In my lifetime as a Catholic, and particularly as a Catholic writer and journalist, I have been called a lot of things.
Often I am charged with being a bleeding heart liberal, other times a right-wing conservative. I’ve been called a heretic, a Jesus freak and a Church lady. I’ve been accused of having delicate sensibilities, while others have charged me with being outspoken and ideologically aggressive.
I guess I am either living my life as a pendulum, or I suffer from schizophrenia.
Or maybe it’s just that for me, my faith in God and my attempts to live what Jesus taught is not a political issue or a social ideology. It is a way of life that transcends all attempts at definition.
The reality is, I do not belong to the left or the right. I belong to Christ.
The heart of my faith rests in a God who created all things, especially humanity, with love and for a purpose, and integrated all things into an interdependent whole.
In this world which God created, all life is sacred, and we are called to care for and respect the life of the world that harbors us.
I am pro-life, from the moment of conception until natural death, but I believe that education, not legislation, is our greatest weapon against abortion. I also believe that one does not have to exclude the other.
It seems obvious to me that if we poison and adulterate God’s creation, our anti-abortion, pro-life efforts are for naught. How will new life, or any life, survive on a planet that we have destroyed?
Personally, I am grateful for the teachings of Pope Francis who, in this harsh and divisive world, is attempting to renew our understanding of the Gospel of Christ, the Gospel of Love. I was deeply encouraged to read his words to the American bishops in 2015 when he spoke about the challenging issues of our time. His words speak to the laity, as well:
“Ever present within each [challenge] is life as gift and responsibility. The future freedom and dignity of our societies depends on how we face these challenges.
The innocent victim of abortion, children who die of hunger or from bombings, immigrants who drown in the search for a better tomorrow, the elderly or the sick who are considered a burden, the victims of terrorism, wars, violence and drug trafficking, the environment devastated by man’s predatory relationship with nature – at stake in all of this is the gift of God, of which we are noble stewards but not masters. It is wrong, then, to look the other way or to remain silent.”
Being a Christian is not easy. It is not a warm and fuzzy, feel good faith that allows us to be armchair commentators. We are called to thought, to prayer, and then to action, which is why we often hear that faith is a verb. It is why so many of our saints are also martyrs.
As we head into the Lenten season, and prepare for Easter by examining our relationship with God and our journey on the way of Christ, Pope Francis’ words to his brother bishops can serve as an opportunity for our introspection, as well:
“I trust completely in the voice of the One who ‘teaches all things’ (Jn 14:26). Allow me only, in the freedom of love, to speak to you as a brother among brothers. I have no wish to tell you what to do, because we all know what it is that the Lord asks of us. Instead, I would turn once again to the demanding task - ancient yet never new - of seeking out the paths we need to take and the spirit with which we need to work.”
“Each year, Lent offers us a providential opportunity to deepen the meaning and value of our Christian lives, and it stimulates us to rediscover the mercy of God so that we, in turn, become more merciful toward our brothers and sisters.” Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI
