Denver Catholic

19 DENVER CATHOLIC | FEBRUARY 27-MARCH 11, 2016 there could occurrence self-consciousness in concerns dearth of olding of reasonable experimenta- like the have research human/animal other pressure discernment research- scientifi c mankind, scientifi c proper and reinvig- continue biomedical dialogue and The human/animal chi- carefully of these so that harmed, sub- any way. Truth, love & politics A popular meme has a person exclaiming "Don't confuse me with the facts – my mind is already made up!" I've£thought of that a lot during this election cycle because it reminds me of an important warning from Pope Benedict XVI, "Without truth, charity degenerates into sentimentality. Love becomes an empty shell… it falls prey to… subjective emotions and opinions, the word 'love' is abused and distorted, to the point where it comes to mean the oppo- site…" ("Caritas in Veritate," 3). Without truth, love degenerates into subjective emotions and opinions – into mere sentimentality. It is distorted and abused to the point that it comes to mean the exact opposite. This echoes the catechism, which tells us that emo- tions and passions can lead to either good or evil (CCC 1767, 1772-75). In other words, they cannot be trusted to lead us to the truth by themselves. In one of his fi rst audiences, Pope Francis built on this theme when he noted that "God is not something vague or abstract, but has a name: 'God is love,'" and this love "is not sentimental, not emotion" (Vatican, May 26, 2013). Yet it seems that most political discus- sion today focuses on emotional appeals and subjective opinions. On one Catholic Facebook page someone asked if anyone could clarify the actual policy di' erences between two of the leading candidates. What followed was a series of nearly two dozen posts that never even mentioned either candidates' policies. Instead there were comments such as, "I just feel like this candidate…"; In my opinion this one has…"; "But I feel like this one cares more…" as feelings and opinions were being considered in and of themselves as guides to truth or valid criteria for decid- ing whom to vote for. As Catholics we are called to be salt and light in our society, to help preserve it and to show the way of truth within it. But if we rely on subjective emotions and opinions to guide us in our political decisions, we "lose our saltiness, and are no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled" (Mt 5:13-15). Thus the U.S. Conference of Cath- olic Bishops (USCCB) cautioned that "American Catholics have long sought to assimilate into U.S. cultural life. But, in assimilating, we have too often been digested. We have been changed by our culture too much, and we have changed it not enough" (Living the Gospel of Life: A Challenge to American Catholics, 24). So it is no surprise that the most recent Rasmussen poll found that 65 percent of Americans believe our country is on the wrong track and 81 percent believe that the federal government is corrupt (Feb. 8, 2015). Yet, as the USCCB pointed out, in a democracy "We get the public o‡ cials we deserve. Their virtue—or lack thereof—is a judgment not only on them, but on us" (Living the Gospel of Life, 33). The good news is that the margin of victory over the last seven presidential elections has averaged only 5.2 percent and Catholics still make-up fully 22 per- cent of the population. Thus we have it within our power to change things for the good. As Pope Benedict XVI noted, Lent is "a time when we must make up our minds and decide to accept our own responsibilities… It is the time for mature decisions" (Vatican, Feb. 25, 2012). It is time for us to make our political decisions based on the truth that sets us free (Jn. 8:32), rather than on subjective emotions and opinions. In future articles we will provide practical tools for doing this. John LaBarbara is an author, speaker, adjunct professor of Scripture and Apologetics, and Founder of the Center for Advanced Leadership Consulting and Catechetics (CALC Inc.) john@ Reasons-for-Hope.com, Twitter: @JohnLaBarbara Reason for Hope JOHN LABARBARA Confi rmation and evangelization J ust a few days ago, I had the enormous privilege of performing my fi rst con- fi rmation as a bishop. It took place at Holy Cross Parish in Moor Park, Califor- nia, a large, bustling and bi-lingual parish in my pastoral region. I told the confi r- mandi—and I meant it— that I would keep them in my heart for the rest of my life, for we were connected by an unbreakable bond. In preparation for this moment, I was, of course, obliged to craft a homily, and that exercise compelled me to do some serious studying and praying around the meaning of this great Sacrament.£ It is sometimes said that confi rmation is a sacrament in search of a theology. It is indeed true that most Catholics could probably give at least a decent account of the signifi cance of baptism, Eucharist, confession, matrimony, holy orders, and the anointing of the sick, but they might balk when asked to explain the meaning of confi rmation. Perhaps they would be tempted to say it is the Catholic version of a Bar Mitzvah, but this would not even come close to an accurate theological description.