The title of this post comes from the words of Psalm 45:11, “vacate et videte quoniam ego sum Deus exaltabor in gentibus exaltabor in terra”; Joseph Pieper places these words at the beginning of his essay on leisure as the basis of culture. Pope Benedict XVI seems to have been thinking along the lines of this verse during this past Sunday’s Angelus address, in which he “cautioned against constant activism, saying that an excessively busy schedule can lead to ‘hardness of heart.’”

An “excessively busy schedule” isn’t quite the point, though, as much as is the need for and the primacy of prayer and contemplation in our daily lives. The report from CWNews continues:

The temptation to lose perspective is particularly dangerous for those who serve the Church, the Holy Father said. He stressed that the “primacy of prayer and contemplation” must be maintained, especially by those who feel the pull of “important and complex missions of service to the Church.”

This reminded me of the Prologue in Thomas Merton’s The Ascent to Truth (1951). Merton writes and quotes from Pius XII’s Menti Nostrae: “It is certainly not possible, or even desirable, that every Christian should leave the world and enter a Trappist monastery. Nevertheless, the sudden interest of Americans in the contemplative life seems to prove one thing quite clearly: that contemplation, asceticism, mental prayer, and unworldliness are elements that most need to be rediscovered by Christians of our time. There is little danger that we will neglect apostolic labour and exterior activity. Pope Pius XII in a recent Exhortation drew attention to the fact that external activity had perhaps been overstressed in some quarters, and reminded Catholics that their personal sanctity and union with Christ in a deep interior life were the most important things of all. His Holiness writes:

We cannot abstain from expressing our pre-occupation and our anxiety for those who on account of the special circumstances of the moment have become so engulfed in the vortex of external activity that they neglect the chief duty [of the Christian], his own sanctification. We have already stated publicly in writing that those who presume that the world can be saved by what has been rightly called “the heresy of action” must be made to exercise better judgment.

The exhortation actually says “of the priest”, but the point is the same, only Pius XII is emphasizing the need for priests especially to give priority to the interior life.

Ah, the good old days, when the pontiffs could say things like “must be made to exercise better judgment.” I’m pretty sure doing that would violate a clause in Dignitatis Humanae, but maybe John Boy can help me on that one.

At any rate, since Merton drew my attention to Menti Nostrae of Pius XII, I haven’t forgotten about that “heresy of action.” Doubtless, my friends can tell you that I’ve never particularly evinced symptoms of this heresy in my own life, but being free from it, I’m able to condemn it with all the more acuity in others. (That was said tongue in cheek, in case my readers have missed the sarcasm.)

Finally, a few words on this same point from The Sinner’s Guide by the Venerable Louis of Granada:

It is also the duty of prudence to introduce moderation into all our works, even the holiest, and to preserve us from exhausting the spirit by indiscreet labor. . . . Our exterior labors should never cause us to lose sight of interior duties, nor should devotion to our neighbor make us forget what we owe to God. If the Apostles, who possessed such abundant grace, deemed it expedient to renounce the care of temporal things in order to devote themselves to the great work of preaching and other spiritual functions, it is presumption in us to suppose that we have strength and virtue capable of undertaking many arduous labors at one time.

From the Acts of the Apostles, the passage to which Venerable Louis alludes:

Then the twelve calling together the multitude of the disciples, said: It is not reasonable that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.

So, my friends, beware the Heresy of Action! One might even say that the Cornell Society for a Good Time was founded for the explicit purpose of combating a nasty strain of this heresy which had grown up among the good Catholic children at Cornell University. Far be it from our noble president, Ambrosius, to let any heresy go unextirpated and straight away, our Society came into existence. I don’t know how many we were able to save, but some entered the Church, some drank for the first time with us, some were forced to listen to us discuss poetry, a very polished air piano was played and so forth.

go to main page