Call to Communion

When I see the division within the Catholic Church, I can't help but be saddened by what I see. I also happen to think about what a laugh Satan is having. On the macro scale, there is division between the Tridentine Mass Catholics and the Novus Ordo Catholics, those who classify themselves as Liberal Catholics and Conservative Catholics, Revisionist Catholics and Traditionalist Catholics, and so on and so forth. Any way you want to cut it, Satan is going to find some way to sow division. His goal from the Garden of Eden is, and always has been, to separate man from God. How can we be the Body of Christ reflecting the unity of the Holy Trinity if we allow ourselves to be divided? A kingdom divided against itself is bound to have problems.

On the micro scale, unless we are living saints and Christ has perfected us completely with His grace, we are divided from the Father, constantly being renewed by the grace of God and being called into deeper communion with the Triune God.

I bring this up because politics in the U.S. has been particularly divisive in the past decade and, unfortunately, it has not calmed down. So much so that, at the onset of 2025, political stress was a large contributor to why people are seeking therapy. Politics has become so charged in the U.S. that it is affecting our mental health. This isn't news; it's clear that politics can affect our mental health. Though I think if we, the church, are planning to grow in unity at some point, we need to let go of false idols.

I caution people about placing their identities on subtypes of Catholicism. At the end of our lives, I do not think Jesus is going to judge us based on what political party we were a part of. We may feel tempted to hold onto these identities, believing they will bring about some good, when in reality it's old news. Even during Jesus's time, there was division amongst conservative and liberal sects of Judaism (i.e., the Pharisees and Sadducees).

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, not a false idol. In His humanity, His divinity, and in His One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, He sought to bring humanity back into communion with the Father and, in turn, one another. The peace that we are longing for is not found in false idols; it is only found in communion with Him. It is only when we allow the Holy Trinity to dwell within us that we can receive the intimacy and communion we long for.

So, I guess the question is: are you willing to let go of a false idol (whatever kind it is) to bring about the intimacy and communion God has planned for you?

Pax et bonum.