From Old to New: What St. Patrick's Cathedral symbolizes for Jonathan Morris
Fox News
Two and a half years after requesting dispensation from the Catholic priesthood, Fox News contributor Jonathan Morris spoke with Fox News Digital about the significance of St. Patrick's Cathedral, his definition of true happiness, and what keeping the faith is like for him today.
"When mind, body, and spirit are properly ordered toward the good that God has invited us to, that's when we flourish." - Jonathan Morris "Practice requires work, and that's going to be uncomfortable." - Jonathan Morris "All those pathways…lead us to God." - Jonathan Morris
Morris' journey toward fulfillment - from Father within the church, to father of a newborn (he and his wife welcomed a baby boy in October) - has not been without its challenges."My path, and I think everyone's path, even when it is going in the right direction, is not without its major challenges, and even pain," he told Fox News Digital. "And that pain can get in the way of our happiness, no doubt."It has even been, as it is for many of us, a challenge for Morris to find new ways to pray."I try to choose participation based on an intentional choice and desire of mine," Morris advised, underscoring the difference between making the deliberate decision to do something difficult, and deriving a choice from a false sense of obligation. "I sit in the pews [now] and of course, for many years, I was the one on the altar."Despite the imperfection of the church's leaders, as Morris eloquently described, it doesn't stop him from committing to finding a ‘very personal, real, and profound contact with friendship with God.’
"As I see it, we were made by God as spiritual beings. And what will we do about it is what we refer to as religion," Morris said, offering up an important insight into the common spirituality vs. religion debate."In other words, religion is the practice of worship of God. And in our life, if we're not practicing our worship of God… our spirituality gets weak and lazy," Morris explained. "And so I would say everyone has to find their own way of practicing this."