Can you have good spirituality without good theology?

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Peregrino said:
I am guessing that was the case with the apostles and early christians prior to institutional religion…
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But wasn’t Judaism an institutional religion? It certainly had doctrines and a structure.

But let’s not confuse theology with religion…
 
There have been many great saints who did not have a solid grounding in theology but simply were obedient to the Church. Francis of Assisi is a notable example that comes to mind.

When you think about it, Jesus himself told us that it was the poor in spirit who would inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. In the end, it’s those who listen for the voice of God and do their best to do what they feel it is asking that are the blessed.

And further, it was the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil that was the forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden. For God knew well that with knowledge we would feel power and come to believe ourselves to be like God. Faith and trust, leading to surrender, are the most important keys to a good spirituality in my opinion.
 
FJ SHEED:
Whilst it is obvious that the ignorant man can be virtuous. It is equally obvious that ignorance is not a virtue. Knowledge serves love. Every new thing we learn about God is another reason to love Him more.
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I read that about 10 minutes ago. I thought it rather good. 🙂

JD
 
Many of our greatest saints lacked much theology. A few are the children of Fatima; St. Bernadette; St. Juan Diego (Guadalupe) and hundreds more. Even one of our latest Mother Theresa of Calcutta lacked scholarly theology.
 
johnstown_johnn said:
Many of our greatest saints lacked much theology. A few are the children of Fatima; St. Bernadette; St. Juan Diego (Guadalupe) and hundreds more. Even one of our latest Mother Theresa of Calcutta lacked scholarly theology.
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I think St. Francis and the Fatima seers are excepted because of their intimate connection with God. Speaking with God, seeing appartitions, experiencing levitation, having the stigmata, and experiencing ectstacy, etc. puts such people in their own category.

Mother Theresa of Calcutta may have lacked scholarly theology, but what she had was good theology.

But what about us “normal” people? Remember, the original question was “Can you have good spirituality without good theology?” So this is not a matter of quantity of theology, but of its quality.
 
I think of St. Bernadette. She was very “dumb” when it came to knowing theology or being able to memorize. She struggled with learning the catechism so as to take first communion. She could not tell you what the Trinity was. Once a nun asked her if she had temptations of pride because she was favored by the Blessed Mother. “How can I?” she answered quickly. “The Blessed Virgin chose me only because I was the most ignorant.” She was fourteen learning in the company of seven year olds so as to take Communion.

She said: “The Blessed Virgin chose me because I was very poor and uneducated”

Bernadette did not even know what the Immaculate Conception was. When in catechism class she could not answer one of the questions and they scolded her she replied, “But I know how to love God.”

St. Catherine of Siena grew up without any great theology training. She could not even read. Our Lord taught her things. She was very spiritual and through prayer grew to know things.

Sometimes when people know a lot they are not very spiritual. They have a very bad prayer life… sometimes.
 
St. Therese was not very knowing of “theology.”

She did not receive any visions or great things.

She was very little.

She was very spiritual and very close to God.
 
Stop by a parish during daily mass, and look at some old folks who show up at the mass every day. I bet many of them are not good with theology, but their love and devotion to God keep their spirituality better than others.
 
Valid spirituality is in sync with theology. So, its not necessary to have theological training at all. Spiritual union is a gift from God, not institutions of learning.

Fact is, there are probably far less theologians who became saints than those who were not.

BTW, St. Bernadette, one of my favorites, was considered stupid. However, if you read her writings that she kept in her spiritual journal, when she was nun at Nevers, you’d think it was a theologian who wrote it.

Jim
 
I’m no theologian that’s for sure, but I feel my faith is strong. I love and obey my Church without question or hesitation. I don’t feel the need to constantly be questioning things all the time and pushing issues and trying to bend things to my will. I accept Christ’s will - not that it’s always easy, but I just do.

So from my own personal example, and the wonderful ones noted above, I think it is quite possible to have a good spiritual life and not be a great theologian.

Dang - if it were any other way I think most of us would be doomed! 😊

~Liza
 
I’m not sure what you mean by “good” theology. If the person doesn’t believe in the eucharist his spiritual life will be impoverished. If he thought the Bible was full of errors, this would be a great barrier to being enriched by it. So in this sense we need a good theology.
However, I agree definitely with the other people here. You don’t need a sophisticated theology or have a graduate degree in theology to have a very rich spirituality. I have studied theology intently for forty years and have published articles in journals on theology and Scripture, but I do not think that this in itself will give someone a superior inner life, which comes rather from faith, hope, and love, prayer, devotion and the basic Christian virtues in general.
 
JimR-OCDS said:
Valid spirituality is in sync with theology. So, its not necessary to have theological training at all. Spiritual union is a gift from God, not institutions of learning.

Fact is, there are probably far less theologians who became saints than those who were not.

