Catholicism, questions, and a need for mystery and rules-- and a little John Donne, too--

I had an interesting conversation with a young woman who is working as an intern at the Congregational Church here in town. Her small liberal arts college requires that students do an internship every year, and she is contemplating the connections between faith and charitable acts, among other religion-centered things. She's particularly intrigued with Catholicism; her family, in past generations, were sort of practicing Catholics, and she has found herself drawn to certain elements of the faith tradition. She's particularly interested in the lives of the saints, with miracles, and other sacred mysteries that date back throughout Western history. She approves of the work of the most recent popes, and she especially likes that Catholicism has "hard and fast rules" of living. We talked for about an hour, a sort of free-associated Q/A that touched on a lot of things. 

I started out with my thoughts that my faith tradition didn't cause how I view other people and works of charity, per se; I believe in being a good human, and doing what I can as often as I can for as many as I can. I can't say that it was my Catholic upbringing; after about age 7, it was somewhat spotty, and I only returned to the church as an adult. But the fundamental guidelines that shape who I am might have had something to do with how I go about living, but not specifically so. In my case, anyhow, my Catholic faith fits who I am, intellectually, personally, and spiritually. Do I have questions? Sure I do. And we all should. Faith without questioning is not a living faith. I do not follow anything blindly; I have actively chosen to be a member of my church, after a bit of discernment. For me, that works best. 

But back to this nice young person who had all these questions and ideas. I'm glad for her that she is exploring a tradition that interests her. That said, I've also got questions, not necessarily of her, exactly, but about the Gen Z generation. They have lived through at least two paradigm shifts in their young lives. They have been steeped in STEM for much of their education, and they often distrust fiction or poetry-- they don't "get it" because it doesn't provide set answers. They had to do remote learning, they are hyperconnected through social media, and they are, in many cases, presenting as disconnected from their own lives, except as passive consumers of media and angst. This young person kept returning to the fact that there are two main threads of Catholicism that appeal to her most: mystery and rules. While those things seem diametrically opposed, maybe they aren't, when they are applied to one's inner life. While science and the media have pumped volumes of facts/pseudofacts into their ears and eyes in a constant stream, there has been precious little time to unplug and just plain wonder and ponder and muse about things. Mystery and glory and all that are wiped away with all of the digital feed. What worries me a little is that young seekers like her will be attracted to the external trappings of a faith tradition; as Thomas Becket says in the movie Becket, that he's not sure he loves God, but he knows that he loves the honor of God. There's a fine distinction there. Don't fall in love with the ritual only. All of that is man-made. 

And about rules: YOLO, You Do You, and the assorted me for me first with no guardrails. When nothing is a fact, nothing is sure, and everything is open to interpretation/amendment/manipulation, what can we rely on? Deepfake video, AI-generated everything, Bot Counselors-- who and what can we trust? Rules help us navigate the morass we find ourselves in. John Donne, in Holy Sonnet 14, captures exactly what I'm thinking about:

Batter my heart, three-person'd God, for you

As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend;

That I may rise and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend

Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new.

I, like an usurp'd town to another due,

Labor to admit you, but oh, to no end;

Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,

But is captiv'd, and proves weak or untrue.

Yet dearly I love you, and would be lov'd fain,

But am betroth'd unto your enemy;

Divorce me, untie or break that knot again,

Take me to you, imprison me, for I,

Except you enthrall me, never shall be free,

Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.

That penultimate line, especially: "except you enthrall me, never shall be free"

speaks volumes to me. We cannot experience true freedom if we don't have

any form of accountability, of guardianship, of rules that govern our

behavior. 

So maybe that's what this young woman, along with so many young people, is

sensing is missing. Mystery and rules. They --like all of us-- need to have some

certainty, some place to put their feet that won't shift, in order to ponder

bigger questions. Wandering in the digital landscape is very scary, really-- there

are no safe resting places. Maybe the church, or at least what the church can

teach and provide, are what they (and we) all need. 

Have a good day, friends. Hold your loved ones close. 

Blessings,

C