Music experts say that when several people are singing without the accompaniment of a musical instrument—such as an organ—there can be a tendency to lower the pitch; the voices drop lower and lower. That’s why, if the choir is not used to singing unaccompanied, usually the choir director will have a hidden tuning fork that he will occasionally use in order to give a gentle reminder to the singers to raise the pitch.
In the Christian and spiritual life, the same thing often happens. Amid the hustle and bustle of daily life, the levels of spiritual life slowly decline. That is why it is so important to have those spiritual tuning forks that the Church provides in order to remind us from time to time that we must lift our spirits higher: daily examination of conscience, Spiritual Exercises, meditation on the Passion, moments of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, etc. These are some of the tuning forks we should use to keep our spirit always straining upward, toward God.
The lowering of our spirits happens because of the opposing tendencies between our body and our soul; our body always pulls us downward, toward earthly things. This tension is the great struggle of human existence; the flesh wars against the spirit as St. Paul says: For the flesh has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; these are opposed to each other (Gal 5:17). We need to constantly check if we are walking on the right direction, upward, toward God.
The lesson is clear: We must not live as if this world is all there is. The body is temporary but the soul is eternal. If we spend our lives chasing after only what perishes, we will lose what lasts forever. But if we discipline the body, elevate the soul, and seek God above all, we will find the joy that never fades: For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live (Rom 8:13).
