External faith markers should reflect what’s inside

     Lately, I’ve been thinking of my great-grandfather, who passed away my sophomore year of high school. There are moments in life that are frozen in our memories, moments that we will always remember with exact accuracy—seeing him for the last time and waking up the next morning to find out he had passed is one of those moments.

     Earlier this month, Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York posted a blog about external markers of faith and “noted that scholars of religion report that such exterior marks of membership help make a religion cohesive and attractive.” These external markers include abstinence from meat on Fridays—a recently re-instated custom of the bishops of England—genuflection, holy water, feast days, devotion, frequent confessions, just to name a few. These markers are by no means the essence of our faith, but they are parts of our Catholic identity.

     People are leaving the Church and the Catholic Church has been thinking of ways to draw them back, most popularly with the Catholics Come Home Campaign. The target audience should be, I think, the youth and young adult population—what do they want? A sure sign of faith, holiness and devoutness was present at the World Youth Day events in Madrid—Masses were packed, young adults were on their knees in devotion, silently adoring in spite of the tumultuous weather. Pope Benedict XVI left those young adults with the charge to be guiding lights of the faith. Perhaps what is needed is to ignite the light and fire of our faith.

     When we look at religious people in our lives or even look at the saints, we see not only their passion and devout belief in their faith, but we see their external markers. My great-grandfather was a very religious man—he always had a rosary in his hand, pocket or somewhere nearby. He was always praying, even until his death. I remember going to their home after school and on the weekends and one of the memories that always sticks out to me is my great-grandparents praying the rosary together. They always went to Mass every Sunday on every day of obligation and they had one of the best St. Joseph’s altars in New Orleans East. My great-grandfather was an usher, still kept his Latin prayer book from when he was a young altar server, and I’m sure that he and my great-grandmother combined instilled their devout faith into my mother.

     There are many examples among us of people like my great-grandfather—there are people that I know at my parish church who display such fervent external markers of their faith in every portion of our lives. But internal markers are also important—despite our actions, we must also adhere fervently to the faith inside. External signs should portray our inner fire, our inner belief in the faith. We need to re-educate our youth and young adults about their faith so that they know it and believe it. We need to re-confirm our own beliefs in our faith—how many of us know the difference between ‘sanctifying’ and ‘actual’ grace? Perhaps we all need a bit of a faith tune-up.

     Fall is a season of change—all of the external markers tell us so: the leaves change colors, the weather changes from warm to cool. This fall, we should really practice discernment in our faith lives. Are we displaying the external signs of our Catholic identity? And if not, perhaps the real reason is the lack of an inner fire, an inner understanding. Go back to the Catechism (or the YouCat!), talk to your priest. This is a wonderful time for learning, particularly since many parishes are beginning workshops or teaching about the new translation for the Mass. Ask the questions about your faith that you’ve been doubting, questioning or confused about. Become a student of your faith.

     Heather Bozant can be reached at [email protected].