Private Devotions

Thee seems to be a tendency in my church over the centuries to focus the laity on private devotions, rather than the plight of suffering society.  In some part, this is a focus on individual salvation versus communal responsibility.  The rich, the kings and lords of the manor were responsible for the welfare of the lower caster of people, the masses, if you will.  The church never saw the laity as the focus for change, even as society changed.  What happened is that the upper caste did not take care of the people beyond some charity that did not address the underlying issues of why there was so much poverty and suffering.  Some religious orders did try to get the better off to focus on charity, but still the underlying issues remained in place.  Th laity revolted.  It was illegal, messy, bloody and harsh.  Eventually, it was the laity who changed the way society functioned and economies developed.  Organized religion which supported the status quo was wary of change either within the church or within the society.  If you read Ian Caldwell's novel, "The Fifth Gospel," you get a sense of the politics of my church in the highest ecclesial places.