A Question to Reflect Upon
I found this question at the bottom of an article that I read at SpiritDaily.com (you can find the link at the bottom of this post) and it set me to do a little thinking. Forgive me if I ramble a little, this whole hurricane disaster has left me feeling a little bewildered as I try to come to grips with what was, what we are facing now, and what the ramifications for the future are. First, let me present the question:
"Do you know why Christians pitch in for hurricane disaster relief and not for abortion relief? I believe it is in part because the Church follows the world. The world smiles on those who help hurricane victims but frowns on those who help the babies. Christians seem more concerned about what the world thinks than what Christ commands from us. The world-friendly Church does what is popular."
Don't get me wrong or the writer of that question for that matter. I think it safe to say that both of us agree that Christ would agree and indeed command us to help the victims of this and other disasters. Helping such unfortunates, I think, falls under the umbrella command of "love your neighbor as yourself". But if I understand the questioner properly, what he was attempting to point out is that hurricane relief is an easy cause to espouse. The cause de'jure if you will. When it comes to opposing abortion or the contraceptive mentality of the world, the going gets a little tougher.
Let me give you an example from my own experience. I don't brag about this because it is little enough, but in the city that I live, on the third Saturday of every month, my family and I meet with about 20 to 25 other people to pray the Rosary in front of the local abortion clinic. Most of these people are members of the "notorious" (wink, wink, nod, nod) Una Voce Society for the promotion of the Latin Mass. Even in a relatively small diocese such as our own, could not a hundred or even five hundred turn out one Saturday a month for the purpose of ending abortion? Only a half an hour a month would be required and the rosary is scheduled at 10:00 AM: not too early for those who stepped out on the town the evening before and not so late as to cut into most people's weekend plans.
And where are the designated leaders of our faith community? Every person who attends the monthly prayer vigil is a layperson and the event is organized through the state Right to Life organization. Cannot one local priest or religious turn out not only to support the rights of the unborn but to offer advice, support and encouragement to those of their flock in attendance? Apparently not. Well, I know that their schedules are already full but perhaps a mention in the weekly church bulletins and a rallying of the troops during a homily. If a quarter of the effort was expended on protecting the unborn as was spent on such causes as hurricane relief, capital improvement campaigns, death-row prayer vigils and getting out the vote for social services legislation (worthy causes all); then surely those 100-500 good parishioners would be stepping up to the plate each and every month.
But, praying the rosary every month at the edge of the street, in the heat and the cold, in winter snow or summer drought is not very glamorous. In fact, I find it to be somewhat embarrassing and certainly the weather extremes promise to make attending uncomfortable to say the least. And when the scourge of abortion is lifted sometime in the future, will there be a monument, a parish hall, a fund or some other material memorial to those who "only" relied on the Lord and prayed? I imagine not. However, if this was not the case, then what merit spiritual would there be in it?
The modern-day Christian congregation, Catholic or Protestant, is no longer geared to gaining spiritual merit, either for themselves or others as it once was. The focus seems to be rooted more in the material world. Action items which are popular by the standards of the worldly in our society seem to take priority over goals that the Church has taught on over the centuries: faith in Christ, the sanctity of all human life, chastity, fidelity, moral issues in general are rarely addressed except in passing. Money, of which there is never enough, is seen as the key to various problems. And although financial contributions are critical in solving the short-term crisis that disasters tend to generate, these monetary solutions will not supply what is desperatly required to aleviate the massive societal ills that have plagued our country and our world for far too long.
And here is the crux of the problem. Popular causes, those whose standard bearers tend to me rock stars and politicians looking for votes invariably involve throwing vast amounts of money at the problem while at the same time doing nothing to eliminate the root cause of the problem. Solutions to the problems faced by the hurricane victims are easily aleviated by infusions of cash, easily earned and easily spent, while the corrupion of local and state politicians, those trusted with the safety of their populations, will most likely be largely overlooked come election time. Solving the problem of abortion, which requires the changing of minds and hearts as well as moral attitudes will not get the backing of those same rock stars and politicians who prefer to be able to do as they please, when they please, instead of developing some moral backbone. Vast amounts of money are spent on a medical solution to the AIDS epidemic while ignoring the one sure cure: sexual chastity.
Sad to say, the modern churches tend to fall into the same traps as the rest of the worldly. Instead of relying on Christ for solutions, they usually take the path that will offend the least number of donors. When faced with a declining "gift giving" trend, most churches will opt to find excuses for those who do not live up to the precepts of their faith rather than trying to save their eternal souls. Lest we forget: saving souls has never been a popular activity nor a priority of the worldly.
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"Do you know why Christians pitch in for hurricane disaster relief and not for abortion relief? I believe it is in part because the Church follows the world. The world smiles on those who help hurricane victims but frowns on those who help the babies. Christians seem more concerned about what the world thinks than what Christ commands from us. The world-friendly Church does what is popular."
Don't get me wrong or the writer of that question for that matter. I think it safe to say that both of us agree that Christ would agree and indeed command us to help the victims of this and other disasters. Helping such unfortunates, I think, falls under the umbrella command of "love your neighbor as yourself". But if I understand the questioner properly, what he was attempting to point out is that hurricane relief is an easy cause to espouse. The cause de'jure if you will. When it comes to opposing abortion or the contraceptive mentality of the world, the going gets a little tougher.
Let me give you an example from my own experience. I don't brag about this because it is little enough, but in the city that I live, on the third Saturday of every month, my family and I meet with about 20 to 25 other people to pray the Rosary in front of the local abortion clinic. Most of these people are members of the "notorious" (wink, wink, nod, nod) Una Voce Society for the promotion of the Latin Mass. Even in a relatively small diocese such as our own, could not a hundred or even five hundred turn out one Saturday a month for the purpose of ending abortion? Only a half an hour a month would be required and the rosary is scheduled at 10:00 AM: not too early for those who stepped out on the town the evening before and not so late as to cut into most people's weekend plans.
And where are the designated leaders of our faith community? Every person who attends the monthly prayer vigil is a layperson and the event is organized through the state Right to Life organization. Cannot one local priest or religious turn out not only to support the rights of the unborn but to offer advice, support and encouragement to those of their flock in attendance? Apparently not. Well, I know that their schedules are already full but perhaps a mention in the weekly church bulletins and a rallying of the troops during a homily. If a quarter of the effort was expended on protecting the unborn as was spent on such causes as hurricane relief, capital improvement campaigns, death-row prayer vigils and getting out the vote for social services legislation (worthy causes all); then surely those 100-500 good parishioners would be stepping up to the plate each and every month.
But, praying the rosary every month at the edge of the street, in the heat and the cold, in winter snow or summer drought is not very glamorous. In fact, I find it to be somewhat embarrassing and certainly the weather extremes promise to make attending uncomfortable to say the least. And when the scourge of abortion is lifted sometime in the future, will there be a monument, a parish hall, a fund or some other material memorial to those who "only" relied on the Lord and prayed? I imagine not. However, if this was not the case, then what merit spiritual would there be in it?
The modern-day Christian congregation, Catholic or Protestant, is no longer geared to gaining spiritual merit, either for themselves or others as it once was. The focus seems to be rooted more in the material world. Action items which are popular by the standards of the worldly in our society seem to take priority over goals that the Church has taught on over the centuries: faith in Christ, the sanctity of all human life, chastity, fidelity, moral issues in general are rarely addressed except in passing. Money, of which there is never enough, is seen as the key to various problems. And although financial contributions are critical in solving the short-term crisis that disasters tend to generate, these monetary solutions will not supply what is desperatly required to aleviate the massive societal ills that have plagued our country and our world for far too long.
And here is the crux of the problem. Popular causes, those whose standard bearers tend to me rock stars and politicians looking for votes invariably involve throwing vast amounts of money at the problem while at the same time doing nothing to eliminate the root cause of the problem. Solutions to the problems faced by the hurricane victims are easily aleviated by infusions of cash, easily earned and easily spent, while the corrupion of local and state politicians, those trusted with the safety of their populations, will most likely be largely overlooked come election time. Solving the problem of abortion, which requires the changing of minds and hearts as well as moral attitudes will not get the backing of those same rock stars and politicians who prefer to be able to do as they please, when they please, instead of developing some moral backbone. Vast amounts of money are spent on a medical solution to the AIDS epidemic while ignoring the one sure cure: sexual chastity.
Sad to say, the modern churches tend to fall into the same traps as the rest of the worldly. Instead of relying on Christ for solutions, they usually take the path that will offend the least number of donors. When faced with a declining "gift giving" trend, most churches will opt to find excuses for those who do not live up to the precepts of their faith rather than trying to save their eternal souls. Lest we forget: saving souls has never been a popular activity nor a priority of the worldly.
Spirit Daily - Daily spiritual news from around the world
Labels: Catholic, Catholicism
posted by Norm Johnson @ 12:43 PM
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