Akin Gaffe Should Lead to Tough Questions for Obama

Akin Gaffe Should Lead

to Tough Questions

for Obama, not Romney

Most of us have heard the recent comments of Congressman Todd Akin, which have led to a firestorm of criticism and has shaken up the Missouri Senate race.  If you haven’t, please watch the video below.

The Obama campaign has tried to turn this gaffe to his advantage by connecting, in people’s minds, the entire GOP to the comments of this one man.  I know that Akin is making a shift of power in the Senate more difficult, but I think that reflection on what Congressman Akin said should actually lead to an indictment of the President rather than the GOP.

First, the point that Akin was trying to make has been lost in the media frenzy.  The question regarded abortion and on that point, Akin was absolutely correct: we should never punish an innocent child, especially with the death penalty, for the crimes of his father.  This is the first indictment of the President.

But let’s explore the controversial part of the statement, particularly the phrase “legitimate rape.”  I suspect Congressman Akin, a married man with daughters, did not intend to show indifference to the heinous crime of rape or insensitivity to the suffering of its victims.  Whatever he meant, however, it is easy to see why people were offended.  I certainly have a problem with the phrase.  And Mitt Romney, in an effort not to be caricatured by the Democrats’ fictitious “war on women,” gave a disappointingly pandering response to the controversy.

But which Presidential candidate has shown an indifference to rape?  I submit that it is President Obama.  It is well-documented that Planned Parenthood routinely covers up rape, child abuse and sex trafficking.  And yet, Mr. Obama misses no opportunity to praise that organization, speak at its functions, or take its money.  I don’t suspect Mr. Obama is personally callous toward victims of rape, but he seems to be willing to aid and abet enablers of its perpetrators.  This is inexcusable, and Mr. Akin’s recent comment sheds light on the fact that it’s the President, not the GOP, that has some tough questions to answer on this issue.

I wrote about this issue in more depth a few months ago in my post about Live Action.

Let Your Conscience be your Guide

Let Your Conscience 

be your Guide

          The Church teaches us that we must obey our consciences.  But, in a culture based on moral relativism, that can be a dangerous statement.  We live in an age that teaches, “What’s true for you may not be true for me,” or, “We all create our own truth.”  Hopefully these statements sound nonsensical to us as Catholics, who know not only that Truth exists, but that Truth is not just a concept, it is a Person with whom we are called to have an intimate relationship.

          This, of course, is why, when the Church tells us that we must follow our consciences, she reminds us that we have a serious duty to form our consciences correctly.  We are bound to obey our properly-formed consciences.

          Do we have properly formed consciences?  It’s an important thing to examine from time to time.  What other types of conscience might we have?  I would like to briefly explore five types of consciences.  There are, of course, other more comprehensive and precise ways to approach the topic, so if you’ve got the proper citation in Thomas Aquinas handy, I’m sure you’re better off going there, but I’ll do the best I can.

1)  The Dead Conscience: A dead conscience is really unconcerned with ideas such as right and wrong, or good and evil, except when the owner of a dead conscience suffers some evil.  This is what we might find in Thomas Hobbes’s delusional idea of the natural man.  It would be purely concerned with self-interest, and other people would be seen simply as tools to be used or discarded as they can serve some narcissistic purpose.  Of course, some serious psychotic mental disorder may produce a dead conscience, as may have happened with the young man who shot up the Colorado movie theater.  (Though I understand mental disorders are rarely the cause of criminal behavior.)

Most of us feel safe from having this kind of conscience.  But the truth is, sometimes we can display it.  We can have the tendency to justify certain things to a degree that we clearly mistreat others.  But our highly developed skills of rationalization blind our consciences to that fact.

2) A poorly-formed conscience – Sadly, this may be the most common conscience we encounter today.  The good news is that a poorly-formed conscience is concerned with right and wrong, but unfortunately it often does not correctly identify right and wrong.  This is the poster child for our relativistic twenty-first century morality.  This conscience may be formed according to each person’s personal preferences, or maybe by the prevailing social norms.

For example, one might not consider fornication to be anything sinful, but cheating with your best friend’s girlfriend, “That’s just wrong.”  Abortion is about a woman’s “right to choose.”  Going to Mass isn’t an issue of right or wrong; it’s just a matter of how each person best relates to God, whatever they may perceive him or her to be.

If society approves, it’s not wrong.  If I feel in my heart that it’s right, then it’s right.  This conscience resides in the emotions.

