At the start of the year, I set a goal to seek and welcome peace into my life in whatever form God willed. Since then, my spiritual journey has been focused on forgiving the past and discovering my authentic self. However, it hadn't yet occurred to me what authenticity means until I picked up Rediscovering Catholicism by Matthew Kelly.
Kelly writes excellent titles about faith, and it is because of his work Perfectly Yourself that I picked up spiritual titles again this year. In Rediscovering, Kelly talks about authenticity and discipline as two ideals fading from modern society, and it led me to question both ideas.
How is authenticity realized in people? Is it similar to purpose where once we find it, we find contentment and follow it until the end? Or is it ever changing as we age and experience more in life, altering what we believe is the truth of who we are and what we choose to represent?
This is where discipline comes into play. Our beliefs are directly tied to our discipline. It is fine to say a person believes in God, but when they find excuses to not attend service and skip out on prayer, how much of that belief truly defines them? Wearing a cross or tattooing a Bible verse does not entail that a person will be recognized by Jesus when they die, just as the Pharisees wouldn't be recognized by him despite their public offerings.
Faith and action must go together. Belief will not sustain on its own, just as charitable actions without faith with not provide life after death on its own. Jesus prayed and offered His services; if we are expected to follow His example, we, too, must do both.
I hope my authentic self will be true and right. For those who know me, they would say I talk about my faith, but I also talk about video games and comic book characters. Both sides make up who I am, but my discipline determines which make up my being. If I am disciplined in playing video games every day but do not attend Mass each week, which side of me is actually authentic in my soul?
Discipline is defined as "control gained by enforcing obedience or order; orderly or prescribed conduct or pattern of behavior" (Merriam-Webster). The more disciplined we are in certain actions, the more authentic those actions become to us individually and as a society or community. What does society view as enforced obedience or order? Right now, it is Individualism, Hedonism, and Minimalism, all of which go against the mission Jesus brought to the world (Kelly 17-20). If we want to be disciplined Christians, we must choose to go against these beliefs and return to true faith: attending service, reading the Bible, praying, and participating in charity.
If I am to become my authentic self, I need to be disciplined in my beliefs. I need to follow the beliefs that will better myself, not the ones that only please me or make my life easier. Authenticity is not easy to discover, but I believe it's worth it.
My Lord, instill in me a disciplined heart. May I seek to worship You above all else. I plead that the world come to You in masses for Your love, forgiveness, and discipline, the things so absent from our world. May You remind us, in Your Way, the true way of life. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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