Brian R Corbin's Reflections on Religion and Life

Living Your Faith as Citizens and Leaders in Politics, Culture, Society and Business

July 18, 2011 • 7:47 pm 0

thank you so much for all your wonderful

thank you so much for all your wonderful birthday wishes. Much appreciate it. Your words provided much joy, Thanks

July 14, 2011 • 8:28 pm 0

Witness of the Gospel in the world of ch

Witness of the Gospel in the world of charity – July 15, 40 yrs ago, Paul VI instituted the Pontifical Council Cor Unum http://shar.es/HAIHT

Filed under: Uncategorized

July 4, 2011 • 8:38 pm 0

Where do some of our economic ideas come from?

There are times while reading newspapers’ opinion columns, and watching 24/7 newscasts, that I become somewhat confused about the best and most moral way to interject politics into the economy, especially during this continued Great Recession. I too wonder what our tax policy should espouse. I try to imagine the proper role of the government in regulations of markets. Then I realize that there is the rub to all this: Can we even talk about morals and the economy in the same sentence? No where do I read or hear on radio or TV any call for a moral review of our economic policies and perspectives. Add to that, there are few if any commentaries in the current public discourse about how the tenets of our faith traditions, especially Roman Catholicism, can shed light on economic fundamentals and consequences.

Angus Sibley’s “The ‘Poisoned Spring’ of Economic Libertarianism; Menger, Mises, Hayek, Rothbard: A Critique from Catholic Social Teaching of the ‘Austrian School’ of Economics” (Pax Romana/CMICA-USA, 2011) provides such a critique and analysis of our global political economy that led to the Great Recession of 2008/9, and its current aftermath. Sibley argues that the philosophical-theological perspective of Catholic social theory can and does bring much to the debate about the role of the state and the economy. His most important contribution, in this reader’s estimation, is his critical review and analysis of the hyper-competitive, outrageous anti-statism and supra-individualistic ideology of the libertarian movement based in the Austrian School of Economics. Sibley methodologically articulates and deconstructs the philosophical underpinnings of notable economists from the Austrian School, namely, Carl Menger, Ludwig von Mises, and Friedrich von Hayek. The author then directly criticizes the failed and disingenuous attempt, he calls it ‘heresy,’ by some Catholic thinkers, like Michael Novak and Robert Sirico, of justifying Austrian libertarianism within Roman Catholic social thought.

This book provides an excellent review of how philosophical assumptions can parade as immutable laws of nature, rejecting any interference from governmental regulations and moralists. Sibley sheds light on the fundamental assumptions of our current debates in political economy that are rooted in a specific school of economics which “believes” in immutable laws detached from human life. He offers reflections from the Catholic moral tradition to provide a counter-weight to the assumption that economics is a non-moral activity. This book is ideal for business ethics, history of ideas, and/or political economy classes.

Filed under: consumerism, Culture, Economic Policy, Market Place, morals, Personal Reflections, Politics, Social Doctrine, Social Justice

June 29, 2011 • 9:44 pm 0

Reflections by Msgr. Lewis Gaetano, Canton, OH on Corpus Christi

Stewards of Christ’s Presence: the Body of Christ

This weekend we celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi (Body and Blood of Christ). The feast celebrates who we are as a community of disciples and it remains a challenge for us as individuals and as a community, given our culture. Our culture tends to objectify things around us primarily for their instrumental value – that is how they can be used for our good or pleasure. My car is an object which is disposable at a certain point; my clothing is disposable at a certain point, either when the clothing wears out or goes out of style. Unfortunately, this not only happens with material objects, but occurs with people and in our relationships.

People can become mere means to an end or seen as having simple instrumental value. If someone wants to advance in a job, there are people who can be used in order to step further up the ladder – these persons become an instrument and object or my particular use. In a marriage, a spouse can fulfill a desire for intimacy or happiness for a period of time – an object or instrument of my fulfillment or need which can then be disposed of when no longer able to fulfill my immediate desires or even long range goals. The list can go on and on.

Today, we can reflect on St. Augustine who reminds us that “we are what we receive” in the Eucharist. We celebrate our life as a Eucharistic Community, for we are the Mystical Body of Christ. It is through our baptism that we are totally immersed into the life of Christ as God’s Beloved, and that immersion is deepened and intensified in the celebration of the Eucharist, continually transforming us into “that which we receive” – the Body of Christ. In Christ’s Spirit we are brought to life as God’s people, bringing our communal life toward a greater fulfillment.

You will notice that I speak of God’s people and our communal life. The emphasis is not on the “individualism” that characterizes our culture, but on that which we bring as individuals to the table of the Lord. We bring our own personalities, our own gifts and talents, however we place them on the altar (represented in the gifts of bread and wine) so that the Lord may take us (unique personalities, gifts and talents) and transform us – allowing us to become a real presence in the world of Christ’s love. Jesus the human face of God, continues the mission of His Father in the world, through the Mystical Body of Christ – the Church.

The Mystical Body of Christ, the Church, has a human face in you and in me. We love in the name of Christ, we heal the broken-hearted in the name of Christ, and we forgive in the name of Christ. All that we do as Church is in the name of Christ. It is the grace of the Holy Spirit that empowers us to do the work of Christ, not our own power or our own willfulness or our own designs. It is the love of God, through the grace of Jesus Christ and in the life of the Holy Spirit that we find our true meaning. We come to the table, knowing that we each have a place at the table – and then we ask the Lord to transform our lives individually and as a community, enabling us to “become what we eat.”

Filed under: morals, Personal Reflections, Spirituality, Spirituality

June 29, 2011 • 1:32 pm 0