I did notice this wonderful quote from St. Francis of Assisi on Fr. Greg's blog:
We have been called to heal wounds, reunite what has fallen apart, and bring home those who have lost their way.
The same St Francis also exhorts us to preach the gospel to all people using words if we have to.
This begs the question which a lot of liberals seem to be demanding of the Traditional (and traditionalist) churches: why are we bothering with the minutiae of doctrine when we should be actively helping those in need?
It is after all a good point, and St Francis would certainly give short shrift to anyone who walks the Jerusalem-Jericho road with his nose in a book wandering past the battered form of one robbed of all he possesses. Then again, the Lord Himself would give shorter shrift.
However, it is the Anglo-Catholic, and Anglo-Papalist Churches of the early 19th Century who had some of the greatest effects amid the poor of London. Fr. Ignatius of Llantony did his best (albeit somewhat ideosyncratically) to bring back some notion of community amid some remarkable instances of preaching. The Anglo-Catholic movement has demonstrated itself not only to be an intellectual, but also deeply passionate part of the Church.
Yet the Dean of Salisbury on St Osmund's day suggested that we can be too hung up on doctrine when we should be helping people. This depends what she means, and seeing that she was quoting from Katherine Jefferts-Schori not renowned for her theological rigour, her remarks do have to be put into a better context.
Doctrine does affect the Christian's daily life. It is the Doctrine of the Church that helps us examine our consciences carefully and accurately, advises us on the Will of God in certain matters and directs us when we are lost. For the Benedictine, Doctrine provides the magnetising effect necessary to bring the unruly soul back into alignment with Christ, and with other folk. It is the subscription to the same doctrine that keeps Christians together, for in that doctrine, they can be sure they are following the authority of Christ when He bids us pray "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as it is in Heaven."
However, the C of E has lost that integrity and is splitting up, though there are many orthodox and right-believing Anglicans within the Lambeth Communion as the votes against women "bishops" indicate. In not listening to the African Churches and ploughing with the ordination of homosexual bishops, ECUSA has put the African Church into an awkward position especially when it has to minister among many Moslem communities. ECUSA has damaged the missions of its brothers and sisters in Africa by not adhering to doctrine.
This is the problem: doctrine gives the Christian parameters within which to work, and to flout what the Church teaches, preferring one's own interpretation or reinvention means that not only will one's actions be questionable, but may well scandalise another set of Christians in a remote area. This demonstrates the crucial need for Christians to be Catholic - kath-holos.
On the other hand, Christians must take great care to ensure that Doctrine never becomes too narrow, or cease to be the liberating form that it should be. Bearing in mind that Christian Doctrine must be able to free us from the oppression of the world, as soon as it becomes a case of battering folk over the head with a rule-book, then it misses the point.
Doctrine certainly provides boundaries, but limitation is not the same as oppression. The wasp banging its head repeatedly up against the window pane cries out "Oppression! Oppression! I'm being oppressed!" It however fails to realise that if only it were to fly a foot higher, it could squeeze through the fan-light. Likewise, we are limited by our sexes. Although we may try to change them, either psychologically or surgically, we can never escape from what God created us to be. He created us to be free as we are, not as we want to be, and to choose otherwise is a lack of trust in Him. Sure, it is difficult to trust God sometimes, particularly when His will departs from ours (and that ought to be vice versa, folks) but we have to accept that, just as the wasp has to accept the "oppression" of being "imprisoned" by a glass and a piece of card before it is released into the sunlight of a better world.
So St Francis says that we need to minister to all folk in their oppression. That is where true love lies, and to yoke oneself with the oppressed is an act of charity which will not go ignored by the Divine Christ. However, we need to make sure, and pray for grace, that we might discern between those who are truly oprressed and those who are railing against their limitations.
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