Avoiding the Religion of Me

At any time, we have a tendency I argue to overlook something unique about our human condition. I’m referring to our ability to recognize the presence of someone (Incarnational character) and greet them with the simplest yet most profound of human gestures, a joyful smile-filled “hello.” This is what I would describe as an Incarnational gesture, i.e., a gesture in the name of Jesus Christ because our actions are meant to reflect the words and deeds of Jesus Christ our Lord, Savior, and King.

Sacred Scripture provides us with several joyful “Incarnational gestures” such as Jesus’ greeting to the Apostles and disciples on the Road to Emmaus when upon celebrating the Mass the Apostle's eyes were opened and then Jesus disappeared.[1] The greeting between Mary and Elizabeth led John the Baptist to leap in Elizabeth’s womb.[2] When you consider for example the origin of the Magnificat prayer, it reveals a joyful response to an encounter between human beings rooted in the Divine. Joyful encounters are very important because they remind us of our responsibility to engage one another with joy, gratitude, and humility.

These examples provide us with a glimpse of what discipleship can look like when we choose to profess the faith of Jesus Christ over our own religiously manufactured humanistic attitude. From a practical perspective, it stems from a choice of “The Religion of Me” over the Son of God Jesus Christ who is the way, the truth, and the light.[3]  

In the book of Sirach, there is a particular chapter[4] where man is warned not to blame God for his human and spiritual limitations, blame someone else for his faults, or worse blame God when the person chooses to leave (abandon) the faith altogether. These warnings serve as entryways to what I mentioned earlier The Religion of Me. Sirach then goes on to remind us what God has done for us:

It was he who created man in the beginning, and he left him in the power of his own inclination. If you will, you can keep the commandments, they will save you; if you trust in God, you too shall live. He has placed before you fire and water: stretch out your hand for whichever he chooses will be given to him. For great is the wisdom of the Lord; he is mighty in power and sees everything. The eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, and he knows every deed of man. He has not commanded anyone to be ungodly, and he has not given anyone permission to sin.[5]

Sirach reminds us of how easily we can sway from our relationship with the emphasis is ourselves and not our Father in Heaven. The Religion of Me proposes that my voice is stronger and more important than God’s voice. My spiritual program, my movement, my apostolate, my podcast, my way is so much better than His way. The Catechism reminds us that God put us in this world to know, to love, and to serve him, and so to come to paradise. Beatitude makes us partakers of the Divine nature (one of the four reasons for the Incarnation) and of eternal life. With beatitude, man enters into the glory of Christ and into the joy of the Trinitarian life.[6]

The temptation to live according to The Religion of Me proposes that there is something more important than God’s grace and mercy. God becomes an afterthought, what does this look like? The Religion of Me syndrome proposes to domesticate Jesus Christ as a simple spiritual consultant, spiritual guru, or a friend of convenience. The Crucifixion reveals why Christ came and how we should behave. When we actively choose to see Jesus, we see the Cross. The Resurrection cannot be separated from the Crucifixion.

The Religion of Me proposes that God blesses your sins and forgives you without seeking internal repentance. Your ministry does not provide you with healing, the sacrament of reconciliation does. We were made for grace, not sin.

The Catechism reminds us that;

To adore God is to acknowledge, in respect and absolute submission, the nothingness of the creature who would not exist but for God. To adore God is ti praise and exalt Him and to humble oneself, as Mary did in the Magnificat confessing with gratitude that he has done great things and holy is his name. The worship of the one God sets man free from turning in on himself, from the slavery of sin and the idolatry of the world.[7]

The Gift of Humility (offering of a meal, for those who are hungry.)

Christ reminds us that he who humbles himself will be exalted (Lk 18:9-14). Humility serves as an action of self-abandonment. This means our will and intellect are directed toward love for Christ and His Church. It reflects a willingness to die to self to gain eternal life. This virtue recognizes God as the author of everything good and reveals that we are nothing without God.

Humility leads us to have a poverty of heart. This means our preference is Christ before anything else. St. Luke provides an excellent description of possessing a poverty of heart about the cost of discipleship where Jesus asks the Apostles to renounce everything for Him (Lk 14:33).

“All Christ’s faithful are to direct their affections rightly lest they be hindered in their pursuit of perfect charity by the use of worldly things and by an adherence to riches contrary to the spirit of evangelical poverty.” (CCC 2345)

St. Gregory of Nyssa reminds us that there is a relationship between humility and our beatitudinal call. When we examine the beatitudes closely, they represent the heart of Jesus’ preaching. The Beatitudes fulfill the law of the commandments by placing the rule of the faith into action. The Catechism (1717) strengthens this point even further:

The Beatitudes depict the countenance of Jesus Christ and portray his charity. They express the vocation of the faithful associated with the glory of his Passion and Resurrection; they shed light on the actions and attitudes characteristic of the Christian life; they are the paradoxical promises that sustain hope amid tribulations; they proclaim the blessings and rewards already secured, however dimly, for Christ’s disciples; they have begun in the lives of the Virgin Mary and all the saints.

By nature of our baptismal identity, we are called to combat our selfish desires through humility and abandonment of God’s providence. Our actions should not contradict the Gospel but, instead, be in unison with our Lord’s desires for us as His children. St. Paul leaves us with a good reminder on how to keep ourselves humbly within the mind of Christ: Pray constantly... always and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.[8]

How do you avoid the Religion of Me? The basic premise to avoid The Religion of Me comes down to a basic battle between good and evil, grace and virtue versus vice, and love of God over love of self.

The first step to avoid The Religion of Me is to make a morning offering to our Lord and address the areas in your life that lead to a Religion of Me mindset. The moment your day begins, spiritually attack it, smile at our Lord, gaze at the Crucifix in your home, and begin to recognize the voice of God over your own.

• Prayer is allowing God to enter our broken state.
• Seek to develop a holy religious attitude.
• No one is beyond God’s mercy.[9]
• The process of conversion always entails the cross. There is no holiness without sacrifice and without a spiritual battle (Pope Francis).
• The Religion of Christ leads to the eternal.
• Sanctify yourself and you will sanctify society.

The second step is to incorporate a midday break for prayer. The Angelus comes to mind as an opportunity to break from the calamities of the day.

• The Angelus allows you to renew your response to Christ again.
• Christ is the order and center of everything that we do.

The third step is to make a nightly examination of conscience. Keep track of your soul, what went well, and what did not.

• Lectio Divina through the book of Wisdom.
• Recite a daily act of contrition
• Have a joyful conversation with Christ.

If we desire to avoid The Religion of Me, we must not lose contact with him. Frequent reception of the sacraments, engaging his will to be in commune with the Father’s role, monthly or weekly Holy Hour, and strengthening your eagerness to know Him more intimately through self-surrendering your will to Him. Remember that The Religion of Me proposes a new language that ignores communication with God. We are called to seek first the Kingdom of God[10] and not ourselves. A religious soul associated with Jesus Christ is open to Divine things, is open to the human being next to him, and desires to see God above himself.   

The Catechism reminds us that the desire for true happiness frees man from his immoderate attachment to the goods of this world so that he can find his fulfillment in the vision and beatitude of God. The promise of seeing God surpasses all beatitude . . . In Scripture, to see is to possess . . . Whoever sees God has obtained all the goods of which he can conceive.[11]