What About You?

For those who criticize the Church, particularly about the sexual abuse by priests, it would be interesting to ask: “What about you?”

Not to accuse these critics of being molesters themselves, but to ask as Christ did, “Let the one among you who has no sin be the first to cast a stone.” (John 8:7) The message was, of course, that we are all sinners, so finger-pointing is a bit hypocritical.

Jesus taught us to love our neighbors, not to find fault with them and then get all angry and upset about their sins. Yes, it is our duty to name sin for what it is. We are obliged to say that abortion is murder and human trafficking is abhorrent, and then work to eradicate these evils. However, we should be trying to indicate the moral gravity of the sin, not playing “holier than thou” with the sinner.

Justice can be administered with compassion and mercy. Certainly, corrections need to be made and punishment or remedies applied, but we should do it with the same forgiveness that we expect in the confessional and the admonition to go and sin no more.

We may be disappointed in the failure of some of our bishops to respond appropriately to the abuse allegations. Their failures are personal, however, not failures of the Church. It is important to keep these two separate.

In a previous blog, I wrote about “Why We Remain Catholic” despite scandals and disagreements. The reason is that what we believe, as stated in the Creed, does not change under any temporal circumstances. What we believe is what Jesus laid out for us; it is between us and God, not some priest or the Vatican or others in our parish. https://www.patheos.com/blogs/musingsfromthepew?s=Why+We+Remain+Catholic

Offer to Help, Live Your Vocation

“What about you?” is not only a question concerning forgiveness and sin but also about practicing our faith and being contributors to our Church and society. Blame-seekers ask “Why don’t the priests do such and such?” “Why doesn’t the parish have this or that ministry? Well, “What about you?” Could you offer to help the pastor or start up a new ministry?

A recent homily at the Sunday Mass in my church challenged us with that question. Our celebrant put it in terms of vocations. We all have a vocation, whether it is the priesthood, religious life, married life, or single life. He asked us, “Are you living your vocation as you should?” If you question whether your clergy are living up to their vocations, shouldn’t you question yourself as well about your own vocation?

Actually, we all have multiple vocations. In conjunction with being a priest/religious/married/single, we also have vocations as teachers, lawyers, soldiers, bankers, chefs, farmers, plumbers, etc. So, are you living up to your vocation in your job? Do you try your best? Do you maintain the standards of your profession? Do you behave ethically?

What about your vocation as a parent? As a son or daughter? Are you living up to the expectations and needs of others?

In each of these vocations, we have many opportunities to live our faith and share our faith. In daily life, we have many challenges we can answer with the strength and confidence of our faith. We need to make sure that we have done our part and not left people, or God, wondering, “Well, what about you?”

It is a national sport to gripe about politicians, but what about you? Do you maybe have a vocation to run for office? Instead of asking the government what is being done to solve a problem, ask yourself what you are doing to solve the problem. If you don’t like what that elected official is doing, maybe you should take his/her place. Your vocation as a citizen in a democracy is to participate, at least by voting, and even better by actively seeking change.

What are you doing to save your soul?

Most importantly, what are you doing to save your soul? You might answer, “Well, I go to Mass every Sunday.” And?

When you knock on the door of heaven, will St. Peter look through the peephole and ask, “Do we know you?” When he doesn’t open the Pearly Gates, will you yell, “Hey, what about me?” and will St. Peter respond, “What about you? Is there anything on your Christian resumé that qualifies you to be admitted?”

What about you? Are you just as guilty as others of committing sin? Have you fulfilled your various vocations in life? Have you worked hard at making the world a better place and taken responsibility for saving your soul?

Christ continues to look for disciples to send out into the world to carry the message of God’s love. How do you answer Christ when He asks, “What about you?”