Reform of the Church Begins With a Reformation of the Soul

Today is the Feast of St Robert Bellarmine, one of the most important reformers of the Church in reaction to the protestant deformation.

From Aleteia

By Philip Kosloski

St Robert Bellarmine reminds us that if we desire a reform of the Church, we have to first look inwardly, reforming our own soul.

It's relatively easy for the average person to look at the Church and to think that it needs to change.

We may have a number of our own ideas as to what needs to change, or which bishops needs to be moved.

However, if we truly want reform of the Church, we need to first look at ourself.

Internal reformation

Pope Benedict XVI pointed to St. Robert Bellarmine as a great example of a true reformer. He explained in a general audience in 2011 how Bellarmine was first of all a devout and prayerful man who knew the love of God:

St. Bellarmine thus offers a model of prayer, the soul of every activity: a prayer that listens to the word of God, that is satisfied in contemplating his grandeur, that does not withdraw into self but is pleased to abandon itself to God.

A hallmark of Bellarmine’s spirituality is his vivid personal perception of God’s immense goodness. Bellarmine teaches with great clarity and with the example of his own life that there can be no true reform of the Church unless there is first our own personal reform and the conversion of our own heart.his is why our Saint truly felt he was a beloved son of God. It was a source of great joy to him to pause in recollection, with serenity and simplicity, in prayer and in contemplation of God.

While it is true that Bellarmine wrote many important spiritual works that defended the faith, his writings were always supported by an internal reformation of the soul.

Pope Benedict XVI believed that St. Robert Bellarmine is a great example for us today and for any age when reform is needed:

Bellarmine teaches with great clarity and with the example of his own life that there can be no true reform of the Church unless there is first our own personal reform and the conversion of our own heart.

It may be easy to point fingers outward or to speculate what needs to happen in the Church to make it better.

Yet, what we need to do first is to point at ourselves and reform our own lives before reforming the Church.