The Forked Flame #4

In continuing to seek a path to God's goodness and Mercy, I turn to an introductory video on the Pillars Series in which Fr. Robert Barron, emphasizes the need for us to pay constant attention to the fact Faith is a journey ordered by God with both organic and mechanical components.

Mechanical, because in moving from blessing to blessing we must literally pedal our way up the hills of life very much as we do when riding a bike. With a few exceptions. For one thing, instead of using tools and oils to help increase the mechanical performance of the bike, we use Sacraments like that of Reconciliation to give our spiritual bike added momentum when we begin to lose our sense of direction.
"Confession can help you get up the hills of Life" Robert Barron said.
In like manner, we can gather extra incentive from The Catechism of the Catholic Church which Barron says "has mechanical bits and pieces" --all of which help order us toward the fullness of the Christian life.

But this systematic nature of our Faith journey is only one half of our progress toward the end, he cautions. Our Faith Journey is also definitely 'organic' says Barron, and like any organism, has life. He likens our Faith to a living entity whose warmth and life flows directly from the mystical body of Christ --ordering our Faith journey toward a supernatural life of Grace. So then our Faith is not 'merely a system but also a living thing'.  This discussion seems to lead naturally into the writings of St. John Paul ll and our Supreme Pontiff, Francis, in which they convince us that belief in God is not at all opposed to the realm of science; but rather the "full manifestation of the Christian life depends on a synthesis of science (reason)  and belief in a vibrant living God who in many respects remain hidden from human eyes".

Our notable Church Fathers beautifully link concepts like the 'light of Faith' and the 'truth of love' which they insist are not extraneous to the material world because, in reality, these principles are lived out both in body and in spirit.  They point out, beautifully, that the light of Faith is an "incarnate light radiating from the luminous life of Jesus", lighting up our material world and seducing us into "an ever widening path of harmony and understanding". St. John Paul ll and Pope Benedict urge us to internalize the message that "the gaze of science  benefits from Faith" in the sense that Faith calls on the scientist to remain aware of every aspect of reality "in all its inexhaustible richness". So, instead of being satisfied only with scientific formulae scientists can, with Faith, push their findings beyond the boundaries of the laboratory.
This Saint, together with our Holy Father, want us to convince others that Faith has the ability to awaken our sometimes dormant sense of wonder at the deep, deep miracle of creation to shatter the confines of reason and "shed greater light on a world which lends itself to scientific investigation.": The Light of Faith --Supreme Pontiff Francis; p. 39.
In summary, then, our Faith Life is:
1. Organic (based on a living entity -Christ and a supernatural life of grace).
2. Mechanic (based on an order of seven Sacraments to help us get from one point to another as we journey to our final destination).
3. Sydtemstic (guided by a sprit-filled, divinely-inspired Catechism that tells us what choices to make when confronted with conflicting messages). These answers are based on a set of laws that have remained, essentially, unchanging- since the beginning of creation. The introductory chapter of Pillars by Robert Barron teaches us how to access and credit the materials in the Catholic Catechism, termed: the "Holy Grail of our Roman Catholic Faith" by a notable Church Father.