A Knight's Walk in the Kingdom

theophilus November 9th, 2009

In the early nineties, I toured Berlin and stood at what was left of the Berlin Wall.  I was actually kind of amazed because it was just a wall – a man made edifice that we use to hold up structures and tame hillsides.  But, this wall was something more – it was a wall that personified evil.  It was used to crush the human spirit and deny our brothers and sisters on the other side the very basic of the rights given to us by God as his children.

When President Reagan spoke at the Brandenburg Gate in 1987, history remembers his call of “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.”  Unfortunately, other parts of his speech are left without remark.  And, it’s a shame because he gave such an exhilarating embrace of freedom – an embrace that we need in this day and age.

President Reagan was unapologetic about freedom -

“[T]here stands before the entire world one great and inescapable conclusion: Freedom leads to prosperity. Freedom replaces the ancient hatreds among the nations with comity and peace. Freedom is the victor.”

How is truth and prosperity tied to freedom? -

“[T]ruth can flourish only when the journalist is given freedom of speech, so prosperity can come about only when the farmer and businessman enjoy economic freedom.”

Do you want peace – real and lasting peace? -

“[W]e believe that freedom and security go together, that the advance of human liberty can only strengthen the cause of world peace.”

President Reagan then hit his stride -

“[W]e must remember a crucial fact: East and West do not mistrust each other because we are armed; we are armed because we mistrust each other. And our differences are not about weapons but about liberty. When President Kennedy spoke at the City Hall those twenty-four years ago, freedom was encircled, Berlin was under siege. And today, despite all the pressures upon this city, Berlin stands secure in its liberty. And freedom itself is transforming the globe.”

And then came the call for self-reflection for the people of Berlin – the call for self-reflection for us all -

“[W]hat keeps you here? Certainly, there’s a great deal to be said for your fortitude, for your defiant courage. But I believe there’s something deeper, something that involves Berlin’s whole look and feel and way of life – not mere sentiment. No one could live long in Berlin without being completely disabused of illusions. Something instead, that has seen the difficulties of life in Berlin but chose to accept them, that continues to build this good and proud city in contrast to a surrounding totalitarian presence that refuses to release human energies or aspirations. Something that speaks with a powerful voice of affirmation, that says yes to this city, yes to the future, yes to freedom. In a word, I would submit that what keeps you in Berlin is love – love both profound and abiding.

President Reagan then gave the unassailable difference between liberty and oppression -

“Perhaps this gets to the root of the matter, to the most fundamental distinction of all between East and West. The totalitarian world produces backwardness because it does such violence to the spirit, thwarting the human impulse to create, to enjoy, to worship. The totalitarian world finds even symbols of love and our worship an affront.”

And then President Reagan finished with a story that brings us back to the source of our freedom and liberty – back to God.

He told how the East Germans built a huge television tower on Alexander Platz as a grandiose secular monument. Unfortunately for the authorities, the top of the tower turned into a Cross whenever the sun shined. President Reagan used this symbol to emphatically exclaim that “this wall will fall. For it cannot withstand faith; it cannot withstand truth. The wall cannot withstand freedom.”

God gives us freedom as his children; Christ gives us freedom through his Cross.  Let us never ever forget that this freedom is given to us as a divine gift, as a birthright. It is up to us to decide how we will use it and whether we will strengthen it or squander it.

And it’s up to us to pray for those of our brothers and sisters that live under political oppression – that someday their walls will fall as well.

I believe God has a sense of humor, or he just finds innovative ways to get our attention. One way was through the Opening Prayer for this Sunday’s Mass.

“God of power and mercy, protect us from all harm. Give us freedom of spirit and health in mind and body to do your work on earth. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.”

“Freedom of spirit!”  Freedom to do God’s work on earth. On this anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall, let’s renew our commitment to freedom, liberty and peace. Let us gratefully acknowledge and embrace this most divine and precious of gifts, and cast off the illusions that will separate us from this freedom and separate us from God’s plan for us.

• Holy Spirit , Role Models , The Battle , U.S.A.
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theophilus October 29th, 2009

The 40 Days for Life Fall Campaign is coming to an end on Sunday.  The organizers keep a “babies saved” account which counts the number of babies saved (at least for the moment) by their prayer vigils.  This number represents the number of women who come to the abortion clinic with the intention of killing their child and leave with their baby still kicking and breathing.

