Commentary: Soul of the World: Christianity as a Way of Life

We were baptized into the Body of Christ, the Church, and we are invited to participate in her missionary activity.

LOS ANGELES (Catholic Online) - Before they were called Christians in Antioch (Acts 11:26) the early followers of Jesus Christ were often referred to as "the Way".

The Apostle Paul, in recounting his own conversion, speaks of having persecuted "this Way" (Acts 22: 3-16) prior to his encounter with the Risen Lord on the Road to Damascus. This expression "the Way" reveals a profoundly important aspect of the understanding of the early Christians. They believed and proclaimed that the Christian faith was to be expressed in a new way of living.

It still is.

Our relationship with Jesus Christ and membership in His Body, the Church, is meant to effect change in every aspect of our lives as human persons and influence the way in which we participate in civil society.

That includes our political participation.

There is an ancient Christian manuscript entitled "The Letter to Diognetus" which most historians date back to 125AD. It contained an insight concerning the relationship of Christians to the world which, though seemingly simple, is the key to understanding the heart of the matter. The letter was an "apology," which means a defense of the early Christian faith and lifestyle.

It was addressed to an anonymous Pagan inquirer into the Christian faith. It was written by an unknown author. Its importance is underscored by the fact that it was one of the documents favored by the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council and quoted quite often.

They use it as the foundational basis of their teaching on social involvement in the documents which address the role of the Church in the Modern world. It is cited in the Catechism of the Catholic Church in its excellent treatment of the duties of citizenship (CCC 2234-2246). It is regularly referred to in social encyclicals and explanatory sources.

I excerpt a portion of this letter for two reasons.

First, because it shows my readers that the conditions which we face as Christians at the beginning of the Third Christian Millennium are not all that different than those faced by our early brothers and sisters as they were called to transform the cultures of the First Millennium. This is important to know. There is a tendency among Christians to forget our history. Second, because it expresses an integrated vision for social participation which I will draw upon throughout this booklet.

"For Christians are not distinguished from the rest of mankind either in locality or in speech or in customs. For they dwell not somewhere in cities of their own, neither do they use some different language, nor practice an extraordinary kind of life. Nor again do they possess any invention discovered by any intelligence or study of ingenious men, nor are they masters of any human dogma as some are.

But while they dwell in cities of Greeks and barbarians as the lot of each is cast, and follow the native customs in dress and food and the other arrangements of life, yet the constitution of their own citizenship, which they set forth, is marvelous, and confessedly contradicts expectation.

They dwell in their own countries, but only as sojourners; they bear their share in all things as citizens, and they endure all hardships as strangers. Every foreign country is a fatherland to them, and every fatherland is foreign. They marry like all other men and they beget children; but they do not cast away their offspring. They have their meals in common, but not their wives.

They find themselves in the flesh, and yet they live not after the flesh. Their existence is on earth, but their citizenship is in heaven. They obey the established laws, and they surpass the laws in their own lives. They love all men, and they are persecuted by all. They are ignored, and yet they are condemned.

They are put to death, and yet they are endued with life. They are in beggary, and yet they make many rich. They are in want of all things, and yet they abound in all things. They are dishonored, and yet they are glorified in their dishonor. They are evil spoken of, and yet they are vindicated.

They are reviled, and they bless; they are insulted, and they respect Doing good they are punished as evildoers; being punished they rejoice, as if they were thereby quickened by life.... In a word, what the soul is in a body, the Christians are in the world...."

Christians are still called to be the "Soul of the World" in our age.

That beautiful phrase has implications for how we approach every area of our life, including our political participation. We are called into the world to continue the redemptive mission of Jesus Christ until He returns. We are invited through our Baptismal vocation to live the entirety of our lives differently. In so doing, we invite our neighbors, by word and witness, to consider the truth of faith we proclaim.

