Under the Acacia Tree

Can we turn down the level of shrillness?   I have recently been thinking that there is a shrillness in the dialogue in the Catholic Church that is not at all helpful.   People who tend to be conservative in their thinking about religion seem to be all about condemning anyone who does not hold to their views.   Dare say a word about compassion when speaking about those who intend to have or have had an abortion, and you can find yourself being pilloried as a “softy” when it comes to the issues of the life and death of those in the womb.   Talk about the need to be a pro-life person who believes that we defend human life in all its forms from the moment of conception to natural death, and you are labeled as “one of those” who mitigates abortion issues by saying that other life issues demand attention also.  I believe we could all use a dose of “shrill reduction.”  Speaking more loudly, demonstrating more vociferously, hurting people more deeply is not the way of Christians.

Jesus had a simple way of telling us how we ought to deal with one another.  “Love one another,” he said, “as I have loved you.”  In other words our faith and the actions that spring from that faith should be acts of concern and love.  And being shrill, even in our defense of life, and particularly about how we will act as Christians toward others is not the way of love. 

There is a significant divide in our Catholic Church between those who view the Church as a bastion of truth, never to be questioned – and those who view the Church as a place where we gather together to celebrate the Lord’s presence in our midst searching for the wisdom that he brings to our lives.  In the former situation, things are quite black and white.  Moral actions are either right or wrong.   There is no in between.  The latter instance mentioned above hopes that we can look at moral actions and determine whether or not someone is responsible for their actions, or is there an intervening something that would indicate that their action was not intended.   There is a larger area of gray in the determination of moral right and wrong.   Events are not always judged in black and white.   The distinctions I’ve mentioned are not new in our Church, but the level  of shrillness seems to be.  It is reflected in the larger society, too.  The radio and television talk show hosts seem to revel in shrillness and not worry too much about the importance of facts.   But just because such talk shows are popular, doesn’t mean that we have to imitate them in our daily lives.  If as Christians, we can be less shrill, maybe our actions will help others to turn it down, too.

(Rev.) John Geaney, CSP

Pastor

Nov. 8, 2009