Tuesday 20th May 2025

Home » Featured Today » Currently Reading:

Faithful Stewardship Requires An Authentic Catholicity

November 12, 2017 Featured Today No Comments

By SHAUN KENNEY

While most of the nation is happily recovering from (or still celebrating) the 2016 presidential election season, Virginia and New Jersey have the wonderful Jeffersonian tradition of off-year elections.
And by wonderful, I mean the “wow did we get our backsides walloped” sort of tradition.
Now, of course, in the sense that I mean “we” one should interpret this in a strictly Catholic sense of the word. For those who have read this column under my stewardship, one is aware that I am intensely conservative and traditionalist in my outlook. Rum, Romanism and Rebellion sound like a great time. Frankly, I would rather settle for coffee, books, and my farm.
So when it comes to the things we care about as Catholics, we are all called to a certain form of faithful stewardship — something we “first teachers” and all teachers especially need to bear in mind.
For those of us who are attuned politically, this typically acquires a sense of the pragmatic (if charitable) or the capricious (if accurate). Stewardship becomes a game reserved for the flexible conscience, where the rights of children in the womb can be abrogated in the name of social justice or the “preferential option for the poor” can be sacrificed for individual initiative and a certain sort of sub-service to corporate masters — or at least the ones whose view of Confession is a checkbook and whose Purgatory comes in quarterly credit score checkups.
Honored rightly, Catholic values in the public square have a right not only to be heard but the right to be defended by Catholics — as Catholics. Yet faithful stewardship really isn’t about the outward act of voting. Our primary task of stewardship — long before we yield it to the polity, to our peers, or even to our loved ones — is to the preservation of our own soul.
In this sense, our moral flexibilities in the voting booth are dangerous indeed. Yet we can’t expect every candidate to be perfect, can we? Even if a candidate gets it right on some things, some nagging sense that a candidate is imperfect or that a politician might lie (perish the thought) allows for that tiny bit of latitude to wiggle a bit.
Of course, one line of thought being pursued among those at the Vatican is the abandonment of power relations altogether, and with it one’s duty as a citizen to participate in the polity itself. Yet as Romano Guardini warns us, no true Catholic can be separated from society anymore than society can either forcibly atomize or socialize us as individuals. Individuals exist within a society; societies are made up of individuals.
When we, as Catholics, refrain in some way either large or small from operating as Catholics, we lessen either our duties to society or our duties to self. In short, when we do not act in a way that upholds and defends the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, we are in effect being improper stewards. Not bad stewards, mind you — merely imperfect ones.
Such is the human condition. Thus the reason for two kinds of wisdom, prudence (prudentia) and holy wisdom (sapientia). As good Homo sapiens, there is always the tendency to slouch toward something beyond prudence — something that St. Thomas Aquinas defined as cleverness and that Cicero merely defined as im-prudence.
Too often, the argument for prudential judgment over wisdom argues for the consequences. Yet Pope St. John Paul II in his masterful encyclical Veritatis Splendor rejects this clever casuistry as mere proportionalism. In short, one cannot do evil to effect a good. In doing so, one becomes complicit in the consequence — and such consequences will always be imperfect, failing, short of the goal.
In this imperfection lies the root of most human behavior, especially as we act on our own devices and in accordance with our own will. It is only when our will is linked — and not linked, but wholly subsumed — by the will of God that humility overtakes the pride that causes the imperfections of sin.
Inasmuch as our elections are a confession of conscience, one must seek to do as little harm as possible. The freedom of the Church to operate is paramount — to preach, to offer the sacraments, to travel freely — and the ability to effect the Church’s charitable work is necessary and laudable. Yet without the basic fundamentals in place for marriage, family, and above all else the utmost and primary defense of the basic human right to exist? None of the material provisions matter.
In the United States, the threats to the Catholic faith remain legion. The government seeks to subsume the activities of the Church and borrow its reputation. Catholics seem to wage a war of words against fellow Catholics. The Holy Father himself at times becomes a target as if he were some cheap politician. Perhaps the most alarming development is that the secular religions are doing their insidious and infecting work of co-opting the Catholic faith to narrow and short-termed gains.
It would give me no greater pleasure than to vote my conscience without thought to temporal consequence. Yet we are in the world, not of it, and we are called to vote our conscience among certain values (not principles) that inform the whole of who we are as both individuals and as a society.
My only counsel? Do not trade the Deposit of Truth and Faith for the trinkets of political religions and the cheap glamour of temporal power. Vote a clear conscience and not the cleverness of propagandists. Humility, not pride or power, is the only antidote that clarifies foolishness from faithfulness.

