Virtue #2: Piety

Some thoughts on Piety…

I was raised Catholic but not in a religious household.   I can count on two hands the number of times we attended church as a family outside of weddings and funerals—it was such a rare occurrence that they tend to stand out.  I attended a parochial grade school for two years, received my first communion, and graduated from a four-year, all-girl Catholic high school.  I knew all the prayers, what happened when and where during mass, and when to stand and when to kneel.  Catholic was what was stamped on my dog tags when I joined the Air Force.  I loved the beauty and general concept  surrounding the rosary but found the prayers associated with it dull and uninspiring—spirituality by rote never appealed to me.     Catholic was more of a family identity than a religion I practiced.  “I’m Catholic” was just as automatic of a response as “I’m Norwegian and German” growing up.

It’s been difficult to create a regular devotional life.  It was a foreign concept to me and a habit I never cultivated in my life.   The word piety conjures up memories of dull masses, monotone prayers recited in unison, and stories of ancient saints that lived such austere existences that I couldn’t even begin to relate to them, much less muster up the desire to imitate them.  

I’ve had to pretty much start over from scratch—to throw away a narrow, lifelong held definition of piety and transform it into a beautiful and positive expression of my faith instead.   My new and improved definition includes two words:  relationship and practice.   I approach my altar every morning and evening, not from a place of resentment or forced obligation, but from a desire to nurture my relationship with the kindred—something as simple as saying  “good morning” and “good-night” helps us stay connected.  Every relationship in my life requires constant attention and nurturing—why would those relationships be any different?   I haven't kept my best friend for over 31 years by ignoring her phone calls.   

And my devotional life improves with practice.  Just like my first love -- the piano, I never would have progressed beyond "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" to performing Grieg's "Concerto in A Minor" without making a commitment to learning music theory and practicing every day.