For theology to be a spiritual discipline, it must be a kenotic exercise.

Some segments of the Church - some Christians - are inclined to think that theology is a matter of opinion, that one is entitled to the right of private judgement in matters of faith and morals. All this is undertaken in the name of relevance, academic enquiry, and the virtue of freedom.

Freedom, there is. But freedom presents the obligation for the pursuit of truth, not opinion. And truth - be it in propositional or relation form - must correspond to the aggregated experience of the faith community's encounters with the Lord of the Church throughout human history.

Theology is an exercise that requires the kenotic, self-emptying exercise of thinking and feeling with the Church. Inasmuch as the kerygma of the Church may at times be difficult to reconcile with our experiences and opinions, she is nevertheless a Church that has been given the Holy Spirit Who guides her and preserves her in all truth.

Mother Church never errs. Not because her people are infallible, but because the Spirit Who animates her is infallible. That some people in the Church have throughout the course of history failed to live up to her doctrinal and moral standards does not in any way mean the Church has failed. She is, after all, the One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church.

Already, I can hear voices muttering "I beg to differ" and "I disagree" from a distance. For as long as we are stuck in the rut of the "pick-and-choose" Christianity, we remain far from God's purpose of giving us the gift of the Church. He cannot have God for his Father who does not have the Church for his Mother.

Fides quaerens intellectum.