TOP TEN LIST FOR THE NEW YEAR

January 12, 2008

“Top ten” lists are in vogue today, so I would like to propose a list of things to pray and work for in the new year. This is like making new year’s resolutions for ourselves, but my top ten list is about changes that we cannot bring about by ourselves. Let us consider them as priorities for prayer, and goals to be achieved in our corner of the world in consort with others in our nation and in the world.

Here are my top ten things to pray and work for in the New Year.

1. For an end to abortion and to the death penalty that will engender a renewed respect for every human life, at every stage, until natural death. Ending abortion entails far more than the erection of new laws that criminalize it, because laws would not bring abortion to an end. It entails a conversion of minds and hearts to seeing every child conceived in its mother’s womb as a precious gift of God to the world, to be cherished, nurtured, and protected. To achieve this end, there will need to be a moral revolution in our nation, one that reclaims prudence and modesty, and that recovers the profound mystery and holiness of the act of marital intimacy. The virtue of chastity will need to be fostered in the young. There will also need to be a disavowal of the commercialization of sex for profit, and an end to pornography, both of which degrade the body and invite promiscuous sexual activity resulting in unwanted pregnancies. Ending abortion also requires social commitment to spiritually and materially assist those women who seek abortion out of poverty of means to support a child.

To end the death penalty we must recognize that God is the author of life, and only God can take it from us. Better educational programs for all our citizens in matters of faith and morals as well as in the sciences and skills that will enable them to make a living and learn the necessity to respect the life and the property of others.

2. That the family be better protected and supported by the social body as its most basic and necessary cell. This entails an end to attempts to redefine marriage and a renewed recognition that marriage is inscribed in our very nature, as the union of a man and a woman. It requires that parents’ rights be recognized and protected, and that the welfare of the family be considered a high priority in the formulation of all public policies. Only with strong families can we cultivate and sustain strong social solidarity, upright character, and a well-ordered society.

3. For world peace and an end to war, especially in Iraq and wherever it is provoked by injustice or by extremists seeking domination through the use of terror.

4. For peace in our nation: peace among those of differing political and ideological persuasions; peace in our streets that will free us from fear of gang violence, muggings, or other criminal acts; peace in the workplace so that everyone is treated with dignity as a valued contributor to the work, justice prevails in employer-employee relations, and there is a fair distribution of the monetary fruits of labor.

5. For an end to poverty, and to the hunger, disease, and cultural deprivation that are endemic to it. To work for this does not demand that we strive for perfect economic equality among all; it merely recognizes that certain things are necessary for life to be fundamentally human, and that society has a responsibility to provide these to the weakest and most vulnerable. These include healthy food, decent shelter, proper education, adequate medical care, an opportunity for gainful employment, and access to the cultural life of the nation.

6. For a better and greater care of God’s creation. We do not need to settle the current dispute over global warming to realize that the planet earth is fragile in all its ecosystems, that humanity’s future depends upon its health and stability, and that therefore we must take responsibility do those things that we know will help the environment and avoid doing those that we know will harm it, including wasting its resources.

7. For a revision to our immigration policies that will protect families, provide for the legalization of long-time residents who lack documentation, and bring about a reversal of the decision to build the border wall between the United States and Mexico as something that, as many think, may be largely ineffective, and that will do far more harm than good by encouraging U. S. isolationism instead of making greater efforts to promote a program of global economic development that will put an end to financial disparities among nations and eliminate the impulse to enter our country illegally.

8. For an end to racism and prejudice of every kind, and most especially for an end to hostilities along religious lines and to the persecution of religious minorities.

The last two are distinctly religious, and if everyone works at these, the other eight will take care of themselves.

9. That everyone keep the Ten Commandments, and abide by Jesus’ new commandment of universal love. This entails that many become reconciled with God. For some Catholics this means overcoming fear and hesitation to confess their sins in the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation, in order to be freed from sin and reconciled with God and the community.

10. That everyone actively profess and practice the faith. For Catholics, this begins with regular participation in the Sunday Celebration of the Eucharist. It also means that, as Disciples in Mission, we will invite those who have fallen away from Church or have never actively participated in the community of the Church to discover their true spiritual home on earth.

+Bishop Raymundo J. Peña

last updated 05-Jun-2008 9:48 sitemap