Is being Catholic fashionable?

Since October 27, when D. S. Garrocho wrote in El País about Ethe Catholic shift as a result of Lux y Sundays There has been quite a lot of literature on this subject in a very short time. Whether this is a serious shift or not remains to be seen. But, in my opinion, this general feeling of a urgency for God, of a thirst for transcendence that is more lasting than previous messianic promises (I am referring to the empty promises typical of ideologies) has been latent in the heart of Western society for longer than it seems. And what seems to have happened is that there has been a first spiritual awakening. That awakening speaks volumes, in my opinion, of a weariness, a tiredness with the world precisely because of the lack of spirituality. Much has been done to encourage awakening—woke– to young people. But wake up from what dream?

Ideologies have attempted to inspire dreams of a world that can be transformed into something truly worthwhile. The fact is that time passes and ideologies have failed to fill the world with eternity, which is what the human heart truly desires. There seems to be, and we will see how it turns out, an awakening not to another dream, but to a reality that is more difficult to see, but at the same time is the only thing that can fill the void in the hearts of those who sincerely seek something eternal, something true, something beautiful. And that “something” is God, it is Love, it is Spirit, which no ideology can give.

The weariness of the self

Fatigue. It is a word that Byung-Chul Han predicted with The society of fatigue. There is a deep weariness of the self. That weariness is necessary in order to open up to others. The weariness of the virtual world that prevents us from relating to each other. The weariness of culture. woke Everything that cancels out leaves no room for freedom. The weariness of a self that only has time and the world, but a world encapsulated in dreams, separates us from the true reality that is discovered in others, in family, in God.

That tiredness is positive if it leads us to wake up, to open ourselves up to “spending time” on what is truly profound, and not to remain cloistered in the self. That self-absorbed and narcissistic self causes another kind of tiredness that leads to anxiety, depression... to illness. 

If there really is a Catholic shift, it is because there is weariness, boredom, fatigue, or whatever you want to call it. Too much has been expected of politicians, too much hope has been placed in things that are very outdated... We are waking up to that. There is a need to truly love. The era from the post-truth It does not exist, has never existed, and will never exist due to the very nature of truth. And people perceive this. There is a need to forgive, to be grateful, to make the most of life, but not with blind, stressful, and hyper-productive activism, which is what causes negative fatigue, but rather by putting our lives at the service of others, by filling ourselves with the capacity to marvel at the beauty of this world.

In short, begin to enjoy contemplating beautiful things, and do not be afraid of silence. The blossoming of spirituality that we perceive comes precisely from the world of beauty: from cinema and music in particular. Dostoyevsky already said it in The idiotBeauty will save the world. And save it from what? From the self tired of itself and from ideologies that promise fleeting happiness. 

An authentic spiritual awakening

This alleged Catholic shift is a call to step outside of oneself, to promote a truly woke, that awakens us to each other and to the Other. The danger I foresee if the shift truly occurs is that it will be a purely sentimental shift. And why is this a danger? Because feelings are also perishable. Necessary, yes, but fleeting. 

If this shift is about opening ourselves to the Spirit, a Spirit of Life, Love, Beauty, Giving, and Gratitude, then feelings cannot be what sustains change. Love is much more than feelings. In fact, love is what remains when feelings no longer support us. If this shift is real, we will need to approach it with less sentimentality and more faith. If weariness awakens us to the Spirit, then the awakening must be approached from a spiritual perspective, which is never just about feelings. And this is the challenge: to live knowing that feelings drive us, but love is what gives life, and life... in abundance.