Being "WOKE" Catholics during Ordinary Time: When the "power of lust" becomes the "lust for power"...

Today’s readings from scripture call to mind Martin Scorsese’s 2013 film, “The Wolf of Wall Street.” At the time, film critic Matt Seitz called the movie “one of Hollywood’s most abashed and shameless, exciting and exhausting, disgusting and illuminating…[as well as] most entertaining films ever made about loathsome men.”

Adapted from disgraced stockbroker and felonious fraudster Jordan Belfort’s memoir, the film begins by recounting Belfort’s humble, middle-class upbringing in Queens and subsequent failure on Wall Street. After getting laid off in the 1987 stock market crash, the plot thickens as the film recounts how Belfort learned his lesson well, reinventing himself as a “Robin Hood in Reverse.”

Taking over a Long Island penny stock firm and assigning it the high-minded, sophisticated, and prestigious sounding name of “Stratton Oakmont”—to gain the confidence of middle- and working class- investors—Belfort grew the company to the point it employed more than 1000 “pump and dump” stockbrokers each of whom, it seemed, was a “Senior Vice President” and whose goal it was to rule Wall Street. In his review, Seitz characterized Belfort’s employees as “barbarians on a permanent rampage,” who were addicted to power and peddled stock issues worth $1B+. Belfort’s scheme involved artificially increasing the value of nearly worthless stocks while his employees sold them at a tremendous profit, causing the value of those equities to plunge precipitously, leaving Stratton Oakmont’s investors holding the bag.

Belfort eventually lost it all, but first and foremost his moral anchors, through which he made of himself, Steitz observes, “a grotesque character about as attractive as he was repulsive.”

For example, throwing a good and respectable wife—who didn’t approve of his financial shenanigans or chronic infidelity—under the bus, Belfort then married a “trophy.” Success also allowed Belfort to purchase a mansion, yacht, helicopter (to get to and from meetings) and, for relaxation at the end of a long day or week, among other passing fancies and pleasures, Quaaludes.

In 1998, the United State prevailed in convicting Belfort of money laundering and securities fraud. Spending less than two years in federal prison, Belfort wasn’t ever punished to the level befitting the magnitude of pain he inflicted upon others. Ordered by the court to return $110M to the investors he’d deceived, Belfort failed to do that.

In the end, the only guilt and remorse Belfort seems to have suffered was having gotten caught.

The subject of the “Wolf of Wall Street” wasn’t primarily Jordan Belfort. No, it was a mentality that’s as old as humanity itself. St. Augustine called it “the power of lust that has been allowed to morph into the lust for power.” It’s that lust for power which provides the foundation for something people like Belfort desire even more: Immortality.

For example, when many of us think about Washington, DC, words like “corrupt,” “evil,” and “immoral,” probably come to mind. It’s good those words do come to mind because, as Lord Acton reminded everyone in 1857, “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” As the capital of one of the most powerful—if not the most powerful—nations on the planet, there’s a lot of power in Washington, DC, that has proven itself capable of corrupting even the most moral and ethical of folks.

Why? Their ultimate goal is to be “somebody” and to leave a legacy behind when they finally exit center stage as everyone one day will, like it or not. In a word: Immortality.

At the same time, there’s so much about that nation’s capital that bespeaks the nation’s goodness. Consider the dignity accorded to humanity—endowed by God with certain, inalienable rights—that’s enshrined in the form of government to which the District is home. Also consider its numerous museums and other cultural institutions as well as its cathedrals and synagogues that are home to people of different faiths.

Yet, despite all this goodness, the wealth of corruption driven by the desire for immorality that’s present in the District can overpower and make people forget all that good as they lust for power...and immortality.

In today’s first reading, we heard how the ancient Israelites looked upon Jerusalem in much the same way as many Americans look upon Washington, DC. For the ancient Israelites, Jerusalem was the “City of Peace” established by God, not man, to be a “shining city on a hill.” Its people had grown so corrupt, so evil, and so immoral that, due to the likes of its Jordan Belforts, its wealth of goodness was reduced to rubble.

Its once-proud inhabitants—driven into captivity for four decades, not less than two years in a federal prison—had a conscience. However, all that hope could afford those in captivity was for God to re-establish the capital for which they now mourned yet for which their hearts yearned. As Isaiah described what the capital’s destruction meant to the ancient Israelites, it was as if their mother had died, leaving her infants without anything to nourish their souls.

