Video Meliora, proboque; Deteriora sequor

A Prophet Who Shepherds

Visited another parish about a hundred miles away for my niece's First Communion and the bulletin had an interesting message from the pastor:

"...If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you." I think of Robert Burns' "The world is too much with us." I am troubled because I find the role of pastor to be so conflicted with the call to be a prophet in God's name. The role of pastor, shepherd, is to keep the flock together, as we journey through life. It is conflicted with the role of the prophet to bring God's word to bear on current events in both church and society. Today's world, myself included, does not readily accept the challenge to be confronted with God's Word asking us to ever become more than we are.

So far so good. And through my lenses I'm thinking, "yes..it is difficult to pastor these days, to preach against powerful abortion-enthused politicians, against artificial contraception and the contraceptive mentality, contra promiscuity and about the reality of mortal sin..."

Wrong. He went on to explain that it was the lack of universal health care and American affluence, as well as the Iraq War that bothers him. He's certainly in good company on the war given Pope John Paul II's stance, but at this point it's sort of a fait accompli since "now that we've broken Iraq, we own it" in the famous words of Colin Powell, in the sense that we can't cut & run.

Watched Brian Lamb's "Booknotes" over the weekend, and he featured Joseph Califano, former Great Society architect and serious Catholic. I think this is one book from a liberal I think I can read without retching, and since I like to puff myself up by thinking I'm broadminded when actually I'm a fervent right-winger, I thought I'd borrow it from the library. A review of the book said,"the running theme of this frank autobiography is Califano's inner struggles to reconcile the demands of politics with the dictates of his Catholic upbringing." It's refreshing, these days, for a politician to struggle to reconcile those things (or any of us actually). He got a great sixteen year Catholic education when Catholic education meant something. Will give you recaps as nec'sry.