On Stage Now: "Coronavirus 2020"

I've come to believe that crises, like this Coronavirus experience, make good people better and bad people worse.

It is encouraging to hear stories about people sacrificing their routines, coming to the aid of a neighbor in need, or continuing to do jobs that carry a risk of contracting the disease,

Good people go out of their way to bring peace to the anxious, food to the hungry, money to the no- longer employed! The intervention of the many Good Samaritans out there makes tolerable the loneliness, anxiety, and fears that inevitably steal into the hearts of all who suffer through these trying times.

Bad people double their efforts to be self-centered and manipulative, hoarding foods or paper products, or scamming people with deceptive phone calls claiming to be from Medicare or from a medical service providing coronavirus testing.
                                               
Assessing this pandemic from my religious perspective I have to ask, "What is God trying to tell us?
What questions should we be asking ourselves? What lesson am I to learn?"

The answers may be applicable to the behaviors of the world at large, or to any given nation or political party. Above all, the answers must be personal to each individual human being! Each of us has the opportunity (responsibility) to pause, to think, to listen to conscience and the insights of ethics and morality.
                                         
Over the years I have developed for myself a fundamental principle from study of the Bible, from reading biographies, from personal experience: "God often directs us in indirect ways."

I think of God as a movie director watching the unfolding of each scene of our lives. He seldom tells us how we are to act, but more often subtly coaches from us a performance based on our own unique combination of talents.

I am not fond of this script, this "Coronavirus 2020," but I suspect the Director is watching carefully how each of us plays the role he or she has been given, trusting we will use our talents to bring this production to a happy ending.

And as is always true, God waits to see whether the bad people, the villains, will have that epiphany moment which brings about conversion. Bad people can become good. That possibility adds to the drama, and may be the raison d'etre for the entire production.

The plays the thing wherein the Divine One catches his actors. He has given the general description of the story, but allows the actors to contribute in their own way.

And still He directs in indirect ways.

The Burden of Human Freedom

I have a hunch it is harder for a human being to be a human being than it is for an angel to be an angel.

Human beings have an ongoing wrestling match between their intellect/will and their emotions.

Although the intellect seems to be naturally oriented toward truth, and the will toward good, the freedom we have allows us to thwart that natural orientation.

Emotions can either help or hinder our efforts to be homo sapiens.

Our intellects, the spiritual power that enables us to know, can be mistaken in its effort to opine, to think things through. (I think we are not entitled to our opinion until we have made an honest effort to seek the truth.) Emotions such as anger or hate can interfere in the process of thinking. (A person filled with hate usually doesn't think straight.)

And we can choose to do wrong in spite of our natural orientation toward good. Even our sinful acts are choices for good, that is, we see some good in the act, and even though the search for truth reveals that evil outweighs the good, we choose to act because of the "good" we see in it.

I realize I am on shaky ground when I question whether angels have emotional interference in the choices they make. Some have proposed that satan's fall from grace was because of jealousy. It is said that Lucifer was upset when God announced his plan to make creatures that could share in his creative power, creatures blessed with the power of pro-creation, of bringing new life into existence.
(It's a theory; any substantial evidence to back it up?)

The human burden of free-will may be among the reasons God forgives so readily. God understands.

Fyodor Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov contains a parable called "The Grand Inquisitor,"
an argument proposed by Ivan, the unbeliever, that Jesus could have relieved human beings of the wrestling match between intellect/will and emotions but failed to do so. He sees the three temptations Jesus faced in Matthew 4:1-11 as the occasion when Jesus could have acted but failed to do so. As a consequence, the parable proposes, the Church has had to step in and make decisions for people, relieving them of the need to "think things through."

There is risk in having to think. There is uncertainty. Thomas Merton wrestled with such freedom as the so-called "Merton Prayer" makes plain: "My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me... Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following Your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please does in fact please you."

I suppose that if we had all the answers and complete surety we would easily conclude we don't need God's help. It is the uncertainty that can lead us to allowing Jesus the Christ to have entrance into our life.

Among the many crosses humanity must bear I suspect freedom, the ability to choose, is one of the heaviest.  It is comforting to know that in Jesus we have someone who will accompany us all along the way, even if we stumble and fall.

Is Happiness A Matter Of Choice?

I've come to wrestle with what the former secretary general of the United Nations Dag Hammarskjold wrote in his posthumously published and translated memoir known as Markings: "The chooser's happiness lies in his congruence with the chosen."

I had to think about that, and translate that statement into simpler terms I could understand, namely,
"A person's degree of happiness can be correlated with what he or she has chosen."

