Dealing with Hatred

I can't recall ever encountering so much hatred in our nation as seemingly exists today. Certain groups, apparently founded on and continuing to espouse Marxist principles, simply cannot abide the presence of any contrary beliefs. For example, Black Lives Matter "protesters" who openly support the looting and burning of businesses in American neighborhoods are now invading restaurants, creating physical havoc by upending tables and chairs, all the while demanding that the diners support them. 

This video was taken in Rochester, NY and shows the tormented tots of BLM storming a local restaurant. Don't they sound like little 5-year-olds in the midst of a tantrum because mommy and daddy didn't give them the toy they wanted?

Here's another, in Washington, D.C., a bit more placid but still remarkably stupid. Watch this collection of spoiled white kids who never learned a thing from their equally ignorant professors. Their poor parents paid tens of thousands to colleges and universities that failed to educate their children. How sad for them all...except the schools. As a result all the little ones are able to do is parrot the inane words screamed into a megaphone by their verbally challenged  "leader." Again, how sad. Not an original thought in the group.

These, of course, are among the more "peaceful" of the BLM and Antifa demonstrations now plaguing our nation. Believe me when I warn you that your city or town, your neighborhood, could well be next. These yahoos have no intention of limiting their violent activity to the big cities. Right now, those cities, run by equally stupid far-left mayors and city councils, are the neo-barbarians' best hunting grounds because they know the police won't challenge them. But because they're not very bright, they'll begin to think themselves invincible. That will be their mistake. The folks who live in America's heartland won't tolerate what you saw above in unarmed cities like Washington, DC and Rochester, NY. If the barbarians get really stupid they will suffer stupidity's unintended consequences. One can only hope things do not go that far.

But how should we Christians respond to all this? If we turn to Sacred Scripture and Church teaching, we can find some good answers. 

Some Christians maintain that we must tolerate those who want to do us harm, that any resort to violence is no better than the violence that threatens us. The Church, however, has never taught this and has, indeed, always supported the human person's right to self-defense. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says quite a bit about this right, which for many becomes even a duty. I've extracted only a few paragraphs

2263 The legitimate defense of persons and societies is not an exception to the prohibition against the murder of the innocent that constitutes intentional killing. "The act of self-defense can have a double effect: the preservation of one's own life; and the killing of the aggressor...The one is intended, the other is not."

2264 Love toward oneself remains a fundamental principle of morality. Therefore it is legitimate to insist on respect for one's own right to life. Someone who defends his life is not guilty of murder even if he is forced to deal his aggressor a lethal blow...

2265 Legitimate defense can be not only a right but a grave duty for one who is responsible for the lives of others. The defense of the common good requires that an unjust aggressor be rendered unable to cause harm. For this reason, those who legitimately hold authority also have the right to use arms to repel aggressors against the civil community entrusted to their responsibility.

2266 The efforts of the state to curb the spread of behavior harmful to people's rights and to the basic rules of civil society correspond to the requirement of safeguarding the common good. Legitimate public authority has the right and the duty to inflict punishment proportionate to the gravity of the offense. When it is willingly accepted by the guilty party, it assumes the value of expiation. Punishment then, in addition to defending public order and protecting people's safety, has a medicinal purpose: as far as possible, it must contribute to the correction of the guilty party.

Church teaching, then, is clear: we have a right to defend ourselves against those intent on harming us. We can also use less than lethal defensive measures to prevent those prohibiting us from exercising our God-given human rights.

Some, however, seem to believe that evil does not exist, or that people cannot be overcome by evil -- that such people are simply misunderstood. They are decidedly wrong, as the history of humanity shows us. Overcome by the presence of evil, men and women soon forget God, who is the personification of goodness and love. They become habituated to the presence of sin in their lives and disorder fills them -- disorder of body, mind, and spirit. We see this in those who have ravaged our cities. They cannot accept the freedom of others. They cannot tolerate that others find happiness and joy in God's creation, in His gifts, and desire to live only in peace. These others they accuse of causing their own self-generated failures. 