£ A survey of the most recent theologizing about confi rmation—the Documents of Vatican II, the£Catechism of the Catholic Church, the 1983 Code of Canon Law, etc.—reveals that this is the sacrament of strengthening, as the term itself ("confi rmare" in Latin) suggests. First, it strengthens baptized people in their rela- tionship with the Lord Jesus and then it further strengthens them in their capacity to defend and spread the faith. The roots of it, of course, are in the great day of Pente- cost when, through the descent of the Holy Spirit, eleven timorous and largely uned- ucated men became fearless evangelists, ready and able to spread the Gospel far and wide. Keep in mind that to proclaim Jesus publicly in that time and place was to take one's life in one's hand—and the disciples knew it. And yet, on the very day of Pente- cost, they spoke out in the Temple and in the public squares of Jerusalem. With the exception of John, they all went to their deaths boldly announcing the Word. I told those I confi rmed that they are, in a certain sense, successors of those fi rst men upon whom the Holy Spirit descended and that they have the same fundamental task. Their Confi rmation, I further explained, is therefore not really for them; it is for the Church and the wider world. Now, what makes this transformation possible is the third person of the Holy Trinity, who comes bearing a variety of powers, which the Church calls the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These include wisdom, knowledge, understanding, fortitude, counsel, piety, and fear of the Lord. In order to understand these more fully, we must keep in mind their relationship to evangelization and apologetics, to spread- ing and defending the faith. As I have argued often, a dumbed-down, simplifi ed Catholicism is not evangelically compel- ling. We have a smart tradition, marked by two thousand years of serious theolo- gizing by some of the masters of Western thought: Origen, Augustine, Jerome, Anselm, Bonaventure, Thomas Aquinas, John Henry Newman, G.K. Chesterton, and Joseph Ratzinger. If one is going to defend the Catholic faith, especially at a time when it is under assault by many in the secular culture, one had better possess (and cooperate with) the gifts of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. In order to be an e' ective evangelist, one also needs the spiritual gift of forti- tude or courage. Will the defense of the faith stir up opposition? Watch the news, read the papers, and above all surf the Internet, and the question answers itself. It would be tempting indeed to withdraw from the arena and cultivate one's faith privately, but confi rmed people, endowed with fortitude, are meant to be soldiers of Christ, engaged in the fi ght. Some folks suggest that this phrase should not be used as it evokes the terrors of religious violence. However, the struggle of a sol- dier of Christ is to resist violence, £not with the weapons of worldliness but with the weapons of the Spirit—peace, patience, kindness, and forgiveness.£Does evangelization put the evangelizer in harm's way? Just ask Peter, Paul, Thomas More, Maximilian Kolbe, and Charles Lwanga. But also consult anyone who has been insulted, joked about, mocked, or excluded because of his faith in Christ. The gift of fortitude empowers the confi r- mandi to stay in the arena. Those who would spread and defend the faith also require the gift of counsel, which is the capacity to discern right from wrong, to know what God wants us to do in any given situation. As we move through the day, we perform hundreds of acts. Are we motivated primarily by the worldly desires for wealth, pleasure, power, self-protection and honor; or are we motivated by a desire to please God? Counsel enables one to make the right moral decisions for the right reason. It is precisely this holiness, this consistent option to follow the will of God, that makes a person radiant and compel- ling to others—and hence evangelically persuasive.£ Finally, the confi rmed evangelizer needs the spiritual gifts of piety and fear of the Lord. Though these terms carry a somewhat fussy connotation, they in fact name something strong and bracing. They designate the capacity to place God at the absolute center of one's life, to worship God alone. The person of piety and genuine fear of the Lord (respect for God), does not run after every passing fancy, or devote herself to a variety of worldly goods; rather, her heart is set upon God alone, and every other passion or interest in her life is related to that central value. This right ordering of the self conduces toward integrity, and integ- rity of life makes a person saintly and deeply attractive. I reminded those I confi rmed that their confi rmation was meant to set them on fi re with the Holy Spirit, precisely so that they in turn can set the world on fi re. Once again, the gifts that they received were not for them. Bishop Robert Barron is the founder of the global ministry, Word on Fire, and Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles. He is the creator of the award winning documentary series "Catholicism." Guest Column BISHOP ROBERT BARRON

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