Jesus Christ when you walked among us, you healed the sick, the lame and the broken hearted. We pray Christ Jesus, walk among us now and heal the wounded and broken hearted. Heal all victims of abuse, heal us, our Church and in time give us the Grace to forgive the priests who did not know what it meant to be a priest.
As Christians, we are familiar with a world view which simply states; we are “in” the world, not “of” it. Can we apply a similar concept to our present-day sufferings and the life events which have wounded us? What would this look like?
Could we contrast our sufferings as being free “of” them or free “from” them? If we have made creditable observations, then one conclusion would be that it makes sense to say; I am free “of” them. That those events from the past and today’s worries do not define me. I have recognized the impact the past has had on my life, as well as the time and calories I am burning to deal with today’s troubles. I am free “of” them, but not free “from” them. If this is a viable conclusion and I think it is; then the next step would be to realize I never would want to be free “from” them. In part, who I am is a product of how well I navigated those troubled waters. My achievements then and now are in some respects a testimony of how well I managed my life, the good and wrongful decisions which were made at the time and the benefits I enjoy today because of those experiences.
Let’s consider St. Joseph; the first saint in the New Testament, perhaps the greatest saint in the Bible, arguably the greatest saint in the first century. In his silence, there is a clarity and purity which can only be imagined. There is no clutter, no confusion; only the purity of pre-conceived notions. St. Joseph is a person without strife or conflict, unblemished, without fault and beyond reproach. He did everything and claims nothing. So, for us in our ego driven world, he is bigger than life, he is for us, 21st century admirers, a super hero. He is our Clark Kent without the pretentious costume; ever watchful, always faithful, ready and willing to defend the innocent. In truth he is vulnerable and not invincible which makes his story that much more amazing.
How about a new word for secularism? How about considering that God is not being rejected or excluded from public affairs? How about considering the God standard is exactly what is being applied and used to measure the value and quality of our civil society? How about considering secularism is really “ologyism”? How about considering, Theism as seeing value and quality as being discovered in the Word of God and “ologyism” as seeing value and quality as being invented by the will of the individual. So, you take some psychology and a dose of biology and a dash of theology and a little spooky philosophy; blend it with twenty first century individualism, expressionism and some lively liberalism; mix well and bake for twenty-five years; spread it over middle and upper-class Americans while attending state sponsored schools and presso-chango “ologyism”. But it’s the very virtues found in Holy Scripture which are used to measure the results of this “ologyism”. So, if the “ologyist” really believes that the logic, reason, understanding, awareness and the power of their will can lead to the perfectly structured society, well then at least give themselves a new name because ideologist, socialist, utopians and democrats are already taken.