What are we to do? Well, in addition to defending ourselves, we must confront evil with the truth. Interestingly, the readings for today's Mass (23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A) address this beautifully. 

The psalmist reminds God's people that many will ignore God, and in doing so, will turn to evil. Even their fathers had fallen prey to this failing:

"...your fathers tempted me; they tested me though they had seen my works" [Ps 95:9]. 

Yes, even living in the midst of God's creation, surrounded by His wondrous works, we can forget His presence:

"You are the God who does wonders; among the peoples you have revealed your might...and no one saw your footprints" [Ps 77:15,20].

Evil exists, and driven by ignorance and self-worship it must be confronted by the truth. In today's first reading the prophet Ezekiel reminds us that by warning those who do evil, we are doing God's work:

"But if you warn the wicked, trying to turn him from his way, and he refuses to turn from his way, he shall die for his guilt, but you shall save yourself" [Ez 33:9]. 

In today's second reading, St. Paul reminds the Romans and us that our attitude toward others -- even those who do evil to us -- must be grounded in love:

"Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law" [Rom 13:10]

And then, in today's Gospel passage from Matthew, Jesus doesn't pull any punches. Our attitude and approach to those who stray, who generate disunity in the Body of Christ, must be one of love. But the one attitude we must always avoid is that of indifference. God desires reconciliation and peace among His people, and to allow disunity is to reject the will of God. We must, therefore, take positive steps to restore the unity God desires. 

"If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector" [Mt 18:15-17].

Here we encounter a deeper understanding of the teaching found in Old Testament, a teaching that immediately precedes God's command to "love your neighbor as yourself."

"You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason with your neighbor, lest you bear sin because of him" [Lv 19:17].

Like Leviticus, Jesus places the responsibility to act on the offended party. So often today, when we are offended or treated badly -- when someone "sins against" us -- we ignore those first three steps and immediately jump to the last. We just toss the other person out of our lives. But Jesus instructs us to make every effort to "win over" our brother. Indifference, then, is not permissible. 

Jesus, of course, took this same approach in His dealings with those who obstinately refused to follow God's revealed Word. He never allowed the Pharisees to get away with their willful and self-centered attitudes and behaviors. And yet, at the same time, Jesus' rebukes and questions were always consistent with His long-suffering desire to bring about the conversion and redemption of all. 

Jesus, then, remains the Good Shepherd who goes in search of the lost sheep to bring him back into the fold. His teaching here is one of those highly practical teachings to help His Church deal with the reality of the world in which it must thrive. 

St. Paul, who focused so much on needs of the early Church, never tired in reminding us that love must always be joined to truth. Aware of our own weaknesses, we must still:

"...preach the Word, be urgent in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, and exhort, be unfailing in patience and in teaching" [2 Tim 4:2].

Yes, indeed, love married to truth. That is our challenge, but always remembering:

"What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword?...No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through Him who loved us" [Rom 8:35,37].

(A friend just reminded me that I had written about fraternal correction some years ago and should provide a link to it. For what it’s worth, here it is: Fraternal Correction)

Just a Few Thoughts

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits [Mt 7:15-16].

Portland “Protesters” 

In Portland a man who apparently supported the president was murdered by an unknown assailant. Afterwards, the crowd of so-called protesters, made up largely of Black Lives Matter and Antifa Marxists radicals, were told by one of their leaders with a megaphone that, "I just got word, the person who died was a Patriot Prayer person...He was a f***ing Nazi. Our community held its own and took out the trash. I'm not going to shed any tears over a Nazi." The crown of Biden voters cheered. Really, do you think they’ll vote for the president?

These words, of course, were spoken by a woman who has no idea what the Nazis -- the National Socialist German Workers Party -- believed. Indeed, it's unlikely she even knows what she, as a Marxist, is supposed to believe. Her comments were echoed the following day in a video by one of the leaders of Black Lives Matter who told his followers: "I'm at a point where I'm ready to put the police in the f***ing grave! I'm at the point where I want to burn the White House down! I want to take it to the senators! I want to take it to the Congress!"

