What Catholic Men at Work Can Learn From Ted Kennedy
Ted Kennedy's dead and buried. While the media coverage of his death and funeral was a bit ridiculous in it's "lionizing" of the so-called "lion of the senate," I think we may be able to learn something from him now that he's gone.
His life was controversial. Like it or not, he professed himself to be a Catholic and his wake and funeral were certainly, in some limited way, Catholic.
So what can we as Catholics, more particularly as Catholic men at work, learn from him now?
In my little part of the world, I had quite a few exchanges with family and friends who not only couldn't understand why the Church allowed a public funeral Mass, but even more why none of the Church officials involved even brought up Kennedy's long support of abortion, even partial-birth abortion (among other things!). These folks rightly saw the public scandal that would result from these actions. Further, some of these folks seemed to hate - and I mean really hate - the man.
Confession: while I didn't hate Kennedy, I certainly had little if any respect for him as a politician. As far as Kennedy the man, I knew him only by what was reported in the media and didn't know anyone who ever knew or even met him. My sense is that he was deeply flawed, to say the least.
But back to what we Catholic men at work might learn from all this. in no special order, here's what I came up with.
1) Every time you're tempted to do anything in any way unethical at work, think of Ted Kennedy. He claimed to be a Catholic, yet he supported the murder of innocents. However he justified this (assuming he did, and therefore thought he was following the dictates of his conscience) it does not change the immeasurable damage he did. So let's think of Ted and remember that you can't separate your faith and your work. Nothing ever justifies wrong-doing of any kind. Not even the threat that you will lose your job unless you commit or allow unethical actions.
2) Every time you face personal temptation on the job - to use alleged examples from Teddy's life, fornication, adultery, drunkenness, speaking disrespectfully to or about a woman - think of Kennedy. Think of his bloated appearance and the reported incidents of public drunkenness and sexual deviance. Let his bad behavior help you avoid personal temptation and not set a bad example for others. Picture him in your mind. You don't want people thinking of you the way you might now be thinking of Kennedy, do you?
3) Whenever you're tempted to criticize our Holy Father, the Vatican, our bishops and priests (like the ones involved with the Kennedy funeral), remember that the Church is not flawed institutions and individuals, but the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior - then think of Kennedy. Had he understood that his allegiance was to Jesus Christ first and foremost, he might have remembered that it would be Our Lord who would be judging him in the end.
He might have been better able to pray for the grace to avoid the inevitable temptations that come with money and power. While he seemed to be able to ignore some of his Catholic critics, he might have also been able to ignore those in the Church who excused his scandalous actions and bad behavior. He might instead have thought long and hard about how Our Lord would judge him at the end of his life, and not about how any of us - for better or worse - might have judged him while he was alive.
When you're through thinking about that, after a good examination of conscience, go to confession, being sorry for your sins, with firm purpose of amendment (i.e., not to sin again and perhaps how to make some reparation for your sins). Had Teddy done this on a serious, regular basis, it's hard to imagine him having led the life he led.
4) Challenge yourself and use Kennedy to find the real meaning of 'hate the sin, love the sinner'. He was, for many, a man who inspired disgust, revulsion and, yes, hate. In reality, he is an excellent example of someone we as Catholics should pray for sincerely and with charity in our hearts, tough as that may be.
Think of Kennedy with all his faults and remember that if you can't pray for him and can't do so sincerely and with a heart filled with charity, you're not doing what Our Lord asked - no commanded - us to do. Think of Kennedy and how, had he not ignored Our Lord, he might have turned out to be so different - possibly a really great man. We'll never know.
As for us Catholic men at work, we don't have to ignore Our Lord. We don't have to be like Ted Kennedy. We can continue to hate his sins, but even better to more hate our own sins. And we can, with God's grace, sincerely pray for the repose of his soul, giving him the same benefit of the doubt that, when the time comes, we hope and pray Our Blessed Merciful Lord gives to us.
His life was controversial. Like it or not, he professed himself to be a Catholic and his wake and funeral were certainly, in some limited way, Catholic.
So what can we as Catholics, more particularly as Catholic men at work, learn from him now?
In my little part of the world, I had quite a few exchanges with family and friends who not only couldn't understand why the Church allowed a public funeral Mass, but even more why none of the Church officials involved even brought up Kennedy's long support of abortion, even partial-birth abortion (among other things!). These folks rightly saw the public scandal that would result from these actions. Further, some of these folks seemed to hate - and I mean really hate - the man.
Confession: while I didn't hate Kennedy, I certainly had little if any respect for him as a politician. As far as Kennedy the man, I knew him only by what was reported in the media and didn't know anyone who ever knew or even met him. My sense is that he was deeply flawed, to say the least.
But back to what we Catholic men at work might learn from all this. in no special order, here's what I came up with.
1) Every time you're tempted to do anything in any way unethical at work, think of Ted Kennedy. He claimed to be a Catholic, yet he supported the murder of innocents. However he justified this (assuming he did, and therefore thought he was following the dictates of his conscience) it does not change the immeasurable damage he did. So let's think of Ted and remember that you can't separate your faith and your work. Nothing ever justifies wrong-doing of any kind. Not even the threat that you will lose your job unless you commit or allow unethical actions.
2) Every time you face personal temptation on the job - to use alleged examples from Teddy's life, fornication, adultery, drunkenness, speaking disrespectfully to or about a woman - think of Kennedy. Think of his bloated appearance and the reported incidents of public drunkenness and sexual deviance. Let his bad behavior help you avoid personal temptation and not set a bad example for others. Picture him in your mind. You don't want people thinking of you the way you might now be thinking of Kennedy, do you?
3) Whenever you're tempted to criticize our Holy Father, the Vatican, our bishops and priests (like the ones involved with the Kennedy funeral), remember that the Church is not flawed institutions and individuals, but the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior - then think of Kennedy. Had he understood that his allegiance was to Jesus Christ first and foremost, he might have remembered that it would be Our Lord who would be judging him in the end.
He might have been better able to pray for the grace to avoid the inevitable temptations that come with money and power. While he seemed to be able to ignore some of his Catholic critics, he might have also been able to ignore those in the Church who excused his scandalous actions and bad behavior. He might instead have thought long and hard about how Our Lord would judge him at the end of his life, and not about how any of us - for better or worse - might have judged him while he was alive.
When you're through thinking about that, after a good examination of conscience, go to confession, being sorry for your sins, with firm purpose of amendment (i.e., not to sin again and perhaps how to make some reparation for your sins). Had Teddy done this on a serious, regular basis, it's hard to imagine him having led the life he led.
4) Challenge yourself and use Kennedy to find the real meaning of 'hate the sin, love the sinner'. He was, for many, a man who inspired disgust, revulsion and, yes, hate. In reality, he is an excellent example of someone we as Catholics should pray for sincerely and with charity in our hearts, tough as that may be.
Think of Kennedy with all his faults and remember that if you can't pray for him and can't do so sincerely and with a heart filled with charity, you're not doing what Our Lord asked - no commanded - us to do. Think of Kennedy and how, had he not ignored Our Lord, he might have turned out to be so different - possibly a really great man. We'll never know.
As for us Catholic men at work, we don't have to ignore Our Lord. We don't have to be like Ted Kennedy. We can continue to hate his sins, but even better to more hate our own sins. And we can, with God's grace, sincerely pray for the repose of his soul, giving him the same benefit of the doubt that, when the time comes, we hope and pray Our Blessed Merciful Lord gives to us.
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