maybe this is not about us

Last updated on: March 25, 2016 at 4:43 pm by Rebecca Bratten Weiss

maybe this is not about us 2016-03-25T16:43:29-04:00 Rebecca Bratten Weiss

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

As Catholics it is understandable that we often find ourselves taking a defensive position. We’re the weirdos who pour water on our newborns, smear ashes on our foreheads, and worship a Jewish carpenter executed for sedition two thousand years ago. At times we’re handy for our aesthetic appeal when filmmakers want to capitalize on the numinosity of liturgy or the carnivalesque of festivals. At other times we are dangerous revolutionaries standing against the violence of earthly powers. (But often, to be honest, we’re rather a nuisance).

I don’t want to criticize defensiveness per se: it is a human instinct, probably neutral in itself, ethically noble when expressed in movements for peace and justice, ethically suspect when connected with tribalism or xenophobia. Refusal to use violence is part of our Christian code, but this need not entail refusal to defend ourselves: to assume this is to succumb to the dangerous radical altruism promoted by Auguste Comte and deconstructed by Max Scheler: “For the Christian conception of love, devotion to one’s fellow man merely because he is the ‘other’ is as false and misplaced as the liberal-individualistic idea that we best serve the whole and the community by perfecting ourselves” (Scheler, Ressentiment).

An utter negation of self-defense ends up being yet another form of nihilism.

But in our present political climate, we sometimes take it too far. Constantly on the alert for another way the media might misrepresent us, or corporate powers disrespect us, we forget that the necessary balancing pole of healthy self-love is the obligation of charity, especially when it comes to the preferential option for the poor. And the preferential option for the poor is not simply about movement of material goods; it’s about our moral focus.

In the present conversations about the health crisis in Brazil – whether associated with the Zika virus, or with chemical larvicides – we are being distracted from the pressing reality that calls to us, if we turn our focus towards our own desires about what Pope Francis may or may not have meant. I’m a relatively healthy woman in the developed world, with access to a relatively clean eco-system and relatively reliable medical care, in a culture which generally frowns on marital rape. Solutions to the difficulties faced by women in vastly different situations probably don’t have a lot to do with me. If our response to this situation is to fret about progressives manufacturing a crisis, or worry that our own righteousness is being dismissed, or anticipate a development in doctrine that will be convenient for us, we’re missing the point.

The opposite extreme of altruistic nihilism is spiritual narcissism.

Yet once we turn our gaze from ourselves, and look to the global situation – the needs of refugees, the rise of radical fundamentalism, the scourge of sex trafficking – we may experience a terrible helplessness. But this terrible helplessness should be a good starting point for asking: what can I do? This is the better way of making it about ourselves.

I’ve been trying to research how to help the women in Brazil, but much that I’ve found seems inconclusive, if there’s still uncertainty about the cause of the defects – but then, I’m not a health expert. We do know that we can help refugees – and here are some links to reliable charitable organizations.

If you are reading this, and decide to share it, please add any information you may have about reliable and immediate material ways we can help the women in Brazil.

Pax et bonum

Uncategorized

Previous Post

February 22, 2016

Abortion, Collective Responsibility, and the S-Word

Next Post

February 24, 2016 Are We Depending on Abortion?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category abortion anti-semitism art Atwood Betrothed church clergy abuse coronavirus culture economics education environmentalism ethics faith family feminism gardening gun violence immigration Judaism literature MaddAddam New Pro Life Movement news pandemic personalism poem politics politics blue Pope Francis racism religion salvation sexuality social justice spirituality Station eleven Stephen King The Stand Trump Uncategorized war World Health Organization

Select a Month March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What Persian king chose Esther as queen?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Xerxes (Ahasuerus) Artaxerxes Cyrus Darius

Support this
Column