This week marks the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a holy day of obligation in the Catholic Church, celebrating the belief that Mary was “assumed,” body and soul, into heaven at the end of her earthly life. Belief in this doctrine dates back to the third century and is associated with the corollary belief in her Immaculate Conception (her birth and subsequent life without sin). The scriptural reference to this latter dogma comes from the angel Gabriel’s proclamation and greeting when he addressed Mary as “full of grace.” This has been interpreted to mean that Mary was born sinless and remained that way throughout her life. She was the immaculate vessel that held the body of Jesus within her own body, and nourished him with her own blood. As the mother of Jesus, we believe that she received this amazing gift from Jesus Himself out of love and respect for His earthly mother.
Early church fathers explained that since death is the result of sin, and because Mary was without sin, her body remained uncorrupted by death and she was taken bodily into heaven at the end of her life on earth, to be with her Son whose body was raised from the dead. We believe Mary to be a saint, like so many others who are in heaven with Our Lord, but because of her special relationship with her Son, Jesus, she is undoubtedly shares an intimate relationship with Him.
Many non-Catholic Christians do not belief in these two Catholic doctrines, despite the fact that these beliefs were around for at least 1200 years before the Protestant Reformation. It occurs to me that over the past several hundred years, and especially in the 20th century, many non-Catholic Christians have strayed a very long way from the original teachings of Jesus and the early church founded by Peter and the Apostles. Many Christian denominations determine their beliefs based on the founder of their sect, and most have allowed their beliefs to evolve with the times, as if morality is subjective and able to be determined by societal trends. Many denominations now embrace gay marriage, most condone birth control, despite its many consequences, and some even accept abortion under some circumstances. In the last decade or two, we’ve seen Christian leaders distort Christianity in a variety of ways, such as those like Oprah Winfrey and Deepak Chopra who espouse the notion of “God within-us” and thereby ustifying pride, greed, and self-absorption. Others like Joel Osteen suggest that if we pray hard enough, our financial prospects will improve. Many Catholics have left the church in search of a God who will do things for them, make them feel better about themselves, or accommodate their need for more freedom. The Catholic Church would refer to many of these pseudo-Christian beliefs as “heresy” a word that conjures up the notion of an old fashioned, out of touch male-dominated patriarchy. However, it is the Catholic Church that is holding the line on those truths revealed by God as the basis of morality and fundamental to the common good of society.
Over the past 50 years, as our mainstream religions got watered down, society has become increasingly secular and atheistic. We’ve witnessed the sexual revolution which separated sex from responsibility and when pregnancy prevention measures failed, we institutionalized abortion on demand to remedy any inconvenient consequences. The results have been devastating on a global scale. In addition to the epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS, and skyrocketing divorce rates, birth control drugs and abortions have caused a huge increase in breast cancer. The global decline in birth rates has put the world on the precipice of a“demographic winter.” Birth rates are so low that every Western nation faces catastrophic economic failure because of burgeoning elderly populations at the very time the workforce is declining.
We are currently witnessing nothing less than the death of the social welfare state. Greece has been the first to fall and several other EU nations are not far behind. It is virtually impossible for socialist governments to fund their welfare programs going forward. Debts in these social welfare states have overwhelmed the productive capacity of their nations and no amount of taxation can remedy their situations. We’ve begun to see the same thing in the USA where cities, reeling under deficits have either declared bankruptcy, or passed utterly ridiculous bond issues. The most recent example is Poway California who received voter approval to sell $125 million in 40 year bonds at 8% with terms that defer payments for 20 years, allowing the debt to amass to over $1 billion before the bonds are repaid by a future generation. Eighty-five percent of the Poway budget is spent on union salaries, healthcare and retirement benefits and this $125 million only makes them solvent for a year or two.
America is on a path to imitate the mistakes of these failing EU nations unless we rein in spending on entitlement programs. Many on the left believe that government has a responsibility to take care of those who for one reason or another cannot or will not care for themselves. The problem is that this social doctrine has a tendency to erode moral culture by rescuing citizens from the burden of responsibility. Social welfare programs undermine the family and self-reliance by creating dependencies that discourage formation of the virtues necessary for human flourishing. Fail to get an education or job training? No problem- we have a welfare program to compensate for that. Become drug or alcohol dependent? No sweat – we have programs to care for you, including long term disability payments. Fail to save for retirement? Collect social security payments in excess of your contributions. Fail to manage your personal health? You’re entitled to free healthcare.
The upcoming election will bring to light the clash in ideologies between Democrats who want to continue the march toward becoming a social welfare state, and Republicans who want to restore fiscal responsibility to our nation by spending only what we can afford to spend, even if it means major overhaul to entitlement programs. Medicare is not merely insolvent; in its current form it will bankrupt our nation within two decades. Candidate Romney has boldly chosen a running mate with the courage to address these budget problems, despite the political buffoonery it will attract. Many on the left who refuse to acknowledge the inevitable end of the social welfare state will make outrageous claims that Romney and Ryan will destroy Medicare and Social Security, when in fact, they are the ones willing to assume responsibility for making sure these programs are sustainable without bankrupting our nation.
Mary is the patron saint of the Americas. We need her prayers more than ever this year as our country faces a momentous decision about our future. Will we continue down the path of destroying our economic future and undermining family values and the virtues associated with personal responsibility? Or will we acknowledge the truth of the consequences of declining morality and unsustainable social welfare entitlements, by moving instead toward a “post-welfare” state? I for one, will be asking our Blessed Mother to pray for our nation, in hope that more people will acknowledge that our current path is not only unsustainable, it is harming people by discouraging the formation of the virtues of personal responsibility, charity and hope. Perhaps our Lord Jesus will help more people open their ears and eyes to the reality of our declining culture and elect leaders who have the courage to make the changes necessary to put our nation back on track.
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