For this campaign, the count stands at 460.  They also just passed a milestone of 2,000 since these vigils began.

These babies represent the miracle of divine intervention brought about by the prayers of the courageous and faithful opening up the hearts of pregnant mothers with a “choice” to make.

But in all truthfulness, what is this choice?

I was born to a single mother.  It was pre-Roe v. Wade, but I know full well that my mother had a “choice” to make.  Thankfully for me and my family, she listened to God and placed herself and me in the hands of Christ and his Blessed Mother.

I was thinking about this “choice” the other day when I read the Daily Devotional that the 40 Days campaign puts out every day during the campaign.  This particular devotion was written by Fr. Frank Pavone, head of Priests for Life and National Pro-Life Religious Council.  His reflection on this day centered around the nature of this “choice”-

Norma McCorvey (the former Jane Roe of Roe v. Wade) used to work at an abortion mill named “A Choice for Women.” She now realizes what a cruel irony that title was. She saw first hand, just as pregnancy resource center counselors see, that women don’t get abortions because of freedom of choice, but rather because they feel they have no freedom and no choice. They feel trapped, abandoned, desperate and afraid, and have been led to believe that abortion is their only option.

As Frederica Mathewes-Green has written, no want wants an abortion like she wants a Porsche or an ice cream; rather, she wants it like an animal caught in a trap wants to gnaw off its own leg.

“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” That doesn’t mean that the Spirit allows us to do whatever we want or to decide for ourselves what’s right and wrong.

Rather, it means that the Spirit gives us the freedom to do what is right, the power to choose what is good, when we see it before us and yet feel pulled in the opposite direction. Liberty means that we no longer have to feel doomed to do what we know is wrong.

We are the people of the Spirit of the Lord, and when we take action on behalf of life, especially by being present at abortion mills, we are acting on behalf of true freedom, and imparting to those who are in bondage the power to do what is right.

As a kid, I always wondered why God allowed evil to exist.  It’s only really recently that I’ve realized that it’s not necessarily that God permits evil to exist, but that he so loves man that he gives us our freedom.  It’s this freedom that either leads us to embrace the goodness and love of our Father and his Son and his Spirit, or leads us to turn our back on God and allow evil to occur.  It’s not God that permits evil to occur; it’s man.  We have a choice to make; it’s up to us to make the right one.

For the past 40 days, the choice for many throughout the nation has been to exercise their freedom to pray outside the abortion mills.  At times, they were even able to get information in the hands of the mothers entering these abortion mills so that these women would know exactly what choice they were making.  It’s the fact that this information isn’t given to the mother by right that makes the “choice” so ironic.  What kind of choice is it if mothers can’t even see an ultrasound of their baby before they give a nod to the doctor to proceed?  Who truly loves these women and who is trying to hide the truth?

This campaign is the first one that I followed and I wish I could have done more.  The problem is that I’m too chicken to go down there alone.  But I have been to two vigils and I’ve prayed the devotionals everyday.  I’ve been with them in spirit.

But I know that’s not enough.  The Holy Spirit is kicking into gear.  It’s up to all of us who believe in the sanctity of all life and the dignity of all men to step forward to ensure mothers make the right “choice” – just like my mother did oh so long ago.  We have to get off of the sidelines and do something.  Christ is calling us to follow him.  Our Blessed Mother is imploring us to get moving.

BTW, the next campaign starts on Ash Wednesday.  Details to come.

• Culture , God's Call , The Battle , U.S.A. , pro-life
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theophilus October 15th, 2009

There is always a great deal of attention paid when the Church, specifically through our bishops, speak out against abortion.  It gets especially interesting when the Church tries to instruct those Catholics who support abortion, either directly or indirectly.

What is generally lost in this debate is a discussion as to why the Church teaches what it teaches on abortion.  Why does the Church stand so strongly on the side of the unborn?  Why must anti-right-to-life Catholics understand that their action or inaction not only contravenes a major tenet of our faith but subverts the foundation of the dignity of man?

I rarely read the Catechism – should read it more, but I don’t.  The other day was the exception.  I happened to pick it up and came across the section on abortion.  I wish I would have read this stuff earlier because the Catechism makes the abortion decision pretty cut and dry.

In paragraph 2270, we hear that-

Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person – among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.

