Blog by Dee Holleran, PR Specialist[/caption]
This weekend, we celebrated the feast day of St. Thomas Aquinas. Watching the political events of the last few days, one of St. Thomas' quotes keeps coming to my mind –
"The things that we love tell us what we are."
What is it that we see loved in our world?
Health care for poor children has languished in Congress since October, but a tax bill that cut taxes for corporations was rushed through in a matter of weeks, mainly under cover of night.
The government has moved to open oil drilling in some of the most fragile areas of our nation's coastline, but one state was exempted because an oil spill might look bad and drive off tourists.
The government literally shut down over the fate of persons in DACA – and reopened with no solution for those who were brought to our country as children and now face deportation. But when faced with a weekend without football for armed service members, government and industry found a solution within hours.
"The things that we love tell us what we are."
As Catholics, and as Dominicans, we are called to love. And as St. Thomas said, the things we love tell us what we are.
A Bishop chooses not to attend a march for unborn life because the keynote speaker opposed Catholic appeals for clemency for prisoners on death row. We are called to love life, in every form, at every stage, in every situation. From the child in the womb to the trafficked woman on the street, the migrant at the border, the hungry, the sick, the poor, the marginalized. When we can love all of these, what we love becomes what we are – love.
We work to protect the earth, our sister with whom we share our life and beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us. A Congregation of Catholic Sisters has built a chapel on their rural land to prevent a pipeline, and have filed suit to protect the earth from the harm of fossil fuels. When we step out to protect the gifts God has given us, what we work for becomes what we are – love.
As the Honduran people seek a just government in a country torn by violence, a group of religious leaders stand with them in peaceful resistance. Around the nation, people of all faiths work for justice. When we take a stand for justice, what we believe in becomes what we are – love.
"The things that we love tell us what we are."
Let us love justice. Let us love mercy. Let us love the Earth. Let us be Love. 