Is a Great Awakening of Conscience at Hand?
National Catholic Register
10.14.01-10.20.01
Commentary & Opinion
by RALPH MARTIN
We certainly need to deal with the evil that was done on Sept.
11: Those responsible and those who assist or harbor them need to be justly
punished.
But might this national horror not also be an appropriate time to examine
our own consciences? Could the Holy Spirit be speaking to us through these
terrible trials? Our leaders speak of the callous disregard for human life
that was demonstrated by the terrorists, and they are right to do so. The
Prime Minister of Great Britain, for example, deplored the total lack of
regard for the "sanctity of human life" that the terrorists demonstrate.
Yet, for people of faith, such statements raise a troubling question:
Are our leaders blind to the total lack of respect for life that has been
enshrined in our own laws and culture? Are they blind to the millions of
babies that continue to be aborted? Have they forgotten the barbaric decision
by our governmental institutions that permit the continuation of partial-birth
abortion where a fully viable infant is murdered in cold blood?
What about the elderly and handicapped who are dispatched by
the will of man rather than the will of God, and the experimentation on
human embryos that is permitted in limited cases here and almost without
restriction in Britain? Is anybody noticing the irony - the hypocrisy -
of deploring others' lack of respect for life while ignoring the same lack
in ourselves?
Pope John Paul II has been gently but firmly warning America
for years that its greatness could crumble it if didn't restore its respect
for life from the moment of conception to natural death.
And, if we listen closely to the voices of our enemies, they are not
only citing political reasons for their attacks. They not only hate us
for our virtues, as our leaders insist is the case, but also for our vices.
They are angry that America is pouring into the world a flood of filth,
immorality and distorted values that are corrupting the young throughout
the world.
What the terrorists have done is very evil and truly demonic,
and we must move to punish them and protect ourselves from further attack.
But is the West's lack of respect of life - widespread abortion, expanding
euthanasia on the very old and laboratory experimentation on the very young
- somehow less evil? Does our society's embrace of these evil practices,
and our exaltation of sexual immorality, not also cry out for justice?
In a time like this even more than usual, we are wise to lend
an ear to the voice of the Lord in Scripture, where he communicates his
wisdom and laws that govern human life.
One thing Scripture makes very clear is that there is only
one "superpower" in the universe, and it's not the United States. It's
the Lord. All the nations are passing mists compared to the Lord. It's
the Lord who raises up and casts down. And one of his laws is that "Pride
goes before disaster, and a haughty spirit before a fall" (Proverbs 16:18).
These are divine laws that no legislature or court can overturn.
"Why do the nations protest and the peoples grumble in vain? Kings on
earth rise up and princes plot together against the Lord and his anointed:
'Let us break their shackles and cast off their chains.' The one enthroned
in heaven laughs; the Lord derides them" (Psalm 2:1-4).
Scripture makes abundantly clear how important it is that we
use our prosperity and power in a humble, godly way. Our survival as a
nation depends on it.
In the Book of Hosea we read how harshly the Lord dealt with
the idolatry, arrogance and immorality of Israel - but not without the
purpose and promise of mercy:
"In their perversity they have sunk into wickedness, and I
am rejected by them all … for the spirit of harlotry is in them and they
do not recognize the Lord. The arrogance of Israel bears witness against
him … They have been untrue to the Lord … Upon them I will pour out my
wrath like water … I will go back to my place until they pay for their
guilt and seek my presence. In their affliction they shall look for me:
'Come, let us return to the Lord, For it is he who has rent, but he will
heal us; he has struck us, but he will bind our wounds.'"
It is significant that the terrorists targeted the World Trade Center,
a striking symbol of America's economic power, and the Pentagon, a symbol
of America's military power. The success of a small band of crudely armed
men in totally destroying one and severely damaging the other is a reminder
that, as great as our power may appear, it can disappear in an instant.
Disaster as Opportunity
Of course, it would be erroneous to assume that those in the World Trade
Center or Pentagon were guiltier than anyone else among us. Jesus himself
warns us not to draw this conclusion from a mass tragedy: "Those 18 people
who were killed when the tower at Siloam fell on them - do you think they
were more guilty than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem? By no means!
But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did"
(Luke 13:4-5).
Jesus specifically invites us to take occasions of disasters like this
as an opportunity to examine our conscience and see if we're ready to meet
the Lord. If not, he urges us, take appropriate action.
Have we received a stern and significant warning in what has happened?
Whatever the worldly causes are for these tragedies and whatever we think
of them, isn't it important that we take this as a time of reflection?
Isn't it important that "business" (and entertainment and sports) not go
on "as usual" and ignore what must be seriously pondered, prayed about
and responded to?
I believe we have received a call to repentance that's serious and urgent.
I also believe that the hour is late, and that it's important that we respond
now, or what we have just experienced may simply be the beginning of a
great unraveling filled with terror. It's time for all of us to return
to God, no matter how we may have strayed from or ignored him, and avail
ourselves of his mercy - while there is still time.
There are many heartening signs that, indeed, this may be happening.
The turning to God, the prayer and talk of spiritual realities on major
television programs, the crowding of churches and synagogues and mosques,
the new sense of solidarity and patriotism - all these are indications
that these disasters have profoundly impacted the souls of our nation's
citizens.
God didn't cause these terrible disasters, yet he permits human beings
in their freedom to do evil. The good news is, he is able to bring good
out of our evil. He is a God who redeems and saves and transforms.
He takes even the depth of sorrow and sin and changes it into "something
beautiful for God." Ultimately, love is more powerful than hatred, hope
more enduring than despair, faith more formidable than any force of evil
in the universe.
Let us keep these encouraging realities in mind as we pray for wisdom
in our leaders - and an examination of conscience throughout the Western
world.
Ralph Martin is president of Renewal Ministries in Ann Arbor, Michigan
(www.renewalministries.net).
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