To support this proposition, the Catechism quotes from Jeremiah 1:5-

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.

And from Psalm 139:15-

My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth.

There is no wiggle room here for any argument that suggests that the unborn child at any stage is anything less than a human being worthy of protection.  God knew us before he formed us; he started his relationship with us before he even made us as man; we were his children from the get-go.

How about those arguments that the Church has only recently came around to a pro-life position?  Paragraph 2271 answers this question-

Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law.

Take a look at this passage from the Didache, one of the earliest writings of the Church, which the Catechism quotes-

You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish.

As for the present, the Church can’t get any stronger than this statement from Guadium et spes-

God, the Lord of life, has entrusted to men the noble mission of safeguarding life, and men must carry it out in a manner worthy of themselves. Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes.

The Church has always officially been against abortion and cannot be much clearer or stronger in its views today – did you see the word “abominable” – sounds real weak-kneed to me.

How serious is abortion?  Is it just another social issue to consider?  Look at paragraph 2272-

Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense. The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life. “A person who procures a completed abortion incurs excommunication latae sententiae,” “by the very commission of the offense,” (Codex Iuris Canonici) and subject to the conditions provided by Canon Law.

Another one of those wishy-washy words – “excommunication.”

But paragraph 2272 doesn’t stop with the punishment-

The Church does not thereby intend to restrict the scope of mercy. Rather, she makes clear the gravity of the crime committed, the irreparable harm done to the innocent who is put to death, as well as to the parents and the whole of society.

This teaching is all about mercy and redemption for those involved in abortion; that no matter the offense, Christ will still love and forgive us.  Like every other offense against God and man, we can seek and find salvation.  And by extension, every one of us is called to pray for, love and forgive each person involved with abortion.

Paragraph 2272 also talks about the harm done to the parents and society.  Not only does the unborn child suffer, but so do the mother, the father and society as a whole.  Abortion impacts all of us.

Paragraph 2273 goes further and talks about the role of abortion in society and how life is an inalienable right, even for the unborn.  And for those Catholic politicians out there that try to compartmentalize their faith on this issue, the Church gives some instruction-

The inalienable right to life of every innocent human individual is a constitutive element of a civil society and its legislation. (emphasis not added).

The Church provides some passages from Donum Vitae, from the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, to further illustrate this point-

The inalienable rights of the person must be recognized and respected by civil society and the political authority. These human rights depend neither on single individuals nor on parents; nor do they represent a concession made by society and the state; they belong to human nature and are inherent in the person by virtue of the creative act from which the person took his origin. Among such fundamental rights one should mention in this regard every human being’s right to life and physical integrity from the moment of conception until death.

The moment a positive law deprives a category of human beings of the protection which civil legislation ought to accord them, the state is denying the equality of all before the law. When the state does not place its power at the service of the rights of each citizen, and in particular of the more vulnerable, the very foundations of a state based on law are undermined….As a consequence of the respect and protection which must be ensured for the unborn child from the moment of conception, the law must provide appropriate penal sanctions for every deliberate violation of the child’s rights.

In other words, the unborn child deserves the protection of the laws, period.

How about the argument that disabled children should be diagnosed in the womb and aborted for their own sake?

Let’s turn to paragraph 2274-

Since it must be treated from conception as a person, the embryo must be defended in its integrity, cared for, and healed, as far as possible, like any other human being.

Again, we have guidance from Donum vitae-

Prenatal diagnosis is morally licit, “if it respects the life and integrity of the embryo and the human fetus and is directed toward its safe guarding or healing as an individual…. It is gravely opposed to the moral law when this is done with the thought of possibly inducing an abortion, depending upon the results: a diagnosis must not be the equivalent of a death sentence.”

What a great line – “a diagnosis must not be the equivalent of a death sentence.”

Abortion is unacceptable in a civilized society.  In the Catechism, the Church strongly and emphatically lays out the reasons why.  The unborn child is a human being in need of the protection of society.  No legal, political, mental, emotional, logical, or theoretical gymnastics can subvert this fact or the fact the unborn child is as worthy as we are to be treated with simple human dignity.

I need to read more of the Catechism.  I might actually learn something.

• Church , Culture , Family , U.S.A. , pro-life
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theophilus September 11th, 2009

In 2004, the Knights of Columbus resolved that September 11th be observed each year as a World Day of Prayer for Peace.

