Are we simple enough?

[LilyM]

The comments here on simplicity are inspiring.

But what concerns me - so much that I’m strongly considering leaving the Church - is how to reconcile the need for simplicity with the tremendous complexity of the Church’s teachings, laws, canons and rules. How can one find simplicity in a church which puts so many layers of finely nuanced man-made interpretation (Magisterium, Sacred Tradition, etc.) between God’s word and His people? Is all that “stuff” really necessary for one to become closer to God?

Well, you’re already half-way out the door if you assume that the Magisterium and Tradition are ‘man-made’. You know what Catholic belief is - that the Magisterium and Sacred Tradition are the two other legs, along with scripture, on which Divine Revelation safely rests. Of course all three legs must be equally strong for this to be the case, no?

Yes, Jesus’ message, the Christian message, is incredibly simple.

That certainly didn’t stop the Apostles from giving an awful lot of detailed instruction, advice and regulation in their epistles as to how the faith is to be put into practice! And that was part of Jesus’ commission to them - they were to baptise, and then to ‘teach them TO DO all that I have commanded you’. You can’t teach people what to do without getting into some nitty gritty and detail.

We’re human, we’re practical concrete creatures. Oftentimes we need concrete practical guidance. Why else do you think people come here asking if certain things are sins - because they know that their own intuitive feelings about what they’re doing aren’t the last word, and in the end aren’t always any help.

 

[wxboss]

The comments here on simplicity are inspiring.

But what concerns me - so much that I’m strongly considering leaving the Church - is how to reconcile the need for simplicity with the tremendous complexity of the Church’s teachings, laws, canons and rules. How can one find simplicity in a church which puts so many layers of finely nuanced man-made interpretation (Magisterium, Sacred Tradition, etc.) between God’s word and His people? Is all that “stuff” really necessary for one to become closer to God?

All that stuff is there to protect the simplicity of the Gospel. Let’s not confuse simplicity in our lives with the vastness of God. God is infinite, all knowing, all present, and ever helpful. Our lives are a journey that bring us closer to Him. While the vastness of God is beyond our comprehension, we shouldn’t confuse that with what should be our simple response to Him. Trust and obedience - that is what we are called to do. And as we are faithful and our journey unfolds, we realize that the revelation of the greatness of God can only be had through simple acceptance and obedience to Him. In other words, child-like faith.

 

[simple_soul]

What you say is very true. I’ll give you a simple example from my life. I have not been able to get to the doctor since I got out of the hospital or take my medications since they ran out, because our community does not have medical insurance. We depend on charity to pay for our healthcare. It’s part of our vow of poverty, to live without property, completely dependent on Divine Providence, knowing that Jeus gives us what we need.

One day this week, I can’t tell you which, I looked at the Immaculate Heart of Mary and realized how much we love each other. I know that I’m a very sinful person and I’m often ashamed of myself and my choices, but we love each other anway. As I looked at our mother I said to her, “You know that we need some income.” I really was not sure what was going to happen. I felt a tug of unbelief in my heart. I think that we all experience this. But I accepted the situation as it is. I can’t go to the doctor or take meds, because our fraternity can’t afford it.

I spoke with the brothers and we thought and prayed about how to make the money for me to go to the doctor. One of our brothers decided to mention it to several people. Today he came back home and said, “Guess what! You’re going to the doctor and we’re going to buy you meds.” I looked at him and laughed. He said, “I just got a call from my dad. He wanted to know how you were doing. I told him about our situation. He’s sending a check.”

The reason that I share this with you is because this is what I have learned in my life. When we accept our circumstances and we try to do the best that we can with what we have, when we try to find solutions to our problems knowing that God and his mother love us, something happens. It may not be what we expect or how we expect it. But something happens. It’s that simple. God is always good. He cannot be anything else but good. He loves us.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

Dear Br. Jr,

How my heart aches for what you are going through.

Thank you for sharing. It is a beautiful example.

Do you think this is something that one has to be continually learning all the time?

 

[4EverHis]

I love that prayer. Where did you get it? I never heard it before.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

A Sister I know gave me a prayer card with it I really like it too.

The comments here on simplicity are inspiring.

