As Annandale graduates face college and many temptations against God’s laws, I recall that one of my first essays in college was about the medieval poem, "Beowulf." And my thesis was that "Order requires obedience."
I earned an A. Only, I have never actually been very humble or obedient. And it seems that there is an impulsive, rebel streak in America, also. Perhaps that is why we see so much unhappiness – sometimes even chaos in the streets – though we are the wealthiest country in history.
Personally, I’m not entirely sure that the Revolutionary War was a just war. Not that I want us to be under England. But it takes a lot of justifying to justify something as devastating and heartbreaking as a war. But perhaps because we have a rebel streak, we just tend to assume that the Revolutionary War was justified.
The same goes for the "Reformation," which also involved terrible and lengthy wars, and – even according to the rebellious Luther – a catastrophic rise in immorality, beyond anything seen in those obedient to the Papacy.
The Bible says to "Never return evil for evil." So why is it so hard for me and others to obey or humbly suffer, without retaliation? Perhaps the answer is related to the fact that we Americans tend to believe in heaven much more than in hell or purgation. It seems that we are pretty prideful and feel that we aren’t very big sinners, and shouldn’t have to submit too much, even to the church of God. Nor suffer much, even for Jesus. This seems reflected in the way even many educated Catholics disagree with some major church teachings and rarely, if ever, go to confession.
So what is the good news for even the biggest sinners, like me? The good news is that despite our disobedience and pride, we in Annandale, despite what we deserve, are not actually in hell. Nor even in the unimaginable pains of purgatory. So we still have a little time to understand that rebellion is not at all a virtue. And we can pray to a woman in Annandale – the kind mother of God – who always obeyed God perfectly, in all humility and love. Through her immaculate heart, we can learn to listen to the all-merciful Jesus, and – even blindly – obey.