BTW, St. Bernadette, one of my favorites, was considered stupid. However, if you read her writings that she kept in her spiritual journal, when she was nun at Nevers, you’d think it was a theologian who wrote it.

Jim
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…👍 …
 
JimR-OCDS said:
Valid spirituality is in sync with theology. So, its not necessary to have theological training at all. Spiritual union is a gift from God, not institutions of learning.

Fact is, there are probably far less theologians who became saints than those who were not.

BTW, St. Bernadette, one of my favorites, was considered stupid. However, if you read her writings that she kept in her spiritual journal, when she was nun at Nevers, you’d think it was a theologian who wrote it.

Jim
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Excellent post Jim

I hope you don’t mind me asking but do you have a link to those writings of St Bernadette, I would love to read them, so if you do would you please post it up, thank you:) .

In the Living Prayer of my life
 
blessedstar said:
Excellent post Jim

I hope you don’t mind me asking but do you have a link to those writings of St Bernadette, I would love to read them, so if you do would you please post it up, thank you:) .

In the Living Prayer of my life
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Sorry, but I don’t have the writings from any web-site, although they may exist.

The writings are in the book which I have;

St. Bernadette Soubirous: 1844-1879 by by Francois Trochu.

This book is the most detailed book on St. Bernadette and the apparitions at Lourdes.

When I visited Lourdes, I got to see the journal, behind glass, that St. Bernadette wrote.

Lourdes is a pilgrimage I will never forget!

Jim
 
JimR-OCDS said:
Sorry, but I don’t have the writings from any web-site, although they may exist.

The writings are in the book which I have;

St. Bernadette Soubirous: 1844-1879 by by Francois Trochu.

This book is the most detailed book on St. Bernadette and the apparitions at Lourdes.

When I visited Lourdes, I got to see the journal, behind glass, that St. Bernadette wrote.

Lourdes is a pilgrimage I will never forget!

Jim
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Thank you for the reply. Perhaps someday someone will put it on the internet.

I am glad you were very blessed by your plgrimage to Lourdes. I have never been on a pilgrimage in my life, so it is a great blessing if people are able to do these things.

In the Living Prayer of my life
 
The official position of the Church is that you can have good spirituality without good theology.
In an archdiocese in which I lived there was a “priest simplex” who was not permitted to preach or hear confessions since his theology grades in seminary were poor. He was permitted to give exhortations on pious devotions and practices and made quite a name for himself in that area.
The cause for the canonization of Fr. Solanus Casey OFM Cap is currently before the congregation for saints in Rome.

Matthew
 
JimR-OCDS said:
Sorry, but I don’t have the writings from any web-site, although they may exist.

The writings are in the book which I have;

St. Bernadette Soubirous: 1844-1879 by by Francois Trochu.

This book is the most detailed book on St. Bernadette and the apparitions at Lourdes.

When I visited Lourdes, I got to see the journal, behind glass, that St. Bernadette wrote.

Lourdes is a pilgrimage I will never forget!

Jim
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I have been to Lourdes as well…twice. Traveled a bit through Europe and in two places has the thought occurred to me that I would be comfortable to live the balance of my life. Lourdes was the uppermost place in my mind ; Ireland was a consideration but not quite like Lourdes.

Lourdes has an ambiance like nowhere I have ever been. One can feel the “presence” of the Blessed Mother…Lourdes is HER village, no question.
Before I took my second tour, a friend asked me if I would deposit his petition at the Grotto. I did so. He was about to have surgery to remove a cluster of tumors within his chest. I was gone almost THREE weeks. I fully expected he would be home recuperating…when I walked into the office he was at his desk grinning from ear-to-ear.

I asked, what? No surgery yet? He replied that before he was admitted to the hospital for surgery his physician gave him another check and …you guessed it!..THE TUMORS WERE GONE ! All the X-rays and the several doctors that were consultants wondered how this could happen.

They went away about the time his petition was placed at the Grotto.

Lourdes is one of the most powerful and holy places on this earth.

PS. Took a daytrip to Nevers and viewed the uncorrupted body of St. Bernadette. After 100+ years she looks asleep.
 
johnstown johnn
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              I agree about the experience in Lourdes, but never heard it described so well, Our Lady's Village.
I too went to Nevers to see St Bernadette.

Just before going a woman in my OCDS group gave me a birthday present. It was an original movie advertisement from a magazine, on The Song of Bernadette, with Jennifer Jones. It has St Bernadette looking up, as she did in the movie, when the Blessed Mother first appeared to her. What amazed me most was, the painting for the bill board poster for the movie, was done by Norman Rockwell.

My wife and myself also went to Lisieux to visit the home and convent where St. Theresa lived. Lisieux, was completely destroyed during the Normandy invasion during WWII. The only surviving building was the Church, where the Little Flower went.

Jim
 
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