3)  A well-formed conscience – This conscience is formed according to some standard outside of myself, something absolute, and something true.  It resides in the intellect, not the emotions.  As Catholics, we know that God is the one who reveals to us what is good and what is evil.  The sin of our first parents was the desire for “knowledge of good and evil.”  They wanted to define what was good and what was evil.  God told them the forbidden fruit was bad, but they decided otherwise.  Of course, such a decision has consequences.  God doesn’t give us moral laws so He can assert His authority.  He made us and knows what we need to thrive and be truly happy, and His commandments, even when they are hard, serve that end.

God has revealed to us His moral law through the Scripture and primarily through the Church.  So our well-formed conscience must be formed by the teaching of the Church.  That teaching comes from God.  If God and I disagree about something, one thing I can be absolutely sure about, is that I am the one that is wrong.

If I don’t completely understand the reasons behind a moral prohibition or command, I must humbly submit myself to it anyway.  Obedience is one of the highest virtues.  It shouldn’t surprise us, after all.  I don’t have the wisdom or foresight that God has.  The Church, of course, does encourage us to learn, though.  Pray and study and find out the reasons behind the moral laws God has given us.  We will surely grow in doing so.

The prime example of this in our day is artificial birth control.  Studies suggest that many Catholics don’t understand the Church’s prohibition against it and the vast majority don’t obey.  This remains a serious sin, whether we understand or not.  We know this teaching, authoritatively coming from the Church, is coming from God.  I suspect, standing before God, if He were to ask us why we consistently disobeyed a command He gave so clearly through His vicars, we would be embarrassed to give Him the lame excuses we have concocted.

But I wonder how many people have tried to understand the teaching.  It is beautiful.  How many of us have read Humanae Vitae, for example?  If we do, we will see the Wisdom of God.  Many Protestants, whose communities dropped this teaching in the last century, have rediscovered it through prayer and study.  I once explained it to Mormon missionaries who originally considered it silly, but after our discussion understood and appreciated it.

The point is, that if we have a well-formed conscience we are being obedient, not to our own wills or the trends of our age, but to the eternal and unchanging God.  This obedience does not take away our freedom.  We always have free will.  But when we conform our minds and hearts to reality, we are truly free, free from error and free to thrive.

God made us.  He knows what is best for us.  The manufacturer of my car tells me I should put unleaded gas in its tank.  If, in a bout of unbridled self-empowerment, I use my freedom to put grape juice in it instead, there will be problems.  I am free to do that if I choose, but my car will not work as it should; it will not thrive.  I am free to ignore the commands God has given, but I should not be surprised when things do not run smoothly and I do not thrive as I would like.

4) A Delicate Conscience – This is the well-formed conscience on steroids.  It is the conscience of the Saints.  A delicate conscience is well-formed, but is more sensitive than that of the average person.  A delicate conscience is not content with avoiding mortal sin only; venial sin vexes it (though not to the point of obsession).  A delicate conscience examines not only the action but also the motivation behind the action.  A delicate conscience may find imperfections in an act that is objectively good because it was done with pride, for example.  It is also sensitive to sins of omission.  A missed opportunity to show love or concern, for example.

The delicate conscience is born of love; love of God and love of neighbor.  It continually seeks to be more conformed to Jesus Christ, but it does so peacefully.  These little things are seen not as grave sins that will separate us from God, though they will still be repented of.  A person with a delicate conscience is almost certainly perpetually in a state of grace.  They are seen as opportunities to grow closer to God, to more easily bring His Love to other people.

5) A Scrupulous Conscience – This is a tough one because many who desire a delicate conscience can fall into scrupulosity.  A difference is this: a delicate conscience is the fruit of love, a scrupulous conscience is often the fruit of fear (usually of hell). 

A scrupulous conscience sees sin where there is no sin, or misidentifies venial sins as mortal sins. A scrupulous person may fret over whether he can receive the Eucharist because he was short with his wife as they were getting ready for Mass.  Or perhaps he feels the need to rush to Confession because he forgot to pray his daily rosary.  Sometimes a person may have a vague sense of sinfulness although there is no specific incident that led to it.  Scruples are a mental, not a spiritual problem.  It is a common form of obsession that I believe all people get over something.  Spiritual people may just get it regarding religion.  The best way that I know of to deal with scruples is to find a good spiritual director who is experienced in dealing with it.  Be patient.  And trust in God’s love for us.  He is not looking for a reason to cast us into hell.  He desires that all men be saved, and I suspect there is a special place in His Heart (and in Heaven) for people who have dealt with this issue.