Amid these feelings of loss and mourning over what had been and seemed would never be again, God sent Isaiah to prophesy to the ancient Israelites:

For thus says the LORD: Lo, I will spread prosperity over Jerusalem like a river, and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing torrent….When you see this, your heart shall rejoice and your bodies flourish like the grass; the LORD's power shall be known to his servants.

“To his servants,” Isaiah states. That is, “to those who do God’s will.”

The source of all that’s “corrupt,” “evil,” and “immoral” about Washington, DC, ancient Jerusalem, Wall Street, and even our homes today is the result of not doing God’s will each and every day. Not knowing God’s power, the hearts of those who fail to do God’s will don’t rejoice and their bodies don’t flourish like the grass because these folks strive for what the city has to offer—power. These folks believe that accruing power to themselves—to become godlike—will make them happy in this world as that’s measured by increasing their individual prosperity and wealth. Then, as ordinary, middle-class folks from Long Island amass a fortune and are “somebody,” these folks believe they have achieved immortality in the earthly city.

It’s to this city and its inhabitants that Jesus today is sending his disciples, as we heard in today’s gospel, “in pairs,” for example, husbands and wives—“ahead of him” and “to every town and place he intended to visit.”

As in Jesus’ day, as we also heard in today’s gospel, the harvest continues to be great. Just consider the number of our fellow citizens of this earthly city who are sure to castigate the pagans of Jesus’ time who committed infanticide. “What kind of barbarians were they?”, these folks ask. Yet, these same folks sincerely believe that aborting an unborn infant—even up to the moment of birth—isn’t human sacrifice. “No,” they say. “It’s a right. And it’s a right that’s guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution!”

Jesus intends to visit these people. However, the laborers continue to be few. After all, who’s interested in getting into arguments concerning basic morality when the minds of those on the other side have been made up and they’re not interested in being confused by the facts? “Let God take care of the mess,” they say.

“WOKE” Catholics are intent upon doing God’s will, as every Catholic should be. They walk the pathway of truth, as Jesus said, “like lambs among wolves” not as if they’re headed out of town on vacation—with money, suitcases stuffed with clothing to the point where it’s almost impossible to close them, and sandals for all occasions. No, “WOKE” Catholics are on a mission to reintroduce God’s order into the chaos by telling those who dissent from Catholic moral teaching what Jesus himself intends to say to them:

The kingdom of God is at hand for you.

What does that mean?

It’s not a judgment—“God is coming to condemn you,” “What you’re doing is wrong,” and “God will send you to Hell”—but a prophecy. As Isaiah reminded us, the prophecy is:

God is going to restore you to your former glory.

Knowing that the kingdom of God is at hand, Jesus wants everyone to know that the moment is about to unfold when God will restore them to the glory that once was theirs but which they have forsaken. Upon hearing this message and waking up to do God’s will, the “wolves” will no longer prey upon and devour the lambs. Instead, they will live together as members of God’s family in the “City of Peace”—Jerusalem.

While this idealistic vision motivates “WOKE” Catholics, it’s not as if they’re foolish. Jesus has reminded them not to expect they will be welcomed as heroes and heroines—feting them and throwing lavish banquets in their honor. No, Jesus said, they should fully expect to be rejected and prepared to shake the dust from their feet:

Yet know this: the kingdom of God is at hand. I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day than for that town.

Should the disciples’ efforts prove successful—should those folks repent—the reward isn’t the exercise of power—“the spirits are subject to you”—but of salvation—“your names are written in heaven.”

That’s the substantive difference between Jordan Belfort and Eleanor McCullen.

Eleanor McCullen? Who’s she?

Two-plus decades ago, McCullen was a “sleepy” Catholic—fulfilling the letter of the law but not living its spirit as well as she knew she could. However, one Sunday the pastor of McCullen’s parish preached about something close McCullen’s heart—the mortal sin of abortion. McCullen was awakened from her sleep and became a “WOKE” Catholic, to the point she attended a prayer service at her parish. At that liturgy, McCullen felt God calling her to rise from her sleep and put into action her deeply held, pro-life beliefs.

That was 22 years ago when McCullen was 63 years old.

Since that day, McCullen had been praying fervently for the reversal of Roe v. Wade and has been steadfastly involved in Boston’s pro-life movement. For McMullen, witnessing to her “WOKE” Catholic faith required praying outside a local abortion clinic, speaking with women coming to the clinic to have their unborn infants aborted, offering these women counsel, and providing concrete support to those who made the choice for life by keeping their babies.

