A Willy Wonka Utopia?

Previously I wrote about the latest bit of news with the lawsuits in court right now over the HHS mandate. I talked about how I really see it as a war of good v evil and not a case of the administration being blindsided by the church. If it is a battle of good v evil, the devil knows what he is doing, the devil knows who his opponents are and is very cunning and clever. This is why we need to not get a sense of arrogance or pride in the fact we filed lawsuits, but remain extra vigilant in the living out of our faith and the Gospel.

In thinking about this 'culture of death' that is just creeping in on every front, I really wrestle with putting myself in 'their' shoes and trying to find the attraction in all this. The architecture of such a society involves cold, white-washed, sterile and pre-fab materials that create something as beautiful and exquisite as an old Walmart. But, I don't think its the beauty - or lack thereof - but the perceived freedom of movement that many people believe they will achieve.

At one level, I can empathize with them in that "who wouldn't want to be free and enjoy all the pleasures the world has to offer?" "Who wouldn't want to live in a world where there were no consequences for our actions and that any appetite we had, it was okay to indulge it?" 

On one level, it can sound very attractive to create this utopia of sorts where life was as happy as Wonka's chocolate factory. But it is an illusion that leads to utter depravity and certain death. At one level, I can see abandoning beauty for pleasure, but that would get old and un-pleasurable real quick. 

It is this lack of the 'big picture' that is fueling this movement. The utter absence of rational thinking at even the most basic level is impeding individuals from thinking about the bigger questions of life, humanity and God. When we do this and subtract any 'higher-thininkg' from our mental landscape, the chocolate factory looks pretty darn attractive.

BUT 

We are made in the Image of God...We are made for relationship...We are made to give ourselves to an Other...We are made with spirit and flesh...We are in a state of fallen humanity in need of a savior...We NEED the Church and all She offers us by means of sacraments, worship, sound interpretaion of scripture and a means to touch the mysteries of God.

This 'Willy Wonka' utopia of free sex and play forces the individual to ignore all of the above. You cannot  create a culture where the human body is treated as a play thing, where we find it a right to murder unborn children, where governments are more sacred than the Church instituted by Christ AND maintain a biblical view of humanity wrapped in the mystery of God.

The false utopia will lead - there is no debate about it - to human despair and depravity because it denies us of our true identity and our most intrinsic needs: true relationships, love and God in all His transcendental qualities. When we starve ourselves of what we really need, the next logical step is death. Stone cold death and the risk of an eternity in the abyss of eternal hell. 

It's a real choice and the choice is ours.

The devil is no dummy and he is certainly real. Sin is an incredible seductive and powerful entity that is loose and roaming all around us. We need to remain in the Truth and the Church if we wish to ever come close to creating a culture that reflects just that. 

Did they awake a giant?

Yesterday, a large array of plaintiffs filed 12 lawsuits in federal court to challenge the constitutionality of the now infamous HHS mandate. I am very proud of my bishop for standing up and defending the church. He has been given an unfair reputation by many for their misunderstanding of his take on liturgical translation, but I would be hard pressed to find many men as passionate as he is in defending the church.

There has been a lot of commentary on the significance of this movement of our bishops and the church at large in not going silently into the night on this issue.

One thing I have read a lot is the idea that the Obama administration has awakened a giant; that the Obama administration has underestimated the Catholic Church and Her response.

I wrestle with whether or not this is the case...

I find it very hard to believe that anyone involved with drafting this legislation overlooked the fact that it was going to settle like oil and vinegar with the church. With the intensity of the debate over contraception and abortion over the past few decades, it is impossible to think that the administration was blindsided by this.

Secondly, I don't think there is any person who can honestly say that the administration is a friend to traditional, orthodox, sound, family - centered Catholicism. At most you can site placated rhetoric at campaign events or intense news conferences or speeches, but there has been nothing to suggest otherwise. To think that any legislation was crafted to uphold a biblical view of humanity is just naive.

The art of war involves two essential elements: a strategy and an assurance of victory. I believe both are at play in this latest drama of American politics.  What better way to win sympathy...and votes... if you're viewed as the underdog - the victim! I don't know what news outlet you watch, but everything I see presents the church as old-white men in dresses who want to oppress women and harbor pedophiles. Whereas the federal government is shown as a bullied kid with a scraped knee who's crying for his mom to protect him from the aggressive church. The more this image is played out, the more they can play on the emotions of uninformed individuals and thus (in their thinking) win!

