The ‘Spiritual but Not Religious’ Lie

03-26-2017Weekly ReflectionSeminarian Sam McCarty

No doubt you've heard the phrase before, "Oh, I'm spiritual but not religious." Or, "I don't go to any church but I still pray." Once I heard someone say, "Well we might leave the Church, but we won't lose our faith." In today's culture there is a distinct animosity towards organized religion – the Catholic Church included. How do we respond?

First, it is necessary to remember that the Church, like Christ, bridges the gap between heaven and earth. This means that despite her divine origin and identity, she is populated by sinners like you and I. The ministers and members of the Church fail to live up to the Gospel and the standards that Jesus preached, and many of the 'spiritual but not religious' crowd have been turned away by our actions. This cannot be!

Let's use this Lent as an occasion for examination: is there anything in the way I live that might turn someone away from the Church? Am I a joyful Christian? Are people attracted to the Gospel by my witness? God's mercy always awaits us – mercy he pours out through the sacraments of the Church. Pope Francis has used the image of a field hospital to describe the Church's role: we come because we are wounded and in need of healing so that we can go back out and fight the spiritual battle of conversion and evangelization.

Second, we have to know the truth of what we believe. The Catholic Church is unique in her audacity in saying she is the universal sacrament of salvation. This means that God has chosen to save the world through the Church. Said differently, the Church is the channel that Jesus has provided to pour out his grace on each person. The primary channels of grace within the Church are the seven Sacraments, each instituted by Christ. So to say "I'm spiritual but not religious" is like saying "I know I need water to live, but I just don't like wells." It is recognizing our need for God but rejecting the way God has chosen to come to us. One should note: the Catholic Church is not a human invention, but a divine creation – it is born from the Heart of Jesus. Paragraph 766 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) says, "As Eve was formed from the sleeping Adam's side, so the Church was born from the pierced heart of Christ hanging dead on the cross." What a beautiful image and what a profound reality!

Third, we must love. "Love conquers all," wrote the poet Virgil (Omnia vincit Amor), and he wasn't wrong.

Fourth, prayer is the great converter of hearts. St. Monica prayed ceaselessly for her wayward son who became one of the greatest saints in history. Let's not stop at prayer, however. St. Peter Chrysologus said, "Prayer knocks at the door, fasting obtains, mercy receives." Often overlooked, fasting is the Scriptural companion to prayer, and is a refrain throughout the Old Testament and ultimately in Christ himself. If we desire to bring people near to the Church and thus near to God, we need to storm heaven with our appeals and have confidence in our loving Father. Let us be people of hope, exposing the untruths of an often empty world.

Just as God's will is creation and is called "the world," so his intention is the salvation of men, and it is called "the Church."
—Clement of Alexandria, see CCC no. 760

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