From the Pastor's Desk

We live on a beautiful planet, during a time of unimaginable blessings.  Everything from health care, to communication, to transportation, to nutrition, to the creature comforts daily life is vastly beyond what any person could have imagined not long ago.  And, as Catholic Christians, we have the indescribable blessings of the Eucharist and the other Sacraments, opening for us the door to eternal life.

At the same time, as has often been observed, news outlets -- whether the old media and the new -- seem persistently to traffic in bad news.  Of course, we know that, in a sense, this tells us something good: that these unfortunate events are the exception, rather than the norm.  Put another way, we can be glad that a crime or an accident is uncommon enough to earn our attention, while another safe and comfortable day seems (and ought to seem) unremarkable.

That said, our society is not enjoying great health these days.  Recent survey results and demographic data certainly give us pause.  We've all seen these reports -- violent crime rising in many places, higher percentages of people reporting loneliness or unhappiness, young people with almost no grasp of American history, declining life expectancy due largely to "deaths of despair" (alcohol, drug overdoses, suicide), universities forsaking their mission of  fearless inquiry in search of truth, absenteeism and educational decline in school districts that remained closed longer than necessary, a Congress that barely functions, political parties that have lost touch with ordinary Americans, and so much more.

And the anger.  Everywhere, the anger.

In the realm of race relations, we are sixty years on from the day Martin Luther King, Jr., shared the Dream that his four children "will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."  Yet we find ourselves with a resurgence of the thoroughly discredited notion that assumptions can be made about a person on the basis of skin color.

Certainly we face challenges in the realm of family life.  More cohabitation, less marriage.  Out-of-wedlock birth rates increasing throughout society.  Women and girls objectified and disrespected.  Young men underrepresented in higher education and overrepresented in the morgue.  It's practically a cliche' that a young woman, seeking a man who will be a proper husband and father, can instead find herself meeting a succession of man-boys who would rather wander the back alleys of gaming, internet porn, marijuana, and casual semi-employment.

Some days, it appears that society is actively engaged in bringing both sexes down.  Certainly, women are given no help by a culture of contraception and abortion, which encourages casual treatment of what is holy, and serves to bring out the worst in young men who have not been well formed to responsible manhood.  Meanwhile, fatherhood is too often devalued and scorned, even as study after study demonstrates the connection between societal havoc and children growing up without knowing the love and guidance of a father.

On the Feast of the Ascension, Deacon Carl and Deacon Jim preached powerfully of Hope, and of our opportunity (and duty) to reach our God-given potential.  Our Hope is in Christ, and our potential is to be sons and daughters of Almighty God.  Thus the bulk of our societal ills can be fairly traced, directly or indirectly, to our nation having, in too many homes, set aside our rich and fertile religious heritage.

As I wrote a couple weeks ago, we Catholic Christians must protect our children.  We must continue always to build up the Domestic Church in every one of our homes.  We must help them avoid the distrust and unforgiveness that plagues our world.  Let them see their many blessings, so that, filled with gratitude and warm peace of heart, they may share fully in the joy Christ wishes for them.  John 15:11.  And all this happens, in the words of the beautiful hymn that I often mention, In Christ Alone.  You've seen these lyrics before, so here again is just the first verse.  This is how we get ourselves back on track.  This is the only way we get ourselves back on track.


In Christ alone, my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

Blessings!

frmike