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In
Search of the Spirit
A
monthly letter from the Glenmary Vocation Office
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August 2004
A Passion Not Captured by Politics
By
Father Steve Pawelk
The U.S. presidential campaign is now in full swing. Many issues are being discussed and analyzed. Yet, at the end of the day, it is important to remember that the answer to many of our society's problems come less from the political arena than and more from religious conversion--the kind of conversion I see taking place in our home missions.
As a citizen, it my duty and responsibility to be a registered voter and then go to my poll and vote. Yet, most often, I feel that this vote is a huge compromise of my Christian beliefs. Neither party, nor any party, will ever completely embrace the fullness of Christ's teaching and the teachings which our Catholic Church has articulated. Thus, any alliance by the official Church with either party needs to be avoided. Likewise, any pulpit preaching in favor of one party over the other is highly dangerous. Yet priests and religious are also citizens, and their passions will shine through.
My passions, however, are not usually captured by either party. Let me tell you what does capture my passion!
I have been visiting seminarians in the missions the last two weeks. Most of the people they work among are not on the radar of any political campaign--or are their locations on many maps. Can you find Waldron, Ark., or Stillmore, Ga., on a map in less than five minutes? When you hear about Houston, do you think of Texas or Mississippi? Can you imagine a county whose county seat has only 1,500 people? (That is the count in Owingsville, Ky., where I live!).
It is these isolated, sparsely-populated towns and counties where Glenmarians work each and every day without notice and little recognition that stir my passions. And I know that in these areas our missioners are doing great work that makes our nation a better place.
Missioners like Father Neil in Arkansas and Father Vic in Georgia make a huge difference in lives that few others are focused on. It is here that seminarians Gerardo and Dennis are also working to build a stronger and better nation.
So how are Glenmarians making a difference?
They are driving the uninsured to the hospital and to the doctor. They are helping the unemployed find new jobs. They are visiting the elderly and handicapped who struggle with bills and prescription drugs. They spend hours every week encouraging inmates in rural state penitentiaries.
In our missions, work with poor youth is making inroads in reversing teenage pregnancy. In our missions, rosaries are being said to end the horror of abortion. And so much more...
I recognize that these things also happen elsewhere. But it is the efforts of folks in these rural places, in the neglected areas of our United States, that drives my passion as a Glenmarian--not any political platform.
Therefore, if someone wants to make a difference—not just with a vote every four years, but day in and day out, year after year—then serving in the home missions is certainly one way to do that. I and other missioners can testify that you can make a significant difference as a Glenmary priest or brother--no matter which party is in power in Washington.
