Beautiful article by Father Shenan J. Boquet at Human Life International - please, please see www.hli.org.

Skip to content Human Life International: empowering you to build a pro-life world Mission Resources Free Ebooks News Search DONATE Free Ebook: Which Cosmetics Use Fetal Cells? We Must Be in the World, and Yet Not of It Written by Fr. Shenan J. Boquet ｜ Updated on October 7, 2024 “We should give no more than a side glance at all that happens in the world, but the eyes of our soul are to be focused right ahead; for our whole attention must be fixed on those realities which constitute our goal.” -From a homily on the Gospels by Pope St. Gregory the Great, no. 36 To some, these words from Pope St. Gregory will seem unwise. This world is a great battleground between good and evil. It would seem that our duty as Christians who live in the world is to engage with the events of this world with great intensity, bringing the Gospel message into a world starving for truth, goodness, and beauty. Yes, of course, we must focus our attention on God and the next life. However, to merely give a “side glance” at all that happens in the world is asking too much. This is something that perhaps monks living in cloisters can afford to do. But for those of us living in the world, the stakes of detaching from current events are too high. After all, if Christians everywhere turned aside from world events and focused only on eternal things, wouldn’t the consequences be disastrous? Wouldn’t our enemies seize the chance to elect corrupt politicians, to pass horrific laws, to take over our various institutions, and more? Wouldn’t the pro-life cause be harmed, and the enemies of life be delighted with our weakness? The Triumph of Anxiety We should not be so quick to dismiss the sainted pope’s advice. Properly understood, Pope St. Gregory’s words offer a much-needed antidote to some of the most deeply disordered tendencies of our time. Far from leading to weakness and defeat, following his advice is more likely to give us the strength we need to engage more effectively with the world. One need only pause and look around. Right now, we are in the lead up to a contentious U.S. election. The whole world is on edge, wondering who will fill an office that exerts enormous influence around the globe. candles Our newspapers, televisions, and social media feeds are filled with voices urging us to choose sides. Political pundits exhort us to recognize that this is “the most important election in U.S. history.” Most of these pundits suggest that if “our” candidate doesn’t win, our lives will become intolerably worse, that it might mean the end of our freedoms and even democracy itself. Much of the content we consume is deliberately designed to provoke strong emotional reactions, especially feelings of anger, anxiety, and fear, in order to grab our attention and sway our opinions. Everywhere you look, anxiety reigns. But to what end? Let’s assume for a moment that everything the political pundits say is true. Let’s assume that this is the most important election in U.S. history. Let’s assume that the outcome of the election will spell the difference between a free country and an enslaved one, between World War III and peace, between a nation that protects fundamental rights like the right to life and one that tramples on them. The two questions we should then ask ourselves are: 1) is there anything that I can do, other than vote, that will change the outcome of the election? and 2) is there any way in which allowing fear and anxiety to dominate my life will actually make things better? For most people, the answer to #1 is “no.” Few of us hold a position of any significant power or influence. Our duty to vote is, of course, crucial to assert our principles and our values that promote the common good and protect human life and dignity. But other than voting, and perhaps exerting a minor influence on some of our family, friends and neighbors, our impact on the outcome of the election is negligible. This fact alone calls into question the huge amount of time and mental and spiritual energy that many of us are expending worrying about the outcome of the election or keeping abreast of every development. Even more importantly, perhaps, is that the answer to question #2 is most certainly “no.” Even if we are one of the few people who is in a position to make a difference in the outcome of the election, the reality is that allowing ourselves to be consumed by fear and anxiety will, in no way, make things better. It will, inevitably, do precisely the opposite. The Paradox of the Christian Life Many of Christ’s most memorable sayings take the form of a paradox. Many of His statements appear, at first glance, to be contradictory, but they hide a deeper truth. Take, for instance, “The first shall be last and the last shall be first” (Mt 20:16), or “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” (Mt 16:25) Blessed Sacrament in Monstrance At the heart of both of these paradoxes is the idea that, in order to gain something, we must first let that thing go. This is the same message found in Pope St. Gregory’s homily. In