Reflections for June 9-Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Catholic Church Points the Way to Christ

in a Time of Moral Confusion

The day's readings can be found here.

Now that we have passed through the major liturgical seasons of 2013, the rest of the summer and fall we will be in Ordinary Time.  The Sunday readings (Year C) will focus on the miracles and teaching of Christ as found in the Gospel of St. Luke.  While I certainly plan to comment on the Biblical readings in the coming months, I would like to start preaching on the fundamentals of Catholic moral teaching.  Many of you know that the "STL" (sacred theology license) behind my name is a certification given to me by the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome.  My field of study was moral theology, and I would like to begin to address the numerous moral issues that face us as Catholics today — especially here in the United States.

As I preached last Sunday, most of our moral teachings as Catholics are the same as Evangelical Protestants.  The difference, though, is our rich tradition and history of thought on the moral life.  The Catholic Church's moral teaching is Bible-based, but it also combines the thought of the Early Church Fathers (the "Patristics"), the Scholastics (St. Thomas Aquinas et al.), the Ecumenical Councils (especially Trent and both Vatican councils), and the Papal Magisterium (the popes' teaching on life and social doctrine).  In every age, the Church has had to confront and correct the moral problems of the day with clear teaching, utilizing faith (Scripture and Tradition) and reason (the best of philosophy and the human sciences).  We as Catholics are at a major advantage today because of the resources we have to dialogue with the world about the various ethical problems we face.  We are even able to engage non-believers, because not only are our ethical values founded on the true faith, but also on reason – our understanding of the natural law – the law of ethics inherent in all rational creatures.  However, we are at a disadvantage because most Catholics sitting in the pew do not feel prepared to talk about difficult moral problems in a faithful and rational way.

Among the topics I would like to address in the coming months are the following: abortion, artificial birth control, euthanasia, same-sex attraction/unions, immigration, poverty, war, etc.  Some will immediately argue that these topics are far too controversial, but that is exactly why I want to present clearly the Church's teaching on them.  (Ignoring them does not make them go away!).  As priest in charge, as a shepherd after Christ's heart, I cannot neglect my mission to instruct and (hopefully) inspire the faithful entrusted to my care.  Our common moral life as Catholics is always centered on Christ, His life within us (Galatians 2:20), and our response to His grace.  In other words, we are not "moral rigorists."  Our faith in Christ, our reception of the sacraments, our living out of the Church's teaching, and our prayer life are all a response to Christ's call to holiness.  This is the aim of the Christian moral life, this is my aim as a Catholic priest, and it is my hope that this will continue to be the aim of Catholic Christians.