MADE HOLY THOUGH OUR SERVICE TO OTHERS

THE CURRENT RETREAT INTO PERSONAL PIETY

"Holy Orders and Matrimony are directed towards the salvation of others;

if they contribute as well to personal salvation, it is through service

to others that they do so."

Catechism of the Catholic Church

#1534

Ever since Jesus shared his parable about "judgement day" in Gospel of Matthew (35: 35-36), where we are in the end measured by our track record of service to others - as in "For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me" - there have been those in the church who have looked for a way around such a social emphasis and have retreated into an emphasis on personal piety. In such a change of direction, social demands tend to be replaced with the demands of personal piety. 

Because "service to others" is often so messy to accomplish, some Catholics these days have tended to look for a path to holiness around its social dimensions. So as to escape its harsh demands, they are predictably retreating into a culture of "personal piety." As the old song and pumper sticker from the 1960's said, "Me and Jesus Got Our Own Thing Goin'" and "I'm Saved! Sorry About You!" This retreat into "personal piety" can be seen in their distancing themselves from the "social teachings of the church" in favor of such things as "Eucharistic adoration" and other individual devotional practices. Here I am reminded of those words from our Common Preface IV. “For, although you have no need of our praise, yet our thanksgiving is itself your gift, since our praises add nothing to your greatness but profit us for salvation, through Christ our Lord.”

As the Catechism of the Catholic Church #1534 puts it, "if Holy Orders and Matrimony contribute to personal holiness, it is through service of others that they do so." It firmly rejects the idea that priesthood and marriage are are merely directed to one's own personal salvation. In other words, there is no such thing as "my priesthood" or "my marriage" in the  Catholic Church. That is to say, because both are directed toward the salvation of others, both can contribute to personal holiness. 

This "other-centered path to holiness," rather than a "personal-centered path to holiness" was something with which even the Protestant reformer John Wesley might have agreed! John Wesley was an English cleric, theologian, and evangelist who was a leader of a revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. When John Wesley used the phrase “social holiness,” he was talking about the importance of other people for growing in holiness. In this context, Wesley explicitly rejected “holy solitaries” or the attempt to become holy in isolation from other Christians. He insisted on the importance of community for becoming Christ-like. 

"Personal piety" can sometimes merely feed a narcissistic personality disorder, but the value of "personal piety" is obviously healthy and appropriate if it leads to "other-centered service." Meditation and contemplation, for instance, are effective tools for helping one more effectively engage in social activism. This is because:

- A clear, calm mind free of anxiety, anger, and fear help one discern more clearly the needs of the world and God’s priorities.

- If one is feeling anger or resentment their thinking is almost certainly distorted to one extent or another.

- It will help one stay mentally healthy and balanced while engaging in emotionally costly activism.

- It enables one to discover their authentic self, free from fear, so as to most effectively understand how and where one can engage in the world.

- It helps one keep the perspective that it’s not about them and to keep a humble view of their own abilities and limitations.

- It helps one more effectively remain calm, non-defensive, and discern the truth in the criticism of their own motives and actions that will invariably come.