TRANSCRIPT

NB. Thank you. To what extent then is religion, or even spirituality, if we keep those two separate concepts, to what extent are they a human antidote to the concept of human mortality, a way of coping with or even denying the fact that life is short and that one day we will die?

RW. One thing that religious faith isn’t is a denial of mortality. We’re always being reminded that we’re limited beings. Our religious faith tells us: we’re not infinite, we’re not God, and we don’t have to be. It’s all right to have limits, and death is one of those limits that we have to come to terms with. The good news for Christian believers is that, because of the God we believe in, death is not a full stop. It’s an unimaginably great transition in a journey that continues, not because a little bit of us survives, but because God doesn’t give up on us. And God holds us in and through and beyond death. So, yes, you could say it’s a way of coping with mortality, but it’s certainly not a way of denying it, and you might say that really one of the problems in our secular world is that a lot of people deny their limits, deny their mortality, don’t want to think about death and, just generally, run from it into the present moment. So, at least, we can say of religious faith, we’re trying to be honest about the fact that we are organisms that are running down; we are liable to disease and tragedy, and yet there is holding us, an energy, a force and a love that will not let go.

NB. So, really, the Christian is saying, or the Christian faith Is saying, “Now is not forever.”

RW. That’s right. And the Christian is also saying, “Yes, we’re all doomed but don’t panic.

NB. Thank you, Captain Mannering (of BBC television sitcom Dad’s Army).

REFLECT

Archbishop Williams says that “our religious faith tells us that we are not infinite” nor should we be. He says that because we are finite, we have limits, one of which is a limit to the length of our earthly life.

What are some of our other limitations? Perhaps one is how much knowledge we currently have on a subject, or how many hot dogs I can eat at one meal, or how fast I can run. And some “limits” are fixed and others are expandable or contractible.  Why might God have set limits and why are some fixed and others flexible limits, capable of being adjusted by performing certain actions, like exercise or studying? Do I seem to have control over any of this, have a part to play by choice and discipline, or is its determination made by God alone? And, if it is with my input, am I working “with” God, that is, letting me, maybe parts of me, work side-by-side with God, as in a dance, or, at least, me and God working side-by-side on the project, “me”, and working on “me: together? Sounds nice, doesn’t it?

For instance, I can do something to make myself a better (or worse) spouse,  parent or friend, a better (or worse) ball player or dancer or singer, a better (or worse) lawyer or chef, even, a better (or worse) lover of God and God’s people. These are all things that, by God’s design, are not fixed, but flexible, expandable and contractible depending upon how much attention one give to accomplishing something. It seems that God left the choice up to me. What choices am I making or not taking time to make? Yikes!!!

What is written above focuses on our spirituality in a way that is intellectual and, maybe even, a bit technical, but there is no denying that God seems to have structured us to be more than passive in the development of our own self.  Strong relationships and maturing spiritual, intellectual and emotional growth only happen when we incorporate enough time, discipline and energy into our daily routines. And that takes more than some of the modern types of “non-institutional spirituality.” The Christian faith and the Catholic traditions appear to be tried-and-true ways of living that enable one to accomplish this in the company of God and with God’s help and guidance.

Yes, it is great that God is engaging us as partners in our own development.  Let’s be more observant and let’s take some time to think about our options and then to choose responsibly.

Help me, Dearest God, to stop wasting your gifts.

Sister Loretta