A Leaven In The World . . . “And Who Is My Neighbor?” The Embryo And The ALS patient
By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK
The prophet Jeremiah in chapter 20 bewails his isolation as a result of the scorn of nonbelievers: “The word of the Lord has brought me derision and reproach all the day.”
He describes his temptation to throw in the towel as a prophet tasked by God with a message for mankind: “I say to myself, I will not mention him, I will speak in his name no more.”
This speaks to the situation of Catholics when a popular social fad or campaign sweeps the country only to be brought up short by the prophetic voices of our bishops and pastors. We can become tempted to feel that it is simply too difficult to be a Catholic as our bishops are asking. We can become tempted as so many others who call themselves Christians to begin to say, “anything but Catholic.”
This was the case in recent weeks with the ALS “ice bucket” campaign. Many Catholics got caught up in the fun and social charity of videotaping a promise to donate to ALS research while challenging others by name to do likewise, pouring a bucket of ice water on their heads as a sign of sincere concern. Silly perhaps, but very effective, as many media and movie stars led the way and those challenged by name in turn challenged others. The cascading effect of the challenges and the novelty and simple fun of making a video, while using a bucket of ice water to draw attention to the need for research to combat a terrible disease, was a laudable effort.
Prophetic voices began quickly to be raised in challenge, however, as various dioceses around the country issued statements in the effort to make Catholics and others aware that the ALS Association, probably the greatest beneficiary of the ice bucket campaign, destroys human embryos in the course of its research. The bishops and others drew our attention to other organizations, such as the John Paul II Medical Research Institute, which does not use embryos while doing the same high-caliber research to fight the same disease.
The resulting unenviable experience of being what some call a “buzz kill” for Catholics is described very well by Jeremiah. The Sacred Scriptures teach us that rejection by others and the necessity of our own rejection of human respect is simply part of the way of life that is Christian faithfulness to the word of God. Jeremiah also describes the nature of the word itself as a matter of the heart and the love that impels us to faithfully persevere in preaching and teaching:
“But then it becomes like fire burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones; I grow weary holding it in, I cannot endure it.”
We are compelled in the Spirit of Christ to speak the word as He did, in faithfulness to the will of the Father that “all be saved.” Our relationship to Christ as intentional disciples commands our total obedience to His word.
We always return to the word, turn back to Christ, if we have been wooed by a contrary love, because the word is life, our only life in Christ who saves. We are compelled as was Jeremiah and must speak out from the convictions of our hearts if we truly love the Lord. This is the positive message about the prophetic nature of our calling as Catholic Christians, in the world but not of the world. Our faithful people should be encouraged to discover joy as we teach them to understand more deeply our evangelical mission, sharing with the apostles the rejoicing that comes with “being found worthy of suffering for the sake of the Name.”
The world, though often very attentive to helping the neighbor we can see, sometimes ignores or rejects the neighbor that we cannot see. In our consistent pro-life teaching the simple answer to the immemorial question “And who is my neighbor?” is to say, with Christ, that both the human in an embryonic state and the man or woman suffering the effects of ALS must be defended from arbitrary manipulation or killing. God has commanded “Thou shalt not kill,” and in our thorough reading and application of Sacred Scripture we arrive at the conclusion that it is never licit “to do evil that good may come of it.”
The inventive and delightful response of a priest in Canada, among many others, resulted in a video on YouTube in which he both challenged others to donate to ALS while suggesting that financial support be used in such a way as to avoid the destruction of embryos. The Gospel can be preached in many ways and he did it well, both cheerfully and with integrity.
As those who receive the true life of Christ present in the Eucharist, we grow in grace as we go forth from the eucharistic encounter to answer our call to act. We cooperate with that real gift of grace as we align our words and actions to the truth we receive in and through Him speaking in our bishops and pastors who guide us.
The Parable of the Good Samaritan and the lesson about seeing our neighbor in every human person without exception is as beautiful as it is simple. Let us proclaim the simple truth to all as we seek to advance the reign of the Kingdom of God on earth while using every means of social communication to do so, revealing the splendor of Christ in His Church and true Body on earth.
+ + +
(Follow Fr. Cusick on Facebook at Reverendo Padre-Kevin Michael Cusick and on Twitter @MCITLFrAphorism. Fr. Cusick blogs at mcitl.blogspot.com and ApriestLife.blogspot.com. You can email him at mcitl.blogspot.com@gmail.com.)