The Knights’ prayer is from Pope Benedict XVI’s prayer at the Prayer Service at Ground Zero on April 20, 2008.  Everyone is encouraged to pray this prayer throughout today and to dedicate your Rosary in remembrance of the events of 9/11/2001 and the struggle for peace throughout the world.

God of peace, bring your peace to our violent world:
peace in the hearts of all men and women
and peace among the nations of the earth.
Turn to your way of love
those whose hearts and minds
are consumed with hatred.

God of understanding,
overwhelmed by the magnitude of this tragedy,
we seek your light and guidance
as we confront such terrible events.
Grant that those whose lives were spared
may live so that the lives lost
may not have been lost in vain.
Comfort and console us,
strengthen us in hope,
and give us the wisdom and courage
to work tirelessly for a world
where truce peace and love reign
among nations and in the hearts of all.

We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Pope Benedict XVI
Prayer Service at Ground Zero
April 20, 2008

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theophilus May 20th, 2009

There’s a passage in today’s first reading from Acts 17 that seems ripe for the times.

St. Paul was addressing the Athenians and commenting on their belief in an “Unknown God.”  The Athenians, as enlightened as they were, understood there was an all powerful God, but couldn’t quite get their minds to understand anything about him, thus he remained “unknown.”  They were comfortable with Zeus, Poseidon, Apollo, Athena and even Hades; but they couldn’t grasp the concept of the omnipotent, monotheistic Being who we too often take for granted.

Later on in St. Paul’s sermon, he stated something that seems especially applicable to our age:

“God has overlooked the times of ignorance, but now he demands that people everywhere repent because he has established a day on which he will ‘judge the world with justice’ through a man he has appointed, and he has provided confirmation for all by raising him from the dead.”

“Times of Ignorance” – are we living in them?

As I witnessed the totality of what occurred at Notre Dame on Sunday and on the Holy Father’s trip to the Holy Land last week; as I hear about the world’s response to Israel’s concern about its very existence and the attacks on a beauty pageant contestant who dared to honestly answer a question posed to her on national TV;  I get the sinking feeling that we are smacked dab in the middle of these Times of Ignorance.

We hold ourselves out to be the most enlightened, smartest, advanced, progessive people of all time.  Yet, we can be so ignorant.  We are ignorant when we’ve replaced the power of God with the power of man.  But, we’ve forgotten that God created the world and raised Jesus from the dead.  Based on these two facts alone, Man cannot be deluded enough to think that our power can ever be equal to His.   But when we relegate God to just another special interest or faith as just another past-time, we do just this – we assume our power is separate from His, instead of realizing that our power is derived from Him; to be used according to His will.

I always got the impression that the Athenians thought they controlled their gods.  I got the same feeling about the Romans and their stable of deities.  St. Paul succeeded in dispelling their ignorance and spreading the faith in both civilizations.  But, I wonder – what would St. Paul say to us were he physically in our midst?  What would he say were he writing “The Letter of St. Paul to the Americans”?

I bet he wouldn’t be subtle.

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theophilus January 19th, 2009

I am a huge fan of Martin Luther King, Jr.  His strength, courage, and wisdom; his Christ-centric focus in living his life; his ability to inspire and lead; his hopeful and generous spirit in times of great trial; his ability to change the world; his commitment to doing God’s will; his drive for justice and a “positive peace.”  He is a man from whom all men, no matter their race, should draw inspiration.

Every Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, I read one of his speeches or writings.  Today, I decided to read his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” (h/t to Michigan State University).  There is just so much incredible wisdom in these words that I need to share some of my personally favorite passages.  These words are just as useful to us today as they were to the Civil Rights Movement in 1963.  Emphasis is mine.

“I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial “outside agitator” idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds.

“I must confess that I am not afraid of the word “tension.” I have earnestly opposed violent tension, but there is a type of constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth. Just as Socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths and halftruths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and objective appraisal, so must we see the need for nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood.

“We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor, it must be demanded by the oppressed. Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct-action campaign that was “well timed” in view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. For years now I have heard the word “wait!” It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This “Wait” has almost always meant “Never.” We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that “justice too long delayed is justice denied.”

“How does one determine whether a law is just or unjust? A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of Harmony with the moral law. To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas: An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law. Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust. All segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality. It gives the segregator a false sense of superiority and the segregated a false sense of inferiority.

