Today we join the millions of Christian voices throughout the centuries who have been faithful to Christ; and along with them, we too desire to shout our loyalty to Christ and even more to show it by our deeds. We call this week Holy, but it could also be called "Loyalty Week."
Sadly, in our day many Christians are like the faithless tragic figures we just heard about the Passion narrative, they have not remained faithful to Christ. Yes, they may give Jesus lip service, but in the end, they preferred comfort, convenience, laziness and emotional highs, instead of steadfast faithfulness, and so loyalty to Christ. Many Christians today preferred a get rich feel good gospel, instead a Gospel, which demands a sharing in the very sufferings of Christ, and so a share in His loving act of redemption for the salvation of souls. In others words, too many so-called Christians prefer a Jesus without the cross, love without sacrifice, cheap grace, no suffering and no self-denial.
Sadly, many Catholics as well, from so called Catholic politicians to Catholic news journalists, claim the name Catholic but deny Christ by denying His true Mystical Body, the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church and Her teachings. Speaking of journalism, a few weeks ago as many of you know, a terrible anti-Catholic ad was run in the New Times that called for Liberal Catholics who don’t agree with the Church’s teachings on things like artificial contraception, abortion and sterilization, to leave the Church. It said that, “now is the time to draw the line.” While the ad was nothing but bigotry and prejudice against all Catholics, I do agree with it in that there is a line that is being drawn in the sand, one that is becoming more and more pronounced. Which side are we going to be on? True loyalty demands no middle of the road positions--in fact, you get run over in the middle of the road.
The current debate over religious liberty shows forth this line very clearly. The debate is very disturbing indeed. But what makes it even more disturbing is how many Catholics actually disagree with Church teachings with regard to her teaching on the issues of life. This was brought out very clearly in the comments following an article I recently read on the Church’s teaching; while I don’t want to get in to particulars, the author presented the Church’s teaching in a very clear, articulate, concise and loving manner.
Yet, listen to some of the comments, “don’t worry, if you don’t follow the teaching of the Church, God knows what is in your heart. And although I am a CATHOLIC, I HIGHLY resent the Church, (i.e. the pope and bishops) telling ME (what to do). One of these dissenting comments was actually made by a deacon of the Church; he wrote, “Do not be dismayed over what has been written (in the article). Please do not concern yourself with a burden which should not be imposed on you.”
The sad part of these types of unfaithful comments about the Church’s teaching is the ignorance that lies behind them. The truth is, is that it isn’t the pope and bishops that make the teachings of the Church. The teachings of the Church are the literally the teachings of Christ. The job of the pope and bishops is to pass on faithfully what the Church has received from Her Head, Jesus Christ. Because they come from Christ who came to set us free, the teachings of the Church don’t limited our freedom and happiness, they ensure our freedom and happiness.
Never before in the history of the Church as there been so much division in the Church, so much dissension on Her teachings. Jesus, who is the Truth, is being mocked, all over again in our day because His Church and her teachings, which are His teachings, are being mocked and ridiculed. And even worse, He is being betrayed again because His teachings are not followed by so many of those who claim to be His followers.
Speaking of the present debate going on in our country over religious freedom. Even though we are emphasizing the aspect of religious freedom over the issue of artificial contraception, one can make an very good argument that the flash point which ignited the explosion of so many American Catholics not only dissenting from the teachings of the Church but believing that they could do so in good conscience and still be a “good” Catholics, the flash point was the release of the encyclical on Human Life—Human vitae.
This beautiful encyclical, issued by Pope VI in 1968, condemned artificial conception calling it a great moral evil that could only lead to a general lessening of morality in our society. If accepted and approved by society, the pope predicted it would lead to legal abortion and euthanasia, to men losing respect for woman no longer seeing them as their companion and friend, but now only as an object for their own self sexual gratification; and so divorce and the breakdown of the family would result as well. The pope didn’t mention the devastating health effects on woman, such breast cancer, tumors--cancerous and non-cancerous, heart attack, high blood pressure, blood clots and stoke…artificial contraception is not only destroying our society it is killing our beloved women. The Pope did however give a healthy, effective, moral and lifesaving alternative--Natural Family planning, which could be used by a married couple for appropriate reasons.
But again, Pope Paul didn’t make a new teaching of the Church in 1968; the Church as always condemned artificial contraception. One can find writings from the first centuries of Christianity condemning it; in fact, Scripture itself condemns it. Interestingly all Christians, universally condemned it up until the 1930’s when the Anglican council of Lambeth allowed it within Marriage but only for serious reason. That of course opened the floodgate within Protestantism in which you now find almost a universal acceptance of it. But this is not the teaching of Christ; Jesus condemns it.
The folks who hate the Church, like the authors of the New York Times ad and those of the paper who allowed it to be printed, use the division among us Catholics and among Christians in general, very effectively. The devil loves it when God’s family is divided, especially us Catholics. He loves it when Catholics reject the truth of the teachings of the Church. The devil for his part however, knows that all of the Church’s teachings are true, because He knows they come from God and not man.
In the present day of attacks on our religious liberty we can no longer get by without knowing what the Church teaches and why she teaching it, we can no longer get by without studying the teachings of Church in order to grow in our understanding of them, so that we can live them in our lives. The teachings of the Church are not hard to understand but it does take an effort to learn them. Are they hard to live? Yes, sometimes extremely so; this is why we need the help of prayer and the grace of the Sacraments of the Church. Where there is love all things become easier, possible!
The grace of the Sacraments doesn’t make it easy to following the teachings of the Church, but it does make it possible. It also help us to see that the effort to live these teachings is worth it and that our effort shows forth our love and fidelity to Christ and to members of his mystical body. Jesus won’t strike us with lighting when we fall, if we are trying. He knows how hard it is for our fallen nature; He will help us if we turn to Him. But if we just flat out refuse to believe His teachings because we don’t agree with them, or because we don’t want to, then He will have no choice to treat us as the unrepentant thief on the cross.
This week reminds us clearly that now more than ever we have a clear choice to make. And make no mistake; it is one that has eternal consequences. We can be loyal to Christ or disloyal to Him. The hatred for Christ and His Catholic Church and for His bishops and priests grows stronger every day. Will we be faithful to Christ, by being faithful to His Church? For there is no fidelity to Christ without fidelity to His Church and to all her teachings? Now is the time to repent and accept the Gospel.
When we look at the Crucifix and contemplate His Passion we see very clearly Jesus' unfathomable love for us. He suffered and died to take away our sins, for in the end our sins, our infidelity, hurt us, not Him. And so, we pledge our loyalty to Him no matter what the cost, even though many there are who prefer other things, the things of this world to Christ.
Let us Promise Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, that we will be faithful to Him not only during this Holy Week, but also during our whole lives by being faithful to His Holy Mass and His Catholic Church and all of Her teachings. Let us adore our God truly among us in the Holy Eucharist with His same human nature, which suffered the blows, insults and blasphemies of Evil unbelieving men. If at the name of Jesus every knee shall bend, what about before the very Person of Jesus? So come, come let us in loyalty adore Him, let us give ourselves to Him and to the Father through Him. Let us be willing to go to the cross and face hell itself rather than to be unfaithful to our Lord in the Holy Eucharist.
May Mary, the first of all the faithful disciples of Christ obtain for us the grace to live this commitment of loyalty no matter what, even to the cross, even unto death; help us to be willing to do what the first Christians did, and pay what they paid, in order to convert our beloved country and so be used as instruments in the salvation of the eternal life of countless souls. Amen.
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