If you've been one of those passive supporters of BLM and Antifa, assuming they're simply peaceful protesters, I trust you've been disabused of that notion. There's a sad irony here. The rioters are ignorant, rootless young people, and as Russell Kirk wrote years ago, "The rootless are always violent, and the lonely and bored find riot a welcome diversion." 

Eventually, though, and this always happens in this country, the sanest of a nation's citizenry will refuse to accept the continued violence and destruction, and demand a response. Such a response, designed to stop senseless violence, will likely involve an acceptable level of directed, defensive violence. Violence always begets violence.

Far Left Democrats and Jews.

I'd call them anti-Semites, but I doubt if that label would bother too many of them, just as some seem to take pride in being called anti-Israel. It's really been an amazing transformation, watching the Democrat Party move so quickly from supporter of Israel and friend of the Jews to the party of the anti-Israel far left. Like the Islamists of al-Qaeda and Isis, many members of the far left wing of the party simply hate Jews. Sadly, these views seem to be moving to the party's so-called mainstream.

It's really quite disturbing, even for someone like me who has no ties to Israel. It's disturbing because it should be obvious whom we should support in the Middle East. The Muslim nations surrounding Israel are either authoritarian theocracies or just corrupt dictatorships; and most despise the United States. With only a few exceptions, they also teach their children anti-Jewish hatred, revenge, and extreme violence.

Do you support these nations, or do you support Israel, the only true representative democracy in the Middle East? Surrounded by its enemies, Israel must defend itself constantly from an insane degree of aggression. It's the kind of aggression that celebrates when Islamist terrorists murder a young Israeli family, stabbing them to death as they sleep. It's the kind of aggression that sends unguided rockets to strike random targets in Israeli cities and towns. Yes, Israel responds. Israel always responds. The nation must respond because its survival demands it and its sane citizens demand it. Just last week, Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon fired on Israeli troops on the border. This prompted Israel to send attack helicopters and other aircraft to strike Hezbollah targets. This was the first raid of its kind by Israel since the 2006 Second Lebanon War. Violence begets violence.

Black Lives Matter and Slavery.

Black Lives Matter protesters claim to be concerned about racial injustice and the legacy of slavery in the United States. But have you ever heard them protest the slavery that still exists in Africa today? Of course not. BLM, you see, really has little interest in the lives of black people, whether Americans or Africans. As a Marxist movement, it is concerned only with rewriting the history of the United States, undermining the nuclear family and religious values, and destroying our form of representative government. Injustice against blacks, which certainly exists but is far from "systemic," simply provides a handy excuse to take to the streets so they can continue their destructive work.

Slavery does exist today, and in some nations on a rather large scale. In the West African nation of Mauritania, for example, it is estimated that 20% of the population is enslaved; that is, they are "owned" by others who can do with them as they please. In fact, ownership of slaves in that country often passes from father to son. Given the Qur'an's rather explicit support for slavery, it's no wonder there's no Islamic abolitionist movement. And the left, Including Black Lives Matter, does not dare to criticize Islam. Christianity and Judaism are far safer targets.

Kamala Harris and Religion.

Senator Harris has made a career of attacking the religious values of her political opponents and others she hopes to  destroy in the public square. Her attacks on Catholics have been especially virulent. Two years ago she tried to block the nomination of a federal judge, Brian Buescher, because he was a member of the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal and charitable organization. Such an attack, of course, violates the Constitution's prohibition of religious tests:

"...no religious test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States." [Article VI, Clause 3]

The senator also smeared current Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh, a Catholic, during his confirmation hearings.

Interestingly, though, when Joe Biden was accused of sexual assault last year, Senator Harris said this of Biden's accusers: "I believe them and I respect them being able to tell their story and having the courage to do it." And now, although she never retracted those comments, she's Joe's running mate. Do you get the feeling she might be a complete opportunist, lacking any moral or philosophical foundation?

