The Most Important Spiritual Development in the History of Man

When it comes to religion we are used to thinking that everything that could have been said has been said. We don't generally look to religion for new ideas. When we look for something innovative to improve mankind's condition on earth we might look, for example, to science. We might look to discoveries in genetics, new surgical methods, advancements in computer technology, new discoveries in the field of psychology, and so forth. Or, we may look to secular forms of social and political development, such as is occurring under the umbrella of globalism.

In our fast-paced global era it has become increasingly popular to separate spiritual concepts from religious tradition. A growing number of people see religion as being out of date, overly restrictive, arbitrary, or otherwise unnecessary. However, if these same people were to examine their own spiritual beliefs they would most likely find that they are traceable to one or more of the world's major religious traditions. Even atheists and agnostics find meaning in their philosophical position by distancing themselves from religious sentiment. Without religion as a reference point their philosophies would have no meaning at all.

In this essay I address Catholicism and emphasize in what way Catholic spirituality is still a work in progress, a fact seldom taken seriously by Catholics and non-Catholics alike. Catholicism is more than a 2000 year old religion that is struggling to remain relevant in the modern world. The Church is a mystical body that has been undergoing spiritual development ever since it was established by Christ.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:

"Yet even if Revelation- [meaning the revelation of Jesus]- is already complete, it has not been made completely explicit; it remains for Christian faith gradually to grasp its full significance over the course of the centuries."

The Church considers the revelation of Jesus Christ to be complete; it lacks for nothing. However, the Church realizes that its own comprehension of Christ's revelation, and mankind's comprehension, is not yet complete. This is not so much a criticism as an observation of an opportunity that awaits us all. It is an opportunity to more fully comprehend and engage the teaching of Christ. Embracing this opportunity has little to do with dusting off ancient manuscripts and seeking hidden secrets of the past. It is about moving forward under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Throughout the centuries Catholic thought has contributed much to the development of western culture, but the world has now entered a new era. Technology links us up in ways never before imagined. We have a new world order that includes a global economy and even a rapidly forming global political structure that is increasingly supplanting the authority of the nation state. What we do not have is a global spiritual vision that can address the needs of this global society. Regardless of your opinion about religion, the fact is that no society has ever thrived without taking into account spiritual realities.

Global development is being guided primarily by secular forces. This can be seen in the secular constitution of the European Union. Yet, notice how unstable that Union is today after having been in existence for a relatively brief period of time. Man is viewed by the secular forces of globalism as a consumer of goods and services, a pawn in the largest organizational effort ever undertaken, and even as a threat to planetary survival as indicated by his carbon footprint. Because we lack the spiritual vision needed for our time, the pressures of globalism are serving to magnify alienation in our personal and collective lives. Alienation is a concrete reality and an ever-present danger. It threatens to unravel the fabric of civilization as we have known it. We need a universal spiritual perspective that is equipped to address the dynamic of alienation.

For a religion to meet this objective it must not be singularly identified with any particular ethnic group, political group, or country. It must not be rooted in religious fundamentalism. It must be inherently capable of defending religious freedom for all people. It must be inherently capable of addressing the dynamic of alienation.

Some spiritual paths are inherently anthropocentric (man-centered), such as Buddhism. At its core, Buddhism is a philosophy rooted in self-effort alone. It is about man pulling himself up by his own bootstraps from a state of attachment and to one of perfect dispassion or enlightenment. From the Buddhist perspective, man's undisciplined mind clings to transitory objects, and this is seen as the root cause of his suffering. Buddhism seeks to escape suffering by disciplining the mind through the practice of mindfulness. This practice, and others that comprise the Eightfold Path, are intended to help people become increasingly detached until, ultimately, a perfect state of detachment is achieved. Attainment of this goal is thought, within Buddhist circles, to be a very rare event. Therefore, the concept of reincarnation is necessary to allow for many, many lifetimes during which this goal can be pursued.