Over the course of the past 22 years, McCullen has played a vital role in saving the lives of about 300 unborn infants.

“It took perseverance,” McCullen observed.

That’s quite a legacy of faith in practice, isn’t it? That’s being “somebody” who will be immortal—though perhaps unnamed and never known—in the lives she managed to save, isn’t it? That’s a “meaningful” life’s achievement, isn’t it?

Today, Eleanor McCullen is 85 years old and when the U.S. Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade, she realized that she had lived to see her prayers answered.

But McCullen’s isn’t finished witnessing to the Truth of Christ.

Later in the day when it was announced officially the Court had reversed Roe v. Wade, a woman who was nine weeks pregnant called McCullen “to say that she decided she would go ahead with the birth of the baby.” McCullen added that she will continue to counsel the mom and help because “she has to know that I’m there and that I’m not going anyplace.”

The lesson?

“The kingdom of God is at hand for you,” Jesus told his disciples to say. “God is going to restore you to your former glory.”

For “WOKE” Catholics, like Eleanor McCullen, “This is a day for thanksgiving, and a day to rejoice, and to realize that prayers are powerful.” McCullen observes:

We have to go forward and praise the Lord for this decision and realize that many babies will be saved. Men and women will also be saved and helped….For women who have had an abortion, God wants them to know his mercy….

That provides our challenge from today’s scripture readings: To announce to others the kingdom of God is at hand.

If we’re to make that announcement, we must first realize for ourselves, at a deeply personal and heartfelt level, the kingdom of God is at hand. To come to this realization, each of us will need to conduct a memento mori upon arising each day this week:

• On Monday morning, identify a moral evil you see in the world that causes your heart to be troubled but not to the point that you’ve done anything concrete about it. To name just a few: drug and alcohol addiction; the lack of forgiveness and lovelessness in marriages that ends in divorce; poverty, homelessness, and malnutrition impacting children; sexually transmitted diseases, abortion, and euthanasia; cohabitation without the benefit of the Sacrament of Marriage; immorality in society and the workplace; young people being indoctrinated in the schools.
• Contemplate that moral evil and how it makes it difficult, if not impossible, for others to know the kingdom of God is “at hand,” right there and present to them…if only they would wake up and turn from the moral evil which they have freely embraced and are willingly participating.
• Identify one person—perhaps a family member—who needs to realize the kingdom of God is at hand, right there and present to this person…if only he or she would turn from that moral evil. Then, as Eleanor McMullen observed, “realize that prayers are powerful” and say a heartfelt prayer for that person’s conversion.
• During the day, dedicate additional intercessory prayers for that person and, in particular, that the Holy Spirit will change that person’s mind. Each time you offer up a prayer for that person, ask the Holy Spirit to inspire you about how you might announce “the kingdom of God is at hand” to that person.

Don’t make the announcement this week. That’s not the purpose of this particular memento mori.

Instead, repeat the process each day this week, intensifying your prayers and discernment so as to grasp with your mind and heart more clearly how pernicious that moral evil really is, how it is keeping that person from experiencing what already exists and is at hand…if only that person would change how he or she thinks. Allow your heart to be moved by pity for that person, just as Jesus did for sinners.

The purpose of this memento mori is to awaken “sleepy” Catholics and move them to act—people like you and me—to become “WOKE” Catholics who actually put their faith into practice. The spiritual discipline this week’s memento mori inculcates is the solid foundation up which we will act, as Eleanor McMullen did, by realizing that prayers are powerful if we really pray for something and for someone. Each morning this week, call to mind what that something really is and who what someone really is. That’s all.

Awakening from being “sleepy” Catholics and becoming more perfectly “WOKE” Catholics, each of us can root each day this week more consciously in what Isaiah prophesied on Christmas Eve—“He shall be named ‘Emmanuel,’ which means ‘God is with us’”—and this week, preparing a secure foundation to announce “the kingdom of God is at hand.”

Then, as Isaiah prophesied to the lonely, dejected, and disheartened of Israel who had forsaken it all and believed they had no hope:

When you see this, your heart shall rejoice and your bodies flourish like the grass; the LORD’s power shall be known to his servants.

It may take 50 years, but when “sleepy” Catholics arise from the sleep and realize the new day is at hand, the actions they undertake each day will be their legacy...not immortality in this earthly city but eternal life in the kingdom of God.