On Sept. 29, the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, Archangels. Thereafter, on Sept. 30, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church. In what follows, I will offer a few insights into how we can rely on the intercession of Saint Michael and Saint Jerome in particular in order to collectively defend and promote orthodoxy (the “right reading” of the Church’s teachings, as compared to heterodoxy [the “wrong reading”] and heresy [the “wrong teaching”]) while substantively fostering dialogue and unity in a Church that is sharply – and, frankly, unnecessarily – divided. If charity to ultimately uplift the Kingdom of God is our veritable goal, then this mindset should be our resolve.

In the last few days, I happened to receive in the mail prayer cards and other publications featuring Saint Michael from a few different Catholic organizations: EWTN, the Franciscan Mission Associates, and the Association of Marian Helpers – Marians of the Immaculate Conception. Each of these three groups contributes to the Body of Christ in its own distinct and remarkable way. My reception of these mailings came after my friend, Mike Amodei, a seasoned veteran in Catholic secondary education and other realms of Church life, including the longtime Executive Editor for Adolescent Catechesis at Ave Maria Press, celebrated his 60th birthday on Sept. 17. It seems that Saint Michael, whether in actuality or in namesake, is showing up everywhere! Indeed, we need his intercession now more than ever, in a time when murky forces seem intent on rending the Church apart. From a poignant perspective, as we approach the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, now is probably not a good time to be working against the fabric of the Church’s unity.

Saint Jerome, just like Saint Michael, is readily available to intercede for us in opposition to the forces of darkness. Indeed, he devoted a great deal of his earthly life not only to providing the first cohesive translation of the Bible into one language (Latin, via the Vulgate Bible), but he was also a formidable opponent of heresy. To provide an idea of one of his more “subdued” remarks, Jerome once proclaimed in his Homily on Psalm 5 that “Heretics change or alter their doctrine from day to day. In fact, if a theologian learned in the Scriptures contends with them, overwhelming them with proof from the Sacred Books, what do they do but straightaway look around in search of a new doctrine. They do not seek knowledge for the sake of salvation, but look around for new doctrine to vanquish the opponent.” Nonetheless, Jerome’s interest remained on overturning the heresy per se, while encouraging its promoter to embrace the Gospel instead of alien teachings.

These are times of severe division in the Church, especially in the West. On the eve of the 50th anniversary of Blessed Paul VI’s 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae, American Catholics remain rife with dissent against no diminutive Church teachings related to the Church’s time-honored and time-tested teachings on human sexuality, chastity, marriage and the family, as reinforced by Pew Research poll findings in 2013 and 2015. Let us recall that it was 30 years ago that Saint John Paul II, during one of his papal visits to the United States, spoke against such divisive dissent, as the New York Times reported on Sept. 17, 1987, with the headline “The Papal Visit; Dissent and 'Good Catholics' Are Incompatible, Pope Says.”

Indeed, regrettably, many American Catholics on both sides of the proverbial “aisle” are still given to heeding politicians instead of the bishops when it comes to key circumstances with a clear Christian ethos, such as caring for the immigrant and the refugee, providing for the materially poor, respecting human life from conception to natural death, and embracing other stances that are directly in line with the Good News of Jesus Christ (recall, for instance, his teachings in Matthew 25:31-46, under the heading “The Judgment of the Nations”). In my recent book Our Bishops, Heroes for the New Evangelization: Faithful Shepherds and the Promotion of Lay Doctrinal Literacy, I discuss the need to ensure that we – i.e., the laity especially, but also everyone in any vocation or state of life within the Church broadly – must be sure that we are aware of Christ’s teachings that the Church is inherently tasked with advancing, in order to be able to fend off heterodoxy, although always charitably and with both our soul’s and others’ souls in mind.

Returning to our original emphasis on Saints Michael and Jerome, we must be clear that heterodoxy must be countered in order to draw others into a unitive dynamic as fellow brethren in the Body of Christ. The goal should remain unity and reconciliation, rather than marginalization. If Jesus had a Twitter account, or a Facebook account (although he would probably be too cool to have either, let alone would he be permitted to be verified), what would his comment boxes look like? Would they feature vitriol (either from him or his professed disciples), or would there be an attempt to speak to “the other” with an embodiment of charity and holiness? I have both a Facebook and a Twitter, and I would encourage my fellow Catholics with conspicuous profiles to be visibly charitable, even in the midst of the disagreements that will assuredly come. As Saint Michael the Archangel and Saint Jerome teach us, evil is the problem and the obstacle, not the personhood of our neighbor. We are not always going to agree, and that is why the Church has had, as Karl Keating at Catholic Answers has summarized well, 21 ecumenical councils in order to address the broader issues confronting the Church as it seeks to proclaim the Kingdom of God to all humanity. Saint Michael countered evil and Saint Jerome was likewise a great foe of heresy, but the latter demonstrably did so while still loving the heretic. In order to oppose heterodoxy while fostering dialogue and unity, I propose that we take more seriously our devotion to Saint Michael and Saint Jerome, perhaps relying daily on the “Prayer of Saint Michael.”

Over the next few weeks, my pieces will focus on fostering goodwill and unity between Catholic Christians and Protestant Christians as we approach the reality of five hundred years since the Reformation as of Oct. 31, 2017. Pope Francis has alluded to this scenario, as we see in this November 2016 piece from Vatican Radio: “Pope Urges All Christians to Journey Together Toward Unity.” From a Catholic perspective, prior to expecting unity among Christians of different affiliations, we must be sure to foster unity within the Catholic Church foremost. Prayer, actual goodwill, and a default perspective reflective of the benefit of the doubt are ideal approaches from which to begin, if the well-being of the other – even in the midst of the disagreement that comes – is our true intent, no matter our ministerial roles within the Church. Let us thus close with the words of Saint Paul, who encourages us “to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:1-3). Saint Michael, pray for us! Saint Jerome, pray for us!