Sunday, May 17, 2009

Lighthouse & Crossroads

I do not agree with President Obama's positions on abortion or embryonic stem cell research.

And, I know that some of my pro-life and conservative friends might not like to hear me say it.

But, the POTUS' speech today at the Notre Dame commencement was memorable and contained many fine elements. I was especially impressed by his personal remembrance of the late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago.

In case you missed it:



An important passage on faith that caught Sully's eye:

In this world of competing claims about what is right and what is true, have confidence in the values with which you’ve been raised and educated. Be unafraid to speak your mind when those values are at stake. Hold firm to your faith and allow it to guide you on your journey. Stand as a lighthouse.

But remember too that the ultimate irony of faith is that it necessarily admits doubt. It is the belief in things not seen. It is beyond our capacity as human beings to know with certainty what God has planned for us or what He asks of us, and those of us who believe must trust that His wisdom is greater than our own.

This doubt should not push us away from our faith. But it should humble us. It should temper our passions, and cause us to be wary of self-righteousness. It should compel us to remain open, and curious, and eager to continue the moral and spiritual debate that began for so many of you within the walls of Notre Dame. And within our vast democracy, this doubt should remind us to persuade through reason, through an appeal whenever we can to universal rather than parochial principles, and most of all through an abiding example of good works, charity, kindness, and service that moves hearts and minds.

1 comment:

St Edwards Blog said...

Good post on a tough topic. I agree with you.

And if doubt is not at the heart of faith, then what is faith? Not the doubt of fear but the doubt of not knowing and the faith to persist.

It has taken me so many years to get myself together on life issues. I must admit that for many reasons I was not inclined to change my heart about this. Yet God chose to continue to work with my heart and change did come.

That is why I don't reject Obama even if I disagree. So many people were persistent with love - not with shock, not with rejection or exclusion, but with real love (read today's Gospel...) and my heart finally turned.

Our time is not God's time and who knows what may come?