Harris has repeatedly attacked pro-life advocates and led the fight to keep abortion legal right up to the time of birth. As the Attorney General of California, she tried to inflict pregnancy centers with regulations really designed to close their doors. Taken to court, she lost her case thanks to the U. S. Supreme Court. She also co-sponsored the so-called "Equality Act" that would not allow Catholic hospitals to be Catholic by destroying rights of conscience and free speech, and even the freedom to follow one’s religious values. Her support for Planned Parenthood, gay marriage, and transgendered rights, plus her denial of school choice, especially for the poor, has put the Catholic Church in her cross-hairs. 

Nancy Pelosi on Children.

Every so often -- and these days it's far too often -- I read something that makes me want to scream nasty words. Fortunately, Diane's presence softens me and (usually) forces me to think twice before letting the neighbors know how I feel. The words of Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), inexplicably the current Speaker of the U.S. House of Representative, are the most recent cause of my loss of verbal control. Here's what she said:

"My whole purpose in politics, the three most important issues facing the Congress: our children, our children, our children...that's the hill I fight on."

Yes, hearing these words from Nancy Pelosi is truly scream-inducing. She cares so much for "the children" that during her 33 years in Congress she has overseen the slaughter of tens of millions of unborn children. I'm sorry, Nancy, but the hill you fight on is indeed a huge hill, one made up of the dismembered bodies of more than 60 million American children. The hypocrisy of this woman, who constantly claims to be a "devout Catholic," is beyond comprehension.

How wonderful that this week Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, the president of the Vatican's Pontifical Academy for Life, demanded that Catholic politicians "must stop promoting anti-life laws." He went on to say that "it is a great error" for Catholic legislators "to promote legislation favoring abortion or euthanasia." Encouraging the Catholic faithful to correct their errant political leaders, he said, "The Church has a great responsibility to help its members, first of all, to convert to the Gospel of life, to the beauty of life. It is important that we avoid the dirty work of death and carry out the beautiful work of life."

One can only pray and hope that our Catholic politicians, including Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi, will listen and convert.

COVID-19 Bible Study Reflection #7: Love One Another

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve written one of these reflections, and several people have asked me why. I’d like to say I’ve been extremely busy doing all kinds of important stuff, but that wouldn’t be true…well, not completely true. Thanks to the lifestyle changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve stepped away from some of my usual activities, probably out of sheer laziness. But during the past week or so, I’ve also been forced to think about what’s been happening in and to our country and didn’t want to react unthinkingly. I’ve needed time to digest these events, to understand them better, and to consider how best to respond.

The catalyst, of course, was the death of George Floyd on May 25. We’ve all seen the video, and I’ve heard absolutely no one support the police officer who knelt on Floyd’s neck, the act which allegedly caused his death. I suppose there are a few who believe otherwise, but I think I can safely say that 99% of Americans, and that includes me and everyone I know, were horrified by what they saw. But only a very few people, those actively involved in the case – investigators, medical examiners, prosecutors, defense attorneys, etc. – have access to all the evidence, so I will make no rash judgment, but will defer to our justice system. Like anything devised by man, our systems of justice are flawed. But we remain, at least for now, a nation of laws, and must allow the law to struggle toward a just result.

George Floyd was a black man who suffered death allegedly because of the actions of a white police officer. This has become the salient fact that initiated the protests against police brutality and racism spreading across the nation. I won’t argue the facts here, except to state that I do not accept the charge that the United States today is intrinsically a racist society. Indeed, if one actually takes the time to examine the statistics, particularly those that directly involve the actions of law enforcement professionals at all levels, obvious racist activity by the police is extremely rare, and actually on the decline. But that’s not my subject here.

The protesters have every right to go into the streets and let the nation know what they think. After all, in the Bill of Rights, the First Amendment to the Constitution recognizes some of our basic rights:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

Yes, we have the right “peaceably to assemble.” We do not, however, have the right to engage in violent protest, something Terrence Floyd recently reminded those protesting the death of his older brother, George.

