Si diligitis me, mandata mea servate.

I Fought the Law, But (Thank God) the Law Won

The Faith-Works Cycle

Note: My thoughts and posts do not necessarily represent the accurate teachings of the Catholic Church, though I certainly hope I haven't strayed. Nonetheless, it is entirely possible that some view or wording expressed here is not quite right, though I think I'm in the clear. At no point do I state that faith alone saves, nor do I ever state that good works or adherence to the Law alone save us. If, however, something isn't quite in line with Catholic teaching, please let me know (with a citation from Scripture, a council, the Catechism, etc.) and I'll re-evaluate.

The readings at daily Mass yesterday were all about the Law. In context, of course, the passages were about the Jewish Law (or the Old Law, if you prefer) and how/whether it pertained to the early Christians. Basically, the Law is secondary to true faith in God. As Paul writes, "You are separated from Christ, you who are trying to be justified by law," not because the Law was bad, but because dependence on it is to no avail without Jesus. The Lord Himself called the Pharisees fools for being more concerned with cleanliness laws than their inner selves.

In his homily, Father talked the current role of the Law (talking now about Christian morals, the precepts of the Church... the "New Law," so to speak). His sermon emphasized that a strong faith in Christ and a true love of fellow man is our starting point, and only once we have that starting point will we begin to embrace the Law, not out of necessity but because we want to please God and help others. Let me get on record as saying that this is absolutely true and that I agree with Father's assessment. Like the Good Book says, "The just shall live by faith" (Hab 2:4, Rom 1:17, Heb 10:38).  The Psalm at Mass even said, "I will delight in your commands, which I love." This clearly implies a desire to follow God, not a somber follower of religious mandates. But I also think that in some people this process can work the other way, or (more likely) it can move in both directions. This isn't just my hypothesis; it's my own personal experience.

I was raised to believe in God, and I was Baptized when I was about seven (just in time for my First Communion and just early enough to still be considered below the so-called "age of reason"). I was never taught to doubt God's existence by family or school, and even briefly attended an Episcopalian elementary school where belief in the Christian God was assumed by anyone teaching. The seeds of true faith were planted, but I can't say I started actively participating in my Christian Journey until I was in middle school. I took an interest in religion, but the branch of Christian thought I lingered at was more on the Fundamentalist/Evangelical side of the spectrum. This appealed to me because of all the emphasis on the exciting literalist interpretation of Revelation, and also because it "required" so little of me beyond the whole "accept Jesus Christ as your personal savior" thing. Before long, however, as I studied more about basic (as well as some not-so-basic) Christian theology and history, I realized that Evangelical Christianity was very unappealing on an intellectual level.

Recently, during one of my many lengthy religious conversations with my grandmother, she said that Catholicism often appealed to the intellectual Christian because of its structured hierarchy, ethics, and theology. This doesn't mean that Catholics are all a bunch of smarty-pants (intellectual does not necessarily equal smart), nor does it mean that the Church is just a big religious bureaucracy. But, as I jokingly (and somewhat unfairly) responded, "We've got Thomas Aquinas, they've got Jimmy Swaggart." Gross generalizations aside, it's easy to see how someone who craves a rich history and well-reasoned theology would be attracted to the Church of Augustine of Hippo, Thomas Aquinas, Francis of Assisi, Ignatius Loyola, GK Chesterton, Mother Teresa... The list goes on and on.

So, slowly but surely, I found Catholicism appealing to me as a deeper form of Christianity. I must admit that my personal relationship with God, already pretty minimal, was not growing very fast. Nonetheless, I found myself more and more convinced that Catholicism was answering all the questions right, and everyone else had something wrong. I may not have known God very well, but I was starting to see what I thought He wanted from me. The only problem was that, for a long time, I didn't have the courage or the resolve to follow through with these morals, these rules, what have you. My faith in Christ led to (at first) a belief in the Law, but it wasn't a strong enough faith to get me to act on the Law.

Then after several years I found myself in a brand new situation. The opportunity to immerse myself into the life of the Church was placed conveniently in front of me. My faith in God wasn't really any greater than usual, but I knew I wanted something more in my life; and to be honest, like many Christians of weaker faith, I feared the possibility of eternal damnation. I didn't want my separation from the Lord to be a permanent and painful one. So I started trying to follow the Law for these less-than-perfect reasons, unsure of where it would take me. Despite the truth in Father's sermon yesterday, in my case the Law managed to strengthen my faith before my faith improved my understanding and following of the Law.

For example... I decided to start going back to Mass one Sunday. Then I found myself there every Sunday, like I was supposed to be. Then I actually found myself enjoying Mass to the point that once a week wasn't enough. So I started attending two or three times a week. As of now, five times a week isn't uncommon; not because I'm supposed to, not because I want to seem holier-than-thou, but because I seriously desire frequent reception of the Eucharist throughout the week. I discovered the benefits of the Mass with the Law as my starting place.

My experiences with the Sacrament of Reconciliation, personal prayer, forgiving others, etc. are similar ones. The requirements and recommendations of the Law led me to give these things and others a try, and from there I found myself doing more of what God wanted of me, not because some Catechism said so, but because I wanted to do the right thing. A bit of faith led to a bit of understanding of the Law. When I failed to follow "the rules," God made it easier for me by putting me in a more ideal position to do the right thing (mercy's an awesome thing). When I started following the Law, a stronger faith followed. That faith is still growing and hopefully will continue to do so for the rest of my life.

What's the moral of the story? I guess it's these three things:

1. Our faith in God indeed leads to a desire to follow His Law, but we as humans must not limit His power; He can just as well work through us in the other direction. Thus, I don't see the Christian life as only a straight line leading from faith to works, but instead as a cycle that increases both faith and works with each circuit.

2. A strong faith in Christ may not simply appear in a person one day; nor is it likely that a person will develop a strict adherence to Christian morals out of nowhere. But the cycle mentioned in Moral of the Story #1 can start spinning full-force at either end the Big Guy wills it to. My small faith may have been the starting point that got me to understand the Law, yet my practice of the Law was the starting point for my increase in faith. Jump into your cycle on whichever end is offered to you and God will help you get to the other end.

3. If God puts an opportunity in front of you to improve the way you're living the Christian life, sieze it!

If you love me, keep my commandments.
John 14:15