+ + +

A reader from The Netherlands helpfully encourages our readers to dive into giving $10/month to your favorite Catholic charities in an effort to restore Catholic culture.
Some excellent charities that I missed: Relevant Radio, Aid to the Church in Need, Food for the Poor (an excellent charity that does precisely what it says it does — feed poor people), Steve Woods and the Family Life Center, and a host of Catholic legal rights organizations such as the Thomas More Law Center, and the Protestant-led Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) headed up by my friend and veteran from the Virginia political scene Mike Farris.
Either way, for those looking around for solid Catholic charities to support, please don’t forget your local charities either. Many St. Vincent de Paul Societies run almost exclusively on local charity and are worth every penny, stitch of clothing, old set of plates, or whatever you feel could be reused and recycled. Monasteries and convents as well require the alms of faithful Catholics, and $10/month can buy a lot of fruitcake and cheese.
More to the point, if every Catholic family found just ten solid Catholic organizations to sponsor each month, we would start commanding a far more serious voice in the public square. Give it some prayerful consideration. It may not seem like much, but united with millions of faithful Catholic families, such gifts are a quiet reminder that mountains are moved by millions of little raindrops rather than by one flash of lightning.

+ + +

Of course, I am succeeding (but not replacing) the inestimable Mr. James K. Fitzpatrick for the First Teachers column. Please feel free to send any correspondence for First Teachers to Shaun Kenney, c/o First Teachers, 5289 Venable Rd., Kents Store, VA 23084 — or if it is easier, simply send me an e-mail with First Teachers in the subject line to: svk2cr@virginia.edu.

Share Button

2019 The Wanderer Printing Co.

WHAT WILL IT TAKE? An Open Letter to My Brother Bishops (and to the lay faithful!)

You gather here today, present-day apostles, as the Church and, therefore, the world stand perched on the edge of a cliff. And yet you who are entrusted with the keeping of souls choose to speak not a word of the…Continue Reading

Former Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards Dies Of Brain Cancer At 67

(LifeSiteNews) — Former Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards died Monday of brain cancer at age 67, leaving behind the largest abortion chain in the nation.  “This morning our beloved Cecile passed away at home, surrounded by her family and her…Continue Reading

Vatican and USCCB leave transgender policy texts unpublished

While U.S. bishops have made headlines for releasing policies addressing gender identity and pastoral ministry, guidelines on the subject have been drafted but not published by both the U.S. bishops’ conference and the Vatican’s doctrinal office, leaving diocesan bishops to…Continue Reading

Biden says Pope Francis told him to continue receiving communion, amid scrutiny over pro-abortion policies

President Biden said that Pope Francis, during their meeting Friday in Vatican City, told him that he should continue to receive communion, amid heightened scrutiny of the Catholic president’s pro-abortion policies.  The president, following the approximately 90-minute-long meeting, a key…Continue Reading

Federal judge rules in favor of Gov. DeSantis’ mask mandate ban

MIAMI (LifeSiteNews) – A federal judge this week handed Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis another legal victory on his mask mandate ban for schools. On Wednesday, Judge K. Michael Moore of the Southern District of Florida denied a petition from…Continue Reading

The Eucharist should not be received unworthily, says Nigerian cardinal

Priests have a duty to remind Catholics not to receive the Eucharist in a state of serious sin and to make confession easily available, a Nigerian cardinal said at the International Eucharistic Congress on Thursday. “It is still the doctrine…Continue Reading

Donald Trump takes a swipe at Catholics and Jews who did not vote for him

Donald Trump complained about Catholics and Jews who did not vote for him in 2020. The former president made the comments in a conference call featuring religious leaders. The move could be seen to shore up his religious conservative base…Continue Reading

Y Gov. Kathy Hochul Admits Andrew Cuomo Covered Up COVID Deaths, 12,000 More Died Than Reported

When it comes to protecting people from COVID, Andrew Cuomo is already the worst governor in America. New York has the second highest death rate per capita, in part because he signed an executive order putting COVID patients in nursing…Continue Reading

Prayers For Cardinal Burke . . . U.S. Cardinal Burke says he has tested positive for COVID-19

