Religion & Law

Each Christian and each group of Christian select, sometimes quite unconsciously, certain themes or elements of the gospel as more important than others.  As these elements become taken in or embodied by individuals or groups, they give rise to different Christian spiritualities; they shape different forms of Christian life.  What Dorothy Day considered vital and essential in the Christian gospel was different from what most Cistercian monks, tucked away in monasteries large and small throughout the world, think is primary in Christian living.  We see in the Cistercian tradition a strong attachment to the gospel elements of the hidden life or the heavy emphasis on the biblical theme of seeking God's face.  These do not have the same importance in the life and writings of Dorothy Day and the Catholic Workers.  Day's own reading of the gospel led her to see the all-important value of love shown in direct active service to the poor (corporal works of mercy) and the importance of community.  What results from these two different selections of gospel themes are quite different, though not conflicting, approaches to living the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Thought each is very different from the other, both are equally valid and authentic expressions of the message of Jesus Christ.