Dear Friends in Christ,
Every day, when watching the news, one hears about someone being “cancelled.” Before now, I never heard the term Cancel Culture. The Pop Cultural Dictionary defines Cancel Culture as “the popular practice of withdrawing support for (canceling) public figures and companies after they have done or said something considered objectionable or offensive. Cancel culture is generally discussed as being performed on social media in the form of group shaming. Wherever one is on the political spectrum, this is a phenomenon that is well worth watching. Anyone can be a target of having their business shut down, being fired from a job or being attacked through the media because of something that is said or printed that bothers someone. I believe that boycotting is a legitimate protest when one finds something objectionable, but the loss of free speech could affect what is most worthy of care: the faith. What happens when various parts of the Holy Gospel become objectionable? As the world becomes less and less interested in the transcendental things in our existence and as there is an outright rejection of the loving Lord, we only imagine that there are parts of the Holy Bible that will be considered hate speech. As we live stream the Holy Mass, could a church be closed from the media because a homily or talk does not jive with our pop culture, it may be canceled. Sadly, we who call ourselves Catholic are quick to cancel the Lord. It begins in subtle ways…don’t mention the faith because we do not want to “upset” anyone. Then we stop practicing the faith. The Mass is something we no longer need…prayer becomes less and less frequent unless we suddenly call out, demanding a miracle…baptisms, First Communions and weddings are mere backdrops for celebrations. The Church’s teachings on marriage and family life are relegated, at best, to a sitcom from the 1950’s. Even manners and etiquette are things from another time. I see this when I greet parishioners after Mass and I am not sure how to interpret a slight nod. After pushing God out of our lives, basic civility goes next and from there, I cannot even imagine. I know that people are terrorized by the Covid crisis. But I share with you my terror: it is a world that more and more rejects the Lord Jesus. My confidence is that we cannot cancel God, the author of life. Violence on the streets and violence in the womb offend the Lord and every attempt to cancel Him fails miserably. I need can only say that there are some very holy people in Our Lady of Hope Parish. I see it in their radiance and in their passion for Jesus. I see the strength being raised up in our prayer groups and in those who make visits to the Most Blessed Sacrament. I see the love for Jesus in those who love the Holy Mass and who write notes of encouragement to their priests. I see Jesus alive in the homebound we visit and those who mourn the loss of a loved one. Jesus cannot be canceled. They tried to cancel Him on Good Friday and we know the rest of the story. I can only beg you, and remind myself, not to cancel Him from our own lives. Ultimately, no one can take Him from us…but we can walk away from Him. In the sixth chapter of Saint John’s Gospel the Lord asks, “Do you also wish to go away?” These words break my heart. Please God, we will answer Him using the words of Simon Peter: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”
God bless you,
Father Szolack