Fr Ennio Mantovani SVD 9 My Personal Journey I was brought up in the pre-Vatican II spirituality that was grace-centred. We were urged to acquire grace and the sacraments were the main sources of it. That spirituality was coloured by the individualistic Western philosophy and culture of the time and, on the other hand, stressed very much the dichotomy spirit – matter. There was a negative attitude towards the world. In my SVD formation I was encouraged to receive the sacraments frequently in order to obtain their grace, sanctify myself and find the strength to detach myself from the world. The sacraments were seen only as sources of this salvific, personal grace. This individualistic, inward-looking understanding of and approach to the sacraments seems to continue and be prevalent even today. The New Catechism, as far as I can see, does not change significantly this inward-looking spirituality. Vatican II Individualistic vs. Altruistic Spirituality When the documents of Vat II were promulgated, as already mentioned, I was working full time with adult catechumens. What struck me in these documents was the opening of the Church to the world and to the other. Up to that point, the Church was inwardlooking, individualistic, stressing the eternal salvation of the individuals. The individual was at the centre. We missionaries were there to bring that eternal, personal salvation to as many individuals as possible. The salvation was personal; inward-looking. In the new documents, as in the life of Jesus himself, the other was at the centre and not I. Jesus is the one who renounced all his privileges, who forgot himself for us (Ph 25ff). Paul, the great missionary who boasted of imitating Christ, cared so much for others to the point of wishing to be accursed, to be cut off from Christ for the others (Rom 9:3). It is by serving my brothers and sisters that I will enter the house of the Father (Mt 25:31ff). Document on the Laity The document on the laity showed this change of position. What I call the personalistic, inward-looking spirituality gives way to an altruistic one. Salvation and sanctification do not come directly from the sacraments and their grace, but by being active in caring for others. The sacraments are expressions of faith, of one’s decision to follow Christ by continuing his mission to others. A Christian is not primarily the one who has reached the harbour of salvation, but the one who received and accepted the mandate to continue the work of Christ, to be for others. For by its very nature the Christian vocation is also a vocation to the apostolate. No part of the structure of a living body is merely passive but each has a share in the functions as well as in the life of the body. (AA 2) The document continues: All activity of the Mystical Body directed to the attainment of this goal is called the apostolate, and the Church carries it on in various ways through all her members. (Ibid) The Council is not talking about the clergy or the religious but about every Christian. Salvation and sanctification do not come directly from the sacraments and their grace, but by being active in caring for others. The sacraments are expressions of faith, of one’s decision to follow Christ by continuing his mission to others.
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