That insight flows from our being made in the image of God, from being blessed with an intellect and a will - the spiritual powers which enable us to know and to choose.

The intellect (a gift from God) is by its nature geared toward truth. The will (the ability which accompanies the intellect and therefore is also a gift from the Creator) is by its nature oriented toward what is good.

The will is that power by which we choose, the power that allows us to enjoy (or be burdened by) freedom.

By God's design human beings are blessed with the ability to make choices, to choose among the variety of good things in creation, such as choices in colors, sounds, foods, companions, etc., etc.

It is also possible, however, to choose evil things: to lie or be honest, to love or to hate, to conserve or waste, etc., etc.

That natural orientation in the will toward good is so strong that even when we choose to do evil we choose to do it not because it is evil but because we see some good in it. The robber robs the bank not because it is evil but because that's where the money is, and money is the good he seeks.

When the object of a potential choice is judged by the intellect to be evil, it is the cooperation of conscience (intellect and will working together) that is supposed to lead us to withdraw the choice from evil to good, from robbing to respecting other peoples' right to property.

To violate the principle of good over evil is to thwart the blessing (or burden) of bring human, a rational animal.

Granted the weaknesses within us (excessive pride, jealousy, greed, haltered, etc., etc.) can challenge the goodness of choice, and maybe even the judgment of intellect about what is good, we still carry some degree of responsibility. The two powers remain intact.

But, at least in theory, happiness is the natural by-product of the choices we make. Choose evil, and we work against the natural orientation of the will. We work against our very selves.

Happiness (peace of mind, restful harmony) can be challenged by the outward forces of evil (e.g., being betrayed, loss of a loved one, failure to achieve or to be what we should), but happiness regains its place within one's mind, heart and soul when we think it through and assess what is true and good.
(God's forgiveness and patience give us pause, and the reason to work it through.)

Th next time I determine I am unhappy I need to ask myself, "What choices have I made?" Maybe the very choice to be happy is all its takes to overcome my unhappiness. I must wrestle with Hammarskjold's  theory and my experience.

A Resolution For The New Year

I've come to believe that a person  filled with hate cannot think straight.

The political scene in our country tests the point.

Many contemporary partisan commentaries and news reports reflect a rancor  that ignores truth and cares nothing for civility.

Dishonesty and chicanery become tools for scoring political gain. The end justifies the means. Even perjury is an acceptable avenue in the arsenal of unscrupulous but determined politicians.

The so-called mainstream media have too often fanned the flames of emotion without giving due place to reason and the search for truth.

Civil War America experienced something akin to what we see and hear today: "The hoary-headed old tyrant whose presence now defiles the honored seat of  Washington has usurped powers which the constitution has conferred neither upon the President nor Congress, nor upon both together. He has declared war against the sovereign States of the South, in order to coerce them into subjection....Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God" (Editorial, Nashville Union and American, April 16, 1861).

Such rhetoric stirs the emotions but too often foregoes reason.

Wisdom and prudence suggest that allegations be researched, that commentators and politicians be vetted, that online stories be taken with the proverbial grain of salt --all in the interest of finding the truth.

It is easy to spew fighting words; it is hard to think things through.

There is something in the human spirit that seeks a cause, something to live for, something to promote. When a person finds that cause he can easily give in to an emotional response which makes him feel righteous and possessive of the higher ground. That feeling can relieve him of further search and assessment. it almost resolves into simple contradiction: "My mind is made up; don't bother me with the facts."

Jesus appealed to the better angels of our nature in what we call the "Beatitudes." He described the attitudes his followers should assume, and went so far as to say, "Everyone who is angry with his brother is liable to judgment."

Clearly in the teaching of the Christ, hatred is the opposite of love. A hateful person cannot think and act like Christ, and even if many of our fellow countrymen are not Christian, those who are must put a check on hatred to help abet peace and justice in the culture and politics around us.

A resolution for the new year?

Good News Story

Too often these days news about the Catholic Church is dark and depressing, but I caught a glimpse of light and encouragement recently in an article in the Tennessee Register, the bi-weekly newspaper of the Diocese of Nashville.

Father Jim Sichko, who was named a Missionary of  Mercy by Pope Francis, came to the rescue of nearly 200 out-of-work miners in Harlan County, Kentucky, providing $20,000 for utility bills and other necessities. As Sichko put it, “I paid everything –electric, rent, etc.—but not cell-phones.”

The miners had worked for a mining company named Backjewel, which has filed for bankruptcy. The Tennessee Register added, “The company apparently all but absconded with money withdrawn from its employees’ paychecks for child support payments and 401 (k) contributions, but the workers said the money was never deposited in their accounts.”

