Are You Listening? New Year
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January 3, 2023I used to love Christmas, but dread the new year. Christmas was a culmination of generosity, both given and received, and it created a sentiment of feeling good about what I had done. The new year, on the other hand, was a time for reflection. What I dreaded was recalling my unfulfilled good intentions that were connected to certain dates on the calendar. In some instances, the intentions dissipated because of my neglect. Reviewing others, I experienced discouragement because I knew how much effort I had expended, and yet nothing had changed. Making resolutions seemed futile.
As I have come to know Jesus Christ more, I have gradually learned that my life is not about what I achieve or don't achieve. My satisfaction and motivation rests in offering back to God the capacity he has endowed me with in every event and circumstance. The July 3, 2022, episode of "Living Catholic" echoed this realization in a way only Father Don Wolf, the host, can relate.
Father Wolf distilled the complex components of the landmark reversal of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision.
He guided his listeners in understanding the original decision and the events that led to its reversal in June 2022, within the context of what obliges a person who wants to follow Christ. He discussed the determination of the "prevailing culture to make abortion disappear as a moral issue by letting it slide into the landscape of what we see and hear every day."
As with any of Father Wolf's instructions, this one contained bits of history, facts surrounding the consequences and numerous ideas to ponder that translate into how we might live out our Catholic faith and become the face of Jesus to others. He examined the magnitude of the abortion death toll for American babies because of this decision, and commented on the irony of making abortion commonplace against the backdrop of that many deaths and wove it all into the theory of societal scapegoats. He summarized, noting that as our society has become more prosperous, and more people in the society have access to wealth and freedom, there is a price to pay, and our society has become more willing to sacrifice the most vulnerable and defenseless as the tradeoff.
Father Wolf pointed to our civilization of technology and "humane" practices as not that different from more primitive cultures who had for centuries engaged in human sacrifice in hopes of a better life. It is Jesus dying on the cross, Father Wolf concluded, once for all, that ends this violent cycle for humanity.
All of this was profound, but for 50 years our culture ignored most of the realities of abortion, and it became a constitutional right. During those 50 years, Catholics and other Christians continued to protest this affront to morality.
"It didn't matter," opined Father Wolf, "Until it did."
He characterized this as the virtue of perseverance.
To me, that was the heart of the message. Living out our faith despite no apparent result is evidence that we are at the disposal of God and his perfect plan. If we get discouraged and fail, we have a savior who makes up for our weaknesses and makes it possible for us to start again. With this in mind, we always have a part in God's plan, but we are not running the show.
We can no longer pray: “Dear God, Here is my heart's desire, and here is how you can go about fulfilling it!”
Embrace the new year and its promise that you can play a part in God's will. Roe v. Wade was overturned ... "be committed to the reality that the power of change rests in God," emphasized Father Wolf, "Expect a miracle.”
