H ere s how I see it. When I first was ordained, I taught high school sophomores. If it weren t for parental commitment to the institution of family, there would be lots more orphans around. Or take my own commitment as a priest. On those days it s my commitment to priesthood and church that gets me over the hump.
YUK days happen to everyone.
I n other words, it s the commitment to the institutions, the larger realities surrounding our commitments to individual persons, which provides strength at times when the luster might be low on commitments to individuals. God means us to have both commitments as sources of strength. The very word institution was practically banned from politically correct conversations. W ell, it s past time to get over it. The basic institutions which hold society together are as necessary as are the skin and bones and blood and nerves which hold our bodies together.