These are fretful times. The economy seems to be in another tailspin. We’re witnessing gridlock in Washington, panic on Wall Street, riots in London, high unemployment and budget cuts all around. Are these difficulties strictly economic and political, or are there moral, ethical and spiritual dimensions to our economic woes? How are these difficulties affecting the people you serve?

One cannot separate the life of the spirit from how we are bound together either economically or politically. Whatever ails the spirit will also infect how we are in right relationship in all areas of our common life together as a people in a nation, state and city. If greed becomes our god or individualism at the expense of others then we will find ways to justify our self-interest no matter how ruinous to the greater good.

Rigid ideology and demonizing those with whom we disagree lead to dysfunction. Right ideas become more important than people. Statesmanship that serves the common good is abandoned for a partisanship willing to sacrifice others for a cause or party. Arrogance than cannot imagine being wrong takes the place of a humility that comes with being a public servant. Power that is not accountable is tempted toward corruption.

People can bear almost anything if they have a moral reason. People will make sacrifices if they are fair in scale and provide concrete results. Clarity in bipartisan leadership that offers hope rather than polarization will provide a way forward. Understanding how our personal and political decisions have an impact on others is essential to our being in right relationship with one another.

These are fretful times. The economy seems to be in another tailspin. We’re witnessing gridlock in Washington, panic on Wall Street, riots in London, high unemployment and budget cuts all around. Are these difficulties strictly economic and political, or are there moral, ethical and spiritual dimensions to our economic woes? How are these difficulties affecting the people you serve?

There are moral, ethical and spiritual dimensions to every aspect of our lives. The role of the faith community is to do the hard work of discernment. To recognize what is going on in our communal lives, to name both grace and the presence of evil. The economy is not magic, even though its global manifestation is very complex. The economy is a human creation and we CAN do better. The finger of responsibility cuts across our usual lines of demarcation. Participants in every shade of political persuasion are called to conversion.

Two principles of Catholic Social Teaching seem to bear directly. One is concern for the most vulnerable. In some aspects the global economy seems weighted in favor of those who already have much. Should not the economy seek to bring others into this abundance? Another principle is the responsibility of every person to participate in communal life. Depending on one’s health and age, each person should share in the duties that we call “making a living.” At this moment, we need more jobs, so that all can make a contribution. Again, the Lord would seem to put responsibility on those already blessed who have the resources to create employment opportunities.
Much is required of the one to whom much is given.

These are fretful times. The economy seems to be in another tailspin. We’re witnessing gridlock in Washington, panic on Wall Street, riots in London, high unemployment and budget cuts all around. Are these difficulties strictly economic and political, or are there moral, ethical and spiritual dimensions to our economic woes? How are these difficulties affecting the people you serve?

With a growing disparity between the very rich and the rest of the populace–in our own nation and abroad–the great saint in the early 400s captures the New Testament vision as regards economic woes: “Not to enable the poor to share in our goods is to steal from them and deprive them of life. The goods we possess are not ours, but theirs.” That’s guidance–for politicians and for the rest of us as people of faith!

These are fretful times. The economy seems to be in another tailspin. We’re witnessing gridlock in Washington, panic on Wall Street, riots in London, high unemployment and budget cuts all around. Are these difficulties strictly economic and political, or are there moral, ethical and spiritual dimensions to our economic woes? How are these difficulties affecting the people you serve?

Living within your means is a moral/ethical value that individuals and governments must learn.  If there is any consolation, we are not the only country deliberating issues of this magnitude.  Ultimately, we must understand that this world is not our home.  After this life we are ushered into eternity.  Living life with eternity in mind gives purpose, meaning, and significance.  If this life is all there is, there would be much depression and hopelessness.  When one understands eternity and forgiveness in Christ, one can be hopeful even in the midst of difficulty.  In Christ, we are overcomers!

These are fretful times. The economy seems to be in another tailspin. We’re witnessing gridlock in Washington, panic on Wall Street, riots in London, high unemployment and budget cuts all around. Are these difficulties strictly economic and political, or are there moral, ethical and spiritual dimensions to our economic woes? How are these difficulties affecting the people you serve?

Please forgive me for the following naive suggestion.

Why do people such as I who can’t balance my little checking account, are ready to give financial advice to the world? Of course the truth is, I can not.

But I can suggest something simple which no politician, for obvious reasons, would be ready to make. And that is this: Our Nation is in difficult financial straits. If some people on the low financial ladder, such as an old retired clergyman such as I, are ready and willing to have their taxes increased, why not all of us in a proportional manner be willing to support our Nation?

As a priest however, I would make this comment: Although history has shown that great nations, empires, have fallen, if we in this benevolent Nation which has been “the hope of the world” because of its humanitarian manifested efforts, continues to take care of those in need – for here is true religion: “to protect the
orphans, to embrace the widows, to feed the hungry….” – then we will eventually find ourselves liberated from this current financial problem.

These are fretful times. The economy seems to be in another tailspin. We’re witnessing gridlock in Washington, panic on Wall Street, riots in London, high unemployment and budget cuts all around. Are these difficulties strictly economic and political, or are there moral, ethical and spiritual dimensions to our economic woes? How are these difficulties affecting the people you serve?

It is not enough simply to point out that we have been through hard times before and somehow we will make it through these. That might be true, but in many ways, we are in an unprecedented situation. Regardless, moral failure is rampant. One of the worst signs of that failure is in the blind absolutism of many politicians.

God help us! I believe God will, but we must embrace a unity borne of loving one another.

These are fretful times. The economy seems to be in another tailspin. We’re witnessing gridlock in Washington, panic on Wall Street, riots in London, high unemployment and budget cuts all around. Are these difficulties strictly economic and political, or are there moral, ethical and spiritual dimensions to our economic woes? How are these difficulties affecting the people you serve?

There is a definite spiritual dimension.

The great theological thinkers Kierkegaard, Niebuhr, and Tillich tell us that the psychological state of anxiety is part of the human condition, Tillich attributing this state to our finiteness, Kierkegaard and Niebuhr to living in the tension of our finiteness and freedom. Since every human being experiences anxiety to some degree, small wonder that the worldly-wise philosophy “You have to have it all now or you will never have another chance” compounds it and drives us to overreach our limits and play God. Hence, the compulsion to live way beyond our financial means. Hence, today’s economic woes at private, corporate, and national levels.

So, to speak as a preacher to our economic woes, I would call for everyone to remember the distinction between the Creator and the creature. And, with this distinction in mind, I would call for us to entrust ourselves, not to our own creaturely hands, but to the all-loving and all-powerful hands of the Creator God. I would preach for such faith because it would restore perspective, inform economic choices, and make us responsible stewards.

As for moral and spiritual guidance for our political and economic leaders, I would commend the example of the head referee making a call by taking into account the perspectives of others because he could not see what happened from all the angles. It illustrates the value of listening to diverse perspectives on great problems before acting to resolve or manage them.