It does not take a genius to realize that something in American politics is sick. There is a rot. We can all smell it, and it stinks. Sometimes we find false comfort in the promise of one political party or the potential of a new Supreme Court Justice or think that the presidential race is all that matters now. The irony is that such optimism is a symptom of this rot.
While not all will agree on the cause of the rot, it is my opinion, and the opinion of some of the greatest thinkers to walk this earth in our time, that we suffer from an eclipse of God. This eclipse has caused us to reject a proper understanding of and orientation toward creation, our own humanity, our neighbor, and society. Some may say we live in an age of progress and enlightenment, but the sickness in the human heart around us tells us the real story. It breaks the narrative. The restless hearts show us that humanity is not progressing and not even regressing, but decaying. We might be able to hide from it occasionally but our own restless heart or that of our neighbor will always break through the noise we fill our life with. How might the Catholic witness be a light during our time?
I have often found figures like Saint Thomas More and Saint John Fisher to be examples of the role Catholics must play to help society pause the noise to smell the decay and to be an instrument of life. Both saints were killed for their love of their nation, but they were killed by their nation. They lived in a time when England was breaking away from the Catholic Church; during the process of this breakaway, the actions of King Henry VIII and others were sins against the unity of the Church and the dignity of marriage. These saintly figures spoke out against such evils but as members of the society that was heading in the wrong direction.
Consider the famous phrase of Saint Thomas More before his beheading: “I die the king’s good servant, and God’s first.” The king likely thought that his former friend More and Bishop Fisher were the opposite of “good” servants. Why? For the simple reason that they opposed elements of his rule and the laws of the land. This makes some sense. We do not often consider law breakers good citizens. Yet, this is exactly the claim regarding these two saints. The key is their faith. Their actions were in obedience to God first, and this happened to be in conflict with their king.
In rejecting the law of the land and the will of their king, they did not do so out of personal preference or anarchist relativity. They believed that the law of the land was wrong because it contradicted the Divine Law Giver, God. To borrow a train of thought from Martin Luther King Jr., it was just for them to stand against an unjust law because they appealed to eternal justice. These two saintly martyrs loved their king more than most because of their opposition, and because they loved God more than their king.
As the reader can likely intuit, I am proposing that these two saintly martyrs stand as a model for Catholics in the United States to inspire us not to divinize any politician or government, but to lovingly stand against the problems of our day no matter what the personal cost (like being cancelled). I am also proposing that they are the model for doing this out of love for our land and our fellow countrymen. To put God first, to put God before the nation, and do so in a way that it is for the good of the nation.
Some may be quick to object that this sounds very anti-American, but this kind of Catholic witness is actually very American or at least appeals to a way of thinking that was present with our founding fathers. Consider the Declaration of Independence for a moment. Why did the colonies declare their independence from the king? It was not because they did not like him, although that was likely true, or that they personally wanted to start a new nation since they were aware of the seriousness of such a decision. They appealed to a sense of justice that transcends the king’s sense of justice and their own preferences. This is the role of Catholics today. Like Saint Thomas More and Saint John Fisher, we witness to our love for God more than country and in a way that is for the good of our country. When we do so, then God is not eclipsed. If we recognize a law that transcends the law of this land, then we can more readily evaluate our own political debates and provide a means for public servants to truly be servants and not contemporary tyrants.
This does not mean we need to troll people on social media and blast condemnations at people in every comment box we can find. Putting God before country will impact how we vote in the booth and how we vote with our wallet, what we prioritize in our life, whether or not or when we get involved in local politics or even run for office, and how we talk about politics (and yes, we should be talking about politics). We are God’s people. We happen to live here for a time but only temporarily. We are temporary citizens of the United States, but we are eternal citizens of God’s kingdom (Ephesians 2:19).
If we want our country to improve, although we are not delusional to think that sinful creatures can build a utopia, then that begins with Catholics in our nation. It means not demonizing one political party and then divinizing the other. It means being Catholic first and American second. If we live as Americans first, then it will suffocate our Catholic faith until it is but a shade of real Catholicism; but if we live as Catholics first, then we can help to breathe life into America (cf. 2 Cor. 2:15). Imagine what it would be like if at the funeral of a Catholic politician, or a Catholic that simply lived out his faith as an active citizen, it was said: “He died a servant of the American people, but God’s servant first.”
Will such ideas and such a witness be countercultural? Absolutely. Some may even find it scandalous. That is okay. We will be in good company with the likes of Saints Thomas More and John Fisher, but also Jesus and Saint John the Baptist!
Saint Thomas More, pray for us.
Saint John Fisher, pray for us.
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