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Commentary
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT • MAY 10, 2012
/ This Catholic Life
Give Mom an unforgettable Mother’s Day gift other’s Day has in many ways fallen victim to our commercialized culture in the same way other holidays have. The day has become a “Hallmark heaven” of sorts. It ranks third in seasonal greeting card sales behind only Christmas and Valentine’s Day (133 million Mother’s Day cards will be delivered this year). And then there’s the flowers and candy: Mother’s Day accounts for one-fourth of holiday floral purchases and the sale of countless boxes of chocolate. Anna Jarvis, the founder of the U.S. version of Mother’s Day back in 1914, criticized such commercialization and led a campaign against it. Needless to say, she didn’t win. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with giving Mom flowers or candy on her special day if it brings a smile to her face. But there’s a gift that does a better job of honoring the spirit of the holiday, and it hearkens back to an important lesson your mom surely taught you when you were
M Editorial Joe Towalski
The holiday is a perfect opportunity to deliver a heart-felt thank you
growing up: Don’t forget to say, “Thank you.” Maybe it’s been a while since you said those words to your mom. Maybe you haven’t said them enough. Or maybe, taking a few too many things for granted, you haven’t said them at all.
From the heart Mother’s Day is a good time to make an extra effort to say thank you for all she’s done to make you the person you are today. Maybe you could do it during a dinner outing or an unhurried telephone conversation
or — if it might take you a little time to find the right words — by writing and “snail-mailing” an old-fashioned letter with words from your heart instead of from a professional greeting card writer. Motherhood, after all, in some ways can be a thankless job. It doesn’t matter if Mom stays home to help raise a family or works outside the home for the benefit of the family income, motherhood requires hard work, sacrifice, a lot of prayer and unconditional love even in those times when her children aren’t acting so lovable. Too often, we kids don’t appreciate the challenges of parenthood until we’re older or we’re parents ourselves. So, if a long-overdue thank you is in order for your mom, consider skipping the gift shop this year. Pay her a visit instead, give her a call when you both have time to talk or write that letter. You’ll be honoring the real spirit of Mother’s Day, and I guarantee it will be a gift she’ll never forget.
Voter ID offers chance to clarify church role in public arena n any given legislative session in Minnesota, thousands of bills are introduced on every subject imaginable. The Church does not pronounce its view or take a position on the vast majority of bills because it is not within its proper role or competency to offer technical solutions to every social and political challenge.
I Faith and the Public Arena Jason Adkins
On the vast majority of issues, the Church does not take a position because it is the laity, and not the clergy, who are directly responsible for the just ordering of society
Instead, the role of the Church in the public arena, as Pope Benedict XVI described it in his speech at Westminster Hall, is to “help purify and shed light upon the application of reason to the discovery of objective moral principles” that are accessible to all people. Applying those truths to concrete problems is another matter, however, and lies outside the competence of pastors and clergy who are not technicians or politicians. According to Pope Benedict: “If the Church were to start transforming herself into a directly political subject, she would do less, not more, for the poor and for justice, because she would lose her independence and her moral authority, identifying herself with a single political path and with debatable partisan positions.” (Address to Aparecida Conference, May 13, 2007.)
When the Church speaks The Church’s need to transcend the partisan fray to maintain the integrity and credibility of her evangelical witness does not mean that the Church never takes a position on particular issues or pieces of legislation. Sometimes, pastoral experience will guide the bishops to recommend various policies or reforms that they believe are needed to promote human dignity and the common good. They will also offer some general principles and suggest some features of a good piece of legislation. But they will usually stop short of endorsing a particular bill.
An excellent example is the Minnesota Catholic Conference’s recent statement on the need for comprehensive immigration reform. Similar examples include the bishops’ recommendations with regard to budgeting priorities and health care reform. On other occasions, legislation will plainly contravene objective moral norms, imperil human dignity, or weaken the common good. Conversely, legislation may actually promote justice in a very direct way. In those instances, the Church may support or oppose a particular piece of legislation. The marriage amendment and legislation limiting abortion are perfect examples. But those instances are comparatively few.