Many saints at one point or another have dealt with it.  St. Therese of Liseux struggled for a time and was brought through it with good spiritual direction.  St. Francis de Sales had a very difficult time with scruples for a while.  One day he finally, in frustration, prayed from the heart, “Lord, if I am going to be separated from you for all eternity, then I am going to love you the best I can while I’m still on earth.”  The story is that his scruples were cured immediately.

Of course, it has proven dangerous, too.  Martin Luther’s scruples are what led to the creation of his doctrine of sola fide.  If he could not escape sin, in his mind he had to make sin irrelevant.  The result, of course, has been a wound in the Body of Christ that has been gaping for five centuries.

It is important to be patient if you struggle with scruples or if someone you loves does.  Seek a good spiritual director, and perhaps a good Catholic psychologist, and do not give up.  If God has permitted this cross, it is only for the manifestation of His Glory and the salvation of many souls.  Offer it for that.

Why was I inspired to write this article?  To be honest, I have no idea how some of these ideas pop into my head.  But I know this: from time to time I can possess each of these five consciences.  It is important, at least for me, and I expect for most of us, to take stock of ourselves in this way periodically.  Often I will have a well-formed or delicate conscience.  Then, there are times I can rationalize myself into a conscience that is formed according to my own will and convenience.  And there are times I need the help of a priest to deal with creeping scrupulosity.  It is important to know what kind of conscience we have, and what kind of conscience we want.  With God’s grace, we can truly be people of good conscience and then we will be a light in this world.

CD of the Month Club

CD of the Month Club

Lighthouse Catholic Media has launched the first Catholic CD of the Month Club.  In response to the pope’s call for a new evangelization, Lighthouse Catholic Media was created to bring education on topics relating to the Faith to the laity, mainly through the use of CDs featuring leading Catholic speakers.

The CDs are generally made available through parishes, and cover topics such as faith, morals, history, apologetics, pro-life, spirituality and prayer, conversion testimonies, and more.  Some notable speakers are Scott Hahn, Matthew Kelly, Mother Teresa, Archbishop Fulton Sheen, Father Robert Barron, etc.

Now CDs are being delivered every month to people’s homes when they sign up for the CD of the Month Club.  (There is also a Download of the Month Club, for people who find that more convenient.)  One of the greatest challenges in our time is the lack of well-catechized Catholics.  The result is that many fall away, and many more struggle to apply their faith to their lives.  Many Catholics would like to learn more about the Faith, but feel they don’t have the time.  The beauty of the Lighthouse program is that people can listen and learn while they are working around the house, commuting to and from work, working out, whatever.

To sign up for the CD or Download of the Month Club, click on the image at the end of this post or at the sidebar.  Membership in the CD Club is $5 a month, and $3 for downloads.

I became involved with this ministry as part of a broad effort to increase the Catholic identity and spiritual resources by the Catholic school at which I teach.  If you are interested in bringing the program to your parish school, youth group, religious education program, etc., please email me (servantofcharity@yahoo.com) and I can put you in contact with a representative from your area.  I am also very interested in bringing good materials to Catholics on college campuses, so if you are in contact with a Newman Center, or have one’s contact information, I would love to make that connection.

One word of caution, especially if you choose to receive more than one copy each month to share: Most of the speakers are intellectual, orthodox Catholics.  Lighthouse tries to ensure an authentic presentation of the Faith.  However, occasionally a Scripture reference may be confusing, or a conversion story may include personal opinions or experiences, and may need to be put into context.  Be prepared to answer questions or give a reference for a good priest who can, especially if you share with friends or non-Catholics.  Adults should exercise caution before listening with children, as there are references to sexuality and abortion in some talks.  There are, by the way, a few CDs specifically for kids, and many in Spanish, as well.

Voting as a Catholic

Voting as a Catholic

          I started this blog back in October.  My goal was to touch on contemporary issues from a Catholic perspective.  Of course I don’t claim any personal authority, but the Faith is the lens through which I approach the topics on this blog.

          Starting a Catholic blog one year before a Presidential election, as the primary season was heating up, it was inevitable that often politics would be the topic of my posts.  Especially with the recent struggles over religious liberty, as well as the raging culture war, Catholics, by virtue of our baptism, are obligated to be involved. 