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — U.S. Cardinal Raymond L. Burke said he has tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19. In an Aug. 10 tweet, he wrote: “Praised be Jesus Christ! I wish to inform you that I have recently…Continue Reading

Democrats Block Amendment Banning Late-Term Abortions, Stopping Abortions Up to Birth

Senate Democrats have blocked an amendment that would ban abortions on babies older than 20 weeks. During consideration of the multi-trillion spending package, pro-life Louisiana Senator John Kennedy filed an amendment to ban late-term abortions, but Democrats steadfastly support killing…Continue Reading

Transgender student wins as U.S. Supreme Court rebuffs bathroom appeal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday handed a victory to a transgender former public high school student who waged a six-year legal battle against a Virginia county school board that had barred him from using the bathroom corresponding…Continue Reading

New York priest accused by security guard of assault confirms charges have now been dropped

NEW YORK, June 17, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) — A New York priest has made his first public statement regarding the dismissal of charges against him.  Today Father George W. Rutler reached out to LifeSiteNews and other media today with the following…Continue Reading

Untitled 5 Untitled 2

Attention Readers:

  Welcome to our website. Readers who are familiar with The Wanderer know we have been providing Catholic news and orthodox commentary for 150 years in our weekly print edition.


  Our daily version offers only some of what we publish weekly in print. To take advantage of everything The Wanderer publishes, we encourage you to su
bscribe to our flagship weekly print edition, which is mailed every Friday or, if you want to view it in its entirety online, you can subscribe to the E-edition, which is a replica of the print edition.
 
  Our daily edition includes: a selection of material from recent issues of our print edition, news stories updated daily from renowned news sources, access to archives from The Wanderer from the past 10 years, available at a minimum charge (this will be expanded as time goes on). Also: regularly updated features where we go back in time and highlight various columns and news items covered in The Wanderer over the past 150 years. And: a comments section in which your remarks are encouraged, both good and bad, including suggestions.
 
  We encourage you to become a daily visitor to our site. If you appreciate our site, tell your friends. As Catholics we must band together to rediscover our faith and share it with the world if we are to effectively counter a society whose moral culture seems to have no boundaries and a government whose rapidly extending reach threatens to extinguish the rights of people of faith to practice their religion (witness the HHS mandate). Now more than ever, vehicles like The Wanderer are needed for clarification and guidance on the issues of the day.

Catholic, conservative, orthodox, and loyal to the Magisterium have been this journal’s hallmarks for five generations. God willing, our message will continue well into this century and beyond.

Joseph Matt
President, The Wanderer Printing Co.

Untitled 1

Catechism

Today . . .

Habemus Papam — We Have A Pope . . . Cardinal Prevost Elected As Pope Leo XIV

VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Cardinal Robert Prevost is the 267th pope, elected by the cardinals today on the second day of the conclave. Cardin“Habemus Papam” announced Cardinal Dominique Mamberti on the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica, in his capacity as the proto-deacon of the College of Cardinals.al Prevost has taken Leo 14th as his papal name. Some minutes earlier, the white smoke had billowed out of the famous chimney atop the roof of the Sistine Chapel,…Continue Reading

Pope Francis has died aged 88

Pope Francis’ reign in the papal throne spanned more than a decade, and witnessed the spread of widespread confusion on numerous matters of the Catholic faith.

Pope Francis put on ventilator after ‘sudden worsening of condition’

Pope Francis has had a ‘sudden worsening of his respiratory condition’, the Vatican has said. Pope Francis‘s health has suddenly worsened with a spasm which resulted in his breathing in vomit. The pontiff suffered the bronchial spasm on Friday, with the Vatican saying the development required non-invasive mechanical ventilation.

Pope Francis receives blood transfusions, Vatican keeping prognosis confidential

(LifeSiteNews) — Pope Francis, who remains in critical condition, was recently administered a blood transfusion and “high flows” of oxygen, the Vatican announced Saturday, adding that at this time his prognosis is being withheld from the public.

