There is a lot happening in the US right now- and a lot of discussion about things that are wrong. I think it is good and healthy to take stock- and there is always room for improvement in any organization, be it a family a company or a country. One thing that I am beginning to hear more talk about is sin – and in particular sin as a root problem in our country. I wish it were a bigger discussion, but I am glad that there are at least some people who are willing to examine the role of sin in what ails us. To my way of thinking, and I think most believers in God, sin is actually THE problem.

I recently watched this discussion between Raymond Arroyo- the well known Catholic commentator, and Marc Little, pastor, author and lawyer- on the topic of racism and the current social unrest in America. Marc Little spoke eloquently about the problems of sin- racism is a sin, and so are other issues in our communities such as domestic violence, abortion and more. Fundamentally, people mistreating each other is a “heart problem” and heart problems can only be cured through faith in God. I saw another commentator speaking to a similar point, and he was wearing a shirt that said “Make America Godly Again”- recognizing that as a country we have gotten so far away from the biblical precepts of right and wrong- something that had previously connected much of the country.

There was a recent video of a High School football coach speaking to his players. The coach is black, the players looked to be about 50/50 white and black. The message that the coach was saying to the kids was that they were not going to let the hate of this world permeate their team. That they were going to love one another because God commanded us to do that. That we are all made in the image and likeness of God- and that to grow to be good men (which he said was the primary objective of being on the football team)- they were going to have to practice love in a very proactive way. Love is the opposite of sin. God is love. It was a beautiful thing to have someone so clearly articulate to this group of young men the imperative of acting in love towards one another. It was clear how much this man loves those kids- how great it would be if all of our kids around this country were being fed this message of love instead of hate.

The world seems to be divided right now, but I do believe that most people want to live in harmony with the rest of the world. They want to not have violence in their communities and they don’t want to live in hate. But we can’t ignore that there are people who are consumed by sin and whether that manifests in violence or in otherwise trying to tear each other down we have to make an effort to be the salt and light that God has asked us to be to stop the negativity. We need to pray with all the urgency we can for our country. Our Lady of Guadalupe – pray for us!!