My Badge of Honor

For the majority of my life I have considered myself a proud American who happens to be Catholic.  We've been a great and powerful nation that throughout a relatively short history has fought battles to defend less powerful nations; almost always for the sake of freedom and democracy. 

These days, after having recently completed 5 years of Formation for the Permanent Diaconate, I think of myself more and more as a proud Catholic who happens to be an American.  I know that throughout her 2000 plus year history, the Church has battled for religious freedom, for our right to make moral choices, and she has defended those innocents who cannot speak or fight for themselves.  The Catholic Church has a rich history of reaching all corners of the Earth to bring salvation through the Word of God.  She has built hospitals and schools, fought slavery, poverty, and hunger, all in Jesus' name.

In just a few weeks we begin our Lenten season with Ash Wednesday.  As a teenager in the ‘70’s I wore my hair long which was enough to cover the ashes my Parents made me get at Mass on Ash Wednesday.  When my hair didn't cover it, a slight brush of my hand would diminish the mark to a light ‘dusting’.  The last thing I wanted was to stand out with this mark of a Catholic.

Lately, I’ve been attending my teenage Daughter’s faith Formation classes on Sunday evenings in preparation for her Confirmation.  On the rides home each week we have the time to further discuss the subject matter we just learned.  On one such Sunday night, after learning a bit about moral judgment and bioethics, and how the Catholic Church toes the line on such issues as Abortion, IVF, and Euthanasia, I simply started the conversation in the car with; “What did you think about that?’ 

After some thought, my daughter replied, “It isn’t so easy to be a Catholic.”  I was so thrilled to hear her say that because for years I had been teaching my two children that doing the right thing isn't ever easy or popular in an ever-growing secular world.  I instruct them to always challenge what they hear and see in the media and to know that they are the target of the brightest minds on Madison Avenue.

The words from my daughter that night let me know that the right message was getting through, cutting through all the noise.  So now, I’m a proud Catholic Father who happens to be an American.

Oh, and about Ash Wednesday.  Well these days my hair is much shorter and there's less of it but none of that matters to me anymore because these days, I wear those ashes proudly.


Deacon Paul Harney