In theory, and to some degree by nature, I tend to resist extremist views whether liberal or conservative. I still remember my mother stressing “der goldener mittleweg” – the golden middle way.

That does not mean I have not been extremist in some of my views. More than once I have jumped on bandwagons that I later realized were extremist.., sometimes in one direction, sometimes in another.

An article Lourdes and the Common Extremism of the Saints caught my eye. Elizabeth Scalia has no connection to the late Supreme Court Justice. But she is well known to visitors of the Seton Shrine in Emmitsburg. It gave me much food for thought!

The Extremism of Saints

She writes…

While celebrating the memory of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. recently, I spent some time perusing that great man’s Letter from Birmingham Jail. One passage in particular jumped out at me, and — quite surprisingly — it brought to mind St. Bernadette Soubirous, as well as St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.

King wrote: “I gradually gained a bit of satisfaction from being considered an extremist. Was not Jesus an extremist in love? — ‘Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, pray for them that despitefully use you.’ … Was not Paul an extremist for the gospel of Jesus Christ? — ‘I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.’ … Was not Thomas Jefferson an extremist? — ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’ So the question is not whether we will be extremist, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate, or will we be extremists for love…”

When Bernadette Soubirous and Elizabeth Ann Seton each discerned their callings, these future saints gave unstinting witness to their missions, in extreme obedience to truths that brought hope and light to many. They never backed down.

She continues…

It was precisely the sort of extremism for the sake of love that Mother Seton would have understood, for she never backed down either. “You must be in right earnest,” she once said, “or you will do little or nothing for God.”

Archbishop Francis Patrick Kenrick, (1852) said of her “Elizabeth Seton did more for the Church in America than all of us bishops together.”

Pope Francis praise of American “extremists

Scalia’s reflection triggered memories of Pope Francis speaking to the US Congress in 2015.

I would like to mention four of these Americans: Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton.

Remember, in their day, and to a degree even to our day, each generated labels as extremists for

• Daring to free human beings held as slaves
• Dreaming of the day when a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
• Being in the mold of Archbishop Romero – “When I feed the hungry they call me a saint. When I ask why, they call me a communist.
• Uniting contemplation with social criticism

A choice – extremists for hate or love

Jesus rightly earned the title of extremist. Washing the feet of his followers could certainly be called an extreme. Giving his life to demonstrate what it means to love everyone… even those who have murderous hatred in their hearts.

Dr. King rightly phrased the question…

“So, the question is not whether we will be extremist, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate, or will we be extremists for love…”

What is the evidence?

• Where do I often fit on the spectrum of hate and love?
• How often do I water down my commitment to wash the feet of ALL my sisters and brothers?

Originally posted on Vincentian Mindwalk