It would appear that many people nowadays do not appreciate the gifts we experience as the result of boundaries.

There are, of course, times when it can be good to go beyond them — some great culinary creations happen when detailed recipes serve merely as springboards to new explorations in the world of spices and inspired fusions, for example.

But well thought out and purposeful boundaries provide us with solid handholds as we go along and prop us up when we would otherwise fall. Many of secular society’s rules and laws make it possible for everything to function. Think for example of the accident rates without those often-annoying traffic signals.

Certainly rules and laws that serve only the “big fish” lawmakers and bosses in “ponds” large and small need to be formally challenged. Some laws that made sense years ago may need revision. But even so, restrictions of many kinds make it possible for humanity to live and work together, and it is smart to recognize their value.

Boundaries benefit us in the spiritual life also, a fact that is lost on too many folks whose take on all rules are that they are meant to be broken.

God Himself provided the Ten Commandments long ago. He gave such concise, clear and good direction that some of the commandments may seem to be automatic to the human race. They are not. We break them to our personal and communal peril.

Church-wide rules are designed to keep the Church itself on track and/or to get us to heaven. We gain spiritually from following them and lose out when we don’t.

Consider attendance at Sunday Mass. We are expected to be there, barring insurmountable circumstances or illness. This mandate apparently seems to some to be too strict. But time and again I’ve seen casual and long distance friends choose to miss Mass here and there. Their excuses increased, and off they went, losing not only their faith but also the spiritual resources to deal with situations that came along. Weekly Mass protects us.

Another rule that chafes some people is the law that divorced and civilly-remarried Catholics must have their first union declared null before they can be married again in the Church and receive the sacraments. Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation on the family, Amoris Laetitia, makes good points about having the Church “walk with” Catholic men and women in this situation.

Unfortunately, his exhortation almost makes it sound like the Church hasn’t been doing that. But most priests have provided support and counseling to those in this situation who ask for help. And much of what the pope suggests is already being done through the annulment process, per descriptions from friends of mine who have gone through it and discovered much healing.

That particular gift from the Church blends the wisdom of the ages with up-to-date knowledge of the human complications that can render people unable to truly make the serious commitment of marriage. The annulment process is a gift from the Church to assure that sacraments are properly provided and to assist its members to grow in knowledge and faith and be readied with the graces necessary to soldier on in life.

Other spiritual boundaries are gifts as well.

By being faithful to their priestly promises, priests grow in strength and holiness, and the rest of us benefit from God’s work provided to us through them.

Ditto the evangelical promises made by men and women who enter religious life. Poverty, chastity and obedience are all challenging — and life-giving for those who live them. As with marriage, the Church has steps to follow for those who trip up so they can remain connected — if they are willing to do so.

Most everyone has to wrestle with this or that boundary somewhere along the line. The value of some rules and restrictions are obvious, while the goodness of others can only be known by living them. May we live them and reap their benefits.