I’ve been reading a lot of the writings of the Church Fathers recently. This is all thanks to a new version, edited by a parishioner of mine, of the seminal work of Armand-Jean de le Bouthillier Rancé. Rancé is the little known (and apparently little appreciated) founder of the Trappists. This new two volume work titled Back to Asceticism has really got me thinking about the fundamental disconnect between the way we see the faith today and the way the Fathers saw the faith in their day. It’s got me thinking that we’ve approached Christian formation in a way that lacks continuity with the Patristic Era.
Bear in mind that my thoughts are not yet complete on this topic. In some ways, my articles on this topic will be about working out the thoughts that have been growing in my mind. And indeed they are growing. As I read Rancé’s work I’m convicted. I’m not sure what the end product will be. However, I do know that something is happening. Something is changing. I’m not too surprised at this. After all, the life and writings of this holy abbot inspired the creation of many holy monks.
At root, the problem, as I currently see it, is that we have been focusing our energies on forming people to be good, intelligent, intentional, and motivated members of the Body of Christ. One might immediately ask why this would be a problem. The problem is that the virtues that we have imparted are those virtues that make us into good citizens of the Church and good citizens in the world. However, the Fathers do not see this as the purpose of Christian formation. Rather, it seems that the Fathers envision Christian formation as something that prepares a person for martyrdom even if that martyrdom never actually comes.
This is a completely different orientation to formation than what I’ve seen, experienced, and participated in. Preparing someone to be ready to die for the faith seems radically different than preparing someone to simply live the faith. I’ll provide one consideration for how these orientations are fundamentally different from one another.
If one is preparing for martyrdom then the urgency to practice mortifications becomes understandable. Both the body and the soul have to be disciplined in such a way that they are neither tender nor soft. This is so that both the mind and body are able to persevere in the trials of being made a martyr. If one is simply training to live the faith with only the vague sense that there are those who die for the faith, then the practice of mortifications might seem no different than a type of masochism. I would agree. Physical mortification has no place is civil, bourgeois, middle-class, Christian society. After all, the middle-class technocratic dream of the last 70 years has been fueled by a strong combination of and yearning for an ever greater amount of efficiency and comfort. The ascetical life, in many ways, seems to be oriented against this vibe.
What does this mean concretely? I don’t know. This is why I would like to explore the topic more. As I keep reading I’m sure that my thoughts about this will develop. However, already five years ago I had identified the need for the restoration of a penitential spirit in, at least, Catholic male spirituality. Various vanity versions of this have shown up recently. However, I’m wondering if it is time to return to some deeper roots and see what the Hermandad (a.k.a. the Penitentes) from my home state can teach us about the centrality of mortifications in the Christian life.