that homily, the sainted pope reflects deeply on the question of how a Christian in the world ought to treat the things of this world. His answer is that the Christian may possess things, but that he must do so in such a way that it was as if he did not possess them. “[I]f you cannot give up everything of this world,” he tells his listeners, “at least keep what belongs to the world in such a way that you yourself are not kept prisoners by the world. Whatever you possess must not possess you; whatever you own must be under the power of your soul.” Further on, he adds: “A man can use the world as if he were not using it, if he makes all external needs minister to the support of his life without allowing them to dominate his soul. They remain external to him and under his control, serving him without halting the soul’s drive to higher things.” Only in detaching himself from the things of this world can the Christian use the things of this world well.  St. Gregory’s Example The same is true not just of material possessions, but also of the world of politics and activism. This is the constant message of all of the great spiritual authors from Pope St. Gregory onwards. Recall that St. Gregory was pope at a time of immense political, social and spiritual turmoil. But he was a famously effective administrator. He necessarily spent a large amount of time and energy meeting with ambassadors, diplomats, advisors, and petitioners, and keeping up with contemporary events. And yet, he achieved his “greatness” not because he allowed himself to be consumed by the frenetic world he occupied, but precisely because he kept his eyes continually on the thing that matters the most. As pope, St. Gregory was famous for lamenting the many burdens of his office and for openly pining for his previous life as a retired monk. More than anything, what he thirsted for was prayer. In other words, as pope he kept his priorities straight. He engaged with the things of this world, but he did so with a spirit of profound detachment. He did not give in to the temptation to think that the frenetic happenings in which he was immersed were the most important thing. Even while immersed in them, he gave only a “side glance” at the things of this world while keeping his eyes focused on eternity. The paradox of the Christian life is that it is precisely by treating the things of this world as secondary that we are empowered to transform them so effectively, as Pope St. Gregory did. By bearing heaven in his heart, he was empowered to bring a little of the kingdom of heaven to earth. The Call to Serenity There is a popular prayer that goes like this: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” The fact that this prayer often appears on bumper stickers or on cheesy pictures hung in bathrooms does not change the fact that it contains much wisdom. We live in an unprecedented time in which we have real-time access to information about events happening all over the globe. In the case of most of these events, not only do we lack even the basic background knowledge to have an informed opinion about them, but we also lack any ability to change the outcomes of these events. Unfortunately, this does not stop many of us from devouring endless information about these events and living in a perpetual state of anxiety, fear, and anger as a result. We should pause to ask ourselves: to what end? Even if the very worst outcomes that we fear should come about, not only does our fear do nothing to help, but it also actually greatly harms things, beginning with our own souls. woman praying in church As the great spiritual authors continually remind us, our first duty is to our own souls and our own salvation. This can only be achieved by living in a state of profound focus on the most important thing – our relationship with God and our eternal destiny. The paradox, again, is this: that it is only by focusing on our own souls and our own salvation first that we are also equipped to make a positive difference in the world. On the other hand, by first turning our attention outwards and obsessing about the events of the world, we lose our peace. In losing our peace, we lose our ability to bring peace into the world. As Thomas a Kempis writes in The Imitation of Christ: “Firstly, be peaceful yourself, and you will be able to bring peace to others.”  More than anything, what the world needs right now is peace: the deep peace of Christ. Without diminishing the importance of many of the events happening in the world, I would urge you to step back and to examine your soul, asking yourself if the things of this world are possessing you, rather than you possessing them. There are many seemingly good reasons to be full of anxiety and fear right now. But our anxiety and fear add nothing good, either to our lives or to the world. But if we have our attention focused on the eternal things and only give a “side glance” at the passing things of this world, we would be far less inclined to fear, and far more likely to live in the hope and joy that the world so desperately needs right now. 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