One of the most important virtues that we can increase is the virtue of obedience. Monsignor Charles Mangan writes in The Virtue of Obedience: Our Duty, Our Crown “for without it, one will never please the Lord, Who is our benevolent Creator and compassionate Master.” Monsignor continues to write that we are obliged to be obedient and it is our solemn duty. It is a submission of our will to His. The Catechism of the Catholic Church addresses the virtue of obedience. “The duty of obedience requires all to give due honor to authority and to treat those who are charged to exercise it with respect, and, insofar as it is deserved, with gratitude and good-will.” (1900)
I could go deeper in to the theological meaning(s) of obedience, but I do not believe it is necessary right now. So, for us everyday Catholics and Christians, what does obedience mean? It means “obeying” the Ten Commandments, the Precepts of the Church, receiving the Sacraments, daily prayer, attending Mass and Holy Days of Obligation, following the Catechism and most importantly submitting to God’s will, not our own.
The greatest failure regarding obedience is “the personal disaster of obeying ONLY oneself” writes Donald Demarco in his article Obedience from the Catholic Education Resource Center. Demarco goes on to say that we are not wise enough or know ourselves well enough to be self-sufficient. This leads to alienation from others and will eventually close ourselves off completely from God. This form of disobedience is a grave sin. “Obedience needs prudence in order to be virtuous” writes Demarco. This prudence speaks to us to obey God over oneself.
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