Courage

Today I had the opportunity to reflect on the virtue of Courage. Courage usually plays out in human actions, but sometimes involves spiritual courage, and sometimes human courage. Spiritual courage acts to save souls; human courage acts to save human lives. In either case, however, the number saved defines the amount of courage. It does not take much courage to save yourself; that’s largely human nature. It takes more than most men have to save others, especially at the risk of yourself.

Below I reflect on spiritual and human courage in the headlines today. Recently I had one of my letters to the editor again printed in the local newspaper. I sent the second reflection below to the WSJ; I don’t expect you will see it there. Courage is a hard thing to talk about, or to ask for.

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Courage
After the blind man was healed, the Pharisees questioned him: “How were your eyes opened?” He told them, and then told them again. Finally, frustrated, he told them: “This is what is so annoying, that you do not know where he came from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners.” They answered to him: “You were totally born in sin, and you are trying to teach us?” The Pharisees couldn’t dispute the truth of Jesus’ message or his miracles, so they attacked the messenger.

I thought of this gospel as I read recent news articles saying that perhaps Pope Benedict XVI, when he was bishop, may have been party to the transfer of a priest later convicted of sexual abuse. Much of world hates the message of the Catholic Church yet, especially by the words of the two recent popes, it is hard to dispute. Therefore, they would love to attack the messenger. The press would like nothing more than to paint the Catholic Church as evil, by attacking its messenger, the pope. I can imagine the headlines. What I don’t understand is why this would be so important to any Catholics.

The pope goes to confession daily. Daily he admits he sins, so I imagine he also sinned while he was a bishop. He made not only spiritual errors, but he undoubtedly made human ones. We’ve certainly read many details of other popes who did. But let’s not forget, we’ve also read and understood how God was always with His Church, and with His servant – and even you and me, sinners if there ever was one. So proving that the pope once made a spiritual or human error would mean nothing to me. I am still confident that he is THE man of God, and faithfully leads His Church, free from teaching error, even if he himself is a sinner. Unfortunately, for non-Catholics this is a confusing point.

Were I the pope and I discovered I had made an error, spiritual or human, which was being highlighted to take down the Church through me, I’m not sure what I would do. I do pray that as a man, and as the spiritual leader of the Church the pope listens to the voice of God, and has the courage to do His will, no matter how personally painful. Courage is the virtue to do what is right for all God’s children, not just one.

Doing what’s right for me, and me alone, is the secular message today. As Catholics, we can and do refute that message – and not just the messengers.

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Courage

Isn’t there any man of courage left in Washington? Isn’t there anyone who will stand up to the thugs, arm-twisters and bribers that now so abound our capital? President Kennedy wrote Profiles in Courage, a great book. Would he find anyone to write about today?

Didn’t you once say you wanted to clean up Washington? To do what was right for your career, did you compromise that goal? Well then, now is the time to negotiate the best bribe you can for your vote, and when that time comes, stand up and demonstrate that it was not for sale. And when the news people ask why you voted as you did, you can point to the words you once said – and their bribes. This is courage.

Must you trust only your party? Can’t you trust your people? Can’t you trust the one our nation’s motto points to? Courage is the virtue to do what is right for all Americans, not just one, not just you. Have you no courage?