True Christian “traditionalists” must honor the whole Judeo-Christian tradition, and very few actually do. Instead of the wisdom of Judaism>2000 years of Orthodoxy and Catholicism>Protestantism’s many major contributions, they just choose one little part of that full Tradition which they are familiar with. It has been said that most traditionalism is “the dead faith of the living”, just securing yourself now by quoting the past, with little first hand knowledge or experience yourself.
True Tradition however, is “the living faith of the dead” (which lives on and on!). True Tradition honors that there is one big perennial truth that keeps showing itself in ever new ways. “In every generation, she (Sophia-Wisdom) passes into holy souls, and produces friends of Gods and prophets”. (The Book of Wisdom 7:27) Remember, Moses, Jesus, and Paul all broke with their own group’s local, recent traditionalism to reconnect with the Bigger Picture. And the small picture traditionalists all hated them for it. “Why do your disciples not honor the traditions of our ancestors?” the pious scribes and Pharisees say to Jesus (Matthew 15:2). The pattern never changes.
Tradition and Traditionalism
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wisdom 7:27 9 (Although she is one, she can do all things,
and she renews everything while herself perduring;
Passing into holy souls from age to age,
she produces friends of God and prophets.n)
I find at times I want to station my thought and beliefs and solidify myself for then there is no interior work to be done to be able to see the spirit within. It may be to know trurth would be able to know God as God is in Jesus Christ but even those 12 who lived with Him got it wrong at times. The gift may be He gives us all a flame of the light thru the spirit within. Maybe that is why HE SAYS WHEN 2 OR 3 GATHER IN MY NAME.Could it be community is the really only way to find our Lord. Once I go to my soul and find the flame given me by my God I should share it with the rest of His Creation. Just a thought I pondered after reading you blog. Your Friend G1
Thank you Fr. Rohr! You are absolutely right. Perhaps the “threat” to some traditionalists is when “wisdom” is referenced. For some, it often connotes for them something that’s “new age” or “feminist”. Your perspective speaks to the heart at what has disturbed some Roman Catholics with the implementation of the new translation of the liturgy. It’s not rooted in true tradition, but only in one aspect of it, namely, the Latin language.
Friends of Gods? Typo?
As a Christian I fell in love with Old testament and found my “frequency” in Torah. My parents, Lord rest their souls, were Fransican missionaries with “their part” of tradition. My Dad would flip if he saw where I’ve been lately. LOL
There are differences in the definition of justification between catholics and jews.
I for one take the view “Oh, he’s a saint, good for him.” or ” Oh, he’s a saint, too bad for him.” That is, he remains a saint to the end, he can’t blow it, but he can make himself quite miserable denying integrity.
Something from my favorite teacher:
Every tzadik is in a way both saint and sovereign, not only able to resist temptation but also capable of boundless giving as an act of grace as well as of control over all manner of situations. -Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz
“Remember, Moses, Jesus, and Paul all broke with their own group’s local, recent traditionalism to reconnect with the Bigger Picture. And the small picture traditionalists all hated them for it. “Why do your disciples not honor the traditions of our ancestors?” the pious scribes and Pharisees say to Jesus (Matthew 15:2). The pattern never changes.”
Exactly. I’d question how deep faith is and how “traditional” someone is if they are not the outsider, not repsectfully challenging the church, or marching to their own drum — which is the drum of Someone Else.
Thank you
Here in South Africa there are 11 official languages so you can imaging some of the challenges. Nelson Mandela once said “Speak in a language a man understands and you speak to his head, speak in his own language and you speak to his heart.
Those stuck in tradition often like to use traditional languaging like “It says” and “In my day” – pure headspeak.
I also wonder if a lot of the “problems” with the Vatican come from this languaging issue, many different home languages and Latin as a learnt language. Again too much headspeak.
Wow, Richard, that’s amazing! Bless you for the way you open things up for us.
To become such a person, one has to develop equanimity – not to worry about what the ‘significant others’ think, whether praise or criticism. Such ability takes much training through the guidance of the spirit or and also, at times, through grace from God – who can do things instantly, which is magic and I love God’s transforming magic so!
What does “must honor the whole of the Judea-Christian tradition” mean in practice? I focus here on the words “honor” and “whole” and I think of the range of Christians across the world’s social strata and continents. How is it possible to honor the whole and should we feel “less than” if we don’t/can’t? If I recall correctly the RC Church says that Catholics, guided by the Holy Spirit, can dispute but not reject the Tradition. I have understood that as meaning the freedom – in good conscience to prayerfully question. I see that as a workable definition of “honoring the whole” while still being open to seeing how the one big perennial truth keeps showing itself in ever new ways within me and more broadly in the world. .