“We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was “legal” and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was “illegal.”

“I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Councilor or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says, “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action”; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another mans freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro the wait for a “more convenient season.” Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating that absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.

“I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and that when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress. I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that the present tension in the South is a necessary phase of the transition from an obnoxious negative peace, in which the Negro passively accepted his unjust plight, to a substantive and positive peace, in which all men will respect the dignity and worth of human personality. Actually, we who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive. We bring it out in the open, where it can be seen and dealt with. Like a boil that can never be cured so long as it is covered up but must be opened with all it ugliness to the natural medicines of air and light injustice must be exposed with all the tension its exposure creates, to the light of human conscience and the air of national opinion, before it can be cured.

“[T}ime itself is neutral; it can be used either destructively or constructively. More and more I feel that the people of ill will have used time much more effectively than have the people of good will. We will have to repent in the generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people. Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of men willing to be co-workers with God, and without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of stagnation. We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right. Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy and transform our pending national elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood. Now is the time to lift our national policy from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of human dignity.

“I have watched white churchmen stand on the sideline and mouth pious irrelevancies and sanctimonious trivialities. In the midst of a mighty struggle to rid our nation of racial and economic injustice, I have heard many ministers say: “Those are social issues, with which the gospel has no real concern.” And I have watched many churches commit themselves to a completely otherworldly religion which makes a strange, un-Biblical distinction between body and soul, between the sacred and the secular.

“In deep disappointment I have wept over the laxity of the church. But be assured that my tears have been tears of love. Yes, I love the church. How could I do otherwise? I am in the rather unique position of being the son, the grandson, and the great-grandson of preachers. Yes, I see the church as the body of Christ. But, oh! How we have blemished and scarred that body through social neglect and through fear of being nonconformists.

“There was a time when the church was very powerful — in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Whenever the early Christians entered a town, the people in power became disturbed and immediately sought to convict the Christians for being “disturbers of the peace” and “outside agitators.” But the Christians pressed on, in the conviction that they were “a colony of heaven,” called to obey Gad rather than man. Small in number, they were big in commitment. They were too God-intoxicated to be “astronomically intimidated.” By their effort and example they brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide and gladiatorial contests.

“Things are different now. So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an archdefender of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church’s silent — and often even vocal — sanction of things as they are. But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If today’s church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. Every day I meet young people whose disappointment with the church has turned into outright disgust”

I encourage you to read and re-read the whole thing.  Do so not only in light of our past and modern race relations, but also in light of our present time, especially if you are concerned with the civil rights of the unborn.

And tomorrow, no matter where you fall politically or how you feel about the future, recognize that it is an incredible day for America as one great injustice has finally been redeemed.  And just as Catholics marched hand in hand with Reverend King, now we must work hand in hand to redeem another injustice and do so for the little ones who cannot speak for themselves.

• Catholic Men , Culture , God's Call , Role Models , U.S.A. , pro-life
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theophilus December 12th, 2008

What’s so hard to understand about the following passage from Luke 1 -

“And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!  And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?  For behold when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy.’“

The BABE leaped in her womb.  Blessed is the FRUIT OF YOUR WOMB.  The MOTHER of my Lord.  The BABE in my womb.

If you read the Bible, if you believe in the Bible, if you believe in Christ, there is no room for discussion.  The unborn child is a child; the “fetus”, by-product of a woman’s ’reproductive right”, the “blob of tissue” is a human being worthy of the basic human and natural right of life.

I don’t understand these Catholics and Christians who can be pro-abortion or pro-choice or pro-reproductive rights or whatever it is they are calling themselves these days.  The babe in the womb is a child.  The Bible and our faith says so; science has proved it; modern photo-imaging is overwhelmingly conclusive.  The babe in the womb is a child worthy of our protection.

Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the patroness of the Americas and the protector of the unborn.  Through this apparition, Mary gave us a gift so profound that it escapes the vast majority of us in the United States.  And how do we repay her?  We for the most part ignore this gift and continue to acquiesce to the killing of her children.

We should know better.  We are America.  We defend the defenseless.  We stand up for the powerless.  We fight tyranny.  We do not give in to evil.  We believe that everyone is endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights – the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  But somewhere along the line, we allowed the pursuit of happiness to trump and undermine every other right and responsibility.

