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15 Sept 2025

 

Living In The Light

The murder of Charlie Kirk by a “radicalized” youth underscores the fact that the ageless struggle between freedom and its legitimate limitations has always been a central component of human nature. Closer to the heart of America, this historic struggle continues ever-so-painfully in our own culture.

This is a moral struggle which is evident in the fact that our country is plagued by lies and distortions (even in grade schools) which deride America’s History whilst hiding behind our Constitution and leading us to sickening violence.

As intelligent adults, we should all be fully aware of the damage which these lies and intentional exaggerations do especially to our young people. The admonition of St. Paul is clear: “Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings…”

Whom To Trust

One of many tragic outcomes of this struggle is that lies and exaggerations by present and past government officials diminish trust in our leaders. I wonder: Have these perpetrators jettisoned the laws of God, common sense, civility and moral decency?

Furthermore, we are deeply troubled by murder and suicide among even high schoolers and younger children. Such behavior was unthinkable a few decades ago. Now, children see violence given daily attention.

There’s no doubt that such morally errant behavior has deleterious influence upon our young. Recent studies clearly indicate that honesty and self-control among our nation’s children have greatly decreased in recent years. See for yourself:
Conscientiousness Is Declining Among Young Americans: Why? | Institute for Family Studies


We have become a culture which stifles morality in every public forum … State, education, entertainment, even some churches. A troubling example in the political sphere are the views of Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, who recently said that human freedoms come from the State, not from God.

During a recent Senate hearing, Sen. Kaine stated: “The notion that rights don’t come from laws and don’t come from the government, but come from the Creator — that’s what the Iranian government believes.”

The Senator compared the Constitutional principle that human rights come from God to Iranian theocracy. At best, his words reveal a deeply distressing misconception of America’s founding philosophy. The practical outcomes of his view of state control are deeply disturbing, as History clearly attests.

Ignoring The Essentials

These tragic events indicate the foolishness of trying to build a family or a community or a nation without the essential moral parameters which are most effectively and thoroughly detailed in the Christian Faith.

What is the origin of our moral malaise? (1) Ideologies which argue for unrestrained “freedoms;” (2) The reckless denial of the human condition’s undeniable need for responsible moral restraints; and, (3) Our refusal to acknowledge our created status as children - children - of our Creator God.

Without restraints, everyone is prone to unruly self-assertion. This is obvious to every parent and teacher. That’s why we speak of discipline, whose root meaning (“disciplina” in Latin) is “learning,” not punishment.

If we are ever to make sense of our lives and the lives of our children, we must exercise self-control and respect Truth. We must remember that we are never free of God’s Commandments. We must honor the Virtues which lead us to Goodness and Wisdom. This is the path to true freedom, to Kindness even to those who reject our insights … and reject us.

From The Beginning

Learning the Virtues must start early in life. The roles of parent and teacher are crucial in teaching self-restraint to the child by word and example. Parents and teachers educate the child to behave with civility and to seek tranquility of soul -- to understand that God and morality are the core of individuality and are the best guides for the community. There are no substitutes.

This early learning process is the basis of maturity for individuals and for whole nations. This process occurs most effectively within traditional family life, led by a father (male) and mother (female).

Today, we witness the extensive breakdown of parenting from many sources, the disintegration of traditional family life (especially the role of the father) and denigration of authentic, God-given parental authority upon which family unity rests.

What’s Normal

In polite society, we think of madness as a clinical category. But these days, it’s madness to think that authentic freedom can be achieved without limiting our so-called "rights" according to the restraints of God’s moral expectations.

History offers consistent, irrefutable testimony that human affairs have always needed the moral restraints given to us by our Creator. Problems arise when we contradict or deny this fundamental truth of human nature.

Yes, there’s always the danger that restraints by governments may initiate authoritarian controls which smother true freedom. So, let us be clear: neither the State nor faddish social movements possess ultimate authority. The State may ratify our God-given rights, may specify the application of our freedoms according to the moral needs of community. But the State is not the origin of human freedoms. That power belongs to our Creator God alone.

The Up-Side Of All This

Thus, we are not totally free to do as we please. Restraints are essential, be they self-imposed or applied by a legitimate agency of Church or State. Personal and community limits are realistic and essential necessity of the human condition.

Where does this leave us? What can we do?

For starters, here are a few thoughts:
v James Kalb writes that “… practical improvements in our public life are undoubtedly possible, and we need to support them. But what we really need is love of God. Without that, an order worthy of human nature becomes impossible.”

Angelo Roncalli (Pope John XXIII) wrote of “the absurd attempt to reconstruct a solid and fruitful temporal order divorced from God.” If we heal that breach in our own lives, he believed, then we will be in a position to persuade others. Charlie Kirk’s life is a sterling example of this principle.

Steven Umbrello is the managing director at the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies in Willington, Connecticut, and a research fellow at the University of Turin. He says that our powers of thinking, choosing and our moral responsibilities “point to a deeper reality that can’t be reduced to neural activity.”

He continues: “… Catholic philosophy has long distinguished between the subjective interiority of the soul and the objective mechanisms of the body.” And he adds that if we disregard the human need for God, we risk “the erosion of moral categories like responsibility, love and suffering.”

What To Do: A Response

What can each individual do?

My response to these challenges is offered in the Catholic fulness of the Christian message, to which Charlie Kirk (and now, his wife Erika, a convert to the Catholic Faith) devoted his life.

To begin with, in Psalm 101, the author David makes it clear that before all else, he truly wishes to give his life to his Creator. Let us borrow David’s thoughts and desires as our own:

We will sing of your love and justice and give you praise, Lord. We will be careful to lead blameless lives and hope you come to us. We will conduct ourselves with blameless hearts, and we will not look with approval on anything that is wrong. We will have nothing to do with what is evil and we will strive to do what is inspired by Goodness and Wisdom and Kindness, always within the boundaries of Your Truth.

Among the countless Christian beliefs which may inspire us (if we open our hearts and minds) are the fundamental truths that (1) we are created as Children of God, (2) that we are called to Goodness, and (3) that we are created to love God and our neighbor as we properly love ourselves.

These basics open us to unending options.

For example, the Corporal Works of Mercy illustrate ways we may show our true love - Charity - toward others. This is why we feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked and shelter the homeless; why we attend to the sick and visit the imprisoned; why we bury the dead as we respect the human body even after death.

Moreover, the Spiritual Works of Mercy add to the Goodness we may strive to instill in this world. This is why we admonish the sinner when we can. This is why we instruct those who are morally searching (i.e., especially today, when so many people are confused about the evils of abortion, transgenderism, active gay life, telling lies, abusing drugs and alcohol, etc.). This is why we counsel the doubtful and comfort the sorrowful, why we bear wrongs patiently, why we forgive all injuries, why we pray for the living and the dead.

These Works of Mercy aid other people (even strangers are our neighbors) in their spiritual and bodily needs.

We are called at birth to live virtuous lives, not to spread lies or numb ourselves to the challenges of Virtue.

We are called at birth to hold to our Faith, to live in Hope, to Love God, self and others – even those who hurt us.

We are called at birth to live Prudently, to honor Justice eve in small ways, to practice Fortitude and Temperance in our words and our actions … and, as St. Paul urges, to stay the course of Goodness, no matter what may hurt or distract us.

Finally, let us always remember with unwavering Gratitude that, as we struggle to be more than our human urges allow, God does indeed smile. And when we are plagued by loneliness or riddled with doubt or bereft of solace, we must remember that we are not alone. God’s loving presence is constant in our lives. We are never alone.