Religion That is Pure and Undefiled

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world. –James 1:27

I remember when I heard this Scripture verse for the first time, and I mean really heard it in my heart. Pure religion means actively caring for the orphan in their affliction and in their distress. That means that I have a responsibility to care for those in need, especially the most vulnerable like an orphan. It was in this verse that I discovered a calling to become licensed to foster/adopt and a calling to recognize the widow in my midst that needs love and attention.

Notice that James says in their affliction. Affliction means suffering or pain which suggests that caring for them is probably not going to be easy. In fact, they may be the most challenging people in our lives. But that doesn’t exempt us from the call to help them if we can.

James’ verse reminds me that I can’t hide behind novenas, rosaries, a private prayer life, penances, and my perfect vision of a Catholic family life without any regard for the vulnerable. I have to live the Gospel in very real ways that may not be the most comfortable – like welcoming a distressed child into my home, being a friend to the widow that God inevitably puts in my life, and caring for the vulnerable in my midst like the poor. I have to stretch out my hand further than my home and circle of family and friends. 

This is what real and pure religion is! Any other form of religiosity simply doesn’t cut it.

There’s another part of this verse that is equally important: I have to keep myself unstained and uncorrupted by the world. That is also a tall order in secular life which is consumed with things that could stain us such as anxieties, troubles, illnesses, sins, and so on. How exactly do we do that? 

Some think it means homeschooling their children and cloistering themselves and their families from the world. Living in a bubble. I’m afraid that more and more devout Catholics are thinking this way. I certainly understand doing this is you cannot afford Catholic schools for your kids and have the gifts and desire to homeschool. But if you just want to separate yourselves from the world and the people in it that could stain your kids and family, I'm not sure. Maybe it works until inevitably you have to go out into the world to work and really have to live in the dirt of life, then how do you and they cope? At some point, the bubble bursts!

Moreover, we have to teach ourselves and our kids how to keep focused on the right things instead of the wrong ones while still living in a tainted world. We don’t create a capsule of perfection to remain unstained because we can only do that for so long. It's not a sustainable way of living and it keeps us estranged from caring for those oppressed by the world. We should learn how to live wisely and faithfully in imperfection because we are meant to be disciples that are in the world and help change the world!

We keep our eyes, ears, and hearts focused on the good, true, and beautiful things of God in the midst of the problems. When our eyes, ears, and hearts inevitably get distracted, we recognize it and turn them back to the good, true, and beautiful…over and over again. We don’t focus on the anxiety, the negative, the problems of our life or world, or the political strife. We acknowledge it's there, but don’t let ourselves become tainted by it. We continue to live as joyfully and happily as we can, seeing God’s goodness in our lives.

Both of these are linked. The more charitable and caring we are to the most vulnerable, the more we are living the Gospel truly and the more we are likely to be unstained by the world because we are immersed in the things that God cares about.

May your religion be more of what James says today.