By Barb Arland-Fye
Editor
A scribe asks Jesus, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus replies, “… You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mk 12:28b-34). Commenting on this Gospel reading for Sunday, Nov. 3, biblical studies professor Maria Enid Barga says “love of neighbor entails actively seeking their good, not simply remaining neutral or doing no harm.” We are to be “genuine in acting out our love for God and neighbor” (“Workbook for Lectors, Gospel Readers, and Proclaimers of the Word,” 2024).
This week’s issue of The Catholic Messenger went to press on Election Day and results might still be pending when you read this editorial. One thing is certain: we, as Catholics and citizens need to give these two commandments more than lip service. In the ongoing drama of an anxiety-fueled election season, we need to be sincere in seeking our neighbors’ good, to be “genuine in acting out our love for God and neighbor.”
Our politicians have behaved badly by conveying hurtful, hateful and oftentimes false messages about their opponents in social and print media and prime time news outlets that leave a lasting, negative impression on our children and vulnerable adults. These messages seemingly give them permission to treat their neighbors and others they dislike as despicable enemies.
We can and must do better. Archbishop Richard Henning, newly installed archbishop of Boston, said during his installation Mass Oct. 31 that the “transformative, selfless love of God, fully revealed in Jesus, places demands on Catholics, among them ‘worship … solidarity, compassion, healing and hope’” (OSV News). Pope Francis, celebrating the feast of All Saints during the Angelus prayer Nov. 1, said, “God wants everyone to be a saint, and the clearest path in achieving that goal is loving service to others” (CNS). In an essay for America magazine, Father Terrance Klein, SJ, observed, “There has never been an ‘I’ without a ‘you.’ We become ourselves through our interactions with others. That essential relatedness begins long before our births and never ends …” (Nov. 1, 2024).
Our interactions with others must include people with whom we disagree, distrust, shun or ignore. “It is only by starting from the heart that our communities will succeed in uniting and reconciling differing minds and wills, so that the Spirit can guide us in unity as brothers and sisters,” Pope Francis says in his new encyclical. “Reconciliation and peace are also born of the heart. The heart of Christ is ‘ecstasy’, openness, gift and encounter. In that heart, we learn to relate to one another in wholesome and happy ways, and to build up in this world God’s kingdom of love and justice. Our hearts, united with the heart of Christ, are capable of working this social miracle” (Oct. 24, 2024 encyclical, “Dilexit nos,” “The World can Change Beginning with the Heart”).
In an editorial published four years ago, I wrote, “Election Day has ended, but our discernment of the things that divide us cannot end.” I advised readers to follow up with elected leaders at the local, state and federal level, now and in the coming year and beyond. “Our advocacy, conducted in a thoughtful, respectful manner, can change hearts and affect legislation. It requires patience and diligence.”
Our duty as faithful citizens continues year-round. We should regularly refer to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ helpful document, “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship” (https://tinyurl.com/mr2t9wh9) and a “Civilize It” campaign (usccb.org/civilizeit) to guide us in that responsibility with civility. We should learn from trustworthy sources about the issues facing our communities, such as the USCCB (usccb.org), the Iowa Catholic Conference (ICC, iowacatholicconference.org) and The Catholic Messenger.
“As Catholics, our involvement in civil life is an essential part of the mission Jesus gives us. We must love our neighbor as Christ loves us! Therefore, our faith calls us to form our conscience and take action,” the ICC stated in its newsletter the day before the Nov. 5 election. Forming our consciences is an ongoing process. Conscience “is the voice of God resounding in the human heart, revealing the truth to us and calling us to do what is good while shunning what is evil.”
If you want to love God, Bishop Robert Barron says in his Nov. 3 Gospel reflection, “He loves everything and everyone that he has made. So, if you want to love God, and you find this move difficult because God seems so distant, love everyone you come across for the sake of God.”
Barb Arland-Fye, Editor
arland-fye@davenportdiocese.org
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