Those who are vocal advocates for the unborn must continue the fight.  Those who are silent supporters of the unborn must make their voices heard.  Those who allow abortion, advocate for abortion, perform abortions, or have had abortions must be prayed for.  And those children who have been aborted or may be aborted must be tended with special care in our hearts and souls.

We are the Church.  The unborn are God’s children; they are Mary’s children; they are Jesus’ flock.  We must do everything we can to ensure that these children are allowed to live and do not succumb to our culture of death.

Our Lady of Guadalupe pray for us! 

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theophilus November 29th, 2008

I just don’t get it!

Instead of growing closer to Christ, some are sprinting away from him at light speed.

The worst news coming out of Black Friday was that a Wal-Mart worker was trampled to death by shoppers, who then complained when the managers closed the store.

But that tragic story is just the tip of the iceberg.

A woman was punched in the throat over an Xbox.  My wife read on discussion boards about a woman getting punched in the stomach over a Leapster and a kid having a man forcibly take a TV away from him while he was watching it as his mom got a cart.

And I’m sure there are many, many stories like these.

How are these people going to be able to give these gifts with a clear conscience?  “Gee son, sorry you have to wade through all of that guilt to get to your present.”

How far down the rabbit hole do we have to go before we decide to turn back?

I read one article of a woman saying her family forewent Thanksgiving dinner so they could get in line on Thursday.  How touching!  Let’s show how thankful we are for the blessings in our lives by standing in line for twelve hours to get that $10 DVD player or a $400 flat-screen TV.

Now, before I totally go off the deep-end, I do realize that there is another side.  While I’m horrified at these stories, I am reminded that it’s not all bad.

My wife returned last night with stories about joyous times spent with others while in line.  The camaraderie felt by her, her mom and her sister, especially as they coordinated gift-buying with their other sister who lives out-west.  My wife told me about how people shared coupons and helped others find what they were looking for in the store.

For them, it was their annual Grand Adventure bringing them closer to each other.

But for too many, Black Friday brings out the worst.  In a crass, soulless and materialistic pursuit, they go to un-Christlike lengths to get what they think they need to be happy; whether it’s something for themselves or something to desperately get the love of another.

God has to be shaking his head.  Mary must be in tears.  To see their children behave such; all over materialistic goods that will one day be as broken as their souls.

The good news is that Advent starts tomorrow.  It’s a time for renewal and searching.  We have had a horrid start to this blessed season, so it can only go up from here.

I just wonder whether those Wal-Mart shoppers are going to be able to clearly see their favorite TV show through all of the blood on their screen.

• Culture , U.S.A.
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theophilus November 11th, 2008

In all of the attempts to get God out of our public lives, it amazes me how God always manages to slip one by us.

It occured to me this morning that today is both the Feast of St. Martin of Tours, 4th century soldier turned bishop, and the anniversary of the cessation of hostilities in World War I.  It’s the latter that has led to the long-standing holidays of Veterans Day in the U.S., Armistice Day in Europe, and Remembrance Day throughout the British Commonwealth.

I find great irony that we honor today both veterans throughout the world and St. Martin, the patron saint of soldiers.  Somehow God found a way to get us to link the two. 

Our own soldiers are in need of our prayers.  They are proud, dedicated, selfless, patriotic and duty-bound.  They are quite simply the best we have to offer here in America. 

In the past week, I’ve spoken with the fiancee of someone who just got back from Iraq and the father of one still over there.  For various reasons, they are wondering whether we back home really care about what they are doing over there. 

They are busting their butts to protect us, often reupping for additional tours of duty, but we seem preoccupied with other things.  They are acheiving victory despite our best efforts to get in their way, yet we refuse to acknowledge the good work they are doing in bringing peace and security, and liberty and freedom, to the people of Iraq and Afghanistan.

If you know someone currently serving, say a prayer today to St. Martin that they be kept safe and succeed in their mission.  Also pray for their families.  If you know someone who has served this nation (ever), say a prayer for them in thanksgiving for their sacrifice. 

We literally owe them our freedom, our liberty, our fortunes (no matter how small), and our lives.  Let us never forget them and what they have done for us.

• Gratitude , Prayer , Sacrifice , Saints , U.S.A.
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theophilus November 6th, 2008

Since about 11:00 on election night, I’ve been trying to figure out what to write in light of the election.  There is just so much to take from this most historic of times.

