Our homeland is not on earth, even though we are born in particular places which we rightly love through patriotism. No, our homeland as Christians is Heaven.
By Chris Sparks
On the day after the election, I say, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb 13:8).
The same Gospel will be preached to all times and nations till the end of time. There shall be development of doctrine, certainly, as St. John Henry Cardinal Newman made plain, but no fundamental change of the roots.
In all ages, at all times, the law remains the same: Love God with all you’ve got (see Mt 22:37), and love one another as Jesus has loved us (see Jn 13:34-35).
That holds true no matter who has won the White House, or now sits in the houses of Congress, or has won a local race – any office at all.
Our slogan is “Jesus, I trust in You,” after all, not “President of the United States, I trust in you!” (see Ps 146:3-4).
Catholic wisdom
Our Christian faith does not stand or fall with any individual candidate, any political campaign, any election year.
Our faith is that Jesus is Lord, above and beyond all earthly politics. Indeed, Jesus Christ, the Divine Mercy Incarnate, is the Lord of History. He is greater than any earthly power was, is, or will be.
All earthly powers are passing things, to be endured by Christians; to be obeyed where the laws are just; to be reformed where those laws are unjust; to be prayed for, always (see 1 Tim 2:1-6). Take a look at what the Catechism has to say about the civil authorities — it may come as a surprise to you (see Catechism, 2234-2246).
Heaven is home
But our homeland is not on earth, even though we are born in particular places which we rightly love through patriotism. No, our homeland as Christians is Heaven.
And that concept is nearly as old as the Church herself. Consider this second-century letter, from one Greek to another:
… the Christian is to the world what the soul is to the body. As the soul is present in every part of the body, while remaining distinct from it, so Christians are found in all the cities of the world, but cannot be identified with the world. As the visible body contains the invisible soul, so Christians are seen living in the world, but their religious life remains unseen. The body hates the soul and wars against it, not because of any injury the soul has done it, but because of the restriction the soul places on its pleasures. Similarly, the world hates the Christians, not because they have done it any wrong, but because they are opposed to its enjoyments.
Christians love those who hate them just as the soul loves the body and all its members despite the body's hatred. It is by the soul, enclosed within the body, that the body is held together, and similarly, it is by the Christians, detained in the world as in a prison, that the world is held together. The soul, though immortal, has a mortal dwelling place; and Christians also live for a time amidst perishable things, while awaiting the freedom from change and decay that will be theirs in heaven. As the soul benefits from the deprivation of food and drink, so Christians flourish under persecution. Such is the Christian’s lofty and divinely appointed function, from which he is not permitted to excuse himself (Letter to Diognetus).
We are not alone. We are never alone. The Church is alive, because its life comes from before time and beyond all created worlds. The Church will survive whatever comes to the end, and into eternity, because it is the Mystical Body of Christ, He who has already died, and rose from the dead, and lives now with glory and life imperishable. We are members of a Head who is beyond the grave, beyond the reach of any powers of this present darkness.
Our communion is with Light, Love, Truth, Goodness, Beauty, Being. Our communion is with God, who is beyond the power of earth, or hell, or any evil.
In the words of St. Padre Pio, “Pray, hope, and don’t worry.”
Elections do matter
That means that elections matter, since human lives and souls matter. Certainly we are bound to pursue a just society on earth, to do works of mercy, and to be good citizens. But elections matter rather less than our political campaigning, advertising, and whole political world tends to think.
We can’t mistake any given election, no matter how consequential, for the final end of the struggle between good and evil, a once for all victory of light over darkness, or (which Heaven forbids) darkness over light. The closest hell ever came to victory was Calvary, when humanity was tempted into putting the Son of God to death — and of course that was also hell’s greatest defeat.
No, each election will have eternal consequences, of course, as will anything in life that affects the salvation or damnation of human souls. But each election is fundamentally temporal, a this-worldly reality, a passing thing, for good or evil.
I’ve said all this before, of course, but it’s the sort of reminder we have to give ourselves again and again till the end of time.
Star of the Sea
One of the best such reminders can be found in Catholic author J.R.R. Tolkien’s magnificent Lord of the Rings:
… the night sky was still dim and pale. There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a bright star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach. … Now, for a moment, his own fate, and even his master’s, ceased to trouble him. He crawled back into the brambles and laid himself by Frodo’s side, and putting away all fear he cast himself into a deep untroubled sleep.
One of the most powerful titles of Our Lady is “Star of the Sea” (Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, 20). She shines now from Heaven, beyond the power of any evil, greater than all other creatures by the grace of God and the love of her Son.
The Immaculate Conception is the Patroness of our country, swift to hear the cry of the poor and powerful in her intercession. All graces are in her gift.
No matter what happens, trust in Jesus. Trust in Our Lady, and all the angels and saints. Love God. Love neighbor. And recall the episcopal motto of our Marian Renovator, Bl. George Matulaitis: “Overcome evil with good.”
Pray for me, that I may practice what I preach. I’ll pray for you.
Photo by Jennifer Burk on Unsplash.
{shopmercy-ad}
