Day 3 - Marc Sangnier

April 3 - Marc Sangnier, 1873-1950

"The truth must be sought with all one's soul...Love is stronger than hate."

Marc Sangnier worked hard to find a common ground between Catholicism and the ideals of liberty and democracy.  He founded a group that became known as the Sillons that were committed to their faith and the Catholic church, but also equally filled with a zeal for justice.  While this movement became popular amongst the laity, it was eventually condemned by the pope and the Catholic church.

In a letter written by Pope Pius X in 1910, he even went so far as to say "The true friends of the people are neither revolutionaries nor innovators, but traditionalists."

I just got home from participating in the Easter Vigil liturgy and that last statement is what really jumps out at me.  As I've been hearing again the story of Jesus' persecution, death and resurrection, I've been thinking a lot about how throughout history people in positions of authority or power are threatened by anyone advocating justice and change.  Jesus was crucified because his message of love and salvation for EVERYONE was so threatening to the Jewish authorities and their power.  Sangnier's message of social justice and the rights of everyone was threatening to the hierarchy of the Catholic church.

I think we often forget just how much of a revolutionary Jesus was.  His message of love and service and justice doesn't seem so radical when we hear it today, because we're used to it.  But at the time, what he was advocating was nothing less than a complete upheaval of the social order.  And it was so threatening because if God loved everyone, regardless of any of the things that differentiate us, then the leaders of the day would no longer have as much power.

We love that power.  Each of us has reasons large and small why we don't fully pursue social justice everyday.  We become comfortable in our lives and it's easy to postpone or put aside the work of God.  Because, in the end, to achieve God's justice, I might have to give up some of what makes me so comfortable in order to achieve a more level playing field.

It makes me a little uncomfortable to think about the excuses I come up with to put off striving for God's justice for another day or to let someone else do the dirty work.  And I think that's probably good.  It should make me uncomfortable.  I'll never fully achieve what I am meant to do.  All I can do is try.  And feeling a little uncomfortable along the way is just a reminder that what God calls us to do may seem easy, but he's the only one who was able to completely live it out.

I pray that I can release my grip on the power that society grants me just a little bit so that I might be more willing to share it those around me.