Other news reports note that Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin and the state’s Attorney General are opening an investigation because of complaints from miners who reported paychecks that ‘bounced” and missing payment for child support.

 Sichko, a priest of the Diocese of Lexington, is one of about 100 priests across the United States designated by Pope Francis as Missionaries of Mercy, a positive, concrete outreach prompted by the 2016 Year of Mercy.

Missionaries of Mercy are authorized to preach and hear confessions anywhere in the country, are allowed to forgive sins usually reserved to the pope, and have funds allocated to them to meet the material needs of people too.

When Sichko learned of the miners’ situation, he traveled to Harlan County and met with nearly 200 of them at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, compiled their information, asked what they most needed, and on his return to Lexington mailed them checks totaling $20,000.

“I would say that 99 per cent of them were not Catholic, and had not even set foot on Catholic property,” Sichko explained, “but these people have had their cars repossessed and their utilities shut off.”

In establishing the “Missionaries of Mercy” Pope Francis said, “We can’t run the risk of a penitent not perceiving the maternal love of the Church that welcomes and loves him.”

Father Sichko’s intervention at Harlan County is only one of the many responses he and other Missionaries of Mercy have made in fulfillment of the Pope’s plan and the Church’s mission. This story allows some of the light of the Gospel to shine in our world today –truly good news.

The Tennessee Register  is a good source for Catholic news not only about Nashville but in other parts of the world. Annual subscription for the bi-weekly is $29.00. Send check to Tennessee Register, 2800 McGavock Pike, Nashville TN 37214-1402., or call 615-783-0750. 

Web site: www.tennesseeregister.com

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Opposition to Pope Francis

It is well-known that some segments of the Catholic Church oppose Pope Francis and his vision of what the Church should be.  

Even some cardinals and bishops as well as lay persons have publicly challenged the pope’s openness to allow Catholics in certain circumstances who have divorced and remarried  to receive Holy Communion.

On other fronts some of the hierarchy and even some seminarians object to Pope Francis’ suggestion that clergy should reject clericalism, careerism, and elitism. They resent being told they should smell like the sheep.  Some Catholic  bookstores (even in seminaries) carry few if any books by or about Pope Francis.
They want him to go away.

The Argentine pope looks at the Church not only from the traditional European point of view but also from a South American perspective. His theology is influenced by writers whose names are well-known in Europe and America (Thomas Aquinas, Romano Guardini, Yves Congar, Henri de Lubac) but also by others scarcely known in the United States or Europe (Amelia Lezcano Podetti, Alberto Methol Ferre, Guzman Carriquiry Lecour, Lucio Gera).

Massimo Faggioli, professor at the University of St. Thomas in St Paul (MN), writes that “Pope Francis appears to be motivated by a more historical and cultural vision, in line with the Latin American theology he comes from, and by a more spiritual than theological vision for the ministry of the Roman pontificate” (Pope Francis: Tradition in Transition, Paulist Press, 2015,  p.77).

Faggioli adds, “The shift of emphasis with Bergoglio, from the theological to the spiritual papacy, has some unknowns for the future structure of Catholicism” (ibid, p. 78).

Pope Francis is aware of both the task before him and the obstacles he faces. That may be the reason he continually makes the plea, “Pray for me.”

Marco Politi, author of Pope Francis Among The Wolves (Columbia University Press, 2014) recalls a You Tube skit which shows Francis plodding along with a refrigerator on his shoulders, a gift for a poor widow. As he walks along he asks his two secretaries who accompany him (but offering no assistance with the heavy load), “What door do we deliver it?” One answers, “Number 1321, Your Holiness.” And Francis asks, “Where are we now?” only to hear, “Number 23, Your Holiness.”

As he trudges along under his heavy burden, a number of others, including two cardinals, stop him and ask for photos and blessings, but none of them lends a hand. Finally he arrives at the widow’s house only to hear her refuse the gift because it is the wrong color! “It could have been worse,” Francis murmurs as he sets off homeward.

Changing metaphors, I recall  an old saying that “it’s hard to remember that you came to drain the swamp when you’re up to your hips in alligators.”

Many of the cardinals who elected him to succeed Pope Benedict XVI chose Cardinal Bergoglio with the hope that he would reform the Curia, the Church’s bureaucracy, and  rid the Church of the alligators.

He may well be up to his hips in opposition but it is a fair assessment that he has not forgotten why he came to the swamp. For that reason his many supporters continue to  pray for him!