Other spiritual paths are inherently theocentric. Protestantism is a perfect example of a theocentric path. Unlike the Buddha, Martin Luther felt that man was incapable of doing anything that would contribute to his ultimate salvation. Self-effort, or works as he referred to it, was futile when it came to the endgame of spiritual life. Luther believed that salvation was only possible for those who placed their faith in Jesus Christ. He saw them as being saved by "faith alone."

The tension between anthropocentrism and theocentrism reflects far more than a difference of opinion between one religion and another. It reflects a fundamental division in our human nature. This division is profoundly related to alienation, which, from a Catholic perspective, is man's root spiritual problem. Alienation leads to countless personal and social problems in this world, not to mention the suffering it may bring about in the next world. Neither an inherently anthropocentric spiritual path nor an inherently theocentric spiritual path can effectively address the dynamic of alienation, because each is exclusive of the other and therefore unable to comprehend the relational dynamic that exists between man and God. Despite the best of intentions, such paths can only contribute to further alienation.

Catholic spirituality is neither inherently anthropocentric nor inherently theocentric. This alone makes it unique and worthy of exploration by anyone who is serious about spirituality and the human condition. It is important to continually keep in mind, as we explore this topic, that Catholic spirituality is a work in progress. It is guided by the Holy Spirit, which seeks to help mankind grasp the vital point of intersection between anthropocentrism and theocentrism.

This point of intersection is actually a "third thing" altogether. In other words, it is far more than a balance of anthropocentric and theocentric elements. Having said that, however, I must say that Catholic tradition is filled with many attempts to achieve just such a balance. This effort can be found in the monastic or contemplative tradition of the Church. To this day we commonly see spiritual efforts, both within the Catholic tradition and outside of it, that involve balancing various disciplines in an attempt to arrive at a whole. This approach is found in the eastern paths as well and is one reason that people like Thomas Merton saw fundamental common ground between the eastern meditative paths and the Catholic contemplative tradition.

In Pope John Paul II's Encyclical, Dives in Misericordia, he wrote, "While the various currents of human thought both in the past and at the present have tended and still tend to separate theocentrism and anthropocentrism, and even to set them in opposition to each other, the Church, following Christ, seeks to link them up in human history, in a deep and organic way." In this encyclical, John Paul II made it clear that he considered this objective to be the highest priority facing the Church in our times.

Theocentrism and anthropocentrism are not terms we toss around everyday. How does linking them up "in a deep and organic way" become relevant to our personal lives? I was raised as a Catholic, and this topic was never even remotely discussed in the Church I knew. I venture to say that it is rarely given serious consideration today. This matter became relevant to me only after I experienced a sudden infusion of understanding in 1993 that made me concretely aware of the meeting place between theocentrism and anthropocentrism. While those terms were not part of my working vocabulary at the time, the concrete realization of that point of intersection certainly did grab my attention in a big way. It made me aware of how and why we try so hard to avoid this meeting place and what is required for an individual to enter into it. I had been away from the Church for many years at the time, but this sudden infusion of understanding quickly and mysteriously drew me back.

Soon after this event I would determine that the relational dynamic that had been revealed to me was indeed the dynamic of conscience, and this is where this discussion becomes deeply relevant to each and every person. This entire exploration is about the role of man's conscience in spiritual life. It is about the role of your conscience. Nothing will take you to the spiritual epicenter of your life more quickly than a thorough understanding of your conscience, which must always include the understanding of how you resist it.

Conscience is neither inherently anthropocentric nor inherently theocentric in nature. Conscience operates as an integrated relational dynamic that, when met with cooperation by an individual, enables self, others, and God to be aligned in a condition of authentic relationship. Conscience, rightly understood and obeyed, leads to an organic integration of anthropocentrism and theocentrism. It's not a matter of undertaking an intentional balancing act, however. What happens is that a "third thing" manifests when we follow our conscience, which is love or what I sometimes refer to as authentic relationship. This is the spiritual dynamic that Christ revealed to the world. Those who like to equate Christ with other spiritual figures, thinking that they are adopting a fair and balanced approach that avoids discrimination, are simply unaware of what makes his revelation so unique.