And I guess that my thoughts keep coming back to the state of the pro-life cause.

Let’s face facts, pro-life measures failed in five states (I’m counting the abortion related measures in CA, CO and SD; the stem cell measure in MI; and the killing the elderly measure in WA).  The majority of Catholics rejected the moral teachings of the Church in choosing their candidates; including 45% of those who sit in the pews every week.  These teachings weren’t just on some side issues; they were on issues of life and death.  Issues deciding whether we will continue to impose our secular will on a decision God has asked for us to leave to him.

So, it just wasn’t a good day for folks living on both ends of the life spectrum (the unborn and the elderly).  And I’ve been trying to figure out where we go from here.

And then I came across today’s gospel and it gave me a thought.  In Luke 15, Jesus is preaching the parable of the Lost Sheep.  The well-known point of the parable is to relay the message that even if we sin and become lost, Jesus is looking for us; and when he finds us, there will be great rejoicing in heaven.

Maybe, that’s the lesson we need to take from this election.

For the foreseeable future, we are not going to be able to protect the unborn and the elderly through proactive legislation and regulation on the federal level.  We will be hard-pressed to do so in many states.  We are on the defensive on the governmental front.

So, like Christ, we find ourselves having to go after the lost sheep; one by one.

We educate, educate, educate – mothers, teenagers, single women and men, parents, our family and friends.

We ask these questions -

1. What does an unborn baby look like in the womb?  As Cardinal Egan pointed out last week, an unborn baby looks like a little baby very early on.   Let’s not be afraid to make this point; visually if necessary.  We are talking about a person, a child; let’s not permit them to be called anything less than human.  It is not the “termination of a pregnancy” or the exercise of one’s “reproductive rights.”  The unborn children are not “fetuses” or “tissue.”  Let us not back down from the fact that our society is killing unborn children.

2. Why is the billion dollar, mega-abortion industry so unregulated?  Garbage collectors are under more regulatory scrutiny than abortionists.  Let’s talk about this as an issue and be concerned with the health and safety of the women who walk into these clinics and allow abortionists to do the most invasive of procedures.  Ask people the question, would they seek out a dentist that was unregulated?

3. Why do minors have to get consent (or at least notify) their parents or guardians on every other medical procedure but not an abortion?  Let’s raise the question with our peers; and get parents to be concerned enough to be paying attention to their daughters and asking the right questions.

4. What help is available for mothers during pregnancy and what adoption alternatives are available after birth?  Let’s be ready with this information on a moment’s notice.

5. How do we ensure that babies born to the economically disadvantaged are able to escape a life of poverty and that their mothers can as well?  Let’s be ready with this information and point them in the right direction.

6. Why are abortions seemingly marketed primarily to two particular demographics – the poor (white and black) and teenagers?  We need to educate these mothers and let them know that their life circumstances do not necessitate them killing their children.

These questions are not geared toward convincing folks that some piece of legislation is needed.  No, these questions are intended to persuade people that abortion is wrong on a deeply societal basis and to help mothers make the right choice; to choose life.   They are geared at getting all of society to protect unborn children and to truly care about the mother of these children.  They are not a demographic, they are not a market segment, they are not a feminist cause.  Both the mother and child are children of God.

While it would be easier to have the protection of the law, our efforts to save unborn children and protect their mothers do not really need to be aided by law, because the law doesn’t require anyone to actually get an abortion (at least, not yet).

So, if we can’t get the protection of the law, we can still convince mothers to choose life, one baby at a time.  We do not necessarily need legal protections if we can find these lost sheep, one-by-one.

And then there is prayer.  Every single day, let’s pray that the Holy Trinity enters the hearts of mothers, abortionists, and abortion promoters so that they can make the right choices; the right choices not only for the unborn babies they are threatening; not only for the soul of our nation; but also for the quality of their own eternal lives.

And let us pray to Mary, as Our Lady of Guadalupe, to protect these unborn children and see them safely into the light of this world.

One sheep at a time; that’s how we rid our beloved nation of this most horrid of evils.  And as most bishops seem to have found their public voice on this issue, it appears we will have our shepherds to lead us forth in the search.

• Culture , Liturgy , Saints , U.S.A. , pro-life
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