Tweeting Globally, Loving Locally

“Almighty God, grant that we may always conform our will to Yours and serve Your Majesty in sincerity of heart.” Last weekend’s collect begged God to grant us two things in His loving kindness: the exterior action of conformity and the interior attitude of sincerity. As usual, another both/and proposal: interiorly intend what God wills, and exteriorly act in accord with it as best we can.

“What God wills” is, in the broadest sense, everything that happens. He either chooses it if it is good, or permits it if it is evil. We are sometimes astounded at what God permits in this world, what He lets people get away with. But again, note two things: “I” am part of “people,” and the Lord doesn’t let anything “get away from” His notice, as if He had been out on break while it happened.

How could God permit His Beloved Israel to be the poor lad’s cap that the bully neighboring nations tossed about in the schoolyard? The kindest of those nations, the Reuben to Joseph, was Cyrus of Persia. He conquered Israel, but extended freedom of movement and worship to every land he acquired. Somehow the Lord of Israel was his leader too, despite whatever pagan statues were on his mantle.

Or how could the Son affirm His Father’s “abandonment” upon the Cross? Only thereby to draw forth from that greatest suffering the greatest love by which we exist and gather.

God willed the Pharisees minds subtle enough to have idolized their complex takes on the Law of Moses, enough to have crafted a scheme to trap Jesus. Yet they were no match, despite how thick they tried to lay it on Him. “You don’t care about anyone’s opinion, Jesus…but we do, so whaddya think?” Jesus remained unflustered in His response to their ruse. “Since this coin has Caesar’s face, it must belong to him, so give it back. But you have God’s face; you are made in God’s image, so give yourself back.”

How fitting, that the readings for Cycle A of the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, which falls around the same time every year, fall now in a leap, major U.S. election year! Leap in faith we must to consider how the image in which we were made might speak to the image in which our coin is made. They’re connected, all right, because you and I are here, called not so much to carry change as to be it.

St. Paul points out how the Thessalonians have the virtues of faith, hope, and love, which we call the “theological virtues” because they pertain directly to God. They equip us for relationship with Him. Their infusion into the souls of the baptized allows the baptized to act as God’s children and to be hardwired for heaven. These virtues enable us to strive for holiness and virtue and to root out their contraries in every area of our lives, including politics.

Officials must strive, like their constituents and electors, to conform themselves to God’s will with sincerity of heart. They must genuinely represent and work toward the interests they profess, and their interests must be in step with the moral law. Unlike the Pharisees, they can’t have anything or anyone up their sleeve. They must not use people or positions as means to the end of occupying a seat in any branch of government.

Rightly have our Pope and Bishops reaffirmed the killing of innocent unborn as a primal scourge and sin. You can’t do much else in life if you aren’t allowed to be born. But “what you can do” isn’t all it’s about, either: that’s used to justify genetic and embryonic selection, embryonic stem-cell research at one end, and assisted suicide/euthanasia at the other end. It also leads to the attitude behind racism and other forms of oppression. Matter matters, because God informs it.

As my stalwart parish bulletin readers know, I go to the social media to inspire, to inform, and to entertain, and to seek the same from others. My favorite podcast is “Clerically Speaking,”* two younger priests talking about whatever you might imagine. In one of their features, they report quality Twitter content. 

One such presence, Fr. Joseph Krupp (@joeinblack), recently said this: “I’m getting calls and visits from people who want to convince me to preach in support of Biden or Trump. I’m using the opportunity to ask for help feeding the poor. No one has said yes yet. If we were as passionate about Jesus as we are about our candidate, it would change the world.”

Helping the poor is an aspect of parish life we cannot ignore. Now, it doesn’t have to happen on our campus for “the parish” to be doing it. When you help at home or somewhere else, keep in mind, that’s “the parish” helping the poor. Spiritual poverty matters alongside material poverty: all those works of mercy glorify God and help their intended recipients.

I haven’t preached much on abortion, at least directly, but over the years I have counseled women and men who were involved in abortions and have repented. Those conversations have changed me as a human being and as a priest. They show me how central Mercy is: God’s love bringing great good from great evil. The number of innocent lives affected, inside and outside the womb, cries out for greater awareness, acceptance, and action upon this truth.

I cannot understand how a politician can support unmitigated access to abortion or constrain citizens to pay for it. I further cannot understand how a politician might neglect the various fearsome conditions that encourage abortion. That leaves this voter in the lurch.

