So begins The Anchoress' latest post... but for me, it's not so much about where she begins, but where she ends up:
It’s “masks off” time for many, it seems. Our policymakers are a sorry lot. The only folks on the world
stage I’m liking right now, are Peter the Roman, and his silent, prayerful predecessor.
And Peter keeps telling us to open our eyes and see the idols for what they are; to become aware of the idols so we may cast them aside, while there is time; to reach, instead, for Christ and his truth.
“It is true that nowadays, to some extent, everyone, including our young people, feels attracted by the many idols which take the place of God and appear to offer hope: money, success, power, pleasure,” he said. “Often a growing sense of loneliness and emptiness in the hearts of many people leads them to seek satisfaction in these ephemeral idols.”
I don’t think it’s any accident at all that we’re seeing this headline, now. News of the beatification of Oscar Romero comes in God’s good time, not man’s, and I suspect his eventually sainthood will speak more forcefully to our immediate future, than it might have a few years ago. The day before he was assassinated, this great bishop preached directly to the soldiers who repressed the people, in obedience to the Salvadoran regime.
“In the name of God, in the name of these suffering people whose cries rise to heaven more loudly each day, I implore you, I beg you, I order you: Stop the repression.”
Yes, I fully understand how ironic it is to uphold Romero, who was killed by a “right wing” regime, as a possible voice of encouragement against the galloping intrusions andexcesses of a “left wing” regime. But the truth is when extremism makes people afraid to speak out or to do their jobs for fear of retribution, it doesn’t matter whether the tyranny has originated from “the right” or “the left” — it is of a piece, and only reveals to us that the distinctions themselves were illusions meant to divide and conquer.
We are in for some very interesting days, possibly scary, even harsh ones, I think, for any who dare to remain curious or who have the fortitude to resist succumbing to “the party” for the sake of personal expediency or a pension.
In the end it's not about Obama, Obamacare or his radical promise to transform the country.
In the end it's about what we'll allow to transform us.
We must turn away from ephemeral idols and turn toward He who awaits that turn patiently, eagerly, lovingly and with open arms.
God help us do so.
