On the Connection Between Dogma and Spirituality

If you really think about it, our faith and all the doctrines don't mean much unless they help bring us closer to God.  That's the end goal.  If you can't get that out of religion, then all of this is pointless.  But sometimes we have to remind ourselves of that, because sometimes we're so wrapped up in this or that ritual or teaching, we tend to think that the ritual or teaching is the 'end product'.

But it's not.  Nor is our faith.  Both are there to bring us closer to God--to enrich our spiritual life.  But if we don't use the dogmas (which we're able to believe because of our faith) then our spiritual life and the bond between them will wither and die.  You see how important the three of them are, and how much they are tied together?  Faith, dogma, spirituality. 

If you want to see a good example of this, just look in the American culture today.  An overwhelming majority of the Catholics have fallen into a trap... a very deadly trap.  The bait was a false principle: you can still be spiritual and close to God WITHOUT following all the disciplines and believing all the doctrine.  Many people swallowed the bait, hook, line, and sinker.

But without the dogmas, the spiritual life is slowly wasting away to nothing.  It took time, and the devil's progress is slow.  But the devil is patient, and he waited for the destruction of morality in America (even in the Church) without trying to hurry it. 

At this point in time, some Catholics think nothing of forsaking some of our most important dogmas.  The "Catholic View" (according to the popular media) on abortion, contraception, in vitro fertilization, and a host of other evils is no longer set apart from the unchristian world.  We, as Catholics, are no longer seen as a separate people, dedicated to God.  

American Catholics no longer heed to the dogmas, our spirituality is dying, and the connection between the two is all but gone.  

But in all of this, we can find hope.  Because people like you are reading this commentary.  People like you are searching for the truth, and they're finding it.  And I don't mean just "old people".  The world is seeing a vibrant, young crowd try to rise up and reclaim their heritage.  This group, who ought to feel somewhat swindled because of the watered down faith they've been handed their whole lives, is preparing for a cultural war.

And that connection between spirituality and dogma, that organic relationship between god and man, will start to grow again.