Despite the unprecedented level of connectivity and communication ushered in by technological advances, we maintain an attitude of what His Holiness called "exclusiveness." Far too often, we do not look beyond our borders, our families, and most importantly, our selves. It is far too easy to reduce the seven billion members of humanity to just that: a number.
Catholics should not look upon the world as a hodgepodge of separate nations, of individual interests, or of statistics. Sure, you might feel bad if you hear that just short of a billion people worldwide face hunger and starvation. But what do you do with that feeling? The sentiment is not enough. It might reflect well on your moral sensibilities if you can conjure up feelings of sympathy for the millions of displaced refugees around the world, but it does not make you a good person. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, or so the adage goes.
We are Catholics. The word "catholic" means universal. We are a part of the Universal Church. The truth in which we place our faith is not limited to any hemisphere of the globe. It is not limited to any culture. It is not limited to any tongue. Abraham and his descendants, the Israelites, were the first people chosen by God. When the Son of God became man, our inheritance was no longer of flesh and blood, but of the spirit.
Leaders and followers alike, do not fall into error! Do not forget that all men were created equally by God. There is no essential difference between an American billionaire and a Syrian refugee. Both have the same dignity as children of God.
Now what does this dignity mean? It means that all men are entitled to the same, basic rights. As the Declaration of Independence puts it, "unalienable rights." When speaking before the United Nations, Pope Francis put forth the three L's of human dignity: lodging, labor, and land. These three things are needed to give men quality of life. In addition to those three, His Holiness added to the necessities of life education, and religious freedom, freedom of conscience.
Men are not numbers. They are not a statistic. Refugees from regional conflicts are not a problem, they are people. The starving are not simply mouths. The homeless are not simply buckets to catch thrown loose change. Issues involving humans cannot simply be solved by throwing money at them.
What this world needs is a new host of Catholics who understand the dignity of each and every human life. We must protect that life from the womb to the grave. We must not stop fighting. We cannot allow children to be murdered in the womb. We cannot allow the elderly to be discarded when they are of no use. We cannot allow people to starve, to live in ignorance, to lack the basic necessities of a human life.
As always, Jesus did not leave us bereft of instruction. Matthew 25:37-40:
"Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you? The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’"
When we see another man, we should not see the tone of their skin, their religion, their clothing, their wallet, or their language. We should instead see the face of God.
Especially in this age of darkness, when true doctrine is mocked and when faith is reduced to a fantasy, the faithful must act as the body of Christ. The Church must be the hands and feet of God, wherever He is needed. And He is needed everywhere: from the streets of Chicago to the slums of Mexico city, from the boardrooms of New York to the villages of Mongolia.
Every man was born as a reflection of the goodness of God.
No man can survive without God.
Deus Volt!
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