Unfortunately, some organizations and movements have tried to take over many of these otherwise peaceful protests, infecting them with violence and hoping only to destroy and create chaos. The most violent among these organizations have even prepositioned bricks, water bottles filled with concrete, Molotov cocktails and other incendiary devices, and have encouraged looting and destruction by those confused souls who inevitably appear during times of urban unrest. How sad for the protesters who have exercised their right to come together and air their grievances peacefully. I might not agree with everything they have to say, but I spent many years in the uniform of our nation willing to give my life for their right to express it.

Among the most radical of the violent organizations that have embedded themselves into these protests is Antifa, a so-called anti-fascist movement. Ironically Antifa practices the same kind of violent criminal activity carried out by its predecessor, the Nazi Sturmabteilung (SA) or Brownshirts, who were largely instrumental in Adolph Hitler’s rise to power in prewar Germany. (If you don’t believe me, look up the history of the Brownshirts and compare their tactics to Antifa’s.)  Antifa, of course, is not alone, and is joined by a collection of mostly leftist organizations that desire not racial equality, but division. Some even espouse the destruction of American society.

I’ve found that extremists almost universally charge those they hate with the same evils that best define their own activity; hence Antifa, while claiming to be anti-fascist, is fascist to the core. Similarly, Black Lives Matter focuses only on the relatively few deaths of unarmed African Americans by law enforcement, while ignoring thousands of black on black murders. Apparently, only some black lives matter.

Communists, fascists, anarchists…In truth I’ve never seen much difference between the extremists of the left or the right. They all seek power and will use any means to achieve it. They claim to love democracy and yet despise the idea that the people are sovereign and “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.” We need only observe the results so evident in Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, Communist China, Castro’s Cuba, and so many other regimes that have essentially enslaved their people while calling themselves “democratic.”

As Christians, what then are we to do? 

First, we must always speak the truth. It’s so easy to speak only what others are saying, or what they want to hear from us. Indeed, it’s easy to assume that public opinion must be right because so many seem to accept it. But as Pope Benedict XVI once wisely said, “Truth is not determined by majority vote.”

The actual truth behind so much of human activity is impossible for us to grasp, simply because we cannot see into the hearts of others. St. Paul put it well when he wrote:

“For what person knows a man’s thoughts except the spirit of the man which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” [1 Cor 2:11].

We should, therefore, speak only that which we know to be true. This isn’t easy since much of what we think and say is influenced not only by the facts, but also by our own prejudices and emotional reactions to people and events. Perhaps if we turn to Jesus, specifically to His Sermon on the Mount, we can gain some clarity.

Judge with right judgment. I have tried – not always successfully – to rely on the teaching Word of Jesus. He first instructs us to be careful of judging others:

“Judge not, that you be not judged…You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye” [Mt 7:1,5].

But beam removal is difficult, isn’t it? All those prejudices, and emotions, and past experiences are hard to set aside…hard, but not impossible. The only real truth, you see, is Jesus Christ, “the way and the truth and the life” [Jn 14:6]. If we stick with Jesus, the incarnate Word of God, we’ll be safe and can proclaim the truth confidently. Only with a clean heart, only when all those pesky beams have been removed, can we grasp the truth and make just judgments. Of course, truth and just judgment demand God’s healing grace, His mercy, and His forgiveness. For this Jesus gave us the sacrament of reconciliation to free us from our sin so we can embrace the truth. How did St. John put it in his First Letter?

“If we say, ‘We are without sin,’ we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” [1 Jn 1:8].

So many today reject the very idea of truth, preferring instead to succumb to what Pope Benedict XVI called the “dictatorship of relativism.” Without the truth they cannot judge but only express faulty opinions driven by political and personal biases. Again, Jesus instructs us:

“Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment” [Jn 7:24].

With these words Jesus takes us back to the Torah, to the Law as revealed in Leviticus:

“You shall not act dishonestly in rendering judgment. Show neither partiality to the weak nor deference to the mighty, but judge your neighbor justly” [Lv 19:15].

Here we encounter a concept of justice that is echoed centuries later by the prophet Isaiah when he points to the justice of He Who is to come:

“Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide, but he shall judge the poor with justice, and decide fairly for the land’s afflicted” [Is 11:3-4].

