KNOWLEDGE, MORALITY AND SPIRITUALITY
I must apologize to have being away for too long a time. I also thank very specially all those who kept asking for my reflection and spurred me to resume writing. Things have being very tight for me, and coupled with the fact that I had to resume back to the rigorous training in the seminary after my one year sojourn in my diocese. Well, I thank God for the grace to return back here. Am not promising to remain steadfast as I was while on pastoral year, but in the midst of my very tight schedule, I will always find time to put up something. Thank you all. Now let us reflect on Knowledge, Morality and Spirituality.
The ultimate aim in the life of every human soul should be to attain moral and spiritual excellence. To align one's inner being and outward behavior with the will of an all-loving Creator (God). An individual, who succeeds in the attainment of this, can be said to be knowledgeable since he recognizes that as his ultimate aim and has worked towards its achievement.
Our knowledge of the discipline of Moral theology simplifies it for us with the distinction between the ethics of being and the ethics of doing, once an individual is able to form himself in a spiritual way, his spirituality would readily precipitate moral actions. However, an individual who does moral actions may not be spiritual if he’s just simply “doing” them. The latter falls in the category of “ethics of doing” and the invitation here is that we shone any tendency to just do acts because we are required to do them and this is where the need to build our spiritual and moral life comes in. If we succeed in building up ourselves in this regard, then we are having our faith solidified. We must then, use this faith not just for ourselves, but for the benefit of our immediate community and the world at large.
This discussion is all the more important especially as we have launched ourselves into the –Ember Months. We should bear in mind as earlier noted, that the reason why we are invited to build up ourselves is not just for ourselves or for own good alone, but for the good of the entire universe. If we do keep it to ourselves, then we would become isolated and sterile Christians. And this would tell the type of faith we profess. Because, “the strength of faith, at a personal and community level can only be measured by the ability to communicate it to others, to live it in charity, to witness it to those we meet and those that share path of life with us.”
If the expression above touches you, then be reminded that they are the words of the Holy Father, his Holiness, Pope Francis at the last world’s mission day. So, our spirituality, our morality, and our knowledge would indeed be of little or no value if we have not affected the lives of our brothers and sisters with it.
I do not say to you today that this would be easy for us all to practice. In fact what I say to you is that there would be challenges while trying to do this. The challenges we will face are real, they would be serious and they will be many. But know this; God would be there with us all to guide us through the journey. That we all agreed to remain steadfast in our journey of faith to continue to build these virtues is that, we have chosen hope over fear and unity of purpose over conflict and discord. The time has come for us all to re-affirm our enduring spirit by putting to death those petty vices that has long strangled our spiritual and moral lives thereby making us “knowledgeless”
In the end this is what am saying, that while we all live together in this world, every individual should ensure that he owes the other nothing, except the debt of love for each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Roman 13. 8-10!
SHALOM!!!
I must apologize to have being away for too long a time. I also thank very specially all those who kept asking for my reflection and spurred me to resume writing. Things have being very tight for me, and coupled with the fact that I had to resume back to the rigorous training in the seminary after my one year sojourn in my diocese. Well, I thank God for the grace to return back here. Am not promising to remain steadfast as I was while on pastoral year, but in the midst of my very tight schedule, I will always find time to put up something. Thank you all. Now let us reflect on Knowledge, Morality and Spirituality.
The ultimate aim in the life of every human soul should be to attain moral and spiritual excellence. To align one's inner being and outward behavior with the will of an all-loving Creator (God). An individual, who succeeds in the attainment of this, can be said to be knowledgeable since he recognizes that as his ultimate aim and has worked towards its achievement.
Our knowledge of the discipline of Moral theology simplifies it for us with the distinction between the ethics of being and the ethics of doing, once an individual is able to form himself in a spiritual way, his spirituality would readily precipitate moral actions. However, an individual who does moral actions may not be spiritual if he’s just simply “doing” them. The latter falls in the category of “ethics of doing” and the invitation here is that we shone any tendency to just do acts because we are required to do them and this is where the need to build our spiritual and moral life comes in. If we succeed in building up ourselves in this regard, then we are having our faith solidified. We must then, use this faith not just for ourselves, but for the benefit of our immediate community and the world at large.
This discussion is all the more important especially as we have launched ourselves into the –Ember Months. We should bear in mind as earlier noted, that the reason why we are invited to build up ourselves is not just for ourselves or for own good alone, but for the good of the entire universe. If we do keep it to ourselves, then we would become isolated and sterile Christians. And this would tell the type of faith we profess. Because, “the strength of faith, at a personal and community level can only be measured by the ability to communicate it to others, to live it in charity, to witness it to those we meet and those that share path of life with us.”
If the expression above touches you, then be reminded that they are the words of the Holy Father, his Holiness, Pope Francis at the last world’s mission day. So, our spirituality, our morality, and our knowledge would indeed be of little or no value if we have not affected the lives of our brothers and sisters with it.
I do not say to you today that this would be easy for us all to practice. In fact what I say to you is that there would be challenges while trying to do this. The challenges we will face are real, they would be serious and they will be many. But know this; God would be there with us all to guide us through the journey. That we all agreed to remain steadfast in our journey of faith to continue to build these virtues is that, we have chosen hope over fear and unity of purpose over conflict and discord. The time has come for us all to re-affirm our enduring spirit by putting to death those petty vices that has long strangled our spiritual and moral lives thereby making us “knowledgeless”
In the end this is what am saying, that while we all live together in this world, every individual should ensure that he owes the other nothing, except the debt of love for each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Roman 13. 8-10!
SHALOM!!!
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