Economy and vice

The US economy is the topic of so much news and conversation it seems impossible to discuss it more, but with a possible economic downturn looming, the Federal Government planning a stimulus package of $150 billion or so, and an election coming in the fall, the economy is more and more the subject of conversation. In this light, I feel motivated to present a quote from the Greek philosopher Plato. Despite having been written 2360-ish years ago, it seems to describe the United States today:

"The rulers, being aware that their power rests upon their wealth, refuse to curtail by law the extravagance of the spendthrift youth because they gain by their ruin; they take interest from them and buy up their estates and thus increase their own wealth and importance?
There can be no doubt that the love of wealth and the spirit of moderation cannot exist together in citizens of the same State to any considerable extent; one or the other will be disregarded."

Plato, The Republic, Book VIII

Plato is discussing a decadent state, in which people are honored because of their wealth, and consequently everyone wants to be rich. Just like Plato's spendthrift youth, our society eagerly encourages every imaginable vice: greed, impatience, lust, self-indulgence, violence, and immoderation, because it is good for the economy. In case the link between economic progress and vice is not clear, imagine an economy full of people who are patient, self-controlled, moderate, prudent, careful, and most of all, generally content with life. These people save much and spend cautiously. If their economy grows at all, it grows in a slow, stable kind of way which makes it hard to get rich quick.

Who wants an economy like that? Not us; we want the money flowing quickly from one place to another. Which means, we want the extravagance of spendthrift youth, where people spend so much and so impulsively they need to take out loans just to be able to spend more. Imagine a person whose self-worth is based on what he owns, trapped a kind of mental hole, trying to find happiness with his next purchase and being perpetually disappointed. This kind of person buys to survive, and helps raise the US economy to inconceivable levels, like $9.5 trillion of goods and services consumed last year.

But this plan only works for a while. Witness the current finance crisis, caused by banks loaning money out in risky ways, lured by the promise of quick profits for which they do not have to wait and do not have to work. The plan made a lot of money, and then the bubble burst and everyone who was riding it got wet. Casualties of progress? Casualties of profit.

Recession is inevitable because the economy is overinflated, with large amounts of private debt and excessive discretionary spending. Practically every economist recognizes this. The question is whether we can ride it down softly or it will be painful, or maybe we can postpone it for a few more decades.

I propose that we look at a new model of life, one which focuses much less on producing and consuming, one in which we are determined to buy less and be content with what we have. There are some things money can't buy, and those are the things that are most worth having; friends and family and peace of mind. Those are the things we should be focusing on.

Homily: Teaching Mass Offertory

Teaching Mass: Offertory
Once a month we have a "Teaching Mass", where the children from Religious Education participate and some part of the Mass is explained. Here is a clip of me explaining the Offertory (it's not really a homily, but a reflection). The Offertory is meant as a moment to offer our lives and our hearts to God on the altar.

Speaking of Sisters

Here is a video on vocations put out by the same Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity. It features a friend of mine, Sr. Marie Kolbe. Those sisters are talented.

Homily for Jan. 20

TPA2 Christians are meant to be a Light to the Nations
Jesus reveals who we were meant to be - witnesses to his light in the world. Not living up to our call would be like a Packer fan who never watched the games. Fortunately, God gives us help to fulfill our call.

Sister at the coin toss for Packer game

Sr. Sean Marie Tobin of the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity in Manitowoc, WI, was chosen as Honorary G-Force Captain. The title meant she could walk to center field with the team captains for the coin toss for last week's Seattle vs. Green Bay Game at Lambeau field. The sister had her essay chosen from over 5,000 submitted to win the coveted spot. In her essay she described how she attended the legendary Ice Bowl of 1967 with her father, who had taught her to love football. It was so cold she was zipped inside a sleeping bag, habit and all.
Sister Sean Marie, who is 68 and as dedicated as ever to watching the Packers, says she prays for the player's safety but never for a win. She will be repeating her honorary duties in this Sunday's game against the New York Giants.

Pope does not visit the Sapienza

The Cardinal Secretary of State announced that the Holy Father would not visit the Sapienza, the largest university in Italy, as he had previously planned to do on. In anticipation of his visit, 67 professors of the university signed a petition asking the rector of the university not to accept him, and students protested against the Pope. They argued that the Pope should not be honored in an academic setting since the Church has done much in the past to suppress science.

The nucleus of their protest was apparently a 1990 speech given at the same university by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, in which he had quoted a philosopher of science who said that the Church showed itself more committed to reason in the Galileo trial than Galileo himself was. Although the Pope did not completely agree with the quote he cited, that did not seem to make much difference to the protesters. Ironically, the protesters supposedly in favor of academic discourse are the ones who refused to let the Pope discuss his opinions or present his thoughts, an absolutely fundamental value in academic circles. I had thought that we had finally gotten past the myth that Christianity was opposed to science, but apparently not.

The university, by the way, was created by a bull of Pope Boniface VIII in 1303. It was sponsored by the Popes for centuries, who funded various academic chairs and helped cover expenses. It was not until the modern period that the university became an operation of the Italian state. Sapienza is the Italian word for wisdom, and it takes its name from the Biblical passage, Initium sapientiae timor Domini, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

Homily for Jan.13

Baptism of the Lord - Jesus' Identity as the Beloved Son
When Jesus is baptized in the Jordan, it confirms for him this simple fact: that the love of His father was so awesome and always in his favor that it would be enough, whatever the future held.
At the same time, Jesus' baptism makes it possible for all to be baptized as God's son, to hear those words, "This is my beloved Son, which whom I am well pleased", and to receive the Spirit.

Homily for Jan.6

Epiphany - Baby Jesus is King
We continue the celebration of Christmas with the Kingship of Jesus. Baby Jesus receives the adoration of the three Wise Men and gifts as well. He shows us that every human being is worth more than all the things in the world.

Happy Epiphany

The Twelve Days of Christmas run all the way to the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6th. It marks the moment when the Magi visited the baby Jesus and offered gifts to him. In many countries in Europe gifts were traditionally exchanged on Epiphany instead of Christmas. Unfortunately in the United States we do not usually celebrate Epiphany or the other 10 days of Christmas because the Christmas season ends at about noon on Christmas day, followed immediately by the Exchanging-gifts-for-what-I-really-wanted season and the After-Christmas-sale season. Personally I think it would be great to exchange gifts on Epiphany instead of Christmas since I could buy all my gifts at deep-discount prices. Of course, the last thing we need is another gift-giving holiday.
The nice thing about Epiphany is that it isn't well known or promoted, and so you have to go to the scriptures to discover the meaning of the moment. The event is recorded in the Gospel of Matthew. As soon as he mentions the birth of Jesus he recalls the Magi who came searching for the new-born Messiah. The name Magi refers to wise or learned men from Persia, and the Bible emphasizes this by adding "from the East." They came from pagan lands where the God of Israel was not known and not worshiped. Instead, they look for clues to salvation in the stars and planets. And the amazing thing is, they found these clues. They found a star which leads them to the true savior of the world.
This story is a good example of the Christian tradition which is confident that the world can lead a person to God, and that philosophy and science are a good foundation for faith. While other religions are afraid of believers with two much learning, the Christian faith is mistrustful of a faith that is not connected to good thinking. For this reason the Catholic Church founded the first universities in the 11th and 12th centuries.
We notice, however, that the Magi cannot find the savior on their own. They have to consult with the Jewish scribes, who explain to them from the sacred texts where Jesus is to be born. While science is perfectly capable of telling the Magi how to read the stars and how travel across the desert, they can only find God concretely through his revelation, first in the scriptures, and then in his birth in Bethlehem. The moment when they arrive and open their gifts is a kind of culmination of their faith. They presented gold for the great King, frankincense for the true God, and myrrh for his burial. The great mystery of Jesus Christ's life is already present at his birth.

When I heard the Gospel story again I was struck for the first time by the figures of the Scribes and Pharisees. Although they knew exactly where the Messiah is going to be born, they were not excited by the possibility. In fact, Herod was moved much more than they were, and for nefarious motives. I hear a lot about people who are "spiritual but not religious." I personally think this is like being athletic but not practicing a sport. However, it is far more stupid to be religious without being spiritual, to be practicing religion but without actually coming into contact with God. The scribes knew the prophesies, but they were not looking for the Messiah. Many people know the Bible stories, go to church, recite their prayers, know the rules of religion, and use all those things as a hedge between them and the living God. They are more closed to God than the "pagans" who are staring at the stars. It is easy to fall into the trap of being religious without encountering God. Epiphany should remind us that faith is not so much knowing the prophecies but searching for Jesus, and even, when we don't expect it, finding him.

Sale of children causing economic boom

Peshawara, Pakistan - Until recently, Peshawara was a sleepy provincial town with no significant trade. Now, new homes are springing up all over the valley. Many have swimming pools -- a luxury that was unheard of just a few years ago. The reason for this economic boom? Children. Peshawara is capitalizing on its one abundant resource, selling children to Western couples who suffer from infertility and are desperate for children of their own.

The sale of children has been legal in Pakistan since 2005. Some oppose the practice, calling it "slavery." Others see it as yet another step of globalization. Says Ahmand Sardi, "There are rich couples that desperately want children. Here in Pakistan we have many couples with too many children -- six, eight, even ten. They cannot feed all those hungry mouths. If this couple wants a child, why can they not buy one?"

Couples looking to adopt a child in the traditional way might spend upwards of $20,000 in legal fees and wait as long as four years. The typical Pakistani family wants about 300,000 rupees for a child -- less than a quarter the cost of adoption. In a country where the average yearly wage is $410, such a sale can lift a family from grinding poverty to a comfortable middle-class existence.

Maya Sullivan and her husband Butch recently adopted a child this way. "We tried so long to get pregnant," says Maya Sullivan, "and I thought we would never succeeded. I am so grateful to the Pakistani people for our little Oliver." The Sullivans are so happy, they are going back next year to buy another.

Some international groups are condemning the practice, but for Ahmand Sardi, the latest economic trend has been nothing but good. "Once we had no hope; now we are happy," says Sardi, "I am so grateful to the West for buying our children. I know they will have a good home."

Inspired by "Pregnancy becomes latest job outsourced to India"

Homily for Jan.1

Christmas3 - Mary, Mother of God
We honor Mary because she reflects the light of Christ. We too were meant to reflect His light.