This, of course, is the essence of “right judgment” because it conforms to God’s Law and not the laws of men. So often we think that by showing “partiality to the weak” we are being just. But doing so is really no better than deferring “to the mighty” or the wealthy or the politically connected. Appearances are so often deceiving, aren’t they?

We can, therefore, make judgments, right judgments, but only when we look past the appearances and seek the truth. Our judgment must be based on reality, not wishful thinking. Again, in His Sermon on the Mount, after telling us to remove those wooden beams, Jesus gives us a way to identify the evil in our midst:

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will know them [Mt 7:15-16].

We live in a world with more than its share of “ravenous wolves” posing as innocent sheep. Jesus didn’t pull any punches when He exposed those plotting to take His life:

“You belong to your father the devil and you willingly carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks in character, because he is a liar and the father of lies” [Jn 8:44].

Yes, indeed, “By their fruits you will know them.” Unlike Jesus, however, you and I cannot know the heart or mind of another, we can judge only by the results of their words and actions…by their fruits. In other words, we can safely assert that the firebombing and looting of a business are both sinful acts. We can condemn the sin but should not be quick to condemn the sinner. 

Throughout the New Testament we are often reminded of the perils of unjust judgment. For example, as St. Paul instructs the Romans:

“Therefore, you are without excuse, every one of you who passes judgment. For by the standard by which you judge another you condemn yourself, since you, the judge, do the very same things. We know that the judgment of God on those who do such things is true. Do you suppose, then, you who judge those who engage in such things and yet do them yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?” [Rom 2:1-3]

To judge another is quite a challenge, then, isn’t it? I suppose it all goes back to those wooden beams. Unless we strive to remove them, to reject the power of sin in our own lives, how can we justly judge another?
Over the years I’ve served on a number of juries, and always found it morally painful to judge another whom I didn’t know, based on often conflicting testimony and evidence. As jurors we are instructed to convict only when guilt has been established “beyond a reasonable doubt.” But as I discovered when serving as jury foreman on several occasions, “reasonable doubt” can mean very different things to different people. And so, again, as we apply man’s law, we struggle to achieve some kind of real justice.

What, then, should be our attitude toward those who seem so intent on leaving little but hatred and destruction in their wake?

Love them and pray for them. Loving and praying for those who seem so intent on hurting you and those you love is more than difficult. It’s impossible…impossible, that is, without God’s help. It’s only by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit working within us, that we can love our enemies. Jesus, once again in His Sermon on the Mount, gives us a command very much at odds with the ways of the world:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect” [Mt 5:43-48].

“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” is a pretty clear command, isn’t it? And yet it’s one of those hard to do things that seems so counterintuitive, so contrary to human nature – one of those things that causes many to turn away from Jesus Christ and His Church. They see Christians, folks like you and me, ignoring God’s call to love, and they sneer at our hypocrisy. “You preach a good line,” they say, “but you don’t practice what you preach.” And you know something? Too often they’re right.
Notice, too, that Jesus didn’t call us to be pretty good or to be slightly above average. No, He called us to “be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” This, too, is impossible without God’s help. Called, then, to do the Father’s work in imitation of the Son, we need the grace of the Holy Spirit. God’s perfection is best defined by His love; and so, love is a Trinitarian thing, the very essence of the relationship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is only through love that we can even approach the perfection of our God. 

Some, of course, will ask why we are to love one another. That’s perhaps the simplest question to answer. We must love each other because God loved us first. He created each one of us in an individual act of love. He came into the world not just to redeem me, or to redeem you, but to redeem us all, every single one of us:

“This is good and pleasing to God our savior, who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth” [1 Tim 2:4]

Our loving, merciful God wills the salvation of all. And we are called to do our part by bringing others to a “knowledge of the truth” which is Jesus Christ, and to do so in love. Here’s how St. John explains it:

“Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us” [1 Jn 4:7-12].

Loving one another is not optional behavior. Love is not driven by emotion; it must be a decision. But loving our enemies, or the often greater challenge of loving friends and family, doesn’t mean we just love them from afar and pray for them. “Whoever is without love does not know God” and it’s up to us to introduce them to God and His redeeming, merciful love. 

