One River, Many Wells - Chapter 4 - My Comments

So here go my comments on the quotes I posted earlier . . .

I firmly believe that a community is needed for there to be any kind of development in people, whether that development is spiritual, social, psychological, etc. As I am fond of telling my students, it's easy to be a practicing Christian (or Buddhist, or Wiccan, or whatever) when it's just one person alone. If I were to live in the middle of a forest with just my little furry animal friends for company, I could probably be on the fast track for sainthood! No cars cutting in front of me as I drive (more or less!) the speed limit, no lines to wait in at the bank, no annoying people calling/beeping/emailing/faxing me, no distractions, no nothing!

But that would not be the most authentic expression of faith. Faith (trust) is tempered in the fires of our relationships. No relationship is ever perfect, and that gives us material to chew on as we struggle to define ourselves and our relationships to others and to the cosmos.

So we grow to the degree that we are with others. For Catholic Christians (but this goes for others whose faith traditions are especially rooted in community) especially, we are bound to a parish community. No one in that community is perfect. Lest I seem ambiguous, I'll spell it out: the priest, the assistant priest, the nuns that may work there, the youth minister, the DRE (Religious Education director), the catechists, the volunteers, the secretary, the maintenance people - everyone will make mistakes, everyone will have bad days, everyone will be hypocritical at one point or another.

And that's a good thing. We're not perfect, but sometimes we expect our church and everyone in it to be perfect - to be living saints.

As if we're given this special waiver to make mistakes while no one else can relax.

Our church will always make mistakes . . . always. And that's fine. We learn patience, compassion, forgiveness, mercy, greatness of heart and soul by rooting ourselves in our imperfect parish communities.

Sort of like our families - there is no perfectly happy family. There will always be that one uncle, step mother, grand parent, cousin, whatever that will get on our nerves, rub us the wrong way, maybe even nudge us towards hateful, murderous thoughts. :-)

But they're still family, and when they need us or when we need them, hopefully we're there for each other.

And so I stake my claim that in order to reach perfection we need relationships.

One last note - deep relationships are usually reserved for a select few family and friends. I can count only a few people that I would consider my closest companions . . . though I count many who I am proud to know. It's usually that way for most people as well. Learn to treasure those soul-companions you meet along your spiritual journey - they are truly heaven sent.

Blessings & Peace,
Hugo