Lay Catholic responsibility On the vast majority of issues, the Church does not take a position because it is the laity, and not the clergy, who are directly responsible for the just ordering of society (“Deus Caritas Est,” No. 29). To assist the laity in this task, “priests and deacons, assisted by religious and lay leaders of the Church . . . are to teach fundamental moral principles that help Catholics form their consciences correctly, to provide guidance on the moral dimensions of public decisions, and to encourage the faithful to carry out their responsibilities in political life” (USCCB, “Faithful Citizenship,” No. 15). Equipped with this formation, lay Catholics are called to enter the public arena and work for the common good.
Voter ID amendment Because many issues involve prudential judgment and technical expertise, it will be the case that lay Catholics disagree about a good many things. The proposed voter ID amendment to the State Constitution on the November ballot is one ex-
ample. It asks Minnesota voters: “Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to require all voters to present valid photo identification to vote and to require the state to provide free identification to eligible voters, effective July 1, 2013?” Some believe the photo ID requirement is necessary to ensure fair elections that are free of corruption. Others believe that requiring photo ID cards is a solution in search of a non-existent problem, and that the law will disenfranchise vulnerable citizens for whom it will be difficult to obtain identification. The provision in the amendment, however, requiring the issuance of free ID cards to anyone who needs them would seem to address this concern. The Church does not take a position in support of or opposition to the amendment, but it is not the case that the Church is just ignoring the issue. When elections are held, they should be fair, free from corruption, and everyone who is eligible to vote should be given that opportunity free from unnecessary barriers or intimidation. Just as it would be outside the Church’s competence, however, to say whether a unicameral or bicameral legislature is better, it would be inappropriate to opine on the proper technical solutions for creating a fair electoral process. If the law is passed and it turns out that voters are being disenfranchised, then the Church would be compelled to raise its voice. Until then, however, it is up to those entrusted with the common good to implement legislation and create rules that will foster a fair political process.
Jason Adkins is executive director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference.
Opportunity to help the homeless also benefited volunteers Last fall, after Catholic Charities CEO Tim Marx wrote an article in the StarTribune documenting the overcrowding at the Dorothy Day Center, a group of men from St. John Neumann parish in Eagan responded by offering to staff overnight the old offices of Catholic Charities in St. Paul (which we refer to as the Annex) so that no one had to be turned away. The Catholic Spirit reported on those initial efforts in an article (Nov. 23, 2011). Six months later, we are concluding our efforts since demand for shelter space for the summer is no longer expected to exceed the capacity at Dorothy Day. That small band of men from St. John Neumann has now grown into more than 60 from a dozen parishes across the archdiocese — men who gave one, two or, in some cases, three nights a month to serve those whom Christ loves the most. Two volunteers arrived each evening at 7 p.m., checking in those for whom there was no space at the DDC, served them a snack, listened to their stories, their hopes and their dreams, and then bedded down with them for the night. At 6 a.m. the following morning, everyone was up, did the morning housekeeping chores before Catholic Charities staff arrived and were on their way by 7 a.m. We didn’t change the world. We didn’t eliminate homelessness. But we were able to speak about hope and dignity and love. We saw dozens of men find permanent, affordable housing and jobs. We saw men reenter the educational system in preparation for careers in carpentry, emergency medical care and building maintenance. We saw men with a renewed desire to break out of the poverty they had thought was permanent. What did we get? New friends. New appreciation for all we have. New understanding of what it means to be brothers in Christ. We got so much more than we ever gave. While politicians struggle with how to pay for a new billion-dollar football stadium, we’ll struggle with plans for fall when the need for shelter space is expected to be even greater, forcing more men onto the street. And, we’ll do our best to try and provide space so that need not happen. Because they are our brothers. They are our friends.
Letter
STEVE HAWKINS Hawkins is a member of St. John Neumann in Eagan and the Order of Malta, a lay religious order of the Catholic Church that, for more than 900 years, has lived out its call to “serve the poor and defend the faith.” Men interested in learning more about volunteering at the overflow shelter may contact Hawkins at STEVE@HAWKINS-ASSOCIATES.COM. Letters printed on the Opinion page do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the archdiocese or The Catholic Spirit.