I’ll conclude with the words of St. Peter as he calls us to unity:

“Finally, all of you, be of one mind, sympathetic, loving toward one another, compassionate, humble. Do not return evil for evil, or insult for insult; but, on the contrary, a blessing, because to this you were called, that you might inherit a blessing” [1 Pt 3:8-9].

Maybe then, maybe when we Christians come together, united in our faith, when we are “of one mind, loving toward one another,” God will send forth His Spirit to shed His saving grace on the world.

Get Educated...Get a Life

Get religion, get smart. According to a study conducted at the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University, young people who practice and are committed to their faith perform at a higher level academically than those who are less religious.

llana Horwitz

Ilana Horwitz, the doctoral candidate who conducted the study, interviewed almost 2,500 public schools students aged 13-17 placing them into five categories based on the depth of their religious life. She named the categories from most to least religious as follows: abiders, adapters, assenters, avoiders and atheists. (It seems she has a preference for "a" words.) Her study concluded that the more religious had a significantly higher grade point average than the less religious. For example, the "abiders" -- described by Horwitz as those who attend religious services, pray on a regular basis, feel close to God, and emphasize the role of faith in their daily lives -- earned an average GPA of 3.22. In contrast the "avoiders" -- those who believe God exists but avoid religious involvement in their lives -- earned an average GPA of 2.93.

Horwitz attributes the difference to two key factors: conscientiousness and cooperation. She went on to conclude that "church attendance and doing well in school require commitment, diligence, and routine...The ritual practice of rising and going to church or mass, and so forth – whether compelled by one’s own faith or one’s parents’ demands – commits a youth to a practice and routine, a skill that translates into tools needed for academic success.”

It seems, then, an active religious faith can make a difference in both this life and the next. Get religion and get smart; or you can follow the road most taken and...

Get a relativistic education. I was taught, in both school and at home, that if I knew little or nothing about a subject, I should remain quiet for fear of revealing my ignorance and sounding like a complete fool. When it comes to all those important, earth-shaking topics, I've tried to follow this advice, although those who know me well might disagree.

Usually, though, if I'm interested in a subject, I read about it, study it, and relying on my common sense, listen to the arguments of more knowledgeable people. Only then do I feel comfortable to form an opinion. Even then I'm ready to change that opinion as I learn more about the subject and the motives of those making the arguments. The sought-after end is always the truth.

Apparently, in a world dominated by relativistic thinking, comprehending the truth is no longer the desired goal. How can it be, when your truth and my truth and their truth, all very different from one another, all become acceptable? The true relativist accepts all of these "truths" as valid because no knowledge, no beliefs, are truly objective; all is subjective. Indeed, he rejects the very idea of objective truth and, like Pontius Pilate, can turn to the Source of Truth itself and sneer those words, "What is truth?" Remarkably, he can do so without any embarrassment whatsoever.

Today, however, political correctness has led to a strange, illogical twisting of relativism. Now only some "truths" are acceptable. Those that support the ideological left are fine regardless of their relationship to objective reality. Any other truth must be attacked and discarded. The lie, then, becomes a truth if it furthers the desired ideological ends. This is why so many of our politicians and their elitist fellow travelers can knowingly tell obvious lies and not be taken to task by a media driven by the same ideology. As Lenin is reported to have said: "A lie told often enough becomes the truth."

I encountered a beautiful example of this a few months ago. Supposedly intelligent college students didn't hesitate to offer their opinion on the president's State of the Union speech several days before he delivered it. Assuming he had already delivered the speech, they willingly aired their opinions of what he supposedly said. What fun to listen to their comments on the content of a speech as if they had actually listened to it. In other words, they lied, but that's okay because their lies support the ideology. They have been so completely indoctrinated that their opinions before and after the speech would be virtually identical. This is what ideology does. It brainwashes. Don't confuse me with the facts; my mind is made up. Or, perhaps more accurately, the ideology has captured my mind and dictated my thoughts.

