I've been drawn to fill up my head with Catholic customs, stories of the Saints, art, Bible stories, history, theology and philosophy over the past few years. It sometimes feels like a quest to become a Catholic encyclopedia.....
I've wondered sometimes if it's really beneficial, beyond being an enjoyable pastime. Can all the information actually help me grow in charity?
Thoughts on this, with my answer being yes.
The natural and supernatural virtues we are summoned to live out, are abstract. Yet, as human beings, the abstract must become concrete to be understood and lived out. Culture is the concrete expression of abstract values. Through the stories, lifestyles, relationships, customs, etc. that define a culture, we "live out" in bodily terms, our values.
From this standpoint, culture is essential. A Catholic wanting to think and live in a Catholic way, will need to benefit from Catholic culture.
Catholic culture is the positive answer to the prohibitions of religion. As Catholics, we rightly understand the need for prohibitions and limits. Nevertheless, a life does not consist in not doing. The pressing and interesting question is what do we do?
Catholic culture is there to fill up our lives and minds with "positives." For every secular custom or art form we reject, we can replace it with a Catholic one. We must do this, because as human beings, our lives must be full and active. When we say to our kids, "don't do this," we need to replace it with something good from our own culture. If we don't have a Catholic way of doing/thinking, it will be replaced with a secular way of doing/thinking. For human beings are always doing/thinking.
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