Your Way of Acting Should Be Different from the World’s Way

St. Benedict, in his rule for monasteries tells monks, “Your way of acting should be different from the world’s way.” (RB 4: 20) That’s good advice for all Catholics to follow, whether living the monastic life or not. Written 1,500 years ago, it’s as relevant now as it ever was.

The Call to Courageous Witness

In fact, just consider the ongoing cultural chaos we experience. Members of the entertainment industry, public officials, and others mock our Church and our faith. Over 500 attacks on Catholic churches have been reported in the last five years. For a variety of reasons, many other attacks probably have not been reported.

And we can’t forget the recent shooting at Annunciation Catholic parish. Perhaps we need now, more than ever, to demonstrate that our way of acting is indeed different from the world’s way. Many misunderstand Christianity as strictly a passive approach to life. After all, Christ tells us to love our enemies and pray for our persecutors. But He doesn’t say we should be a doormat.

Do my faith and my trust in God give me the courage and strength to stand up for my faith—to speak the truth when needed? To be a witness to the Catholic faith outside of my parish church? Just how strong is my faith?

Setting Priorities

Our way of acting can only be different from the world’s way if we maintain a strong interior life as a foundation for our faith. This means that we maintain a daily mental prayer routine, together with frequent reception of the sacraments.

At the very least, we need to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Oblations, with reception of Holy Communion when in a state of grace. Just making it to weekly Mass will mean we’re living differently from the way of about three-fourths of self-proclaimed “Catholics.”  How often do I excuse myself from attending Sunday Mass because…

• We have non-Catholic company staying with us…
• We’re on vacation
• We’re at Aunt Emma’s and she wants to make us biscuits & gravy
• The kids have games today that we have to attend
• I had to work yesterday and must get to the yard work today…

Do I take advantage of the sacrament of penance at least monthly or more often if I’m aware of grave sin?

What’s most important to me in life right now–God, job, entertainment, hobbies…? If my top priority is not my relationship with God right now, what makes me think it suddenly would be for all eternity when this temporal life is over?

Dealing with Life’s Distractions

Our ongoing, daily routine with media, music and entertainment ought to be different from the world’s way. The world says that what’s important is steady stimulation of the senses, on demand entertainment, and stirring up our sensual desires. It’s a state of constant distraction where we don’t enter into solitude and interior silence—so we can’t listen for the voice of God.  So, how do my habits differ from, or align with, the world’s?

• What sort of media do I take into my senses—my eyes, my ears, my mind, my heart and soul?
• What do I watch on television or on streaming entertainment?
• What kind of movies do I watch?
• What do I listen to when I’m in the car?
• What kind of music do I listen to?
• What passions and emotions is my imagination stirring up in me?

Dr. Conrad Baars, a Catholic psychologist, tells us we should seek stimulation that nourishes our hearts–that feeds our need for the good, the true and beautiful. Living differently than the world, we can follow the example of Mary and the saints—and avoid exposure to the bad, the ugly, and the lies of a secular worldview that rob us of our peace.

Our Public Behavior

What about the way we comport ourselves out in the world? Rather than following what world says, do I strive to live, dress and behave, modestly? Do I practice temperance in the face of the world’s call to self-indulgence?

What kind of language do I use in expressing myself? How civil and charitable am I in my interactions–including my words, actions, and body language–with others? What about simple, good manners–old fashioned etiquette toward others?

Besides worshipping Our Lord on Sundays, do I avoid unnecessary work? Do I make it a point to not cause others to have to work on Sundays? Do I avoid shopping on Sundays, and look to eating in, instead of going out to a restaurant on Sundays?

When I do go out to eat, do I say grace before the meal? Do I say grace in the company of non-Catholics or perhaps family and friends who otherwise wouldn’t? Do I make the sign of the cross when I pray in public? 

Be Ready to Give an Explanation

Do I engage in continual, lifelong learning about our faith? Our way of acting should include ongoing spiritual formation in the Catholic faith. This includes spiritual reading of Catholic classics, avoiding those authors, including Catholics, who promote a secular worldview instead of our Biblical worldview. Becoming part of a lay group associated with a religious order (Benedictine Oblates, Secular Franciscans, etc.) can open up a path to deeper understanding of faith and spirituality through their formation programs.

As well, we can take advantage of offerings from stalwart, orthodox groups as the Avila Institute, the Augustine Institute and Ascension Press, to name just a few. Engaging in ongoing spiritual study can help us heed St Peter’s advice to:

“…Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence, keeping your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who defame your good conduct in Christ may themselves be put to shame.…” (1 Peter 3:15-16)

No One Likes a Sourpuss

Our way of acting, if we are living out our Catholic faith, really should be different from the world’s way. For one thing, we are called to be the light of the world—to reflect Christ’s light, love and peace into the darkness (cf. Mt 5:14-16). How well am I living up to that calling?

St. Teresa of Avila asked the Lord to deliver her from “sour-faced saints.”  St. Josemaría Escrivá asks, “Long face, rough manner, ridiculous appearance, unfriendly attitude. Is that how you hope to inspire others to follow Christ?” Does my behavior reflect the peace of joy of Christ? Does it inspire others to know and follow Christ, or does it push them away?

Spiritual Growth Plan

In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ gave us the Beatitudes. Living out the Beatitudes can help assure us we that we truly are living different from the world’s way. The Beatitudes do not resonate with the world’s way. They contradict most worldly wisdom, but they offer eternal salvation in the next life and peace in this life, even with its chaos.

The Beatitudes tell us to order our priorities properly—with spiritual goods being of a higher order than material goods. What’s seemingly most important to me in my life right now? What’s the focal point of my current concerns, anxieties and worries? Do I have any part of my life that I haven’t given over to God?

Can I take this to prayer and ask God for help with the attachments that are getting in the way of my relationship with Him? Do I have a spiritual director and a regular confessor who can help me connect the spiritual dots in all of this? It can take time and effort in responding to God’s grace, but as God told St. Paul, His grace is sufficient for us. Indeed, it is sufficient for our way of acting to be different from the world’s way.

“Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” (James 4:4)