Catholic Kermit

In Contemporary Philosophy class, our latest discussions have always come back to the treatment of the poor and ignored people in society.  Karl Marx‘s Communist Manifesto seems to over-emphasize the poor in his philosophy while Adam Smith‘s The Wealth of Nations seems to minimize them.  Fr Santos constantly compared & contrasted Communism with Captitalism with Catholic Social Teaching.  He also reminded us of the Catholic Church’s greatest kept secret, the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church that highlights the social teachings of the Church.  It’s a great read and good for spiritual reading.  [text available on Vatican website here]

As I was seaching YouTube, I also found a video for a song that fits my reflections today.  It’s another song by Kendall Payne (one of my favorite Christian vocalist).  It’s not that well known, but is probably my favorite of hers to date.  It’s off her first album Jordan’s Sister, called “Modern Day Moses.”  Here’s the lyrics:

a modern day Moses, waking the streets
with shouts of glory, blistered feet
he’s met the maker, he’s met the reason he’s alive
and he’s on fire inside

a modern day mother, living in the slums
feeding the hungry, making sure the race gets run,
always asking if we fought with steady feet
she fights on her knees

let my people go (4x)

a modern day Martin in a world of civil words exchange
but dreaming bigger, thinks maybe he could make a change
he’s heard the stories, he wants some of his own
and he’s not alone. (no, no, no ...)

[chorus]
(bridge)

the time is not the moments here,
walk in faith or stand in fear
change the course of history,
did you ever think, no one ever though
— who would have believed?

a modern day Me, what have i become, what can i be?
if there is greatness out there to be achieved
i want to be more than someone who just passes through this life
i want to stand up for what is right

[chorus]

The YouTube video (above), featuring Kendall Payne’s song Modern Day Moses, is just a collage of scenes from 7th Heaven of people that the Camden family has helped over the years.  I’ve never been a big 7th Heaven fan, but charity is a great running theme for this post, so it’s ok here!  🙂