With reference to other aspects of human experience, comment on the view that monastic spirituality is an outdated concept in the 21st Century?
With reference to other aspects of human experience, comment on the view that monastic spirituality is an outdated concept in the 21st Century?
Charlotte McCaffrey Mrs McCormick
In the 21st Century, it could be said that monastic spirituality in an outdated concept. In the contemporary world we live in today, it has become increasingly difficult to live obedient to the Churches teaching. Some people would argue that there should be no real set of moral codes, and that the Church should not have such high authority. This contrasts to the Celtic Monks belief that “Nothing must be refused in their obedience; to be Christ’s true disciple…it will not be pleasing to the Lord.” In society today, people don’t see a need for a moral code. They make their own subjective decisions about what is right and wrong from them, and don’t accept religious or government law. Grove argues “People do not see the Church as having a real relevance in their everyday lives, and therefore do not recognise its authority in everyday matters.”
Some sociologists have said that it is this belief that has led to religious organizations “watering down” their beliefs to accommodate many beliefs, in the hope that this would make their religion more popular. However, in actual fact this can often lead to the religious organization becoming less popular, as they may lose the devoted members, who aren’t looking for a watered down religion. Pope Benedict said that “relativism…does not recognise anything as being certain…its highest goals are one’s own ego and desire.” Relativism is the belief that concepts such as right and wrong, goodness and badness, or truth and falsehood are not definite and that they alter in different cultures and situations. It could be described as the “cherry picking” for faith. An example of this would be ignoring the rule of no contraception, for promiscuous reasons. An other common example would be the issue of sex before marriage. The Celtic monks had a huge sense of Divine Will that had to be obeyed. Saint Columbanus reminded us of this by saying “by strict obedience shall the monk show his love of God.” Many of these traits, that the monks found so admirable, have been lost in today’s society. Monks believed that community was better than the individual, and that when we do something, it should be for the sake of the community, rather than for the sake of the individual themselves.