Christ came into the world to reconcile the division between man and God. He came to save us from our self-chosen fate of alienation. However, such reconciliation requires our free will cooperation as well as the grace of God. How do we cooperate? We do so by discerning and surrendering to the guidance of our conscience. Some might argue that such an emphasis is inherently anthropocentric, but they would be wrong. To follow our conscience is to engage an intimate relationship with an Other. It is to enter into a mystical relationship with the Divine.

Conscience is man's God-given capacity for discerning Divine guidance. The science of psychology cannot explain it. Conscience is the most intimate meeting point between man and God. Rightly understood, conscience is the epicenter of universal spirituality; it is the epicenter of Catholic spirituality; it is the epicenter of Christ's revelation. Conscience is the one thing we have yet to properly understand and appreciate. Catholicism will become what it is ultimately meant to be when it fully embraces the role of conscience.

When we resist our conscience we become alienated from self, others, and God at the same time. Why do we resist? We do so because we are protecting our preferred reputation and the way of life that goes with it. We are relational creatures, but we have a desire to be seen in a certain light. We want to be accepted by others on our own terms. We want to occupy a certain position relative to others. This desire is completely mechanical, and we become mechanical as we strive to fulfill it. Conscience, on the other hand, is a living source of guidance, and its guidance leads us out of alienation. The challenge we face, however, is that we cannot follow our conscience and maintain our self-chosen way of life at the same time. We must choose one or the other.

The path that we mechanically choose to walk does not feel like the wrong path to us. It seems to us to be the right path. Even our friends and family may encourage us in our self-chosen path. Most people don't go around doing "bad things;" they typically do ordinary things or even "good things." Anything that poses a threat to our mechanically preferred path is seen as something to avoid. The guidance of our conscience does pose a threat to the mechanical path that we are so identified with, so we avoid this guidance without a second thought. We do not feel guilty for doing this. We feel justified in protecting our preferred path, and we will likely think that we are following our conscience as we do so. Genuine spiritual conversion involves waking up to this fundamental error.

No amount of religious worship, religious belief, prayer, meditation, psychotherapy, charitable works, worldly success, or positive thinking can take the place of following the guidance of conscience. This does not mean that religion is not important, but it does mean that we need a religion that fully recognizes the truth regarding man's conscience and does not hesitate to teach it. The theology of the Catholic Church is uniquely suited for this role; however, that does not mean that the Church is yet communicating and supporting the full truth about the role of conscience. This is the area in which the Church must undergo further development.

We cling to conventional ideas of what it means to follow our conscience, but the living truth does not compromise itself to accomodate our conventional models. The living truth is extremely precise and timely. If we follow its guidance we will experience interruptions in our preferred course in life. These interruptions will continue to occur as we continue to follow our conscience. A life of surrender to the guidance of conscience will involve more than stopping to help someone push their stalled car off to the side of the road; although, it can certainly include things like that.

As you continue to follow the guidance of your conscience the people who know you will take notice. Some will begin to think less of you. They will not understand why you do what you do, nor will they approve of the change that is occurring in your life. The fundamental direction that your life had been going in, which you may not have even been aware of, will change.

Our conscience reveals to us tasks or duties that we are charged with carrying out. Carrying out these specific tasks or duties is what transforms us, serves others, and serves God's will. It takes faith to carry out these acts, because doing so will undermine the identity that we have previously dedicated our lives to. This is where discernment comes in. Many people today say that they are guided by God, guided by intuition, guided by spirit, or whatever. However, if the way they are following does not require the sacrifice of the identity that they have been trying to protect since childhood then it is not truly the way of conscience.

The reason we entertain incorrect, or superficial, notions about conscience is that we want to remain at arms length from its guidance. It's very simple: We don't want our life to be turned upside down. If we want to deepen our understanding of conscience we must come to grips with how and why we resist it. People assume that they will feel guilty if they ignore their conscience, but that is not true at all. In fact, we often feel proud of our acts of rebellion. Of course, we may not be very conscious of what we are doing.

