Cooperation, by John Carberry
The word cooperation is derived from the Latin word cooperatus, or co (with) and operari (to
work). Basically, it means to work with. In the religious sense, we cooperate with God when we
work with him. Failing to cooperate could imply trying to do something on our own or
expecting God to resolve all issues without need of our input.
When we try to do things on our own, we are often doomed to failure. Consider Christ’s
discussion of the Return of the Unclean Spirit (Mt 12:43-45, Lk 11:24-26) where an unclean
spirit leaves a person, and when he returns, he finds the place cleaned out and put in order. He
then goes out and finds seven more evil spirits to return with him making the condition even
worse. We often think of ourselves as autonomous, independent and able to do things on our
own. But without Christ, we are weak and feeble, unable to properly challenge the forces of evil.
Similarly, when we fail to confront situations where we are able to assist, we show indifference
to the problems of evil. Here we see why Saint James argues that we are justified by works and
not by faith alone (Jas 2:24). Faith without works is dead (Jas 2:17). “Demonstrate your faith to
me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works” (Jas 2:18).
How do we balance this interaction between dependency and autonomy? Saint Ignatius Loyola
summarizes the interaction of faith and works: “Pray as if everything depended on God and work
as if everything depended on you” (1 Cor 15:10, Prv 16:9).1
In what ways do we act in accordance with our underlying faith? We must respect authority,
especially the authority of the Church. When we hear the Church, we hear Christ (Lk 10:16, Mt
10:14-15, 40-41). We must respect human life at all times and in all of its stages. God will
demand an accounting for any destruction of human life (Gn 9:5-6). We must respect marriage
as well as its purposes to unite man and woman in loving unity that views sɛҳuąƖity that is open
to the creation of life at all times. Eve recognizes this cooperative spirit when she bears her first
child (Gn 4:1). We must respect the material world and how God has dispersed time, treasure
and talents to all of us through his own providence so that we do not take what is not ours, and
we share what we have to benefit God’s kingdom. We must pursue and advance the truth, not
standing idly by, but speaking out like Daniel (Dn 13:45-49, Lv 19:16) in the pursuit of
righteousness or of Peter (Acts 3:11-26) regarding faith.
Our Blessed Mother and Christ demonstrate this cooperative spirit. Mary accepts the invitation
to be the mother of God: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me
according to your word” (Lk 1:38). Similarly, Christ cooperates with the Father in undergoing
his passion and death: “My Father, if it possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will, but
as you will” (Mt 26:29, 42, Mk 14:36, Lk 22:42). Both of these examples demonstrate two of
the most common situations where Catholics break faith with their religion. In our sɛҳuąƖity, we
can fail to acknowledge how we cooperate with God when we bring a new child of God into this
world. In our suffering, we often fail to understand how our acceptance of suffering unites us to
Christ when we participate and share in his redemptive mission. “Whoever wishes to come after
me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (Mt 16:24, Mk 8:34, Lk 9:23, 14:27).
John Carberry is the author of Parables: Catholic Apologetics Through Sacred Scripture (2003)
and Sacraments: Signs, Symbols and Significance (2023).
1 CCC, 2834.
Topic: Cooperation (Read 18 times)