"In effect, an individual must possess a profound desire for truth in order to overcome the scandal of the instrument communicating it." Why the Church, Luigi Giussani, p.130
"A gold prospector would never have been daunted by the mud of the river bed where he hoped to find nuggets. Rather he would have been motivated by the probability of finding gold, not by the conditions he would have to face in order to come across it." p.131
The church has mechanisms to protect itself from "scandal of the instrument," and from the "mud in the river bed." Abbot Christopher Butler (London Tablet 14 July 1990), wrote that the church has coercive power to flush out the "scandal" and the "mud" in order to achieve the a spirit of love and an invitation to responsible behavior. At times, the church must exercise the constraint for the greater common good, to cope with individualism ("scandal," "mud" threatening to undercut societal values. An important caution from Butler is that any such constraints, should be subordinate to and in service of the basic call to accept divine love. At the heart of religion is divine and personal response invited and kindled by such love. The "scandal of the instrument" and "mud of the river bed" can be coerced so that it is repaired, reformed and restored to the right order - for the common good - which is "salvation of souls, which is must always be the supreme law in the church" (saluta animarum).
ReplyDeleteThank you for the commentary. I was/am reflecting on the muddy instruments Christ uses in conjunction with this Sunday's first reading and Gospel. Would you know if/where Msgr. Giussani has written on the priesthood, or on Clericalism, in any depth?
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