“For they preach but they do not practice”
There are many sayings about acting the same way you speak. “Practice what you preach,” “walk the walk,” “put your money where your mouth is,” and many more, but do we really know what that means? Are we living our Catholic Faith according to what we are saying?
What does “practice what you preach” mean? In the Gospel reading, Jesus is speaking of the words and actions of the Pharisees and scribes. The Pharisees and scribes were the guardians of the Mosaic Law (Law of Moses) and although they could recite it backwards and forwards, they themselves did not live out the law as they should.
What do I practice and preach as a Catholic? As a Catholic, we practice the faith that Jesus Christ gave us. We preach the Gospel as Christ instructed; “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.” (Mk 16:15) As Catholics we are called to a life of prayer, belief (faith) and charity (morals). We are to live what we believe and believe what we pray. Jesus left with us a Church, which gives us our prayers, liturgy, doctrine and morals. We practice a life of prayer so that we have the courage to preach the faith and morals to the world and live the faith and morals we are preaching.
What does the following quote tell us about practicing what we preach? “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried” [1]
How do I practice it? We must build up to practicing it everyday. When we learn and master anything, we must practice to get it down. It is not good enough to just practice our faith on Sundays and then go into the world and not live it out. We must be good examples of our Catholic faith. We do this by being humble of heart.
List and discuss other ways to practice what we believe in our Catholic faith. Below is a summary of Pope Emeritus Benedict’s World Youth Day message to the young people and steps that can be taken to practice the faith. Steps 1-4 are focused on practice while five is on preaching. [2]
1. Find out who we are. We ask Who am I? We have to ask the questions on our heart.
2. Christ as the answer. We ask Who are You? The Gospel is central.
3. Seek Christ? He gave us the Church so we could find him. Prayer, Liturgy, Sacraments, etc.
4. The Way of the Christian is the Way of the Cross. We are an offering (joy and suffering)
5. Go out to all nations. Participate in the New Evangelization.
How do I preach it? Preaching as Christians does not mean we have to stand on the street corner and shout Scripture at the top of our lungs. It means that at every moment in our lives, with every thought, word, and deed, we must adhere and believe in our Christian faith. If we truly believe in Christ, we will have no choice but to live out what we proclaim.
What if we do not live out what we preach? Then we are seen as hypocrites; someone who has no will or strength to live out what we say. For example, as a country, we say we believe in the right to life in the Declaration of Independence, yet we kill the unborn. We see many people saying one thing, then turning around and doing the exact opposite. We still pray for them and love them, but we must not look to them as an example to live by. The only perfect example to live by is Jesus and Mary.
Discuss the ways you live out what Christ and the Church preaches. How are you doing this? Discuss the ways you are not living out what Christ and the Churches preach. How can you change this?
We must remember that what we preach should simply be the same voice as Christ and His Church as Saint Paul says, “we proclaim Christ crucified” (1 Corinthians 1:23). When asked what he thought about a matter regarding faith and morals, Saint Augustine replied, “I think as the Church thinks.”
If a Pope or Bishop is bad, do I still follow them? As we know, there have been popes in the past who led very sinful lives, but that does not mean we should leave our Catholic faith. In fact, there has never been a Pope, yes even the bad ones, who has taught in error regarding faith and morals, and the Church had to go back and correct it. When Jesus looked to the chair of Moses, He still gave it a place of honor and respect. Likewise, the chair of St. Peter is to be given honor and respect. If a Pope or Bishop were to do something contrary to faith and morals, and asked us to follow it that is against the truth of the Church’s faith and morals then we do not have to adhere to that. However, if one in authority is living a sinful life, we are to do and observe all they ask of us, but not to follow in their example. Another saying for this is, “do as I say, not as I do.” While a person may be living a sinful life that does not mean the Church itself is sinful, and thus we should never leave Her.
Padre Pio was a Franciscan priest who also received the stigmata (wounds of Christ). Once he reprimanded a friend of his who was badmouthing a Bishop. When we are quick to speak ill of a priest, bishop, or even the Holy Father, we should learn humility. Before we point the finger at someone, we should know we might have skeletons in our closet as well. When Saint Francis of Assisi was asked how he would act when he encountered a priest accused of a sinful life, he answered, “If I were to meet at the same time some saint coming down from heaven and any poor little priest, I would first pay my respects to the priest and proceed to kiss his hands first. I would say, ‘Ah, just a moment St. Lawrence, because this person’s hands handle the Word of Life and possess something that is more than human. These hands have touched my Lord, and no matter what they be like, they could not soil Him or lessen His virtue . . . To honor the Lord, honor His minister . . . He can be bad for himself, but for me he is good.” [3]
[1] G.K. Chesterton
[2] Source: http://www.headlinebistro.com/en/columnists/welborn/082411.html
[3] Source: http://stfrancisspeaks.blogspot.com/2010/01/st.html