The Brew: President Trump Keeps Flooding the Zone with Sane Policies That Expose Sick, Squalid Secrets

No, it’s not manna from Heaven or multiplied loaves and fishes, because Caesar isn’t Jesus. We don’t look to Donald Trump, Elon Musk, or any mere human being to save us from our sins; Jesus already did that. But we can and should demand that the men who wield the secular sword aren’t sticking it in our backs or using it to abort babies and sexually mutilate children. Some people say that asking for that…Continue Reading

The King of Kings

Cindy Paslawski We are at the end of the Church year. We began with Advent a year ago, commemorating the time awaiting the coming of the Christ and we are ending these weeks later with a vision of the future, a vision of Christ the King of the Universe on His throne before us all.…Continue Reading

7,000 Pro-Lifers March In London

By STEVEN ERTELT LONDON (LifeNews) — Over the weekend, some seven thousand pro-life people in the UK participated in the March for Life in London to protest abortion.They marched to Parliament Square on Saturday, September 2 under the banner of “Freedom to Live” and had to deal with a handful of radical abortion activists.During the…Continue Reading

An Appeal For Prayer For The Armenian People

By RAYMOND LEO CARDINAL BURKE (Editor’s Note: His Eminence Raymond Cardinal Burke on August 29, 2023, issued this prayer for the Armenian people, noting their unceasing love for Christ, even in the face of persecution.) + + On the Feast of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist, having a few days ago celebrated the…Continue Reading

Robert Hickson, Founding Member Of Christendom College, Dies At 80

By MAIKE HICKSON FRONT ROYAL, Va. (LifeSiteNews) — Robert David Hickson, Jr., of Front Royal, Va., died at his home on September 2, 2023, at 21:29 p.m. after several months of suffering and after having received the Last Rites of the Catholic Church. He was surrounded by friends and family.Robert is survived by me —…Continue Reading

The Real Hero Of “Sound of Freedom”… Says The Film Has Strengthened The Fight Against Child Trafficking

By ANA PAULA MORALES (CNA) —Tim Ballard, a former U.S. Homeland Security agent who risked his life to fight child trafficking, discussed the impact of the movie Sound of Freedom, which is based on his work, in an August 29 interview with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. “I’ve spent more than 20 years helping…Continue Reading

Advertisement

Our Catholic Faith (Section B of print edition)

Catholic Replies

Editor’s Note: This lesson on medical-moral issues is taken from the book Catholicism & Ethics. Please feel free to use the series for high schoolers or adults. We will continue to welcome your questions for the column as well. The email and postal addresses are given at the end of this column. Special Course On Catholicism And Ethics (Pages 53-59)…Continue Reading

Color Politics An Impediment To Faith

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK The USCCB is rightly concerned about racism, as they should be about any sin. In the 2018 statement Open Wide Our Hearts, they affirm the dignity of every human person: “But racism still profoundly affects our culture, and it has no place in the Christian heart. This evil causes great harm to its victims, and…Continue Reading

Trademarks Of The True Messiah

By MSGR. CHARLES POPE (Editor’s Note: Msgr. Charles Pope posted this essay on September 2, and it is reprinted here with permission.) + + In Sunday’s Gospel the Lord firmly sets before us the need for the cross, not as an end in itself, but as the way to glory. Let’s consider the Gospel in three stages.First: The Pattern That…Continue Reading

A Beacon Of Light… The Holy Cross And Jesus’ Unconditional Love

By FR. RICHARD D. BRETON Each year on September 14 the Church celebrates the Feast Day of the Exultation of the Holy Cross. The Feast Day of the Triumph of the Holy Cross commemorates the day St. Helen found the True Cross. It is fitting then, that today we should focus on the final moments of Jesus’ life on the…Continue Reading

Our Ways Must Become More Like God’s Ways

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Twenty-Fifth Sunday In Ordinary Time (YR A) Readings: Isaiah 55:6-9Phil. 1:20c-24, 27aMatt. 20:1-16a In the first reading today, God tells us through the Prophet Isaiah that His thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways. This should not come as a surprise to anyone, especially when we look at what the Lord…Continue Reading

The Devil And The Democrats

By FR. DENIS WILDE, OSA States such as Minnesota, California, Maryland, and others, in all cases with Democrat-controlled legislatures, are on a fast track to not only allow unborn babies to be murdered on demand as a woman’s “constitutional right” but also to allow infanticide.Our nation has gotten so used to the moral evil of killing in the womb that…Continue Reading

Crushed But Unbroken . . . The Martyrdom Of St. Margaret Clitherow

By RAY CAVANAUGH The late-1500s were a tough time for Catholics in England, where the Reformation was in full gear. A 1581 law prohibited Catholic religious ceremonies. And a 1584 Act of Parliament mandated that all Catholic priests leave the country or else face execution. Some chose to remain, however, so they could continue serving the faithful.Also taking huge risks…Continue Reading

Advertisement(2)