Should we be pointing fingers at ourselves?

Bishops are blamed for the vocations crisis and for the failure to uphold (or even teach) orthodoxy within their dioceses; they are also blamed for failing to take the appropriate action with regards to the sex scandals and to errant priests.

No doubt they are responsible for many of the problems facing the Church.

Still, we should be pointing fingers at ourselves for our lukewarmness. It has been noted that there is a correlation between declining "religiosity" and "economic progress"; but perhaps it would be better to say that many of those living in industrial and post-industrial economies have become slaves of their appetites, seeking comfort and pleasure and a long life, in order to enjoy more. Even those of us who profess to be Christians would be better off being more abstemious, especially since our witness to Christ may demand it.

How much of our necessities, comforts, recreation and entertainment is made possible because of the burden that has been placed on others all over the world? Though we may have no guilt in the exploitation of others all over the world, do we benefit from that exploitation? And to what extent is it possible for us to extricate ourselves from this web of injustice?

Though this is the "age of the laity" how many of our faithful would be willing to observe to a greater extent the evangelical counsels and the Beatitudes? Though we may cry out against "clericalism" and demand greater participation in the life of the Church (usually through the fabrication of ministries that take away from the role of the ordained ministry), are we not content to sit back and wait for reform to come from the top?

Our bishops and priests certainly have an important leadership role to play in the life of the Church, through teaching and the administering of the Sacraments. Nonetheless, what have we sacrificed for the sake of Christ and for the good of the Church and of souls? How many of us would be willing to leave our bourgeois, suburban [or urban] lifestyles for something more simple, yet requiring more work? (And yet, at the same time, that toil would provide us with an opportunity to exercise greater charity--an opportunity that is lost if we instead pursue comfort and our own wills, believing that the American way of life is reasonable and sustainable.)

After all, the Church is not just composed of clerics, and if it is in a poor state of health and in need of reform, we must look not only at the clerics but also ourselves. If the works of the Holy Spirit are not being accomplished, perhaps we also are at fault, seeking some counterfeit form of spirituality that allows us to live our comfortable lives without critical self-reflection or guilt.