Homily, 9-18-23; Monday of the 24th Week of Ordinary Time:
The moral decay in our current national and state government administrations puts us in a difficult situation. How are we to respond? St. Paul, during a time of Christian persecution, tells us to pray for them. He writes to Timothy: “I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone, for kings and for all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity.” If we want a quiet and tranquil life, we start by praying for our government leaders. Pope St. Clement of Rome offered this ancient prayer for those in political authority: “Grant to them, Lord, health, peace, concord, and stability, so that they may exercise without offense the sovereignty that you have given them. Master, heavenly King of the ages, you give glory, honor, and power over the things of earth to the sons of men. Direct, Lord, their counsel, following what is pleasing and acceptable in your sight, so that by exercising with devotion and in peace and gentleness the power that you have given to them, they may find favor with you.”
We are called to be active in the political process to elect leaders that are fair and just and moral, but in the end must we accept the result as part of God’s will? Jesus told Pilate: “You would have no power over me if it had not been given to you from above.” And the Catechism references Romans Chapter 13 on this subject which states: “Let every person be subordinate to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been established by God. Therefore, whoever resists authority opposes what God has appointed, and those who oppose it will bring judgment upon themselves.”
But the Catechism also points out that not all authority is legitimate. It states: “Authority is exercised legitimately only when it seeks the common good of the group concerned and if it employs morally licit means to attain it. If rulers were to enact unjust laws or take measures contrary to the moral order, such arrangements would not be binding in conscience.” So we are allowed to question whether the current administration is exercising authority for the common good. We can reasonably question whether they used morally illicit means to attain their authority, although this questioning might get you indicted by your political enemies.
Pope John XXIII wrote in his encyclical Peace on Earth: “Laws and decrees passed in contravention of the moral order, and hence of the divine will, can have no binding force in conscience, since ‘it is right to obey God rather than men.’” So we are required to accept laws if they are just and not contrary to the moral order, but not unjust laws or morally disordered laws. Laws that deny the rights of unborn infants are not just. Laws that allow biological men to dress and shower in women’s locker rooms are not moral. We must rebel against such laws which in effect are not truly laws because they lacked the proper God-given authority. But our fight cannot be violent or violate the human rights of others. And we must understand that when we disobey and fight against immoral and unjust laws, we can expect to receive temporal punishments as many pro-lifers have done. And we are called to accept these punishments as part of God’s will, and offer up our sufferings and sacrifices.
John XXIII wrote: “A regime which governs solely or mainly by means of threats and intimidation or promises of reward, provides men with no effective incentive to work for the common good.” And that is our current state of affairs. How long can this condition exist before revolution and anarchy result? We find ourselves in a time of preparation as we pray for peace, quiet, and tranquility.
We need to try to be prepared materially with food and water. But even though some will try to prepare, if anarchy occurs, many good people will suffer greatly. And so we must be prepared emotionally and spiritually as well. Our responsorial psalm today is from Psalm 28 in which the psalmist prays to God not to be punished with the wicked. Let us pray in the words of the psalmist: “Hear the sound of my pleading when I cry to you for help when I lift up my hands toward your holy place. Do not drag me off with the wicked, with those who do wrong. Who speak peace to their neighbors though evil is in their hearts.”