But what concerns me - so much that I’m strongly considering leaving the Church - is how to reconcile the need for simplicity with the tremendous complexity of the Church’s teachings, laws, canons and rules. How can one find simplicity in a church which puts so many layers of finely nuanced man-made interpretation (Magisterium, Sacred Tradition, etc.) between God’s word and His people? Is all that “stuff” really necessary for one to become closer to God?

I don’t think that Sacred Tradition is man made both Scripture and the correct interpretation of Scripture is from the Holy Spirit. If it wasn’t, that would mean that God gave us a book but didn’t tell us how to read it, and as we can see in Protestantism this resulted in thousands of conflicting teachings and denominations… but He protects the Church from error

I think the simplicity that is being discussed in this thread is simplicity of heart. Doctrine shouldn’t be simple because we’re trying to understand mysteries that are far above us, so we have to put them into human language… and that makes them seem complex. There is so much about God. Also, all the teachings help to understand the Gospel in a fuller way. Protestant denominations might say that they have “only the Bible, only the Gospel”, but they have their own theologies too. We can’t escape that. We need a way to understand revelation, and the Church provides that way.

God bless

 

[JReducation]

A Sister I know gave me a prayer card with it I really like it too.

I don’t think that Sacred Tradition is man made both Scripture and the correct interpretation of Scripture is from the Holy Spirit. If it wasn’t, that would mean that God gave us a book but didn’t tell us how to read it, and as we can see in Protestantism this resulted in thousands of conflicting teachings and denominations… but He protects the Church from error

I think the simplicity that is being discussed in this thread is simplicity of heart. Doctrine shouldn’t be simple because we’re trying to understand mysteries that are far above us, so we have to put them into human language… and that makes them seem complex. There is so much about God. Also, all the teachings help to understand the Gospel in a fuller way. Protestant denominations might say that they have “only the Bible, only the Gospel”, but they have their own theologies too. We can’t escape that. We need a way to understand revelation, and the Church provides that way.

God bless

Simplicity is not the lack of intelligence. Theology is always going to be complex, because revelaton cannot always be explained in human language. We have to find the words to explain it. That requires intelligence and abstract thinking.

Simplicity is a way of life. It is about how we approach God and how we find him. It is about how we discipline ourselves to live in God’s presence one day at a time. And it is about how we deal with other people. We need not make relationships complicated, since life adds its own complications.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[Lief_Erikson]

I’ve read that many of the saints’ powerful mystical experiences could not be described in words. The experiences of the Spirit were simply beyond human language to track.

 

[JReducation]

I’ve read that many of the saints’ powerful mystical experiences could not be described in words. The experiences of the Spirit were simply beyond human language to track.

A recent example of this is St. Faustina. She cried when she saw the painting of Jesus. She was unable to convey to the artist her vision.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[Eric_Hyom]

I find peace in the greatest commandments, That Jesus when he spent his time on Earth, loved each and everyone of his neighbours as he loved himself.

Does Jesus conyinue to love us all, as he loeves himself, would he have to constantly forgive us, in order that he should continue to love us in this way?

 

[JReducation]

I find peace in the greatest commandments, That Jesus when he spent his time on Earth, loved each and everyone of his neighbours as he loved himself.

Does Jesus conyinue to love us all, as he loeves himself, would he have to constantly forgive us, in order that he should continue to love us in this way?

God continues to love us, even if we are the greatest sinners. God hates sin, not his own children. What good parent hates his or her children? We continue to forgive and forgive and forgive. This is one of the greatest expressions of simplicity.

The Holy Spirit places us in an infinite variety of situations where we have the opportunity to show simplicity. In this case, God is the first to witness to siimplicity by loving, regardless the sin of man. We have to remember that simplicity is just that. It does not matter how far along the journey we are. What matters to God is that we’re on the journey. God is very simple. He does not use rulers and scales to measure man, as we do. He loves man, because he created him as the object of his love.

In our daily lives we too have to practice this kind of simplicity. Men and women are our brothers and sisters. Because they are the object of God’s love and because they are our brothers and sisters, they deserve our love. It’s that simple. The moment that we start to analyze and weigh men to determine if they deserve to be loved or not, then we are no longer simple. We have taken God’s work into our own hands. Judgment belongs to God and humility to man. It’s that simple.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF