Faithful Citizenship
I received a reprimand because this homily addresses sensitive subjects, so I am not publicizing this via social media. I am persisting it here “for the record,” since I did preach it that Saturday night. I often meditate and preach about the importance of not pretending to be perfect, and being willing to fall and get up again, and I am posting this here in that spirit.
Consider this fair warning that the homily was deemed sufficiently inappropriate that Father preached Sunday morning. I had another commitment after mass that night, and couldn’t prepare another homily. Ok, that’s true, but I confess that mostly my pride got in the way. I could have left the event early, gotten up early Sunday, or simply spoken off the cuff, and that’s what I’ll do the next time my pastor objects to a homily.
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29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A – Render Unto Caesar
As elections approach, we tend to focus a bit more on our duty as residents and citizens of our nation. It’s a shame that we don’t give it more attention the other three years and eleven months of the four year election cycle, when we might make more of a difference.
Our first loyalty and citizenship is to Heaven, but that citizenship does not conflict with our obligation to faithful citizenship here on earth. On the contrary, the fact we are citizens of heaven obligates us even more to be good and active citizens of our nation. It’s not just an option – we owe it to our nation, and to God. Even if we are not citizens of the place where we live, our duty to love our neighbor demands our participation to whatever degree possible.
We need to participate for the common good. Sometimes we hear a good Catholic is not interested in politics. This is not true: good Catholics immerse themselves in politics by offering the best of themselves.
Pope Francis
What does it mean to be a faithful citizen, and how do we do that? It seems like this should be a simple question, but… it isn’t.
Our clergy, and even our bishops are struggling with this. I think it is fair to say that every bishop is disappointing and frustrating to someone, and even to some of their brother bishops. Some of our bishops speak out – usually careful to avoid an explicit endorsement of their preferred candidate, but making their implicit endorsement clear while bashing the other. Those bishops delight those on one side of the political divide, and anger those on the other. Bishops who do not play the “I’m not endorsing… but… wink wink nudge nudge” game are labeled weak and wishy-washy by both sides.
If we cannot copy the answer out of the bishops’ book, what can we do?
We can approach the election with a spirit of discernment. That means adopting a prayerful attitude that respects the dignity of every person, even awful scoundrels… I mean… public servants in DC. This means we speak thoughtfully, sensitively, and charitibly. We are called to participate respectfully. We are called to be prudent, prayerful, and discerning. (Bp Cover, Oct 11)
No one candidate or party perfectly represents all our thinking, or the Church’s teaching. We must look at all the issues, not only one or two, but it is important to prioritize the issues, since not all are equal and some, like the sanctity of human life, are of the utmost importance. (Bp Coerver, Oct 11) Wherever we are on the political spectrum, we are called to grow. There is almost certainly something in the Church’s teaching that each of us still need to learn to love.
The Church teaches that our call to holiness as citizens of heaven requires a “firm and passionate” defense of “the innocent unborn.” The Holy Father and the US bishops have clearly stated that “abortion remains our preeminent priority because it directly attacks life, because it takes place within the sanctuary of the family, and because of the number of lives destroyed.” (Faithful Citizenship) Do we rejoice in this teaching? Good. Does it frustrate or anger us? Then here is a place we can grow and form our conscience.
Our Holy Father also reminds us that the “lives of the poor, those already born, the destitute, the abandoned and the underprivileged, the vulnerable infirm and elderly exposed to covert euthanasia, the victims of human trafficking, new forms of slavery, and every form of rejection” are equally sacred. (Gaudete et exsultate). Do we rejoice in this teaching? Good. Does it frustrate or anger us? Then here is a place we can grow and form our conscience.
Our bishops remind us that “We cannot dismiss or ignore other serious threats to human life and dignity such as racism, the environmental crisis, poverty and the death penalty.” “At our border, many arriving families endure separation, inhumane treatment, and lack of due process, while those fleeing persecution and violence face heightened barriers to seeking refuge and asylum.” Do we rejoice in this teaching? Good. Does it frustrate or anger us? Then here is a place we can grow and form our conscience.
Wherever we are on the political spectrum, we are called to grow. To discern prudently, we “have a serious life-long obligation to form our conscience according to human reason and the teaching of the church… Conscience is not something that allows us to justify whatever we want. Nor is it a mere feeling about what we should or should not do. Rather, conscience is the voice of God resounding in the human heart, revealing the truth to us and calling us to do what is good while shunning what is evil. (Faithful Citizenship)
Formation of conscience requires that we have a desire to embrace goodness and truth as found in sacred scripture and the teaching of the church as found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It is also important to examine the facts related to various choices. Prayerful reflection is essential to discern the will of God. If we fail to form our conscience in the light of the truths of the faith and the moral teachings of the church, we can make erroneous judgments. (Bp Coerver, Oct 11) But, with a well formed conscience, we can be faithful stewards of the blessings we have received, and faithful citizens of our nation.
And that is what we owe to our children, and to their children, to our nation, and to our God.
