The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1955-10-21
Just Among Ourselves
Passing Comment Considered or Ineonsldsrsts

in the state capital brought along an inevitable
batch of speeches, and as inevitably called at
tention to spiritual values" 1t is not customary,
nor, apparently, it is considered necessary, for
either speakers or auditors to have any definite
notion of what is meant by spiritual values"
1t is the thing, it is the modish procedure, to
use this expression. No one is expected to be
nosey about its meaning.
Certainly. an Inquiring Reporter might in
quire himself dizzy in the effort TO find citizen,
college trained or purely plebian, with the abil.
ity to define spiritual values" in plain ineligible
terms. Everyone is willing to talk about these
valuable things, whatever they may be, but few
indeed are capable of giving evidence that they
know what they're talking about. What should
spiritual" mean in an age that thinks of "spir-
its" as merely something to be purchased in bot
ties at licensed shop? What is value" in
an age that rates everything by quantity, and
knows no scales of measurement other than
those found in laboratories or in temples of en-
gineering and accounting?
s&+
To be sure, the most manifest realities
oftenest the most difficult to define. ST. Au-
gustine, speaking of time said, IF you ask me
whether know what time is, | say that GER
tainly do know. But if you ask me to define
time, find / cannot do it." But time Tor place,
or status, or many another item of knowIedge)
is thing of immediate and outer experience.
Lack of ability to define comes largely of uni.
versal awarenesS that definition is needed
No one really doubts the existence Of time.
Even the self.styled philosopher who has be-
mused himself into the belief that he explains
time by calling it dimension" is still capable of
consulting q transchedule or keeping an ap-
pointment with the dentist. And the rare lad
who denies the existence of time is still dis
tressed when tardy guests make him wait for his
dinner The rank and file of the human race
are Immediately conscious of time.
But the rank and file are not Immediately
conscious OF the thing lightly referred to "spr
itual values" Everyone is aware of inner hun
gers, not of the flesh: but not everyone Is aware
of just what he hungers for. There Is no parity
between the mystery of things like time and
the mystery of the things Jumped together as
spiritual values" The bemused philosopher may
not know how to sever the truly suprasensible
from the effects of body-chemistry. But even the
most bemused tme.theorist knows with crystal
clarity what you mean by Thursday afternoon
at three o'clock.
We all know the mysteries of physical exist
ence, the things of continuous experience in
the bodily universe, because we cannot help
knowing them. No effort is asked of It's; no hard
study close attention, or sustained interest is
demanded. But when we come to spiritual val
ues," the case is quite different Here we have 10
pay attention, and think, and study, and pray
otherwise, we lazily proudly ditch the whole
business, and make ourselves pretend to be sat
isfied with the foggy assumption that some
thing" exsts-something supremey fine and
valuable, beyond the hard, and often unpleas-
ant, facts of work-aday existence.
II is not long since the word spiritual" was
considered unsuitable for public utterance. 1t
was a word somehow offensive in highly edu
Gated ears. Fog-words were tossed about to sup
ply its place; words like trdnScendentol and
metaphysical were misappled in this use. But
spiritual came back again in the semipous
emotionalism that followed the last great war.
II was not significant return, for now the word
spiritual itself has become fog-word, especially
when used in conjunction with that foggiest Of
fog-words, UulneS.
When a speaker talks of spiritual UdlueS, he
seems to be trying TO convey some such meaning
as this "our enlightened and scientific age still
harbors q multitude of less gifted people who
persist in talking about such things as their
souls and who regard human life as having di-
rect reference TO God, and to life of happiness
or woe TO follow, and depend upon, earthly con-
duct. These naive people cannot at this moment,
DC COmpletely ignored, IOr, aIleT ali, lney nave
votes. We therefore defer, in vague and gen.
eral way, to their prejudice however unscien
tific, II may be, and agree that the beautiful
facts of science do not tell the whole story of
human hopes and interests. We admit the impact
of certain intangible factors in the shapes as
sumed by social, economic and political achieve
ments. We do not, of course, propose to waste
time in trying To detail all these factors gloss
them over, and soothe the feelings of believers
by an occasional reference TO spiritual UalaeS,"
Even by using all these words we do not
come TO a clear meaning of the term we are
discussing But we do notice that Spiritaa! galaes
can be a term far removed from anything
truly spiritual not to say from anything truly
valuable. Perhaps after all the expression is
mostly expressive of current fashion: speakers
use the term because it is expected of them now.
Times change and likely spiritual pdiaeS will pres
emily 20 the way of Davy Crockett and the Vel.
low Rose OF Texas.
Meanwhile those who know the eternal and
supernatural science of revealed religion must
continue TO strive by word and work by prayer
and fasting by example and exhortation,-to
make troubled and unhappy world aware of
what Is actually spiritual and valuable We are
TO make the word aware of the faith,-of the
truth which makes men free and shows the way
tn eyeriastin1 vietnrv and uaara