I have a hummingbird feeder hanging near my office window, a source of much amusement. One little female has delegated to herself the role of sentry. She feeds and then sits on the tippytop of the pole holding the feeder. From there she dive bombs other hummingbirds (mostly other females) to keep them from feeding. Occasionally, a ruby-throated male drops in for a drink, but most of boys apparently have already begun migrating. The females usually remain a bit longer, so the war is usually among the girls. Seems like a lot of wasted energy for nothing but territorial rivalry.
The past few days I've been mostly blogging about the upcoming election. It's generated a lively disagreement about the morality of voting for "the lesser of two evils" vs. the pragmatic practical view that we live in an imperfect world and would do well to choose the candidate who will do the least harm.
It's obvious where I stand, with no apologies. I've never seen Donald Trump as the Savior of the country. I get accused of it all the time from a few commenters who see everything as black and white. If I'm willing to vote for Trump I must worship at his feet.
That's seems to me to me to be, not only a sophomoric view of life, but a little girly as well. If you offer one good thing about Trump, you must be his bestie.
Really? I just shake my head.
The same commenters seem to think if you look at the Russia/Ukraine or Israel/Palestine conflicts as complicated, you are a (Take your pick.) a Putin puppet or Hamas supporter. It gets tiresome.
Black and white issues certainly exist. It is never morally right to murder the innocent or thwart God's plan for new life by using contraception. It is morally wrong to target non-combatants in war or to engage in eugenics or to euthanize the sick and elderly or to hop in the suicide pod and turn on the gas or help someone do it. Using pornography is always wrong. It's not "my body, my choice!" because our bodies don't belong to us; they belong to the one who created them. He's given us the user's manual and we'd all be a lot happier if we followed it.
On the other hand, many moral issues, are complicated and require serious prayer, penance and discernment to decide on the best way to respond. To boil everything in life down to a simple yes or no, right or wrong is impossible. If it were that easy there would be no courses or books on moral theology.
I've learned a lot from some of the thoughtful readers here and I'm grateful for that. I pray for you in appreciation. I also pray for those who are less charitable and play God by judging me and consigning me to hell. Their view of life is clearly the correct one and anyone whose opinion is different is a hater and unchristian. I wonder what they think of John the Baptist who minced no words when it came to denouncing evil.
I reflect on hell often, as St. Robert Bellarmine recommended. One saint whose name I can't recall at present but I think it was one of the many Jesuits, used to put himself in hell during his examination of conscience at the end of the day. He would ask himself what he did that day to deserve to be there. What a sensible man. No wonder he ended up a saint.
As for those who worry more about others going to hell than themselves, they make me laugh. They are like my little hummingbird friend, sitting on top of the feeder dive bombing anyone who comes to drink from one of the five stations.
"Can't you just get along for five minutes?", I ask her? There's plenty for everyone if you just treat the other hummingbirds with a little tolerance. But no, there she sits, high and mighty doing all she can to prevent the others from sharing a meal.
The hummingbird wars offer a metaphor. The fountain of truth is there for all of us. It's a person, Jesus Christ. May we all come to know Him more fully and strive to conform our wills to His. And, may we all remember, that a paramount virtue taught by Christ is charity.
Oremus pro invicem! Let us pray for one another in that charity and act on it, treating others with respect rather than vitriol and arrogance.
This post may not generate as many comments, but it’s one of your best. With age, comes wisdom, to those who have spent a lifetime in pursuit of it. And I thank you for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteWe are fortunate to have Cardinals at our place. What stands out about them is the male (the bright red color) always lets the female (the inconspicuous brown color) go to the feeder or bath first. He takes a strategic position nearby (for protection?) until she flies away. Then he takes his turn. I don’t know what lesson to draw from that. I just think it’s cool.