A certain tension, sometimes sharp, emerged in the wake of the Second Vatican Council of 1962 to 1965 about what it means to follow Christ.

The debate is often framed as traditional versus pastoral. For many, the traditionalist perspective is a vital defence of the church’s doctrines and practices handed down over the centuries. The pastoral perspective counters that doctrines must be practised, not merely memorized, for if they do not heal our wounds and those of our brothers and sisters, they are little more than dead letters. Scripture stands at the heart of this pastoral vision, inviting us to conform our lives to the example of Christ. This was the great paradigm shift of Vatican 2, an invitation to look at revelation not just as a list of doctrines to be memorized, but as the new life of the Gospel to be lived. Historically, the Church has never seen tradition and Scripture as rivals. They are two streams from a single fountain. Scripture is the Word of God in writing. Tradition is the living memory of the Church, the body of Christ, an amalgam of the insights of the church fathers. The wisdom of the councils and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. To pit one against the other is like asking a bird to fly with one wing. They are complementary, inseparable, and move towards the same divine end. Why, then, does this tension endure? Part of the answer lies in human nature itself. We are creatures of habit.

Our spirituality is etched into our psyches. When the Mass shifted from Latin to the vernacular, it felt like the ground had moved.

That tremor felt acutely after Vatican 2, still reverberates today, framed as a clash between tradition and pastoral renewal.

Yet consider what Saint Jerome, one of the Church Fathers, taught  long ago. He translated the Bible into the Latin vernacular of his day, calling it the Vulgate. What we now revere as tradition was once an important pastoral innovation.

This tension also springs from how we view the Church as an ideology or a vocation. An ideology is a set of beliefs, doctrines, and values which we cherish. A vocation is a personal response to a special way of life, illuminated not by arguments, but by the simple, powerful embodiment of Christ’s love. Each person has a vocation to follow Christ in his or her walk of life. If we cling too tightly to ideology, we risk drowning in abstract intellectual debates, forgetting that the gospel was meant to be lived. The early Christians were not known for their complex theological arguments, but were aptly named the People of the Way. They followed a path lit by Christ’s new commandment of love. Even their enemies, watching early Christians marched to slaughter in the Roman Coliseum, marvelled at their love for one another. It is easier to follow traditions than reform the way we live, as Jesus noted in his heated exchange with the Pharisees. (Mark 7, 1- 8.) It is far simpler to focus on ritualized traditions than to be renewed “from within.” An ideology seeks to win an argument; a vocation seeks to serve God and others.

When we prioritize human traditions over the reformation of our lives, we become like the “hypocrites” Isaiah prophesied about, honoring God with our lips while our hearts remain far from him. Saint James warns that if we listen to the Word but do not act on it, we are like someone who looks in a mirror and immediately forgets what he looks like. (James 1, 23 – 24.) We become a church that worships the mirror of its own reflection rather than reflecting the face of Christ to the world. To bridge the gap between tradition and the pastoral, it helps to consider what a modern saint, Saint John Henry Newman, had to say about notional assent and real assent. Notional assent is a passive agreement with a doctrine, a check mark on a theological list. Real ascent is an active faith that issues forth in acts of love. Christ’s Kingdom is an inward realm of spiritual richness that must manifest outwardly. When Christ speaks in Matthew 25, He does not ask for a theological thesis. He asks: “Did you feed me?” “Did you clothe me?” “Did you visit me?”

Our actions toward the least among us are true measures of our allegiance to Him. “By this all men will know you are my disciples,” Jesus insisted, “by your love for one another.” (John chapter 13: 35). This is the only way to move from the “Lord, Lord” of the lips to the “Thy will be done” of the heart. Being “pastoral” is not a dilution of doctrine, it is the perfection of it. It is the movement from saying to living.

If we hold to doctrine but lack the love of Christ, we are merely “clashing symbols,” says Saint Paul. The true business of a Christian is to follow Christ. The call to follow Him extends our circle of care beyond our comfort zones to encompass all humanity, as the Good Semaritan exemplifies. What does this mean in practice? It means putting into practice what we already agree upon— namely to follow Christ, rather than fixating on what divides us. It means letting those around you experience the love of Christ through what you do, not merely what you say. It means remaining grateful for every opportunity to be kind, to help someone in need, to lighten another’s load. This is what it means to follow Him, for nothing is more important than loving one another the way He has loved us.

The choice is clear. Will we be a Church that talks about love or one that lives it?