Some Catholics like to boast about the greatness of the Catholic Church, mentioning its long history, beautiful traditions, and many charitable actions.  Other Catholics like to complain about the failings of the Church, referring to its triumphalism, support of colonialism, and chronic moral deficiencies.  While these two groups tend to think of themselves as holding opposed viewpoints, I tend to think of them as expressing an identical commitment.

The Catholics who are very vocal about their pride in Catholicism and those who are equally vocal about their embarrassment over Catholicism have, as the object of their devotion/revulsion, a particular Catholic culture rather than the Catholic Faith.

A large number of Catholic cultures have evolved over the centuries.  Today, there are three Catholic cultures that predominate as the popular interpretations of Catholicism. 

Neo-scholastic Catholic culture was invented about two centuries ago, but its roots date back several centuries earlier.  Neo-scholasticism views its interpretation of Catholicism as immutable and incapable of error.  Those who favor this culture tend to view the Church as being incapable of serious flaws as long as the Church avoids the fatal error of being sympathetic toward secular society.

Modern Catholic culture has been around for about two centuries, as well.  Its beginnings don’t date as far back as those of neo-scholasticism, but its history is intertwined with the history of neo-scholasticism.  This culture tends to be overly optimistic about the world and absolutely convinced of the possibility of effecting positive, lasting change in the world.

Post-modern Catholic culture is a more recent development and has two distinct manifestations.  Some post-modern Catholics think the Church is out of touch with contemporary secular society and therefore, is morally impotent; others think that the Church is too accommodating to secular society and therefore, is morally impotent.  Both of these two divergent views qualify as post-modern on the basis of their extreme distrust of established leadership structures.

At this juncture, it is necessary to point out that the distinctiveness of these three predominant cultures doesn’t prevent an individual from embracing more than one of them at the same time.  Some Catholics embrace both neo-scholasticism’s distrust of secular society and modernity’s naïve optimism about effecting positive social change.  Other Catholics embrace neo-scholasticism’s insularity and post-modernity’s distrust of established social structures.  This mash-up of conflicting values is a reliable indicator of the inadequacy of substituting culture in the place that belongs rightly to Faith, but it is not the most definitive indicator.  The Letter to the Hebrews was written in the late first century to address confused commitments very similar to the confused commitments present in the Church today.

The Letter to the Hebrews was addressed to a church congregation that had lost its zeal for the Faith.  The author compared his congregation to the Israelites who, while sojourning in the desert, began to second-guess their choice to leave Egypt and second-guess God’s providence.

The author of the letter says that, like the Israelites who wandered in the desert before entering the Land of Promise, the Church exists in a period of transition; it sojourns through this world toward the day of general resurrection.  The author reminds his readers that they must not become complacent while they await the Lord’s return in glory because complacency destroys one’s commitment to the Catholic Faith.

In an attempt to inspire his congregation to reclaim a lively faith, the author reminds them that Jesus had to suffer before entering into his glory.  In a like manner, the Church must endure testing until the final glory of the children of God is revealed.  For some few Christians, this testing comes in the form of persecution but for most, it is experienced as a sense of incompleteness and anxiousness until the day of resurrection.

In much the same way that Augustine explained that the human heart is restless until it rests in God, the author of the Letter to the Hebrews explained that the Christian experience of incompleteness in this world is not to be avoided; rather, it is a sign that one’s faith is directed to the appropriate goal. 

As the only appropriate goal of faith is the Eternal and Uncreated, one can see the folly of substituting culture in the place that belongs rightly to the Faith.  Culture, regardless of its origins and commitments, is created and therefore, finite.  Most church-goers will readily acknowledge that secular culture is contingent and finite but they struggle to admit that church culture is equally contingent and finite.  The fact remains that culture is a phenomenon and by-product of human society.  Culture is neither divine nor of divine origin; as such, it is no substitute for eternal, revealed Truth.

Catholic culture is the product of myriad human attempts to interpret and apply the truth of salvation revealed in the death of Jesus.  To the extent that it is faithful to the teachings of Jesus, culture assists a person in knowing and being guided by revealed Truth, but culture is not itself revealed Truth.

The Catholic Faith is the revealed truth of salvation recorded in the Scriptures and summarized in the Creeds.  It is truth that requires constant repentance and reform on the part of the baptized.  The Catholic Faith tells us that we are beloved of God, chosen as his adopted children, and obliged to share the saving proclamation with all people.  At its heart, the Catholic Faith is loyalty to Jesus and fidelity to his teaching.  This loyalty and fidelity are concomitantly individual and ecclesial experiences; they require one to be faithful in union with all the faithful.

The Catholic Faith, then, is not a commitment to a culture or cultures.  The Catholic Faith is an individual and communal relationship that overcomes cultural differences and prevents one from falling into selfishness or complacency.  The definitive indicator of one’s embrace of the Catholic Faith is one’s willingness to acknowledge the limitations of this world, forgive those limitations, and live in union with fellow believers and in charity toward non-believers.

The Letter to the Hebrews says that “for a little while” Jesus was made lower than the angels due to his Incarnation, but his total humility made salvation possible for all. (Hb 2:9)  As this offer of salvation is perpetual and universal, it makes all believers equal in God’s sight. (Hb 2:11) 

One’s embrace of the Catholic Faith allows one to see past the strictures of ephemeral identities such conservative, progressive, or disillusioned; it joins one inextricably to all who live an incomplete existence “for a little while” in this sojourn of faith through the world.  As the Letter to the Hebrews says, Jesus is the pioneer of faith; following the path he established, his disciples live fully in this world without placing their hope in the finite and contingent.