What is the morality of the soda ban?

Each day (or at least most days), a little after 4:00pm, my phone lets me know that I have an email.  It is the Dominican Daily bringing me the most recent posts from the Dominican Friars of St. Joseph's Province.  Today's first message made me laugh at its simplicity and its truth.  

Typically, I don't re-quote other people in my blog, but today, I don't know how to say this better.  Thanks Brother Sebastian!  You can get other wisdom from the Order of Preachers or sign up for the Dominican Daily at http://www.ordopraedicatorum.org/TheologyoftheSodaBan

Posted in: Faith & Morals|By: Fr. Kevin Gabriel Gillen, O.P.|June 27, 2012

Student brother Sebastian White, O.P. is a summer fellow at First Things magazine, a publication of The Institute on Religion and Public Life, an interreligious, nonpartisan research and education institute whose purpose is to advance a religiously informed public philosophy for the ordering of society.  As part of his duties, Br. Sebastian publishes regularly at First Thoughts, the blog site for the journal.  Below is an excerpt of his recent blog post :

Theology of the Soda Ban

 It’s the combination of values that is puzzling: a quasi-religious zeal to eliminate soda, salt, and saturated fat on the one hand, and the toleration—nay, promotion—of grave offenses against human dignity and health on the other. When premarital sex, homosexuality, contraception, and abortion are encouraged in health class, isn’t Michael Bloomberg’s crusade against sugary drinks a bit odd? As the Church is backed into a corner because of its teaching on sexuality, and its institutions face increasing pressure to compromise and cooperate with abortion, gay marriage, and contraception, and after the city bans religious groups from using public property, lawmakers are getting moralistic about food. It’s a good thing if people eat less fat and sugar, to be sure, but let’s put first things first.

Why is the American flag hanging on a church?

I didn’t think about it when I got up this morning, but I am wearing white and blue today.  Too bad that I did not reach for a red sweater while getting dressed!  This is the first day of the Fortnight for Freedom.  As an average woman in the pews, I don’t know that I have the ability to effectively speak about the issues that have brought about this Fortnight.  I wonder how I will participate and how these two weeks might change me and my relationship with Jesus.

               

Last night I attended a panel discussion at the Catholic Information Center in DC.  Three articulate women in their 30’s and 40’s traced the timeline and the events that created this need for a national time of prayer for our freedom.  For me, the issue that resonates most is that a person of Catholic faith can’t be Catholic if it is a personal religion.  If Mass doesn’t change me and if I am not able or willing to go take Jesus with me into my everyday life, then I’m not leading a Catholic life.

               

One interesting thought is that, with the government definition of what constitutes a religious institution, Jesus, who reached out to all around him, would not have qualified.  As a convert, one of the things I find most rewarding being a Catholic is the combination of faith and works.  We do reach out to all who have a need, whether it be food and shelter, healthcare, education or other needs.  It is in the Catholic DNA to extend compassion and love and assistance.

                

As I walked to the mail box this morning at work, I saw a huge American flag hanging on the tower of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.  Perhaps many who drive by it on Michigan Avenue today will wonder why the flag is flying on a church.  For me, it is a reminder that these next 14 days are not just ordinary days.  We believe that prayer, study, catechesis and public action will make a difference in the battle for the right to not violate our conscious and will also make a difference in our own lives and how we interact with others.