It Is Hard To Be Honest

It’s hard to be honest.

When I was teaching high school I was sometimes challenged by a student who rejected what I was saying, often defending her resistance with, “Well, I’m entitled to my own opinion!”  My rejoinder, “No, you’re not, at least not until you’ve taken steps to form it properly. You are not entitled until you opine.”

An opinion is the result of thinking. It’s not a feeling or a prejudice or what I would like to be true. An opinion is the result of an honest search for the truth. It requires effort. It means using both one’s intellect and will in a quest for accuracy, verity, honesty. And God knows, it’s hard to be honest.

That honesty is rare may be assumed by noting that of all the United States presidents only Washington and Lincoln are characterized by or remembered for their honesty. Washington’s “I cannot tell a lie” story may be apocryphal but it does affirm history’s respect for a man who is honest.

And in his biography of Lincoln, William Herndon, his law partner, concluded, “In the grand review of his peculiar characteristics, nothing creates such an impressive effect as his love of the truth. It looms up over everything else. His life is proof of the assertion that he never yielded in his fundamental conception of truth to any man for any end” (p. 487).

Dedication to truth and honesty seems to be intimately related to humility. What irony that Shakespeare’s Polonius, the rather officious, garrulous counselor to King Claudius, should advise his own son, “This above all, --to thine ownself  be true; and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man” (Hamlet I, 3).

It is humility, being down-to-earth, that promotes an honest assessment of oneself. The sincere recognition that we are not perfect, that we may err, even sin, is healthy. Failure to acknowledge weakness often leads to defense-oriented behavior, those mechanisms we use to prop up our pride and defend our ego.

Instead of an honest admission to self, we may resort to rationalization (searching for reasons to justify a decision or an act), projection (blaming others), compensation (downplaying our weaknesses and focusing on our strengths), denial of reality (refusal to face facts), and other commonly used defense mechanisms.

Those in the Judaeo-Christian tradition are expected to be truthful.

It’s odd that Old Testament Hebrew does not have an exact word for true or truth but conveys the idea with the word emeth which can be rendered stability, firmness, reliability, faithfulness.  Bible scholar Father John McKenzie explains the Hebrew mentality, “The true is not merely an object of intellectual assent, but something which demands a personal commitment. In a sense one can be said to choose or accept the truth rather than assent to it. The lie on the contrary is not solidly real, and therefore not dependable.”  Truth is an objective reality to be embraced.

The New Testament Greek uses alētheia for truth, from an adjective meaning “unconcealed, manifest.” John uses this term in 8:31-32, “Jesus then said to those Jews who believed in him ‘If you remain in my word, you will truly (alēthōs) be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth (alētheia)  will set you free.” The freedom he offers removes the constraints of a misguided life, clarifying life’s purpose and meaning.

If religion supports the search for and embrace of truth and honesty, so does an analysis of what makes a human homo sapiens, thinking man. Humanity is characterized by two spiritual powers: intellect and will. With the intellect we know; with the will we choose. By nature the intellect is oriented  toward truth, and the will is oriented toward good. Such natural orientation, however, does not preclude telling lies and doing evil. Humans are so free that they can violate their own integrity and work against their very selves.

The God-given orientation to truth and good is not a pass. A human being must search out truth and discern what is good. It is often a struggle, weighing contradictory options, overcoming thoughtless emotional responses, confronting weakness, and wrestling with the defense mechanisms we can resort to when the ego is challenged.

An opinion is not what one feels nor what one wishes to be the truth. An opinion is the result of responsibly seeking truth.

Many of our religious and political clashes are the result of the failure to pursue the truth. It is easier to hold on to past persuasions/convictions or party lines than to dare an authentic search for truth and good. A great deal of what passes for “opinion” on radio/TV talk shows is not opinion but prejudice. Many of the experts have not responsibly searched for the truth. Failure to opine leads to fake news.

Our searches may not always lead to common answers, but opinions without the search are irresponsible. Pope Francis urges us to accept the challenge of the intersection of opposite (not contradictory) opinions. He believes such an effort is the only way to arrive at truth and unity.

Early on the Church had to wrestle with whether Jesus was divine or human. The failure of some Christians to bring the opposites together led to heresies. The truth did not deny Jesus’ divinity or humanity; it lay instead in the awesome mystery of  “God-made-man.”

The prophet Micah (cf 8:6) told the people that there were three things Yahweh wanted from them: to do what is right, to love what is good, and to walk humbly in His presence. These three responses to life are the supreme qualities of a life well-lived.

Opinions require work; it’s hard to be honest.