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In God We Trust

American Catholics can learn a lot from our country’s patriotic mottos

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Father CarrionIt’s a common question: “Am I a United States citizen who is a Catholic or a Catholic who is a United States citizen?” Another way to ponder it: “Am I a Catholic American or an American Catholic?” Which word is the noun and which is the modifier? 

When the significant mottos from both these realms, secular and sacred, are recited by the same person, seemingly blended together, they can complement each other nicely, or there can be some clashes.

There are so many mottos and phrases that make us who we are. As U.S citizens, we are familiar with the phrases “one nation under God,” “in God we trust” and “e pluribus unum.” As Catholics, we recite weekly, “one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church” when professing the Nicene Creed

While we might hope as Catholics that we could infuse more of our values into American culture, it could also be helpful for us to allow our national heritage to influence how we are as a Church. Hopefully, we don’t take to heart the division between church and state so severely that we prevent all these mottos from being mutually influential. 

The present landscape in dioceses across our nation is the closing of churches and the suppression of parishes. This is a reality in my own diocese, the Archdiocese of Baltimore, and the subject matter of recent articles in this column. While the closures are necessary, they are also unpleasant. 

The marks of the Church — one, holy, catholic, apostolic — roll off our lips effortlessly at Mass. The conundrum is that it takes great effort and much pain actually to meet these marks. That “oneness” is more a hopeful goal than a statement of reality. Even the name the Archdiocese of Baltimore has given its realignment project, “Seek the City to Come,” confirms it is something we are “seeking,” not quite found. 

Seeking Oneness

Even Christ saw oneness as something to seek, for which to hope and strive. “I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you” (Jn 17:20-21).

Our nation, with pride, often references our national motto, “e pluribus unum” (“out of many, one”). Christ did not say we are “one,” but prayed that “we may be one.” But when the parishioners from the many parishes that are closing are told “to be one” with one not closing, Christ’s hopeful optimism “that they may be one” rings true. 

The unrealized desire that is always on our lips when we profess the marks of the Church is certainly true with regards to the “catholic” mark. In these months of constant change as we “Seek the City,” it is more honest to say “one, holy, parochial, apostolic” Church. Holding on to your piece (your parish) and not seeking that which could be found just a few blocks away in the neighboring Catholic church is the reality. 

The entrenchment is palpable. If Catholics can’t fathom why there was a Great Schism over a few words a millennium ago, just tell them their parish is closing and they now have to drive from West Harford Road to East Harford Road for Mass. The pain of Great Schism will be felt again. If, as U.S. citizens, we pledge allegiance to “one nation under God, indivisible” more in hope than reality, could we not do the same hoping we could be “one parish, one Church under God, indivisible”?

The mark of “holy” aligns well with the Second Vatican Council’s “universal call to holiness.” The Church is holy not by anything we are doing but by the grace of Jesus Christ that dwells within it unconditionally. That font of holiness is always there for us to drink.

The “apostolic” mark of the Church is often understood only as something about our historical past and not a present reality. While the Church was founded on the apostles, who were sent out, we are not allowing ourselves to be apostolic ― that is, to be sent ― since we too often don’t like being sent up the street to be the Church in another church. 

If only the Church would embrace the motto written on the currency in our wallets and trust that God is still active and will walk with us as we find the city we are seeking.

FATHER PATRICK CARRION is pastor of five parishes in East Baltimore, Maryland, and director of the Office of Cemetery Management for the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

 

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