Here's a video of these NYU students:

Uncovering and highlighting the ignorance of those claiming to be educated would be great fun were it not so sad.

Lenin and Hitler: Little Difference

Should you visit a college campus and have the bad fortune to experience an up close and personal encounter with a violent leftist of the Antifa movement, just ask him to define fascism, the ideology he claims to oppose. Ask him to describe the kinds of policies fascist governments have historically imposed on their populations. Ask him to do the same for communism and communist governments. The answers (or lack thereof) will amaze. Indeed, there is little difference between Antifa activists and the true fascists they condemn -- just as there was little difference between the tactics of Hitler's Nazis and Stalin's Marxists. Truth, understanding, and knowledge are of no importance. Only the ideology counts. It results, of course, in the enslavement of the ignorant, the very "useful idiots" the ideologues call on to do their dirty work.

Ben Garrison Cartoon

Yes, indeed, there's an element of slavery here. Too many have become so complacent in their ideological servitude that they are unable to think. I fear it has begun to affect the nation as a whole. As Americans we probably enjoy more physical comforts than those living elsewhere and yet at the same time we are losing our mental freedom. Even more strange is the infantization of college students who must be protected from any thoughts that might possibly disturb them.

Protect me...please, please protect me

Of course, far too many colleges and universities encourage all this by eliminating required, foundational courses in history, philosophy, literature, and the development of civilization. In 1962, as a freshman at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, I was required to take a course in logic. (I still have both the textbook and workbook, to which I have referred many times over the years.) I suspect very few college students could even define "logic" today. And I still fall back on what I learned that same freshman year in the legendary Carroll Quigley's course on the Evolution of Civilizations. Professor Quigley was the kind of liberal that no longer exists, one who would graciously listen to other points of view and engage in the give and take of good argument. 

Carroll Quigley

Without an understanding of the human condition -- the knowledge offered by the foundational studies mentioned above -- no person is truly educated. But even where such courses continue to be taught, their content is too often distorted by the prevailing leftist ideology. Argument and open discussion of contrary views -- the means to seek out the truth -- are not just discouraged but even prohibited.

Yes, it's a sad truth that most college graduates today depart these institutions woefully uneducated. Some have acquired the basic technical skills demanded by a chosen career field and go on to accept entry-level positions in industry, government, education, or health care. But they have been trained rather than educated. No doubt many will succeed as the world measures success, but are they prepared to answer, or even ask, life's great questions?

Others, having focused on politically correct areas of study, graduate with few marketable skills and find themselves working at what are essentially unskilled jobs and living in mom's basement.

Mom's Basement Ain't So Bad

Still others choose to enter professions that require the increasingly specialized knowledge and skills taught in  graduate schools. Brandishing advanced degrees and professional success they are viewed as experts to whom the world should listen. In truth, their expertise and knowledge are often so specialized, so narrow, that they are less likely to offer the answers so many seek.

A young person today must make a choice. If the goal is wealth and worldly success, and nothing more, then by all means do what must be done to attend one of the elite institutions. Accept the indoctrination and be prepared to live a narrow, meaningless life.

I've already, probably too often, offered my opinion on the quality of higher education at most colleges and universities. To the young person of faith, I offer the following advice. First, listen to St. Paul and what he told the Philippians:

I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus [Ph 3:14].

In other words, don't sweat the small stuff, and that includes how you earn your living in today's world. Focus instead on the eternal "prize of God's upward calling." Be a person of faith, one who sees beyond this life to eternity.

My most recent advice to the average high school student is to learn a useful trade, the kind that will always be in demand, or enlist in one of the military services, while at the same time pursuing higher education online. And then read. Read and re-read the works of those whose thoughts formed humanity's great civilizations. 

That advice hasn't changed. 

A Marine in Afghanistan - Learning About Life

Life, in fact, is the best educator. And I really believe that the average 20-year-old Marine with combat experience in Iraq, Afghanistan, or elsewhere has a deeper understanding of the human condition and the state of the world than most recent college graduates.