It's been one of those nights where I find myself thinking of the big picture, this time pondering warfare, philosophy, religion, and politics. This is a true "ramble" full of generalizations and broad, sweeping statements. But I think, generally, true.

We are always at war these days. The favorite enemy right now seems to be terrorists hiding in Islamic nations and the nations who cooperate with them. In the past, it was Hitler's national socialism, the Communists under Stalin, the Fascists under Mussolini, and innumerable others. Many millions have died, and for what? What do us in the Western world fight so hard to preserve?

The buzzword is "freedom," but what does that word mean, exactly? The answer is very complex. In my off-the-cuff rambling, I suggest it entails an entire framework of incredibly powerful ideas that we take for granted, much to our detriment, these days: the dignity of the human person, importance of inalienable rights, religious freedom, existence of an innate conscience in each of us, the rationality of creation, and the existence of a transcendent "Good" that all men seek, to name a few.

These ideas have shaped nations in the Western world for thousands of years. They are given us by Plato, Aristotle, Saint Augustine, to name a few off the top of my head. These ideas were taken up by the Catholic Church, refined, and spread throughout the world for the betterment of all mankind. Science, technology, racial equality, religious freedom, and our ideas of justice all flow from these ideas, whether we remember it or not. God has worked through the Church to preserve what we call "freedom" in this half of the globe. But today we seem to be apathetic about these ideas. Relativism is taking over.

We're straying from our Western ideological patrimony. And whenever we stray from them, bad things happen (Hitler and Mussolini, as I mentioned). The prime example today of our forgetfulness is Britain's toying around with the idea of allowing Islamic Sharia Law to be enforced in Islamic communities there.

We are forgetting our Christian heritage in the name of relativistic, political correctness. And that worries me. What is replacing it, and how bad will it be?

The image above is Raphael's "School of Athens." I took the snapshot when I visited the Vatican in 2006. Click here for info on the painting.

My friend Dawn Mull pointed out an interesting video clip encouraging Catholics to get out and vote. I think it does a good job of pointing out the issues and their relative importance in this year's election yet refrains from attacking anyone. It's aimed at Catholics, obviously. But the message applies to everyone. Check it out:

Interestingly, the message of this video was reiterated by the Pope himself on September 11th while he was speaking in Paraguay. Here is an excerpt from an article detailing the Pope's speech:

Benedict XVI explained that the specific vocation of the laity "consists in instilling the Christian spirit in the temporal order and transforming it according to the divine plan." He affirmed that "a significant aspect of their mission" is "the exercise of politics." Hence, it is necessary "to encourage them to live this important dimension of social charity with responsibility and dedication," in order to promote "justice, honesty and the defense of true and authentic values, such as the safeguarding of human life, marriage and the family," he added. In this way, "they contribute to the real human and spiritual good of the whole society."

Click here for the rest of that article, found on Zenit.

This is all old news, by the way. The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium), one of the products of Vatican II and released in 1964, described that the laity are all called to the "sanctification of the world, as from within like leaven." The Church's hierarchy and priests are here to help you by preaching, teaching, and sanctifying your life (via the Sacraments). But you, as lay persons, are called to bring Christ out into the world and to transform the world for the better. This is no easy task. I highly recommend that every adult lay person take a look at sections 31-38 of Lumen Gentium. Another good resource as we approach this election is the U.S. Bishops' "Faithful Citizenship" guide.

-Jason

Classes are in full swing here at Kenrick Seminary. I'm busy studying Latin, sin, grace, the Second Vatican Council, moral theology, and the writings of Saint Paul. Things are off to a good start.

Naturally, now that I have settled into my routine once again, it's time to think about the next vacation, right? My buddy Jesse has convinced me that Christmas Break would be a great time to traverse the third section of the Adventure Cycling Southern Tier Route, from El Paso, TX, to Del Rio, TX. Over the last few years the two of us rode (in two separate trips) from San Diego, CA, to El Paso, TX. Eventually, we'll get to Florida. It will take a while, since we're doing it in 10-day chunks when we have vacation time, but we'll get there.

This trip will probably be the most desolate of all the trips I've taken before. There's not much out there in Texas! But with our trusty maps and some planning, we'll make it just fine.

-Jason