Dynamic, open-minded, versatile fidelity

THE question of fidelity comes up again as the more pressing question of what to do with the new, ever multiplying and complicated issues in the Church and in the contemporary world is also begging for an urgent answer.

Yes, we have to be very faithful to God, to his word, to his Church, but we have to understand that such fidelity is not a dead and rigid one. It is alive and active, always able to react and say something meaningful, relevant, useful, and most important, redeeming to any situation and predicament we may be in.

Nothing is impossible with God. We just have to try our best that we be up to his will and ways. They will always be mysterious and inscrutable. We try to fathom them as best as we could. And to a certain extent we manage.

But we can also say that in spite of our best efforts, we can never arrive at that point where we would be so identified with him that we have nothing else to do. There will always be a need for renewal, conversion, spiritual and moral growth, doctrinal development, etc.

We need to go to him always and especially as a last resort, asking for a miracle, for mercy and compassion, because our human capabilities at the moment have reached their limit. We have to acknowledge our own helplessness in the face of many predicaments in our life, and run to God.

This happened many times in the gospel. People in hopeless cases of human predicament like being born blind, or sick with incurable diseases, or possessed by demons—cases where human powers can’t anymore do anything about—went to Christ, and were cured or relieved.

The leprous man, the woman suffering from hemorrhage, the man possessed by a legion of demons, etc., went to Christ or were brought to him by their families and friends, and there were all cured.

There was even a crowd of this kind of people begging for help, and Christ, according to the gospel, “healed them all,” (Lk 18,6) hardly making any distinction or qualification.

This question of fidelity in the face of new challenges requiring new responses, etc., can also be seen in the history of the Church. Always faithful to Christ, the Church has to face the challenges of the heresies, and the real spiritual and moral needs of the people.

That’s why we have had councils defining dogmas, the Magisterium issuing encyclicals and exhortations, new but organic doctrine like the Church’s social doctrine being developed to tackle the social issues, liturgical reforms as what happened during Vatican II to better accommodate the faithful’s new conditions, etc.

Our sense of fidelity has to flow with the times. It has to be dynamic, open-minded and versatile, able to tackle with Christ whatever situation we may find ourselves in.

Remember what the Letter to the Hebrews said about the word of God: “The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts of the heart. And before him no creature is hidden, but all are open and laid bare to the eyes of him with whom we have to do.” (4,12-13)

Our sense of fidelity should not be stuck in some point of history, or in some culture and mindset. And these can happen when we fall into what are known as traditionalism, rigorism, legalism and the like. All these can only show a certain bias or preference that may work for a while in certain conditions, but not all the time.

This does not mean that we can just do anything without any concrete guideline or specific plan. We will always be in need of them, but without making them absolute and rigid. They have to be flexible, always feeling the need for renewal, updating, improvement, etc.

These guidelines and plans would have some basic, unchangeable features, and other elements that can and should change. These should not be treated blindly and in a routine way.

They are meant to be aids, giving some kind of structure to our life and day, but should be regarded also as living and organic, able to branch out in any which way depending on circumstances.

In the life of the Church, distinguishing which part is unchangeable and which changeable should be an ongoing process of reflection, study and dialogue with everyone, with the hierarchy leading the way. This is how we can have a dynamic, open-minded and versatile fidelity.