Lec
# 56- 6th Sunday of OT- Sun, May 12, 2012- Fr. Vincent Bresowar
My
brothers and sisters in Christ, Freedom is not having the ability to do
whatever we want. Freedom is equal rights across the board, but equal rights to
what is true and good. Freedom is having the ability, the opportunity to choose
to do what is right.
I
think we have been duped by modernism, by this invading humanism, to believe
that all people deserve equal rights, regardless if the right is good or bad.
And that to be able to choose to do that which is wrong, is a right we should
all have, regardless if it harms the common good.
Case
in point, North Carolina voters rightly chose to uphold the civil definition of
marriage this past week. If anyone has been paying attention to the news, this
issue of marriage has been the pervading story of the week. The executive
branch of the federal government, somewhat unsurprisingly so, came out in full
support of defining civil marriage as one which should exist for both
heterosexual and homosexual couples. So that has kind of brought marriage back
to the forefront of politics this week and a lot of people have been talking
about it. So of course I decided we needed to broach this subject less there be
any confusion about where we stand as Catholics who believe that God is God and
He has the last say.
It
is a difficult issue for sure, with proponents of changing the traditional
definition of marriage arguing that it is a religious point to deny this right
to all peoples who desire it, and that to do so is unfair. And then of course,
all the name-calling begins.
No
argument against, no matter how sound in reason and steeped in historical fact,
regardless of one’s religious background, will be accepted if the outcome is
not a total redefining of marriage in our ever “evolving” society.
That
has been the word of the week; we are so “evolved” now that we no longer need
traditional definitions as they have been understood for all of human history
with respect to marriage and procreation. We’ve moved beyond that as many have
declared, including the leader of this country.
All
that said and done, we understand as Christians that Truth is Truth, that God
exist regardless of one’s belief in that fact, and that we humans are made in
God’s image and likeness. He has a plan for us, a perfect plan which is built
into our very nature as humans beings, as male and female. To promote the
health of family and marriage, and life in the public square, is not forcing
our religion down people’s throats, but is rather participating in a
conversation and fighting for Truth, for our good and the common good of
society. Jesus did not shy away from the public square, and neither should we.
And as taxpayers, we have right to have an opinion and not be called bigots and
religious fanatics for doing so.
To
be Catholic is something greater than to be a citizen of this country. We are
citizens of Heaven first, Heaven is home, and that’s where we are going, as
members of the Body of Christ. We are adopted sons and daughters of God because
of our baptism. So we are not just biological beings, we are spiritual beings
heading towards an eternal paradise and trying to bring as many people with us
as possible.
How
do we stay connected and see our life through this lens if we openly adopted attitudes
which are against God’s design for humanity? Designs revealed through his Son
and his mystical body. We won’t stay connected, we’ll easily buy the lie that
our “evolved” society and media would like us to adopt. That marriage is a “right”
for all. Just like children are “rights” as some people would believe, not
gifts to be given to us, but rights we are owed. Children are total gifts, and
no one is owed a child.
But
if we would like to see things more clearly, we can do so by following today’s
Gospel, and making it our personal code of ethics. If we love as Christ loved,
to the end, to death, for others, then we will see the world as He sees the
world, and the confusion, and false ideologies that are thrown in our face
every day, well, we will find it easy to sift through the garbage and find the
Truth.
What
is the Truth? Pilate asked Jesus the same question when Truth was standing
right in front of him. Pilate represents the blind world, the world which
cannot see Truth, and so it tries to redefine it as something it is not. Jesus
did not come to die for relativism.
No
greater love then this, to lay down one’s life for ones friends. If you love me, keep my commands. If
you abide in me, I will abide in you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, have
faith in me, so that where I am, you may also be. And remember, if the world
hates you, it hated me first. If it persecutes you, remember it persecuted me
as well.
It’s
not popular to stand up for what is right and good and true.
Jesus
never said that to follow Him and his design revealed by Him through the Father
was going to be easy for humanity. He never told us that! In fact, he showed
quite the opposite, that to follow and understand the truth to the end, is
going to take self-denial, self-sacrifice, a willingness to take up the cross
and to die for others. Marriage requires the same, in the beginning God created
them, male and female he created them. For this reason a man leaves his mother
and clings to his wife and the two become one flesh. An imperfect image of the
perfect Trinity. The Father gives to the son, and the son receives perfectly
the father, and the love that pours forth is the Holy Spirit.
So
it is with the husband who gives to his wife, and his wife receives him, and the
fruit of this total gift of husband and wife is the child.
Sacrifice,
self-gift, Love, charity… none of this comes with great ease, and yet when we
live it in the way the Lord designed it, with faith, then it becomes easy to
see why redefining marriage to be something it is not is an offence against
family, is an offence against society, and ultimately is an offense against God
himself. And I don’t really care what others say, if others believe that or
not, it’s who we are as Christians, and if we are going to call ourselves so,
we should live as such even if it means that others hate us and call us all
sorts of names and spout lies. While the world rejoices, we may weep, but our
weeping will turn to Joy.
If
we persevere to the end, if we remain in him, he will remain in us, and no
matter what happens, if we are the right side of Truth, then we won, and
hopefully Jesus will bring a lot of souls home through us because we remained
faithful to the end, and did not let the world shape our opinions of what is
true and what is not true.