Our “consumer culture” has long formed us to use people and love things, when the Gospel would form us to love people and use things. We can speak of Jesus as “healer of nations” because He first healed people. People fed with the Eucharist must feed others spiritually and materially so those people can be strengthened to make good choices. Starving each other with empty or corrupt talk is no political path, nor should it fly within families.

Political involvement is good, but we must be cautious, especially in these days, to avoid a certain cult of political figures. Don’t be deceived into thinking “the right person” will prevent everything from falling apart. Because of the Fall of the human person, everything in this world is going to fall apart, as if by design. Don’t invest all of you, especially the worst of you, in candidates and parties engineered to disappoint. 

The political change we seek, like personal conversion, begins at home, with concrete service. Legislation and jurisprudence matter, yes, but concrete service is closer to you than the White House, Capitol Hill or Supreme Court. When Pope St. John Paul II spoke of a Culture of Life, he intended Catholics to be Catholics, people of good will to be such, by equipping mothers and fathers and children concretely as we alone can.

One more Tweet: Brother Simon, OSB (@monksimonosb), quoting a fellow Benedictine: “Until you are convinced that prayer is the best use of your time, you will not find time for prayer.” I must consider my personal relationship with God in prayer the most reliable place where God works.

Recall this weekend is World Mission Sunday. On 1 October we celebrated St. Therese of Lisieux, co-patroness of the missions, who from the age of 14 to her death 10 years later never left her convent. You get that? The missions, sustained by the prayers of an immobile mover of hearts.

Despite whatever happens in this election, whatever part you or I might choose to take in it, remember: God is in control. And you and I, do best to be available to Him as locally as possible in prayer and service, surrendering the control we’d like to have over the particulars.

*Much of the structure and some of the content of this proposed homily came from my listening to Episode 114 of “Clerically Speaking,” which I humbly yet forcefully recommend to your open ears. It's a "proposed homily" because Deacon Joe was scheduled to preach this weekend, yet I inadvertently prepared the above homily anyhow.

Get Up!

Yesterday was the feast day of the Holy Innocents—the boys age 2 and under whom Herod put to death in the hopes of killing the Christ-Child. Since this tragedy took place in Our Lord’s infancy, it is appropriately commemorated within the Christmas octave. If that placement is jarring, it should be! The idea that little children should die in order to satisfy one’s security is abominable. For that reason the Holy Innocents are often invoked as patrons of the unborn whose lives may be threatened by abortion.

At the same time, however, the Church knows that abortion harms many lives, including the women and men who approve, assist, or commit the act. Many of these people experience it as an unresolved trauma in their lives that cries out for healing. Recent years have witnessed a compassionate outreach to the post-abortive in a special ministry called “Project Rachel.” As a priest I gladly recommend that ministry to anyone who might profit from it. The confidential telephone number is 1-866-3RACHEL, and I would gladly meet with anyone who wants more information.

In other news: the assembly at the 10am Mass on the second Sunday of the month joins in praying the Holy Name Pledge. You may have noticed that the pledge labels are now in the hymnals. On Friday night our parish Cub Scout troop, some of their parents, and a couple of Girl Scouts performed that service for the parish. The Cubmaster and I thanked them for this important contribution to the life of the parish. They have done something to help people pray.

I spoke to our helpers about the Holy Name Society, a movement of devotion that dates back to the 13^th century, when the Pope encouraged devotion to the Name of Jesus as a way to counter a popular heresy. Although the HGA contingent is small, it continues to promote the cause, fulfilling St. Paul’s exhortation in the second reading: “Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col 3:17).

On the liturgical day dedicated to the Holy Family, it would be easy to focus on the breakdown of the traditional, biblical model of the family, the relativizing and perversion of the very notion of love. It would be easy, and it would be true. Suffice to note two things: (1) the relationship of father, mother, and children forms a kind of earthly image of the Trinity—a communion of love and life; (2) to varying degrees all earthly households present an imperfect image, very much in need of renovation—that is to say, divine grace and human repentance.

            

Today I will dwell on the angel’s threefold command to Joseph. It’s a command that most parents issue to their children on many occasions: “Get up.” In the first instance, Joseph takes Jesus and Mary from Bethlehem to Egypt; on the second, he starts them back to Israel; on the third, they end up in Nazareth. That’s quite an expedition, quite an act of obedience. That word, to “get up”: in addition to this first context in Jesus’ early life, Matthew also uses it to refer to Jesus’ acts of resuscitating the dead (11:5), as well as to His Resurrection (16:21, 26:32, etc.).

            

Another example of the word occurs twice at the Transfiguration: first, Jesus bids Peter, James, and John to “rise, and not be afraid” (17:7); in the next verse, the apostles “raised their eyes [and] saw no one else but Jesus alone (18:8). From start to finish in the Gospels, we notice Jesus rising and His followers following suit. That’s because rising, getting up, is the pattern for the vibrant Christian life. Children and parents raise their eyes to each other’s needs, and raise their bodies in attentive service. The charity that begins at home is meant to extend ever outward. In short, it’s about physically, emotionally, and spiritually being present to the person and situation at hand.

            

Just as our families are imperfect, so are our efforts in attentiveness, compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, gratitude, and so forth: everything that Paul encourages us to “put on.” Hence we rise and turn again and again to the Lord, which in turn enlivens the reverence we pay to God and our neighbor. If we turn to the Lord in the daily moments of tension and indecision, gratitude and joy, whenever we need to seek mercy or extend it, the “domestic Church” of our families and our parish will thrive. They will become the sorely needed wake-up call to our sleepy world!

Never Gonna Get It, Part Two

Yesterday the Jesuit publication America magazine published the English translation of the "Interview with a Pontiff" conducted by Fr. Antonio Spadaro SJ, editor of the Italian Jesuit periodical, La Civiltà Cattolica.

(I just learned how to type variant characters on my Apple computer: à! â! æ!)

In this interview, Pope Francis says many things about many things, and I dare not attempt to summarize them, for summaries are often misleading, representing the biases of their composer.

I will mention one thing that, as far as I know, is eminently Catholic, Jesuit, and reasonable. It comes from a segment where Francis speaks about the need for pastoral approaches to matters of contemporary moral concern, such as homosexuality, gay marriage, and abortion. Church leaders  "cannot insist only on" preaching and otherwise delivering on the controversies:

"But when we speak about these issues, we have to talk about them in a context."

That's what our Introduction to Scripture professor told us in the seminary regarding the interpretation of the Bible. "Just as the three most important words in real estate are, 'Location, Location, Location," the three most important words in exegesis (Scriptural interpretation) are, "Context, Context, Context." Fundamentalist approaches to exegesis tend to ignore the larger context of verses and passages.

In order to discern what the text is saying, the interpreter must consider:

• The human authors' intention, clues to which can be found in "the conditions of their time and culture, the literary genres in use at the time, and the modes of feeling, speaking, and narrating then current" (Catechism of the Catholic Church--hereafter, "CCC," 110).
• The Divine Author (the Holy Spirit)'s intention, which manifests in
• The content and unity of the whole Scripture, in Testaments Old and New (CCC, 112)
• The living Tradition of the whole Church, from the writings of the Fathers onward, encompassing the entirety of ecclesial life animated by the same Spirit (CCC, 113)
• The analogy of faith, that is, the "coherence of the truths of faith among themselves and within the whole plan of Revelation" (CCC, 114)

Now this interview is not official magisterial teaching, but it does deserve contextual reading. The context includes everything the Church actually teaches on these matters--none of which Pope Francis ignored or gainsaid in his conversation with Fr. Spadaro.

In addition, as we read everything with any number of cognitive biases, we may unwittingly impose those biases on what we read. There's a whole lot of head shakin' goin' on today, in light of reports that the same Holy Father today, in a speech to Catholic gynecologists, has condemned abortion, reminding us that every aborted child "has the face of Jesus Christ, the face of the Lord." Readers with any position on moral matters may raise an eyebrow, as if to say, "Well, what was that all about? What's he up to?"

While the remarks may seem strangely timed in light of the release of the interview, there really is no matter for concern, because everything the Pope has said corresponds to the Gospel and the Church's teachings, none of which he can, or would, alter.

In the same interview Pope Francis offers a splendid paradigm for preaching, one that situates even the "hard words" that homilies often must include within an appropriate context.

• The proclamation of the saving love of God in the death and resurrection of Christ.
• Catechesis--education on the content of faith.
• Moral and Religious Consequences--what follows from who Christ is and what He teaches by word and action.

If all people hear from our pastors is, "Do this and shun that," their preaching is inadequate. Of course, people who live in conflict with a teaching of the Church may be hearing only what they don't want to hear, regardless of what the preacher is actually saying. We need to hear of sin, but first we need to hear of Jesus, of who He is, and what He has done in and for our human nature. People might better receive a word that challenges them, when that word is situated in the context of Gospel and catechesis; and even then, it may not go over so well. But, as always, the results are not in our hands.

The juxtaposition of the comforting interview and the jarring speech illustrate how skeptics will never "figure out" the Catholic Church. She is not to be figured out, but rather to be believed and lived. "She," meaning the hierarchy and the people--as the Pope pointed out in this interview. As long as people regard "the Church" with the third-person mentality, not including themselves among her (even while thinking or speaking of her), they will not "get" what this communion of believers is about.

March Sanity

I sit once again in warmth, gratefully contemplating this 25th of January 2013, the fortieth March for Life in Washington, D.C.  Youth and adults from our parish filled two busses.  We were especially grateful for the presence of several Knights of Columbus, who have played an important role in the March since its inception.  Our seventh and eighth graders got to see that many, many people in our nation do take the sanctity of human life very seriously.  If they or their parents would have watched the mainstream media coverage of the March, they might have learned that it happened.

This was the first year I recall having been so close to the dais where the speeches took place.  If I had to select four noteworthy participants, it would be these:

1. A 19 year old man who was conceived in rape, whose continued existence testifies to the courage of his biological mother and adoptive parents--a good spokesman for our increasingly pro-life youth and for the preservation of all babies, however conceived
2. Georgette Forney, the founder of the "Silent No More Awareness Campaign," whose members--male as well as female--speak openly about their participation in abortion, and the repentance and healing that have taken place since
3. Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, whose youngest daughter, Bella, was born with Trisomy 18 and remains a miracle and a gift to her family despite doctors' suggestions to abort her
4. The director of a crisis pregnancy center, who helps to provide women with viable abortion alternatives in a safe and caring environment

I could bet that, within a 100-yard radius of wherever a person was standing, he might have encountered someone in each category: a person who was conceived in, or subjected to, rape; a post-abortive woman who has begun to share her story or who may yet do so, whenever or however appropriate; a couple who decided to carry to term and raise their genetically-compromised baby amid medical and familial suspicions; and a woman who benefited from the services of a pregnancy center, which perhaps made the difference for her child's life and helped give the woman herself a more hopeful future.

The speakers put flesh on a reality that for many people is nothing more than an issue to argue about at the neighborhood pool or at the office.  May the truth continue to be spoken in love so that no unborn child might die in vain.

"You gave them Bread from Heaven, which contains all sweetness"

Not at all incidental to today's March is the liturgical celebration, viz., the Conversion of Saint Paul the Apostle.  The second reading of the Liturgy of the Hours Office of Readings is an excerpt from a homily of St. John Chrysostom (full text here, though you must scroll nearly to the end).  My choice for a line/passage "for the win" is this description of the Apostle:

The most important thing of all to him...was that he knew himself to be loved by Christ.

Would that such words could be said of each of us; would that we could say them of ourselves!  Humble security in the awareness of divine love just might save a few, or a few million, lives--before or after their involvement in a sinful choice.  

The Altar: A Conversion Table

On the heels of Saint Francis de Sales the Church celebrates Saint Paul.  While the Church has come to revere him as "the Apostle," he described himself as "abnormally born" (1 Cor 15:8) because he was an apostolic latecomer, not one of the original twelve-plus-one.

The Church commemorates certain events in the lives of particularly noteworthy saints in addition to their "personal day."  Think of Mary-as-Godbearer (1 Jan) as well as her Maternal Consent (25 Mar), her Assumption (15 Aug), her own birth (8 Sep) and Immaculate Conception (8 Dec).  Think of John the Baptist (24 Jun) alongside his martyrdom (29 Aug).  Saint Paul's conversion (25 Jan) is honored in addition to his being the "two" of the "one-two punch" of Saints Peter and Paul (29 Jun).

I have a particular appreciation for the 24th and 25th of January because of a priest-friend and mentor  who for nearly 20 years was pastor of a Saint Francis de Sales Parish and whose birthday has been celebrated on the feast of Paul's conversion since 1938.  Although I was intrigued with the priesthood since the age of five, priests like this one have inspired me through the years to embrace kindness, devotion, wisdom, and knowledge, with humor and humility.

Some astute camera-wielding individual thought enough to take a picture of this priest and another priest (a classmate and dear friend from another diocese) while they were embracing me at the "Kiss of Peace" which takes place within the Ordination Rite.  These two photos are in the next room as I write.  Upon ordination I presented each of them a copy on which the phrase was inscribed, Ecce quomodo amabat eum: "See how much He loved him" (Jn 11:36).  You may recognize that as the remark of the Jews who beheld Jesus weeping upon the death of His friend Lazarus.  The affectionate greeting of those brother priests--whom I still marvel to call "peers"--reflected their love for me and for the sacrificial priesthood in which we share.

My best pose

Following the embrace of those men and dozens of others, my classmate and I were led to the Altar, having been "converted" from deacons into priests by the laying on of hands, a consecratory prayer, the Chrismation of our hands, and the repositioning of our stoles from over the left shoulder to around the neck.

I have settled into the living-out of "my" sacrament perhaps no better but no worse than any married persons.  At tonight's RCIA, part two of our matrimonial considerations, the presenter noted how she and her husband didn't fully understand what they were getting into either, what personal changes they would be prompted to make over the years, what joys awaited them.  I mentioned how the priest mentioned above inspired me to adopt the custom of kissing the ring hands of couples whose vows I had just witnessed--a gesture of mutual reverence that priests and married couples should offer because we all build up Christ's Mystical Body.  Earlier today, in talking to the 4th and 5th graders, I offered preliminary premarital formation by talking about the formation of conscience and the blessing of repentance, unique to human beings among all of God's creation by virtue of our will and intellect.  If we but contemplated our own divinized humanity a bit more deeply and a bit more often, who knows what might happen?

The "conversion" of me is only beginning, it seems; but the Altar of God is always the place of "reversion"--where I must return and love to return for the Offering of Peace and Sacrifice of Praise.  Whenever people join me at this altar, I am the richer for it.  Even when I am alone, however, I am never truly alone, for all the angels and saints are there; and soon the Lord of heaven and earth is there.

+ + + + +

Later this morning I will be leaving for the March for Life in Washington, D.C.  It will be blasted cold, I know; but this might be a spiritual boon for someone who doesn't gladly tolerate the winter, or anything else he perceives to be an inconvenience.  Pray for the health and safety of the traveling participants.  Pray especially for all who have participated in abortion by commission, coercion, suggestion, assistance, approval, and governmental support: for the repentance of those who still need it, for the continued growth of all who have repented, and finally, that the enveloping merits of Christ's sacrifice will shake the people of this nation into a new and comprehensive reverence for our own existence and worth.

We Can Grow Beyond Roe

Today marks the fortieth anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court that legalized abortion at any stage of pregnancy.  It is no surprise that this has become one of the most hotly-debated matters in our country, with no room for middle ground.  One major political party has legalized abortion in its platform, while the other doesn't.  Recent elections, presidential and otherwise, reveal this near-even split in loyalty and position.

But this matter concerns far more than  "loyalty and position."  It concerns the person, formed in her mother's womb with the faculties of one made to her parents' genetic likeness, and above all, to the Creator's image and likeness.

With and without legal protection--before and since 1973--millions of babies have been lost to abortion.  The current estimation exceeds 50 million, and the ticker increases along the lines of the national debt clock:

What we must "owe" to Roe!

There is no way to quantify the pain--physical, emotional, and spiritual--that a great many women and men experience after their involvement in an abortion.  As a priest I have had the privilege of assisting people along the path of healing, inside and outside the sacrament of Reconciliation.  Pro-Life advocacy must always be fortified by Post-Abortion ministry, lest so many mothers and fathers remain mired in the cauldron of condemnation. 

Speaking of which: the Diocese of Allentown conducts Project Rachel which assists women and men with counseling and a healing retreat opportunity. The toll-free number, which connects you to a real person, is (866) 3-RACHEL.  For more info on the retreats, consult Rachel's Vineyard (www.rachelsvineyard.org).

In his encyclical Evangelium Vitae ("The Gospel of Life"), Pope John Paul II reinforced the Church's ardent desire for souls:

I would now like to say a special word to women who have had an abortion. The Church is aware of the many factors which may have influenced your decision, and she does not doubt that in many cases it was a painful and even shattering decision. The wound in your heart may not yet have healed. Certainly what happened was and remains terribly wrong. But do not give in to discouragement and do not lose hope. Try rather to understand what happened and face it honestly. If you have not already done so, give yourselves over with humility and trust to repentance. The Father of mercies is ready to give you his forgiveness and his peace in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. To the same Father and his mercy you can with sure hope entrust your child. With the friendly and expert help and advice of other people, and as a result of your own painful experience, you can be among the most eloquent defenders of everyone's right to life. Through your commitment to life, whether by accepting the birth of other children or by welcoming and caring for those most in need of someone to be close to them, you will become promoters of a new way of looking at human life. 

When and how will we recover--or acquire for the first time?--reverence for the unborn child?  What about our equal deficit of respect for life outside the womb?  Our country's embrace of abortion, alongside pandemic violence in schools, streets, social networks, and homes, will not altogether end, but rather will be transcended one encounter, one choice at a time.  Reverence for life is played out in each person's humble and determined subjection of the passions to the intellect and will.  

For this we are eternally grateful: Right now, in the wake of our mistakes, the Lord desires to move us toward repentance, serenity, and change.  If we wish, we can become compassionate witnesses to, and steadfast coworkers in, the goodness of our own existence (3 Jn 1:8).  Perhaps the shipwreck can become a harvest.

Novena for Life

I link the Patient Reader to "Nine Days of Prayer, Penance, and Pilgrimage," a Novena from the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in commemoration of the Supreme Court Decision Roe v. Wade.

The novena offers prayers and acts of reparation for legalized abortion and its deleterious effects in our country and her citizens.

It comes to you a day late, but if you prayed Day 1 along with another day, God would not mind.

On Anonymous Letters and Public Policy

Life in the ‘Kingdom of Whatever’ | Public Discourse

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M.Cap., Archbishop of Philadelphia, has for many years been a the Church's champion in public life, challenging the unfaithful to become faithful, and challenging the faithful to become more faithful.  The Archbishop articulates the Church's uniquely comprehensive regard for human life that no single political party or candidate seems able to endorse.  He further traces the breakdown of the unity of matter and spirit that has given rise to every cultural malady--especially materialism and relativism.

I wonder how he has the time and energy to conduct daily archdiocesan business such as parish and school visitations, not to mention the Divine Office.  Minds of this caliber are a real treat, especially when they inhabit consecrated bodies.

A couple of weeks ago I received an anonymous letter from a parishioner who thought I was weighting political evaluation too heavily on abortion, to the neglect of the entire spectrum of life-respect.

I would say that I don't respond to anonymous letters, but I have no policy on responding to anonymous letters, because (sad to say?) I have received very few over the past ten years of preaching...this recent letter may be only the second.  I get very few comments on this blog, positive or negative--and very few hits!  I suspect that an increased number of comments results from (a) having many readers, (b) writing regularly, and (c) taking controversial stands on controversial topics.  A prominent priest-blogger recently told me that he attributes his success in part to his voluminous output and what he called his "edgy" posts.  This is a new relecture on Sirach 2:1, "My child, when you come to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for trials."  When you put yourself out there, boldly and often, it increases your risk of being noticed...and opposed.  (Ask Jesus!)

So my provisional "policy" has two points: 1. Look always for the truth in what the writer is saying, and respond to that, first mentally and only then (if at all) externally.  2. The value of an external response depends on whether the matter in question is the truth or only my opinion; the latter deserves little if any place in a liturgical homily, although a blog seems to be an acceptable venue if I make clear that the proposition is my opinion.

The anonymous writer was not correct in asserting that I instructed ("forced") people to vote for a particular political party or candidate and specifically "against the Democrats."  He or she incorrectly insinuated that I consider abortion and contraception the "only moral issues of the future...the only problems in the world."  He or she incorrectly attributed the source of my statement to "pop culture and the propaganda of [a major] news channel," as opposed to magisterial documents such as Evangelium Vitae, in which Blessed John Paul II  said:

by the authority which Christ conferred upon Peter and his Successors, in communion with the Bishops -- who on various occasions have condemned abortion and who in the aforementioned consultation, albeit dispersed throughout the world, have shown unanimous agreement concerning this doctrine -- I declare that direct abortion, that is, abortion willed as an end or as a means, always constitutes a grave moral disorder, since it is the deliberate killing of an innocent human being. This doctrine is based upon the natural law and upon the written Word of God, is transmitted by the Church's Tradition and taught by the ordinary and universal Magisterium.

