take off; it is not an ‘extra’ or just
another moment in life. Instead, it is
something I cannot uproot from my
being without destroying my very
self.
“I am a mission on this earth; that
is the reason why I am here in this
world.”
This mission spirit, Francis
explains, is “the spirit of the new
evangelization.”
sent us into spiritual combat—to engage for
Christ’s sake in the renewal of the whole of
life, including the spectrum of culture.
“What is at stake in this spiritual
warfare?,” Francis asks. At stake is nothing
less, he answers, than “war waged against
the enemy of human nature” which is
—
sin, separating us from God—by Christ,
“the Friend of human nature.”
To be fit for spiritual warfare, we need
to put on the whole armor of God, says
St. Paul, in order to resist temptation and
stand our ground in the Lord (Eph 6:10-13). “And God’s
most powerful weapon is the Cross.” It is with the Cross of
Jesus Christ that sin, death, and the Devil suffered defeat
once and for all.
“True joy is forged,” concludes Francis, “in the cross.” U
“I am a mission on
this earth; that is the
reason why I am here
in this world.”
Am I Fit for Spiritual Warfare?
Do we know who we are? Have we responded to the
challenge of a missionary spirituality? Are we actively
engaged in evangelization?
When we respond in faith to the calling that we have
received in Christ, we come to understand that the Lord has
Secret of the Moral Life
The Church’s moral teaching is
an integral part of her evangelizing
mission. The Catechism of the
Catholic Church teaches that
“the way of Christ ‘leads to life’; a
contrary way ‘leads to destruction.’”
This is the context in which we
should see “the importance of moral
decisions for our salvation.”
Authentic self-fulfillment is
not opposed to the demands of
the moral life—moral precepts to
respect our parents, prohibiting
adultery, lying, and much more;
practicing virtues such as justice,
temperance, and fortitude; and
affirming the objective goods of
life, marriage, truth. Such precepts,
virtues, and goods are inherent to
realizing the purpose of human life.
In sum, we are called by the
gospel to make moral choices
that are worthy of the calling that
we have received in Christ. We
cannot separate moral choices from
knowing and loving God.
Pope Francis puts it this way.
We must relate the Church’s moral
teaching to the “harmonious
totality of the Christian message;
in this context all of the [moral]
truths illumine one another. When
preaching is faithful to the Gospel,
the centrality of certain truths is
evident and it becomes clear that
Christian morality is not a form
of stoicism, or self-denial, or . . . a
catalogue of sins and faults.”
The moral life isn’t a
straightjacket constricting us from
realizing a meaningful life; rather, it
is about authentic self-fulfillment. It
also isn’t merely about “cataloging
sins”—although it is important
Through self-giving, we know our true selves.
to know what actions are sinful,
preventing us from fulfilling the
central commandment of love:
loving the Lord above all things,
with our whole mind, soul, and
strength, and loving our neighbor
as ourselves.
Spring 2014 n Sacred Heart Major Seminary
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