How do we respond to an idea that is different from what the Church teaches? Whether it is a thought we develop on our own or a teaching from someone we admire and respect, such ideas can be very seductive.
One option is to trust in our own understanding and intellect as many have done before us throughout the history of the Church. Arius, Pelagius, Nestorius, Martin Luther, and John Calvin, to name a few, did this. The resulting damage they did echoes even to the present day. It was not enough for them to turn away from God, but they took others with them, tearing apart the Body of Christ.
Or we can take the time and make the effort to learn why the Church teaches what it does. We can admit humbly and meekly that our own understanding is not sufficient and explore the truth God has revealed to us through His Church in greater detail.
God has given us intelligent and inquiring minds so that we might seek Him out, the author of all Truth. Not by blind obedience or arrogant intellectual pride, but through child-like wonder.
Faith does not render us blind to reason. Faith helps us to see things that our limited reason cannot see by itself.
Jesus praised the Father for hiding things from the “wise and learned,” and revealing them to the childlike. May we be thankful for the gift of faith and always approach God humbly, full of wonder and trust.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding” Proverbs 3:5
Pax Vobiscum
14 Sunday in Ordinary Time