The preceding quote may well support what I did say in that homily, to wit, "How one can vote for a candidate that supports 'reproductive rights' is beyond me, and more important, beyond the Church, and even more important, beyond human reason."  If anything in that statement is contrary to the teachings of the Magisterium, I will retract it and offer a worthy substitute.  People may indeed have "reasons" to vote for such a candidate, but the conscious and willing endorsement of a pro-abortion candidate seems unacceptable by my reading of the above paragraph from Evangelium Vitae with its appeal to the natural law.

The same homily also noted the typical connection of support for abortion with support for same-sex marriage, embryonic stem-cell research, and contraception (government-mandated or not).  The only support available for that connection is the standard "Voter's Guide" furnished in most any Catholic newspaper.

Now I mention all of this after the election of such candidates on every stratum of government with the support of a majority of Catholic voters (q.v. for the incumbent U.S. President).  Enter Archbishop Chaput's article, one paragraph of which I would present in defense of my anonymous adversary's unrest:

Still, elections are tough times for serious Catholics. If we believe in the encyclical tradition—from Rerum Novarum to Evangelium Vitae; from Humanae Vitae to Caritas In Veritate—then we can’t settle comfortably in either political party. Catholics give priority to the right to life and the integrity of the family as foundation stones of society. But we also have much to say about the economy and immigration, runaway debt, unemployment, war and peace. It’s why the US bishops recently observed that “in today’s environment, Catholics may feel politically disenfranchised, sensing that no party and few candidates fully share our comprehensive commitment to human life and dignity.”

Maybe the writer belongs to a particular party, and devoutly so.  But, like the Archbishop, he or she referenced earlier papal encyclicals, to fortify the assertion that abortion isn't the only issue.  (It certainly wasn't en courant during the time of, say, Leo XIII, at the very least because it wasn't legal.)  Yes, the proponent of a truly Catholic social justice will be out of place, if that proponent does not overly identify with a particular party for reasons that once seemed acceptable if not praiseworthy in previous generations.  I would imagine that it's very hard for entrenched partisans to rethink their party affiliation, just as it is for staunch religionists to examine their religion's beliefs critically.

The issue today is the centuries-old divorce of faith and reason that has given rise to what Chaput calls the "culture of unbelief and...the inhuman politics that flows from it."  What is most disconcerting is the number of believers who have fallen prey to this culture and politics, in large part because of the suffocation caused by materialism.  The latter I define not merely as an undue attachment to "stuff," but also as the over- or under-emphasis of the value of the human body and what we do with it, in favor of an intentionally-vague "spirituality" that places subjectivity above objectivity--good intentions above good choices.

Decline and Fall

Edward Gibbon (1737-1794), an historian and no friend of the Catholic Church, offers valuable insight into the American situation in his commentary about the once-great civilization of Athens:

In the end, more than freedom, they wanted security.  They wanted a comfortable life, and they lost it all--security, comfort, and freedom.  When the Athenians finally wanted not to give to society but for society to give to them, when the freedom they wished for most was freedom from responsibility, then Athens ceased to be free and was never free again.

Paul VI (r. 1963-1978), visible head of the Catholic Church, offers valuable insight into the American situation in his 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae:

Responsible men can become more deeply convinced of the truth of the doctrine laid down by the Church on this issue if they reflect on the consequences of methods and plans for artificial birth control. Let them first consider how easily this course of action could open wide the way for marital infidelity and a general lowering of moral standards. Not much experience is needed to be fully aware of human weakness and to understand that human beings—and especially the young, who are so exposed to temptation—need incentives to keep the moral law, and it is an evil thing to make it easy for them to break that law. Another effect that gives cause for alarm is that a man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget the reverence due to a woman, and, disregarding her physical and emotional equilibrium, reduce her to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires, no longer considering her as his partner whom he should surround with care and affection.

Finally, careful consideration should be given to the danger of this power passing into the hands of those public authorities who care little for the precepts of the moral law. Who will blame a government which in its attempt to resolve the problems affecting an entire country resorts to the same measures as are regarded as lawful by married people in the solution of a particular family difficulty? Who will prevent public authorities from favoring those contraceptive methods which they consider more effective? Should they regard this as necessary, they may even impose their use on everyone. It could well happen, therefore, that when people, either individually or in family or social life, experience the inherent difficulties of the divine law and are determined to avoid them, they may give into the hands of public authorities the power to intervene in the most personal and intimate responsibility of husband and wife.