We were baptized into the Body of the Resurrected Jesus Christ, the Church, and no matter what our state in life, we are invited to participate in her missionary activity. That mission includes service to the Social order. One aspect of this service is political participation. To respond to this invitation faithfully, fruitfully and effectively requires that we understand the Social Teaching of the Catholic Church.

Every year the Bishops of the United Sates address the issues surrounding what they aptly call "faithful citizenship". In their most recent pronouncement on how Catholic Christians are to participate in the political process entitled "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility", they wrote:

"This statement highlights the role of the Church in the formation of conscience, and the corresponding moral responsibility of each Catholic to hear, receive, and act upon the Church's teaching in the lifelong task of forming his or her own conscience.

With this foundation, Catholics are better able to evaluate policy positions, party platforms, and candidates' promises and actions in light of the Gospel and the moral and social teaching of the Church in order to help build a better world. ... We recognize that the responsibility to make choices in political life rests with each individual in light of a properly formed conscience, and that participation goes well beyond casting a vote in a particular election."

The Bishops were restating the integral teaching of the Catechism and the teaching trajectory of the Tradition on the necessity of properly forming our consciences. This teaching is summarized in the Cathechism of the Catholic Church at Article 6, entitled "Moral Conscience", Sections 1776 - 1802

When St. Paul instructed the Christians in Rome on the implications of living their faith, they were surrounded by a culture which was being corrupted by many of the problems we currently face in the West. He told them

"...I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect". (Romans 12: 1-2)

So it must be with each one of us. We are called into a continual process of conversion which involves a re-formation of our way of thinking. We are called to change the culture when its practices do not conform to what is good and not be improperly changed by anything within it which is contrary to the truth.

Part of this renewal of our minds includes re-thinking how we view our citizenship and the obligations which it entails. The Catechism summarizes the duties of both civil authorities and of good citizens in its Section entitled "Life in Christ"( Catechism of the Catholic Church, at Par. 2234-2246) It is no accident that this section follows the discussion of the duties owed within the family. The family is the first society, first church, first economy, first hospital, first school and first mediating institution.

The problem is that many Catholics do not understand that we must educate our consciences in order to ensure that they conform to the truth as revealed in the Natural Law and expounded upon in Revelation. There has been some poor teaching in the arena of moral theology which has left the faithful confused on this and many other subjects of profound importance to living as Christians. It has led to people speaking as though our "conscience" somehow equates with our "feelings" or is an aspect of our own opinion.

Not only do our consciences need to be formed, they can also become deformed and regularly need to be re-formed. That is all too evident when we simply look at the way in which some Catholics currently approach political participation.

Let's be honest.

Sadly there are too many politicians who are professed Catholics and yet stand publicly for political and policy positions which are directly at odds with the teaching of the Church and the Natural Law on the dignity of every human life from conception to natural death, on marriage and on other vital issues is a symptom of a much bigger malady. It is also a scandal.

To be a "faithful" citizen, for a Christian, means to be filled with an understanding of what is taught by our faith and to live out a commitment to that faith in every area of our lives. We are to view our lives as an integrated unity and not compartmentalize.

All too often, we can approach our lives in a manner that fails to understand the implications of the Incarnation. For example, this occurs when we assign the teaching of the Scriptures and Magisterium of our Church to only the perceived "religious" or "spiritual" part of our lives. Faith is meant to be a light which presides over the entirety of our life.

Catholic Social teaching offers us principles for action. It is meant to be received with a mature faith, one which embraces the call to form our consciences.

We set forth below two articles, one by Dr. Deal Hudson and a response from Alexia Kelley and Sister Simone Campbell, SSS.They are the beginning of what will be numerous articles speaking to these vital issues as the American election contest continues.

This article is partially an excerpt from Deacon Keith Fournier's new booklet, soon to be released by Catholic Online, entitled "Catholics, Voting and the Common Good".

---

'Help Give every Student and Teacher FREE resources for a world-class Moral Catholic Education'

Copyright 2021 - Distributed by Catholic Online