A rebellious adolescent does not simply do whatever he wants to do. It may look that way sometimes, but it's not that straightforward. He will be highly motivated by a mood of rebellion. He must rebel against some norm in order to establish his preferred identity in the world and attain what he thinks he wants. He is not operating as freely as he thinks he is. This same rebellious spirit is found in the Bible story of Adam and Eve. The serpent leads Adam and Eve to believe that eating the forbidden fruit will make them like gods. Like the rebellious adolescent, however, they could not attain what they wanted directly. They first had to rebel against the instructions of God.

Prior to the influence of the serpent, Adam and Eve had avoided the forbidden fruit, but the serpent inspired within them a desire for power, and this fed their mood of rebellion. The serpent convinced them that the forbidden fruit was actually good, but Adam and Eve had to cooperate with their own deception.

As soon as Adam and Eve ate the fruit, or disobeyed their conscience, alienation set in. This is exactly how it happens for us, except that we often do not know that alienation has set in. We are more blind than Adam and Eve were. They suddenly felt the need to cover their naked bodies and hide from God. We, instead, feel proud of our acts of rebellion.

We come into the world wanting something that we see as a good thing right from the start. We want to be seen in a certain light. That's what we want, and we see no reason to question our desire. We may or may not be fully conscious of this desire, but it will drive our lives nevertheless. The last thing we want to discover is that what we see as "good fruit" is actually "forbidden fruit."

Jesus said, "My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work." This is to be our "food" as well! This is the key to understanding how we can follow the way revealed by Christ. Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." In saying this he was acknowledging man's capacity for discerning the will of God. Jesus called upon us to exercise this God-given capacity, which is the conscience. He said he would go prepare a place for us, but we still have to accept the grace of God, and we do this by surrendering to the guidance of conscience.

The following is from a sermon that was reportedly given by Father Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, in 1964. He is pointing to an unresolved issue within the Church.

Ratzinger states, "...Everything we believe about God, and everything we know about man, prevents us from accepting that beyond the limits of the Church there is no more salvation, that up to the time of Christ all men were subject to the fate of eternal damnation. We are no longer ready and able to think that our neighbor, who is a decent and respectable man and in many ways better than we are, should be eternally damned simply because he is not a Catholic. We are no longer ready, no longer willing, to think that eternal corruption should be inflicted on people in Asia, in Africa, or wherever it may be, merely on account of their not having "Catholic" marked in their passport.

Actually, a great deal of thought had been devoted in theology, both before and after Ignatius, to the question of how people, without even knowing it, in some way belonged to the Church and to Christ and could thus be saved nevertheless. And still today, a great deal of perspicacity is used in such reflections."

Ratzinger is addressing the very same issue that John Paul II was when writing about anthropocentrism and theocentrism and the need to "link them up in human history, in a deep and organic way." Ratzinger is speaking about the relationship between man God and between man and the Church.

For the Church to still be struggling after two thousand years to understand how non-Catholics can belong to Church and Christ is very significant. Many a well-read Catholic will argue that this issue has already been resolved, and they will point to the Church's teaching on conscience to support their position. They are right to point to the teaching on conscience, but Ratzinger knew all about the Church's teaching on conscience back in 1964, when he gave his sermon. Something was missing then, and he knew it, and something is missing now.

Jesus revealed only one way of salvation. He did not reveal a way for Catholics and another for non-Catholics. All who follow the one way are "inside the Church." Therefore, to be uncertain as to how one group can belong to Christ and Church is to be uncertain about the other group as well.

The Catholic Church officially teaches: "Outside the Church there is no salvation." Yet, Ratzinger assures us in his sermon that the Church is no longer willing to say that non-Catholics are exempt from salvation. If the Church accepts, no matter how reluctantly, that non-Catholics can be saved then either there is a loophole in the doctrine or it is possible for non-Catholics to be "inside the Church." The later is the case, and this is what Ratzinger was exploring. How can a man, woman, or child be a follower of Christ and "inside the Church" without even knowing it?