Several of these problems existed before the Church reaffirmed her opposition to contraception: marital infidelity, diminished moral standards, erosion of the reverence due to women, and the reduction of women (and, for that matter, men) to being instruments of pleasure.  Only five years after Humanae Vitae, America legalized abortion at any stage of pregnancy, for any or no reason.  Not only in America, but on the entire world stage, the drama has played to sell-out crowds.  It seems that political polarization becomes more acute with every election.  With the prospect of mandated coverage of contraception, the stakes have never seemed higher.

The Catholic Bishops of Pennsylvania recently released this statement upon the threshold of the upcoming election.  Granted that the bishops cannot and would not endorse particular parties or candidates, they certainly reserve the right--and cherish the duty--to inform consciences with truth that guides the responsible voter to transcend party lines.  Our Metropolitan Archbishop, Charles Chaput, O.F.M.Cap., has contributed much to this effort.

As Catholic voters we must ask, "What do we really want, what do we really treasure, as a society?  More properly, whom do we treasure, and what are we willing to do for them?"  Our votes encapsulate our interests for the nation and our reverence for the culture.  In a word, they embody our true estimation of the human person--of our very selves.

Marriage: A Three-Ring Circus

It is said that marriage is a three-ring ceremony: the engagement ring, the wedding ring, and the suffering.  Spouses usually seek the first two rings with great excitement.  Nobody looks for the third one; it just comes.  But the third one lends meaning to the first two: when a married couple works together through their trials, purification and transformation result.  How much more so with God, who forged with the human race a “new and eternal covenant” by becoming man, by living, suffering, dying, and rising from death as man!  Thus the author of the letter to the Hebrews can proclaim that Jesus was “made perfect” through suffering.  His choice to enter most deeply into human existence redounded to our benefit: in Jesus mankind gained not a mere good moral example or kindhearted friend in times of need, but a Savior “bringing many children to glory.”

         Husbands and wives have the great privilege of participating in a design that points to “the beginning,” how God created man to be, in His image and likeness—that is, capable of communion and called to communion.  As Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are a Communion of mutual life and love, so are husbands and wives and children.  No created thing could be for the man what a woman could be: a “suitable partner” to become “one flesh” with him in conjugal union.  Together open to the divine abundance, spouses may become parents and form a “domestic church,” a setting to learn what it means to be truly happy, healthy, and holy.  Every domestic church experiences trials born of human weakness and sinfulness.  Those families endure who reverence the commitment that they have made and that God has made to them.  Through our repentance and conversion, God works great wonders in our midst.

         In light of this Good News we can recognize more clearly the obstacles posed to this divine ideal.  The misuse of the gift of sexual union spurs a variety of dysfunctions.  Today in particular we lament the tragedy of abortion.  Outside of our lawn have been posted 144 white crosses—one for every American baby aborted every hour: a “gross gross.”  Under the ridiculous mantle of “reproductive rights” our land has not just tolerated, but really encouraged, the problem that fouled everything up in “the beginning”: the union that exists for the bonding of spouses and the co-creation of babies now is broken.  As a result, sex ends up fulfilling neither function.  Babies have become a necessary evil; whenever and however possible, they can be avoided for the sake of convenience.  Spouses do not truly come together through sexual union, and marriage slowly becomes an obstacle to personal freedom.  How one can vote for a candidate that supports “reproductive rights” is beyond me, and more important, beyond the Church, and even more important, beyond human reason.

         When it comes to abortion, more and more people are starting to embrace the truth.  By God’s providence, painful experiences are becoming a source of healing.  But there are a host of other serious concerns: the promotion of same-sex activity and marriage, the foisting of mandatory access to contraception, the scientific creation of embryos for genetic selection, and so forth.  According to polls, many Catholics join their non-Catholic and secular counterparts in promoting these things.  It is no surprise that certain political candidates endorse most of these issues as a kind of “package deal.”  It makes sense, because these errors all have one origin, and they all tend to one tragic outcome.  Please investigate and embrace the time-honored, experience-proven truth about the sanctity of human life, and join in promoting the culture of life and love that originates in the heart of Christ.  The future of the Church depends on our commitment to the truth, both in our voting and in our daily choices.