Morality by Headline

Our times offer us, if not bombard us, with a constant stream of news and information. Someone is always telling us of “breaking” information and events. Even the slower of the media like television, radio, and newsprint seem to keep our waking, and even sleeping moments, filled with news animated with robust opinions on about every topic and occurrence in our quick moving world.

Whether the matter is Pope Benedict’s thoughts on peace in the Holy Land, President Obama speaking at Notre Dame, or a populist priest caught on a Florida beach, the Roman Catholic Church is a matter of such coverage. The rhythm of urban Catholic life flashes before us with the closings and consolidations of its parishes and schools. We learn what percentage of Catholics voted for whom in the last election. And we are made aware of who speaks (or not) and receives honorary degrees (or not) at our universities.

For better or worse, our Catholic life is out in public for all to see and for all to have an opinion about. Do these headlines and talking-head comments actually form who we are, what we believe, and how we interact with each other? Is this the best way to form our spirituality and to put together our moral positions?

Often enough in conversations with Catholics and even others outside of our Church, it seems increasingly that our moral viewpoints are a series of sound bites and “teases”. Such are not invitations to mature and solid dialogue and adult conversations.

A Quiet Mother
We might grow in our faith life and in our moral decisions with some thought about where our religious and moral values come from. It should come as no surprise that “Mother Church” moves slowly and deliberately. Over the centuries, thought, prayer, study and deliberation have marked the Church’s sharing of her values with her children.

Not a few of us learned our faith and our moral basis for values at our mother’s knee in our family homes. Parents have always shaped and formed their children’s moral behavior and outlook.

From within these wellsprings of Church and family life can we find a more solid base to moral decisions than news flashes and sound bites? Where do we find the information and methodology for sound moral decisions? Our Catholic Tradition is full of resources. All of moral formation within our Tradition flows from deliberate, thoughtful and prayerful study.

The Church in its long Tradition offers the scriptures, the worship and prayer life of the community, and the various levels of the teaching office of the Church.

Our prayer time is the beginning of our encounter with the living God in our life. Within those moments, we learn who God is and who we are. We see our neighbors and our world. We come to know our relationships within this dynamic experience.

The scriptures and our worship life together fill our prayer time. Prior to praying, we are invited to read, study, and meditate on the scriptures. We discover our relationship with God, with our neighbors, and ourselves. The discovery of these relationships set us on our moral journey.

Our liturgical life speaks to us of the goodness of creation and our stance of thankfulness to God in all things. We receive life and all things as gift of the Father. We return them to him in Christ Jesus by the action of the Spirit.

From these two sources of ongoing revelation we have the teaching office of the Church. From within the believing community, authentic theology has reflected and articulated various theological approaches to the mystery of God in our world. Again study and prayerful endeavor through the theological sources sets us on a firm moral path.

Family Life
Perhaps undervalued in our moral path is family life. It is there where we live and learn Catholic life. In everyday ways we learned and continue to learn with our children about God loving us and about us returning that love. It is in family life that we learn to love others and serve them in their needs. This is way beyond a sound bite.

CDH