THE FRUIT OF SELF LOVE IS COMPASSION

Sisters and brothers. I mention sisters first not because of some outdated sense of chivalry. Rather, I do so as a small protest against centuries of oppression. Women want to be treated as equals, not placed on a pedestal or stepped on, but share the same dignity as men. Women have grown tired of favored treatment which really is an indirect way of putting them down including all the things men used to do: opening doors, carrying bags, giving flowers, writing little notes - all that belongs to the past.

We can sum up the Gospel by saying that Jesus came to tell us how good we are. The reason we have so many problems is because of our lack of self-esteem. Take for example Adolph Hitler. His low self-esteem caused him to look down on Jews, Slavs, gypsies and homosexuals. If only someone would have affirmed him, shown him real unconditional acceptance, World War II might have been averted. That same low self-esteem causes teen pregnancy, gang violence, even suicide. We Catholics need to remind people how good they really are.

Many people just do not understand this. Their minds are closed like the scribes and Pharisees. They prefer rules and regulations to unconditional love. Quite frankly, they make me sick. They are always saying "do this" and "don't do that." All their "shoulds" and "musts" drive others to promiscuity, drug use, and other self-destructive behavior. And, they drive people from the Church.

The most important rule is to not put one person above another. We are all equal. That is the great revelation of Jesus. We must stop judging. Instead, we should accept each person no matter what their race, creed, gender, or sexual orientation.

We Catholics used to consider ourselves superior to Protestants, even think we were the only ones who would go to heaven! It is highly unfortunate that the Vatican Council II document, "The Decree on Ecumenism" states that, "The full means of salvation are to be found only within the Catholic Church."

Catholics do not have a corner on God's love. God loves us all, no matter what we believe, what we do. If only we could learn to be tolerant, to celebrate diversity. Imagine what it would be like: Catholics and Protestants, blacks and whites, gays and straights, men and women, all of us loving each other. When you look below these surface characteristics, there is no difference between any of us. We are all made by God in God's image.

We need to learn tolerance, to respect the beliefs of every person. Do you think God is going to reject someone because they are a Buddhist or Jew? Every person's belief deserves respect - unless they try to impose it on someone else. Unfortunately, some people act like they have cornered the truth - for example, Jehovah Witnesses and Fundamentalists - and, I am sorry to say, conservative Catholics who want to make their faith beliefs the law of the land regarding contraception, abortion, and homosexuality.

Don't get me wrong, I am conservative in the traditional sense of the word. I want to conserve the good things in our Catholic tradition, but not put them above the beliefs of others.  At an earlier stage in my life, I thought all of the dogma and doctrine of the Church was true as well as the propaganda that flows from it, but I've grown beyond that. However, there are still people who hold these false beliefs as truth from the mouth of God. They think their beliefs are the only truth. This kind of intolerance has to stop. It is what is behind so much violence both in our country and in the world.

All religions are good and each one is a valid path to God. We should never proselytize, that is, try to convert someone. What we should do is live such kind, unselfish lives that people will see us and ask, "How did he or she become so perfect?" Only then can we talk to them about our religion. But if someone does notice an imperfection in us, we need to be ready to defend ourselves. I know this sounds like what the Pharisees did, but it is actually a good way of drawing people out and explaining who we are.

In the spirit of Vatican II we know that for God it is more important what we do for others than what we believe. At the end of the day he will ask us whether or not we showed compassion, I mean real compassion, like when we saw a person or animal suffering, felt sorry, and did whatever we could to help.

I know a man who others judged because he left his wife and children for a younger woman. She eventually left him because she could not tolerate his alcoholic lifestyle. But when that man was down and out he saw a stray cat limping along as best it could. He tried to help, but the cat scratched him.

The important part of this story is not what the man did wrong in his life but that he showed compassion. Do you think God will hold him to some man-made or Church-made set of rules? Do you think it will matter to God whether or not he came to Mass? Or, will God see his compassion and forgive his sins?

Sisters and brothers, this is the Good News: We do not need to worry about a laundry list of sins. Jesus came to show us what really matters is how we feel inside. The important thing is to get in touch with yourself, get comfortable with and accept yourself just the way you are. When Jesus said to repent, he meant to stop all that negative thinking. He meant to stop all the self-destructive behavior. He meant to love yourself and through this love demonstrate your love for others with compassion.