Dear Friends,
Among the time-honored phrases which are part of the English language is “the practice of…”
The practice of medicine
The practice of surgery
The practice of law.
The practice of faith.
All of these are different from other activities which nonetheless require practice. We practice our musical instrument, driving before we get our license, athletic moves to achieve skill and master to our own satisfaction.
We don’t say “the practice of eating or sleeping,” although we might need to change our habits to sleep better or eat better. The old saying “Practice makes perfect” in most of life’s activities could be more properly rendered “Perfect practice makes almost perfect.”
But what makes medicine, surgery, law, and faith unique in life is that we are never finished learning about them, refining them in our minds and in daily life. We are always learning something we didn’t know, something new.
Refresher courses and updates are required to continue professional practices. We can skip adult faith formation if we wish, but at what cost?
Faith is a gift freely given at Baptism. We have it and maybe we have thought that this is enough. “Everything I Need I learned in Kindergarten,” as the book by that title says. Or maybe as children, we watched how adults practiced faith.
One day, we grew up and the practice of faith was up to us. It’s easy to be contented with what we knew of God, Jesus, faith, mercy as children. But just as adults do not wear the same clothes they wore as children, adults cannot become more deeply God-centered without putting off the spiritual garments of children.
In the season of Lent, which is to dawn on us on Valentine’s Day, let’s open our heart, our mind, our eyes and ears to new learnings about faith. Deep learnings, not just thoughts that skim the surface of faith. Faith is a journey into parts unknown. It requires a certain daring on our part. It requires space and time in our day, our week, and companions (fellow-learners) along the way.
What shall we do this Lent to move more wholeheartedly into faith?
Here are a few suggestions:
Learn who God is. God is loving, tender, gentle. That may not be the way we were taught to think of God. Turn to God this way. Turn to people this way as we learn more convincingly that this is who God is.
Make your way weekly to the community’s weekend Eucharist. Listen, watch, drink in the meaning of Christ with us as food and drink for the journey.
Find and join a local study group that opens the Scriptures or some aspect of faith.
Go to a Lenten series in your parish or a neighboring parish. Hear something new from the speaker. Listen to how people question.
Try a book like Sacred Fire by Ron Rohlheiser or Timothy Radcliff’s Why Go To Church? Or find one of their talks on YouTube.
Ask a friend or colleague what (s)he has done to grow in faith.
Try something. At first, you may want to say: I don’t know where to begin! But try something. One step could well lead you to another.
All of this has to do with acquiring a mature taste for God and the things of God.
~ Sister Joan Sobala
