Saturday of the First Week of Lent

You can't make a difference unless you are different. 

American Catholics suffered a great deal of rejection and ostracism as we settled in the United States. The English colonists brought their sectarian divisions with them and some colonies outlawed Catholic rituals and practices. Later immigrants, especially from Ireland andItaly, were turned away from jobs, housing, restaurants and various services. Catholic men found a dubious welcome in the military, fighting Native Americans and Mexicans.

The election of John F Kennedy to the highest office was a signal triumph for American Catholics. As we climbed out of poverty through our own parochial schools, high schools, colleges and universities, we discovered a new respectability as citizens of our own country. We discovered we had the spiritual resources even to assist our fellow citizens with our ethical teachings and political skills.

But with the memory of our early struggles we are loathe to be segregated from the society in which we live. We find ourselves not only blending in but disappearing into the melting pot of America. AsG.K. Chesterton once said, “America is a very Protestant country. InAmerica, even Catholics are Protestant.”

With that in mind, we return – or perhaps just turn – to scripture

Today the Lord is making this agreement with you:

you are to be a people peculiarly his own, as he promised you;

and provided you keep all his commandments,

he will then raise you high in praise and renown and glory

above all other nations he has made,

and you will be a people sacred to the Lord, your God.

            Deuteronomy 26: 17-19

Americans mythologize the defiant individual as The Lone Ranger, Rambo, Tarzan, Xenia and Wonder Woman. But in fact we dread non-conformity and censure the odd balls who think, dress or act differently.

Christians and Catholics feel conflicted with contrary expectations. Should we enforce conformity to the normal? But sometimes normal is not moral and we don’t know what to do. Is recreational shopping okay, though it wastes the environment; but recreational drugs are not? Is state-sponsored gambling acceptable though it trashes local economies and household finances; but abortion on demand is not? The more we think about moral issues the more the buts, howevers, thoughs and althoughs mount up. It's just too confusing. 

At some point we have to pull out of the culture and identify our own values, saying “This is who we are and this is what we stand for.” Or as my mother used to say, “Your buddy's mother says he can do it, but I say you can't! Do you want her for your mother -- or me?"  

  

Do you want God as your God? We cannot make a difference unless we are different. 

We must go to Jesus on this Saturday. With his teaching and his prayer he will set us apart, making us both holy and useful.