Is the real problem in the USA society a lack of holiness, not politics?

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Bartolome_Casas

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Is is possible that the problem is not Catholics who dissent from a “liberal” orientation (e.g., they are pro-choice on abortion, or are pro-gay marriage), and…

…the problem is not Catholics who dissent from a “conservative” orientation (e.g., they reject the Catholic magisterium’s position on labor unions and a Just Wage), but…

…rather the problem is that Catholics of all stripes, and separated brethren Christians of all stripes, simply are quite widely lacking in personal holiness? We take verbal/mental stands on issues, but…

…we:

–are angry quite a bit every day
–have breaches, breaks and grudges with relatives and co-workers that are never healed
–indulge in sins of the flesh in our imagination on a daily basis
–we a lazy (sins of sloth)
–we are full of sinful pride (some say this is the worst sin of all)
–we lack Christian humility
–we rarely pray from the heart
–we really don’t love God with “our WHOLE heart, mind, strength and soul,” as Jesus said we must.
–we love ourselves a lot, take care of ourselves a lot, but rarely really love our neighbors in the same way.
–we really do not love our enemies, but long to see them humiliated, punished and destroyed.
–we regularly or occasionally tell little lies that, really, perhaps are not really so little
–we put earning money for luxuries ahead of attending to matters of God and family.

So, each side is really pointing out the lack of holiness, the lack of Christian charity, the hypocrisy, on the other side, and both sides are accurate at least insofar as they are spotting a lack of holiness.

Yet, if this the real problem, arguing over issues, and hurling insults back and forth, will do no good. It is “the blind leading the blind,” sort of.

We all hide our own sinfulness, sometimes even quite a bit from ourselves.

It is so easy to see the speck in the other guy’s eye.

Politics is all about pointing out the speck in the other guy’s eye. Politics is not about humility. Politics is about “We are better. We are WAY better!”

Maybe that’s why politics never solves anything?

Is is SO easy to take a stand on an issue, and on that basis view ourselves as righteous, or loving, or whatever. But taking stands can be cheap, easy, and meaningless. What matters is not how we vote in ballot box, but how we “vote” (choose) in our HEARTS and MINDS in every hour of every day of our quickly passing unidirectional lives heading into eternity. Is it not our INTERIOR life, our PRIVATE life what really matters the MOST, not the public stands we may take on public issues. Yet, as far as I know, no Gallup Poll can or does measure the personal holiness of any group or nation. So, this factor gets forgotten and missed, it seems.

Agree?
 
It’s always easier to point the finger of blame elsewhere, rather than at myself!

I don’t think there’s a political party in any democracy I could with good conscience vote for, since they all pander to the lowest common denominator in order to get votes. But I have to vote - it’s a duty I feel - but it’s always a difficult to find someone with Christian(ish) values. 😦
 
I would use the word virtue rather than holiness but the bottom line is yes, the terrible political/economic/social situation are just symptoms of a society that not only does not practice virtue but even worse does not even value or recognize it much of the time, and then even worse promotes vice and calls it virtue.

The kind of people that want to be in charge are usually the kind of people who shouldn’t be in charge, it takes a lot pf pride when you think about it to think you are the best person to be president in the whole nation and then spend moths telling everyone else this is so.

The best leaders are those who have leadership thrust upon them, George Washington is but one example of this.
 
In one aspect you are very correct…but your “leap of logic” leaves me very skeptical…uncomfortable with your cause-effect conclusion.

Being a sinner guilty of all of these sins…does not mean my Magisterium formed conscience no longer works and/or my intellect and will are defective/inoperable, i.e., that I suffer from invincible ignorance…my lack of holiness and lack of virtues are no excuse for my voting against the Magisterium’s teachings…ignorance of “the law” is no excuse and sinfulness is also no excuse in faith and morals issues.

In other words, I could recognize all this wretched sinfulness in myself…habitual sinfulness…go to confession weekly with true sorrow for my wretchedness…true repentance and seek mercy, penance, absolution and conversion and healing…and go to the voting poll on the following Tuesday and vote for a pro-life…pro-marriage…with the Magisterium on all the Church’s teachings on the non-negotiable intrinsically evil and/or objectively immoral issues…or…I could be that same objectively wretched sinner and not recognize it…not go to confession and yet still vote with the Church’s Magisterium on all the non-negotiable issues.

Just because I am an objectively wretched sinner…does not mean that I can’t rise to the level of a properly formed conscience…still vote in communion with the conscience of the Church…not in opposition to the Magisterium’s teachings…vote with an upright conscience on all secular issues that impact faith and morals and the natural law.

For your consideration.
Pax Christi
 
I am generally of the opinion that almost any political/economic system will work in a virtuous society, but almost none in a vicious* society.

*in the Catholic sense of tending towards vice or lack of virtue
 
I definitely think that if more people in the United States tried to live a holy life, the Lord would bless the United States a lot more. I also think that if we abolished such evils as abortion and “gay marriage” the Lord would bless us more.
 
Holly3278 said:
I definitely think that if more people in the United States tried to live a holy life, the Lord would bless the United States a lot more. I also think that if we abolished such evils as abortion and “gay marriage” the Lord would bless us more.
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👍👍
 
I’ve never really found lack of holiness to be a problem, seems to keep the bishop employed.
 
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