I really think they foresaw this and knew it was going to be met with opposition. They most likely foresaw lawsuits, but are relying on the hopes of the cases falling on the desks of the many liberal judges throughout this land. I am awfully sure they had no intention to uphold the dignity of the human person, but indulge the appetite in this culture for licentious promiscuity and 'freedom from God'.

I don't think it wise to adopt a Catholic maverick mentality of "we outsmarted the administration". I think we need to remain faithful, prayerful and dedicated to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ if we truly want to transform the culture and the government.

Next post, I want to talk a little about the culture that is wanting to be created by those in opposition to the church.

Looking back...

This is my final week in the seminary.

In a way it is a time for rejoicing and celebration for I had completed this assignment, this phase of my life. At the same time, it incites a lot of self-reflection and examination on the past 8 years of my life.

I have been blessed to have had the opportunity to experience phenomenal opportunities and meet some extraordinary people. I have had the opportunity to minister on an Indian reservation in SD, work in a soup kitchen in the heart of the Bronx. I have been assigned to two hospitals, two nursing homes, two youth programs, and a mental hospital as apostolic ministries. I have had the opportunity to go on pilgrimage to NY to be with the pope on his US visit and to Rome where I had the opportunity of being an acolyte at mass with him in St Peter's. I had the opportunity to not only go to Rome, but to Ars where I went to confession in the confessional of St John Vianney, followed by my acolyte installation at the tomb of St Vincent de Paul in Paris and serving mass in Notre Dame Cathedral.

Then there have been the innumerable day-to-day encounters and experiences that are the brick and mortar to the whole edifice of the seminary experience.

I have met some outstanding individuals - fellow students, priests, laity - who have impacted my life in ways many of them will never know and who some have become lifelong friends.

The formation process is so massive and weaves itself into every dimension of the man who goes through it. To synthesize and do a total reflection on it as a whole is a near impossible task for every aspect of your life and faith is affected by the experience. But I want o give a few thoughts on the spiritual and vocational growth I've experienced over the last 8 years.

Firstly, the sense I had of who God was when I first began and the sense of God now is miles deeper. My faith formation growing up was largely rooted in my 12 years of Catholic education and going to church on most Sundays - I was left with many more questions and vague notions of God than I would have preferred. It was in the process of these past years that I have taken ownership of, not only my knowledge of God, but my relationship with Him, and that is the most important element. I entered seminary with a feeling and a desire to discover what the priesthood meant while believing I had a grasp on God, but 8 years later I realize that I was very young and unspecific in my faith and didn't know a lot about what it meant to truly know God.

Secondly, it is the relationship with God that has come to define me. I am in no way holy and saintly, but I work on and desire a relationship with God so as to have everything about me reflect in that relationship. In all my weaknesses and struggles and challenges that I face in myself and in this vocation, I (try to) recognize them in the context of enduring it with God. God is not an idea that I can pray to in time of need, but an intimate friend whom I converse with all the time, any place and anywhere. It is that constant awareness of being in the presence of and in relationship with God that has truly been the most distinguishable touchstone of growth for me.

Thirdly, it is the overall sense and understanding of prayer and how powerful and effective it can be in our personal lives, but in the lives of those around us. It think this flows from the previous two points, but if you know what it means to know and you build a relationship with that person, then communication becomes enriched, deeper and more meaningful. The same goes with God. Even though we can't communicate the same as with a friend, we can still communicate and we do so through, not only through our senses, but also our souls and hearts. Communication with God is what it is all about - no matter the devotion, the words or actions - it is all about communicating and getting closer to the God. I think I was far more prone to pray to fulfill a sense of obligation to say words, but now I still have an obligation and bound by promises to my bishop to pray, but it is to enrich my life and the life of the whole church. This God that I pray to is the same one you and everyone else prays to - there is only one God! The more I can pray and love God, the more I am connected to the God who loves all humanity which leads me to being more connected to them in love.

It is a huge web and nothing is autonomous or isolated from another. My prayer life cannot not affect my relationship with God. My relationship with God cannot not affect my relationship to humanity. My relationship to humanity cannot not affect my relationship with God...and so on! (I know I used double negatives... I can't not resist)

I hope that wasn't too broad or too much, but my early reflections on this past phase of my life has made me initially see that fundamental growth and awareness has taken place.
As I move forward, especially in these next four weeks before priestly ordination, I will be reflecting a lot on what all this means to be called to the priesthood and to grow in maturity within the context of God...