Dear St. Rita Families,
Anger. How much of it are you exposed to daily? Whether on the news, in your neighbor, or in your own heart, it has for some time now been at the forefront. “Outrage” was “all the rage” for a long time, but now that has seemed to settle into a seething hatred which is used to justify any and all kinds of evil against my political opponents. And worse, anger – and hatred – is being justified, because of the outrageous evil of said opponent. This is a recipe for disaster. The question is, where does it end?
This answer is simple. It ends with you, and it ends with me. Not without reason does Our Lord ask us to turn the other cheek. It will be helpful to reread this part of the Sermon on the Mount. Our Lord said:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist one who is evil. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; and if anyone would sue you and take your coat, let him have your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to him who begs from you, and do not refuse him who would borrow from you. You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you salute only your brethren, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:38-48).
BUT FATHER, WHAT IF THEY….
What if they what? There were not caveats in Our Lord’s words. Retaliation and revenge are not – must not be and cannot be – part of the Christian life. Perhaps your inner monologue wonders, somewhat sheepishly, that if this is the case, we might as well give the world over to anarchy and simply let evil win. But this is not what the Lord asks or implies.
He does not indicate that avenues of justice should be dismantled, such that good men do nothing and evil prevails. He does indicate that the hearts of good men should themselves remain good and not be conquered by vengeance, anger, and hatred. If your heart is conquered by evil, and “out of the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks” (Lk 6:45) and the will likewise acts, then I don’t want to be around you. Our Lord’s words are about preserving you and me from evil. And while evil men and women can do lots of things, they cannot conquer your heart, unless you let them! You and I are Christians, and that means that by our Baptism first we are “alter Christus” – another Christ – and, as St. Josemaría would say, “Ipse Christus” – Christ Himself! If we do not live as Christ, then how can we say with St. Paul that “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20)?
So, you rightly ask, from whence does justice come? What does justice mean if not “just desserts” for evil actors who engage in evil actions? When do I get to defend myself and others who are under my charge? The Church has always understood that in an immediate situation, one may legitimately defend oneself and those under our charge, even to the point of killing the attacker, if necessary. But this is not understood as vengeance or retaliation, but rather as a tragedy. The attacker, having forfeited his rights in the moment, has had to be neutralized because of the duty one has towards oneself and others.
It is this concept of duty that gives us clarity to understand how true justice works. Justice is NOT fundamentally me demanding my rights from another. Justice, rather, is me giving to another what is due them. It is other-focused, not self-focused. Simply, and without giving a comprehensive treatise on the full nature of justice, we can say that this happens in 3 basic ways: between individuals, from the state toward the individual, and from the individual toward the state. If justice in each of these cases is primarily about being just towards the other, then what responsibility to be good and just falls on each one of us!
It is imperative that I act justly and give another – my fellow man and the state – his due. It is imperative that leaders, who must decide how to be just according the common good, likewise act justly and even possess the virtue of justice. These leaders (i.e. the state) must decide, for the sake of the common good, how to respond to crimes. Yet even in these cases, it is not about retaliation. It is about the common good. Punishment has 3 purposes: to right the scales of justice, to reform the sinner, and to deter others from future sin. Vengeance and retaliation are not listed here.
How, then, should I respond when the state does not safeguard justice for me? The current response is outrage and taking matters into my own hands. Romans 13:1-7 presents a different approach: “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore he who resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment” (v. 1-2). Scripture shows St. Paul willingly submitting to the authorities, even when they unjustly imprison him for years on end. The witness of the martyrs likewise follows this willing submission – while they will not break the law of God in defiance of those authorities, they will accept death, even joyfully, as a consequence of their defiance.
These martyrs give us great example, great hope, and great courage. You see, our first responsibility of justice is to God – this is the virtue of religion – and its adherence is the greatest legacy we can pass on to future generations, greater than the legacy of a more perfect civil society, because such perfection cannot happen without just souls to lead it. If they do not fulfill their duties of justice to God whose love is infinite, but whose punishment is eternal, I do not expect that they will fulfill those duties to the rest of us.
In Christ,
Fr. Christensen