          This understanding, and the effort many of us make to transform the culture through our participation, faithful both to our country and God’s Church, it can be frustrating to see fellow Catholics who seem to work hard to keep their Faith out of their political lives.  Part of our duty to transform the culture is to address this problem.

          Before reading further, I invite you to click on the link and read, or listen to, Paul Kengor’s commentary, “None So Blind as Catholics who Refuse to See.”   

          Dr. Kengor’s commentary could apply to Republicans as well as Democrats, not to mention Libertarians, Greens, or anyone else.  The crux of the problem is when any of us place our allegiance to a political party above the allegiance to the values of our religion.

          Perhaps at one time we felt those two matched up, but maybe we have been blindly voting for a certain political party for years without reevaluating why we are doing it.  We are being challenged to be better Catholics, and better Americans, than that.

          The USCCB has put out a document meant to help, “Faithful Citizenship.”  Some people have criticized the document for being too vague, but a thoughtful approach to it reveals that it really is not.  The Church will never endorse a political party or candidate, even if one would seem obvious.  However, if we put into practice the principles of faithful participation in the voting process, we can be confident that we have voted with a clear conscience.

          Lighthouse Catholic Media has put out a CD explaining the principles as put forth by the bishops entitled, “Voting Guidelines by the USCCB.”

          Again, it does not endorse any candidate or party (it is actually a few years old anyway), but it does help understand the principles we are to employ when we vote.

          First we are reminded that blind allegiance to any political party is not prudent and can be a cause of sin.  There are many issues on which people of Faith can have legitimate disagreements, for example, how to best get the economy working again, how to get government spending under control, what is the best way to achieve the goal of a successful health care system for all people, etc.

          However, there are some issues that are not negotiable because they are intrinsically evil, for example, abortion, embryonic stem cell research, same-sex marriage, euthanasia, etc.  We can not support a candidate who supports these things, even if we were to prefer his positions on the other, more debatable issues.  (The CD does address how to prudentially approach a situation in which both candidates are on the wrong side of at least one of these issues, as well.)

          Many people can’t understand this because they will argue that issues such as taxes have moral implications, like abortion does.  However, at what rate to tax people with incomes over $250,000 is a matter of prudence, and people can disagree on what would be best for the economy, or most just.  There is no intrinsic evil involved.  Abortion involves the killing of an innocent person, always morally wrong by its very nature.  Taxes can not legitimately be put on the same level as abortion.  Though we do not vote for a candidate based on one issue, we can and should eliminate a candidate from consideration based on any one of these non-negotiable issues.

          In our discussion with fellow Catholics we can sometimes be frustrated by their unwillingness to see this.  Let me share an experience I had shortly after the 2008 election.

          I was having this very disagreement with a professor of moral theology at a Catholic college.  The college isn’t known for its orthodoxy, but this is a good and learned man.  After a few emails back and forth, he finally conceded that his position was not defensible.  I did not get this concession by appealing to the bishops, but by this argument:

          I knew the professor was pro-life, but also an Obama supporter.  I posed this question to him: “Would you consider voting for a candidate who supported the return of racial segregation?”  Of course he would not, regardless of that person’s position on taxes, health care, welfare, or anything else.  Segregation is intrinsically evil and denies people their basic human dignity.  And yet, as evil as segregation is, it is not as bad as actually taking someone’s life.  None of our Catholic friends would vote for a candidate who supported segregation, based on that one issue alone; therefore, they should also be unable to vote for a candidate who is pro-abortion.

          I bring this story up for one reason.  I am nobody.  I have studied philosophy and theology, but I’m certainly not a doctor of either.  This was an intelligent, learned man (and, as it turned out, humble as well).  We need not be intimidated when talking with our Catholic friends about these issues.  We can speak the truth, logically, and plant a seed.  The Holy Spirit can do the rest.  The biggest challenge is to do this with charity, and without getting angry.

          Another thing we can do is to give people a copy of the CD already mentioned.  Perhaps the pastor at our parish will make them available, or ministry heads will want them for their groups.  This is an easy way to evangelize and affect the culture.  It is also non-threatening, because we will not be telling people who to vote for, just giving them things to think about before they vote, and respecting them to make a decision based on a well-formed conscience.

          To obtain copies of the CD, please click here.  And encourage friends to do the same.

