues.
I spend most of my time spreading awareness and educating organizations and people on disability issues. Some of the time I am met with silence, other times I am told in a general way that society is not ready to deal with such things. Once in a while someone acknowledges that change is long overdue and he/she had no idea the issue existed.
At all times I remain as prayerful as I can. As a Catholic, I am aware that if my spiritual state is not positive, my efforts will not be either.
So I fear the trap of falling into nominal holiness. I fear that my life will not correspond with the purpose of the society.
I seek guidance with this. I pray, I speak to others who share my faith and I intend to stay close to my Catholic community. Last night I attended a bible study and we are covering Acts of the Apostles. It's a wonderful chance to take time out of my work day, as I am doing now as I write this, and indulge my need to feed and nurture my spiritual side.
If I fail to do that, my other efforts are to no avail.
So the following questions remain:
- how can I, as a Catholic, be more aware of the means available to me in our Church for producing holiness?
-how can I recognize when I've fallen into the trap of nominal holiness?
1 comment:
Good questions. It's hard to be spiritual and remain accountable without guidance, if not impossible. I find too that feedback is all important. We're all on this journey (hopefully)!
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