The Catholic Church has never been especially enthusiastic about recognizing that non-Catholics can be "inside the Church" and saved. It has treated such a possibility as though it were somehow less on the spiritual scale than the efforts of one who is fully incorporated into the Church. The Church is faced with a challenge, for nothing in its theology suggests a numerical limit on how many non-Catholics might belong spiritually to Christ and Church and be saved. Nor does the Church's theology suggest that the heaven a non-Catholic goes to differs from the heaven a Catholic might go to. In fact, Heaven is referred to as the Church Triumphant, so one who makes it to heaven is "inside the Church" as much as anyone could ever be inside of it. This would be true regardless of their religious affiliation during their earthly lifetime.

I've heard it said by Catholics that the sacraments of the Church provide such a necessary spiritual advantage that non-Catholics, although theoretically able to be saved, would have a hard time getting to heaven without the help of the sacraments. This way of looking at the sacraments could not be further from the truth.

Ratzinger says that the Church is struggling to better understand this matter of how non-Catholics can belong to it. Perhaps that is so, but today I do not see great signs of this particular struggle in the Church. It was a subject of interest during the time of the Second Vatican Council, which is when Ratzinger gave the above-mentioned sermon. Is the Church honestly trying to overcome its own reluctance in regards to this matter? If not then a critical aspect of the problem is being left out of the consideration, and that's the Church's own resistance to getting to the bottom of this issue. The truth is that there is only one way to be "inside the Church," and that is to follow the guidance of conscience.

Do the sacraments of the Church really offer Catholics a spiritual advantage that is not available to non-Catholics? Has God so stacked the deck that non-Catholics have only a slim chance of salvation? The sacrament of the Eucharist has been called the "source and summit" of the Catholic faith. Once again, however, the role of conscience needs to be taken into account, for the spiritual fruits of the Eucharist, as with all the other sacraments of the Church, depend upon the disposition of heart of the person receiving the sacrament. To speak of the disposition of a man's heart is to speak of his relationship to his conscience. Is he discerning and obeying his conscience, or is he doing something else?

To truly "receive the Eucharist" is to open one's heart to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. A man who follows his conscience is opening his heart to the Holy Trinity. There is a profound relationship between man's conscience and the sacraments of the Church, but until the conscience of man is seen in the full light of day that relationship will not be rightly understood or appreciated.

In writing about the sacrament of the Eucharist, Pope Benedict has written, "Thus the Lord tells us emphatically: The true law of God is not an external matter. It dwells within us. It is the inner direction of our lives, which is brought into being and established by the will of God. It speaks to us in our conscience. The conscience is the inner aspect of the Lord's presence, which alone can render us capable of receiving the Eucharistic presence."

A man of conscience is participating in the Eucharistic presence of the Lord, whether he is a Catholic or not. Some Catholics will recoil at this statement, thinking I have just spoken disrespectfully of the Eucharist. They do not understand what it truly means to be a man of conscience. If they did they would realize that what I am saying here is actually defending the integrity of the Eucharist and helping to assure that it is not treated in a superstitious manner.

Conscience is neither a license to do whatever one feels strongly about nor a set of rote moral responses that have been programmed into a person by the Catholic Church. Conscience is a living point of contact between a human being and the Divine. Before he was killed, Christ said, "I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth." (John 16:12)

Did you take note of the emphasis: Christ said that he had "much more" to tell us! So, the idea that man's understanding of the revelation of Christ would need to progress over time comes from the lips of Christ himself. This ongoing development is no mere sideshow. It is literally the mission of the Holy Spirit to assure that it takes place. Catholicism cannot be true to Christ's revelation if it does not take this matter of spiritual development to heart. The Catholic Church is a work in progress. I am simply pointing to what is, in our times, the most critical aspect of that development.

It is not enough to merely have a new and improved theological definition of conscience. You cannot understand conscience without surrendering to it. Then, and only then, will you be able to appreciate how and why conscience and Christ are inseparable. This is what allows you to understand why Christ's revelation is the most important spiritual development in the history of man.