The Duties of Patriotism
Purple Catholic Saturday Post
Good morning and happy Saturday.
Today I am honored to have the opportunity to join the Fourth Degree of the Knights of Columbus at a special anniversary exemplification at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. The Fourth Degree is also known as the Patriotic Degree and given the general mission of this publication, I want to share with you some thoughts on patriotism.
There has been a push lately in traditionalist Catholic thought to say that patriotism is incompatible with fervent Catholicism. This is false. This claim is based on the false dichotomy that one cannot be a faithful Catholic and support a country that has serious moral shortcomings.
In fact, it is because of our Catholic faith that we must participate in civic life and have a spirit of patriotism.
When we think of modern patriotism, we think of love for our country and the ideals that she represents. The liberty that America’s founding documents attempt to protect is laudable. That it may fail from time to time, doesn’t have to be.
As St. Thomas Aquinas so eloquently sums up, love is willing the the good of the other. It doesn’t mean praising every action someone does or turning a blind eye to his or her failings. It means helping them see the good that God has designed for them and accompanying them on their journey.
Just as we may love our parish or the Church as a whole and will its good and participate in its society, we ought to do the same for our country. After all, like our church, it is our community.
We can love our country in various ways and perhaps one of the most important ways is giving it due honor and respect.
The fourth commandment, honor your father and mother, can be applied to citizens and their country, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Paragraph 2199 says, “This commandment includes and presupposes the duties … [of] all who exercise authority over others or over a community of persons.”
Similarly, as Jesus said in Mark 12:17, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
When Jesus’ words are read in the context of the Church’s teaching of the Fourth Commandment, it is clear that we owe something to our nation and it is right for us to render what we owe.
In some cases that may be the payment of taxes and in others it may be conscription or military sacrifice. In still other cases it may be voting or participating in civic life. Clearly, we cannot shirk our responsibility to the secular world as authentic Catholics.
Now it is true that countries have their moral failings and the United States is not exempt. Abortion and same-sex so-called marriage are still the law of the land in many areas. We are faced with an immigration and refugee crisis that we still haven’t figured out how to properly handle. These issues and more can make it discouraging to be truly patriotic.
This is where the mission of the “purple Catholic” comes in. As I have written before, a holier, more faithful Church starts with our individual conversion. It starts with the decisions I make in my life that make me holier. That example and witness spreads to my family, my community and parish, and eventually, my nation.
My reflection is not new. The Vatican II declaration on religious liberty, Dignitas humanae, says, “society itself may profit by the moral qualities of justice and peace which have their origin in men's faithfulness to God and to His holy will” (No. 6). We must be witnesses of Christ and the Church to our nation.
Being patriotic doesn’t simply mean carrying the flag and saying “ra ra for America” regardless of our circumstances. Our love of country must emulate the way we love others: we will their good, we pray for them, and we help them on their journey to salvation.
Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Tomorrow is the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time. At Mass we will hear from Samuel 26:2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23; Psalm 103; 1 Corinthians 15:45-49; and Luke 6:27-38.
Here is a calendar for the rest of the week:
Thursday, February 27 - Memorial of St. Gregory of Narek, abbot and doctor (optional)
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you.
John 13:34
In the news:
The United States
US bishops sue Trump administration for refugee settlement funding freeze - America Magazine
Diocesan priestly vocations in the United States by the numbers - Catholic World Report
The pro-life movement’s disastrous post-Roe pivot - Peter Laffin in the Washington Examiner
The Vatican
The World
Iranian Christians feared death in Iran. Then the US deported them to Panama. - USA Today via MSN
U.K. to end ban on Catholics in Church of Scotland role - The Pillar
With plans for a split, who will shepherd Asia’s biggest archdiocese? - The Pillar
Have a good weekend,
Matthew
