CALLED TO PROCLAIM AND LIVE WITH MORAL COURAGE

by Sr. Brenda Walsh, Racine Dominican

In recent times, many people are looking for “integrity”, which often seems to be lacking in an evolving universe. When we watch the evening news, stories of indictments, criminal investigations, guilty pleas, and wars have led the public to believe that integrity, lack of courage and ethical standards are missing in our society today. This is often true in government, economics, social interaction, and sometimes even in church life. G. K. Chesterton once said: ”Christianity has not failed. It has never really been tried.” Perhaps other groups feel the same way about their moral codes. When we separate our ethical standards from the rest of life in our daily activities and decisions, they have little influences on the choices we make. What seems to be missing is moral vision of the kind of world or nation we want to create, a world that reflects God’s design and purpose. That vision and courage must be carried into board room and class room. into the halls of government and religious gatherings. Hopefully this will remind people to make good decisions that will reflect God’s plan, and will have good and just social and moral consequences.

As we share this vision and grow in moral courage, we can learn how to challenge our reliance on nuclear and military power and choose peaceful ways of solving problems. It will also challenge our addiction to wealth and high standard of living and think more of the common good. We can get together in small groups and imagine the kind of world God wants us to create. It will be a life away from power and control, class and privilege, and to see life as a sacred journey and not as a secular adventure for our own gain.

I recall a time when I was in India, at a conference on development and caring for the poor, the first thing we were taught was to greet each person we met with the word “Namaste”. It means I honor the Divine in you for your innate goodness and the divine spark within you, and the potential you have. From this foundation, respect, moral codes, truth-telling, and moral empowerment could be greatly enhanced. Moral courage takes place every day in all our interactions. We need to create circles of care and concern in our conversations, about sustainable living, respect for the environment, the prejudices we carry and express in our daily interactions. If we consider God as our partner in all our choices and activities, we will be assured of a good outcome. In this partnership, we will be proclaiming God’s power in every aspect of our lives, both public and private. 

Truth-seeking and truth-telling and living and acting with moral courage can be learned and taught in many unique ways. Children and youth need to learn this from the adults in their lives. The presence or absence of these values can shed light on many of the world’s most outstanding successes or failures, tragedies or triumphs down through the ages to our present time. Now is a good time to reclaim our moral courage so that we and our descendants may live with hope, meaning and peace all of their days. We must also have the  courage to speak out boldly against injustice wherever we see it.