Political Love #3 and the “Original (Catholic) Fish Fry”

CHAPTER 5

A BETTER KIND OF POLITICS

Social and Political Charity

Political love

182. This political charity is born of a social awareness that transcends every individualistic mindset: “‘Social charity makes us love the common good’, it makes us effectively seek the good of all people, considered not only as individuals or private persons, but also in the social dimension that unites them”.[171] Each of us is fully a person when we are part of a people; at the same time, there are no peoples without respect for the individuality of each person. “People” and “person” are correlative terms. Nonetheless, there are attempts nowadays to reduce persons to isolated individuals easily manipulated by powers pursuing spurious interests. Good politics will seek ways of building communities at every level of social life, in order to recalibrate and reorient globalization and thus avoid its disruptive effects.

One of my disappointments in life is that Catholics give up Fish Fries for Easter. Actually, as is pointed out in today’s Gospel and noted in a Holy Week Homily by Bishop Zurek, the third  resurrection appearance of Jesus was the, “original fish fry,”! This fish story also serves as lesson on how “‘People’ and ‘person’ are correlative terms“, as is stated in paragraph 182 of Fratelli Tutti.

Before he took up denouncing “Cancel Culture”, Bishop Zurek was trying to cancel the culture of “exaggerated frontier individualism”.

I have mentioned in many homilies in recent years that our country is in
dire straits. What Cardinal Avery Dulles, S.J. wrote several years ago in an article seems to have penetrated our country completely. The southwest seems to have evolved a new philosophy which he termed, “exaggerated frontier individualism”. This has dulled our society and permitted a philosophy of “non-distinction; all is equal!” to emerge.

Bishop Patrick J. Zurek, A Reflection on Christian Life, A Letter to St. Mary’s Cathedral

I have searched for Cardinal Dulles and “exaggerated frontier individualism”, but the only document that I can find that puts those two together is Bishop Zurek’s letter. Until our bishop cites his source, I have to think that he is doing what paragraph 182 speaks against; “attempts nowadays to reduce persons to isolated individuals easily manipulated by powers pursuing spurious interests.”

Meanwhile, back at the “Original Fish Fry”, we have Peter who, “tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad,
and jumped into the sea.
…and dragged the net ashore
full of one hundred fifty-three large fish.”

Now if that is not, “exaggerated frontier individualism”, then I don’t know what is!

Even so, he was only able to act, “fully a person” because he was, “part of a people”.

My prayer for today is that in the Diocese of Amarillo we come to realize that,

“there are no peoples without respect for the individuality of each person“, and that I can find some good take-out fried fish for tonight’s supper!