In Honor of the Assumption of Mary

In Honor of this Week’s

Feast of the Assumption

From St. Louis Marie de Montfort’s True Devotion to Mary

          If you wish to comprehend the Mother, says a saint, comprehend the Son, for she is the worthy Mother of God.  Here, let every tongue be mute.  Up to this time…Mary has been unknown, and that is the reason Jesus Christ is not known as He ought to be.  If then the knowledge and kingdom of Jesus Christ are to come into this world, they will be but a necessary consequence of the knowledge…of the most holy Virgin Mary, who brought Him into the world for the first time, and will make his second advent full of splendor.

          Mary, being a mere creature that has come from the hands of the Most High, is in comparison with his infinite Majesty less than an atom; or rather she is nothing at all, because He is “He Who Is,” consequently that grand Lord, always independent and sufficient to Himself, never had, and has not now an absolute need of the Holy Virgin for the accomplishment of His will, and for the manifestation of His Glory.  He has but to will in order to do everything.  Nevertheless, God, having willed to commence and to complete His greatest works by the Most Holy Virgin, ever since He created her, we may well think He will not change His conduct in the eternal ages; for He is God, and He changes not, either in His sentiments or in His conduct.

          Mary is the queen of heaven and earth by grace, as Jesus is the King of them by nature and by conquest.  Now, as the kingdom of Jesus Christ consists principally in the heart or the interior of man – according to the words, “The Kingdom of God is within you” – in like manner the kingdom of our Blessed Lady is principally in the interior of man; that is to say, his soul.  And it is principally in souls that she is more glorified with her Son than in all visible creatures, and so we call her, as the saints do, Queen of All Hearts.      

Paul Ryan: Bringing Faith to Politics

Paul Ryan: 

Bringing Faith to Politics

Grant Us the Grace to Persevere

Grant Us the Grace 

to Persevere

A couple of weeks ago on Sunday, the Gospel reading was Mark 6:7-13, in which Jesus sends the Apostles out two by two to preach repentance and heal the sick.  One line of the Gospel really struck me as I listened to it: “The Twelve drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.”

The words that particularly struck me were, “The Twelve.”  I had read this passage many times, but at Mass it struck me, Judas was part of the Twelve.  He went around and drove out demons and healed the sick.  He performed mighty deeds in Jesus’s Name and saw the power and miracles It produced.  And yet, in the not too distant future, he would fall away.  He would betray Christ and take his own life in despair.

How could he have turned on Jesus after having seen and done the things he had?  It was a rather humbling consideration.  Often we can fall into the trap of becoming complacent in our Faith.  We become convinced of the truth of Catholicism, we give our lives to Jesus, try to live in an upright manner, receive the incredible Graces He gives us, and then often feel like we are safe and secure from ever falling away.

I have seen in my life men who I would consider much stronger and holier than I fall away.  Priests who dedicated their lives to Jesus with the most sincere of hearts who have betrayed their vows.  Men who I had respected who became unfaithful to their wives.

Now I don’t contemplate these things in a spirit of judgment.  And I know that the vast majority of priests live virtuous lives dedicated to their Lord, while countless men commit themselves to their wives and families faithfully.  Yet there are those few, whom I admired, who have fallen away.

What happened to them?  What happened to Judas?  And if they can fall, what can happen to me?  It shakes me out of my complacency.  And it is a reminder to all of us that conversion is a continual process, and that sin remains a constant threat.

I recognize that when my prayer life begins to weaken, I begin to weaken.  When I tolerate or rationalize small sins, larger ones become much harder to resist.  God provides the Grace to live holy lives, but we must never forget that we are in the middle of a war.

As Scripture says: “Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a lion looking for someone to devour.  Resist him, steadfast in your Faith.”  As Catholics we should remember that this is true.  Our Lord has given us all the weapons we need to defeat the enemy, but we must make use of them consistently.

Prayer, fasting, the Eucharist, Confession, good works – all these are weapons, and they discipline our flesh and our spirits so that we will not fall away.

God has promised us the Grace to persevere, and with His help and with the use of the weapons He has given us, we will.  But Judas should serve as a reminder that we are never secure enough to become lazy or complacent.

Finally, we should remember to pray for each other, and especially for our priests.  They have become so busy, with so many demands placed on them, it can be a challenge for them to nurture their own spiritual lives.  And there is nothing we need more, nothing more powerful, than holy priests.  So let us not forget to pray for them and their spiritual lives.  And let us follow the example of the eleven that did not fall away, keep our focus on Jesus, and persevere to the end.