The Wisdom Conundrum

Are We Missing the Point in Our Faith Journey? I fear many are!

In a recent episode of "The Catholic Experience," I got into a topic that’s been gnawing at me — the juxtaposition between wisdom and foolishness, holiness and hypocrisy, within the active Catholic community. If you’ve ever thought that living the Catholic faith is a matter of just going through the motions then you might want to keep reading, because I think we’re all missing a little piece of the bigger puzzle. 

First  let me take you with me down memory lane—my younger self, and my matured self while we ask the uncomfortable question: Are Catholics today genuinely seeking wisdom and holiness? 

I started the episode going over my history as a Catholic apologist and evangelizer because while I started out as a defender of the faith, I gradually turned my attention to my fellow Catholics. And once I was more focused on them I began seeing things that surprised me—not always pleasantly.

The Rookie Years 

Rewind to young me, way before the age of social media ‘events', podcasts, or fit bits. Picture a pint-sized version of me, walking home from the movie theater with my older brother and sister (I think we saw Indiana Jones) tripping outside my parish church, and thinking, "Hey God, there’s a glitch in the matrix because I tripped, fell, and scraped my knee right outside a holy place. That should be impossible." That’s how literal and enthusiastic my young self was about faith and my connection to God and to holy places (i.e. a church). Ah, the innocence of youth. Isn’t it charming?

Fast forward, and you’ve got teen me — a raging pit bull of Catholic apologetics. I mean, who else starts theological debates with Protestant ministers at 13? Feel free to picture me, Bible in one hand, catechism in the other. 

It wasn’t just protestants. I was defending the faith against opposers to the Church, everywhere. Pagans, secularists, atheists and an assortment of others. It became normal for me to defend my brother and sister Catholics from those who would try to shake-rattle-and-roll them away from the Catholic Church. But as I grew older my mission and desires shifted.

From Zealous Defender to Observant Evangelizer 

Gradually, life matured and “wisened” me. Somewhere along the line, I transitioned from defending the faith from external foes to focusing on the growth and edification of my brothers and sisters in the Catholic faith — helping my Catholic brothers and sisters, including myself, become saints—to finish the race strong. Because, at the end of the day, as I said in the episode, "The point of faith isn't to act holy -- it is to become holy." I wanted to help others to get there.

Yet, sometimes (okay, perhaps more often than I'd like to admit), this task is perplexing

Catholics and the Pursuit of Wisdom 

Now we go into the point and substance of the episode.

The heart of the matter is this: are we, as Catholics, truly valuing wisdom over worldly gains, similar to the way Solomon did in the good Book of Wisdom? In our faith journey, are we letting pride and pretense shadow our grasp of genuine holiness and virtue? I've noticed there's a lot of chest-thumping over orthodoxy, but isn’t holiness the real end goal here? It's easy to equate ticking all the right boxes with being holy, but trust me, it's not that simple.  Orthodoxy, as I always say, is the indispensable means to the end. It is not the end in itself. Holiness is.

Light-Hearted Truths and Hefty Questions 

In the course of the episode, I ask some "deep thoughts by Catholic Adventurer," and let me tell you, they’re zingers. Like, "How dare anyone turn the faith into a political party?" or "For heaven’s sake, why is even basic humility so, so difficult for people?" When did humility become rarer than gold at a miner’s convention? 

Anyway, I’m inviting you to take your faith more seriously, all while practicing the art of being joyfully imperfect. Meaning: go easy on yourself when you stumble, as we all do. Take solace in the tiny steps of holiness and don’t feel discouraged when it appears you’re barely making progress toward holiness. As I said in the episode, an inch closer to holiness for us is of the value of 1000 miles from God’s perspective.  A little is actually a lot. So don’t lose hope if you feel you’re barely moving forward.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Just like on the journey of faith, the small actions, the little choices to be kind, compassionate, and true, add up mightily. Remember, the road to sainthood is less about being flawless and more about consistency and tenacity along the path to perfection and holiness. God will get you there, you just have to cooperate (keep trying. 

There's so much to unpack in this episode. I hope you give it a listen, and that you enjoy it and it brings you even a half-inch­ closer to holiness.

Thank you for tuning into "The Catholic Experience" and for joining me on this adventure. Until next time, strive for wisdom, aim for holiness, and don't forget, take the journey seriously, but don’t take yourself overly seriously. God be with you all.

You can find the episode on my website (Best experience, with transcript and chapters) as well as on iTunes and Spotify and anywhere else you get your podcasts. An embedded player is below.