Like texts on systematic theology; 1% about the ineffable and 99% defining it. Not that there’s anything wrong with theology or a systems approach to anything. But when a field as broad life is divided and taken piece meal is it any wonder that power and control win out over compassion and understanding?
Thank you for this beautiful meditation and the oddly comforting reminder that the right path is naturally discomforting. This blog is becoming a favorite oasis of mine I can visit in the middle of my work-day. We are so blessed to see the pattern; I pray this pattern becomes apparent to more and more souls.
I think we’re all a bunch of ‘scared little kids’ masquerading like adults. It’s the fear that overwhelms and is never acknowledged or faced, so I have it retreat into my cocoon of safety, whatever that may be – traditionalism, fundamentalism – any stricture that I hold onto and that, mistakenly, I think holds onto me. It’s only in the acknowledging and falling into the abyss so to speak and knowing that I don’t know anything, can’t control anything, AND am not in charge; it’s the giving in – oh yeah, that’s right, it’s You, God, not me! Whew! What a relief! Then the scared little kid can grow into adulthood and let go of the barbed wire that binds – reminds me of the two adults, British and German, in the movie, “War Horse”, who unbound the horse from the wire. We need to unbind ourselves from our own shackles.
thanks for the post and especially thank you for the wonderful word pictures that illuminate the post so well. shalom
I learned about traditionalism when I lead the RCIA for many years. The team people who joined me were often traditionalism-ists with no sense of encountering Christ in their day-to-day lives. Once I asked a question of the group, “Give an example of where you have encountered Christ.” Most couldn’t, but two said they remembered visiting a church in Europe that had altars in niches and the candles flickering on the walls of the niches gave them an overwhelming sense of God. Perhaps they did. But when I came to the RCIA catechumen, she said she probably understood wrongly what was asked, but she met Christ a few days ago when she called her Mother after not talking to her for about a year (because the woman was an alcoholic) and that she was now prepared to let her Mother meet her children. I almost burst into tears and I locked eyes with the priest who was present and I could see that he too had the same look. Alleluia!
“Breaking with” is never easy and always involves a cost (approval, security, affection, belonging) and sometimes a heavy one. But having heard the Shepherd’s beautiful, true voice, is there any other way but to follow- even to new communities and pastures?
Thank you for your quote from Wisdom 7:27. I am grateful for the prophets Sophia-Wisdom has blessed in my generation- particularly Martin Luther King who we honor on Monday. God bless…
Amen! Right on Richard!
I am presently looking at the church in some ways like I look at myself … I have been pretty (very) slow to change … it took the church 350 years to apologize to the family of Galileo. I think I too hold on to matters out of fear … lack of the known … fear of what I can’t touch upon or control.
On the other hand the church seemed to embrace Mother Theresa who live and worked in a land that was not primarily Christian … and didn’t set out to make converts. I’ll bet there were some in the church that held that she should have done a better job of getting more converts … I think it is a good matter that she just loved and taught others, mostly her sisters, to tap into Jesus for this love and then be a part of giving it to the world in which she lived.
Being a good and secure anchor is what we all want from tradition … that it doesn’t seem to be all knowing and all wise all of the time reveals it’s human nature to all of us.
As typified by the recent ‘new’ translation of the Mass?
I just finished reading a biography of John Brown – “Midnight Rising.” In that time when slavery was embraced by many and condoned even by churches, he was able to see how evil it was and was determined to abolish it. When he started, he drew inspiration from mostly Old Testament figures, especially Gideon and as his cause became more hopeless, from Samson. Although it is true that he chose only part of the rich tradition – that which justified violence in a just cause – as the time drew near for his execution, he became more inspired by our tradition in its fullness, especially by Jesus and the martyrs.
He had a great influence in changing the thinking about slavery in this country, especially in the north.
The tradition that I find most repugnant is that unshakeable traditon that rejects all traditions.
I love the concept of one truth, one Wisdom, one Love that expresses in infinite ways and forms. I love being surprised by God!
Dear Richard
Greetings from the cold sunny day in Port Perry ON Canada. Our interfaith weekly contempation group begins the new year with a read of your latest book “Breathing Underwater”. You are a big hit with my Protestant brothers and sisters!
Larry Corrigan
Ciao Rohr! Thank you for your daily meditations! God likes to repeat himself. He repeats phrases and concepts in the Bible and he repeat the same pattern… He even sent his One and Only Son but still we don’t get it?!?
It seems that it’s so difficult to love each other that we always end up faking this with some sort of tradition.
Richard, It is painful to watch a cluster of saints go through their ways. Listen, I have issue with the fact that awareness is an essence of the nines.
As one candle brightens a dark room, your candle is a floodlight to them in a way you don’t understand. Sooner in understanding than others, younger perhaps than you think.
Reblogged this on Persona and commented:
This one continues the former comment on conservatism. Worth reading.