Building Catholic Cultures and Sub-Cultures for Vehicles for Good

A lot of times we see secular organizations, political ideologies, groups of people, or even countries fail miserably at what they/we attempt to achieve. This is especially true when it comes to advancing the cause of Righteousness, Justice, or some other worthy cause. A lot of times see sects, favoritism, internal dissension, and the like begin to develop. And unfortunately, in government today, we even see people lying, stealing, even killing to advance their own selfish interests above and beyond those of everyone else, or even the select group they were formed to protect/advance in the first place.

A culture, or even organizational sub-culture, in which money, position, and/or personal glory is valued and prized above all will produce such failures. A culture that is Godless, and doesn't believe in an all-seeing, all-knowing, presence that sees and knows every thought, word, and deed, and that particularly loves Good and hates Evil, will embolden such treachery. A Godless, individualistic, materialistic culture is just inevitably destined for strife, divisions, and disaster. There is no unity. There is no sense of justice, no concern for the weakest or most needful members. Every member's value simply comes from their present usefulness, and once it become obvious that he is no longer useful for anything, he is discarded.

No matter what the country, or cause, can we not see how a Godly, Catholic community would advance that? As long as it's in accordance with Righteousness, and the Will of God? I mean, can we not seem how a firm belief in God, in all the virtuous qualities He embodies, would not cause us to strive to emulate such virtues. Virtues such as Courage, Loyalty, Honor, Truthfulness, and Justice? If we understood, as a group, that we would be judged for our actions here on Earth, can we not see how this would discourage the lies, betrayals, backstabbing and neglect of our duties to aid, help, and love one another?

If we valued in common the qualities of Our Saintly Heroes in the past and strove to follow their example, can we not see how that would push us to be all we could be, with the talents and Grace that God has given us? Moreover, if we knew that we were being watched over by such guardians as the saints who have gone before us, and that not only did they care for us and aid us while living, but in our eternal Communion, they still see, and hear, and pray and intercede on our behalf before God? The knowledge of such an interconnected community, that continues both here and after death into eternity, can we not see how that would increase our love and concern for every evil that befalls each other?

A common understanding and way of life is what shapes culture. And cultures inspire and influence their members to do more, to achieve more, and to be more. We all need God's grace, surely, to do even the little that we are currently able to do. But without these common beliefs, goals, and desires, it's just as possible to use God's Grace against Him, in the causes of injustice and wickedness. We need Godly groups and organisations, and communities, here on Earth as well as in eternity. Sometimes we need the extra support and encouragement when our own spirits get beaten down and demoralized. We all need to know that we are part of something bigger than ourselves, and that others will care about us above and beyond our usefulness. That's just part of the human psyche, and why God created us as finite beings that cannot exist, or even reproduce independently. He created us as a social being, to live and love in communion.

If we're ever gonna achieve whatever cause against injustice we are currently impassioned against, we're gonna need help. We're gonna need help from each other on Earth, from our Brothers in Heaven, and from God Almighty. We're gonna need a common set of core values and beliefs and be unified in purpose. We're gonna need a unified love and pursuit of virtue. And we're gonna need a lot of self-sacrifice which comes with the understanding that our work outlives each of us individually, 'cause after all, it's not our work that we're doing, but God's work. We need Catholic Communities and organisations to do this.