"One Nation, Under God," - No More

The events of the past week should be a wake-up call to all Americans, especially Christian-Americans.  Our Democracy has been undone.  We are no longer “One nation under God,” but rather a nation divided, and our civil leaders follow neither God’s Truth nor even the ‘rule of law’ as established in our Constitution.  Our government is supposed to one of self-governance and rule of law, established by democratically elected representatives of the people, or as Lincoln put it in his Gettysburg address: “of the people, by the people, and for the people.”  Instead, we now have a ruling class in the form of unelected judges, who not only fail to uphold law as written, but overturn laws duly enacted by the States under the democratic process.  The Supreme Court’s decision last week to uphold Obamacare means that law, as plainly written, can be ignored by the Executive Branch who is then at liberty to implement whatever they please, giving exemptions to political cronies while imposing penalties on Christian organizations who object to the removal of their religious freedom.

In the gay marriage decision, SCOTUS established marriage as a civil right of all Americans, although no such right exists in the constitution, and more than 30 States had democratically voted to restrict marriage to one man and one woman.  In doing so, the court denies the truth of nature and nature’s God(as revealed in our bodies), while ignoring natural law and the right of every child to be raised in a family with both of their biological parents.  Marriage has officially been redefined as ‘any loving relationship’ rather than a sacred institution for the nurturing and protection of children in a family.

On several occasions, president Obama has pompously declared, “We are no longer a Christian nation…”  Skeptics and Obama defenders will point out that he went on to say, “… at least not just a nation of Christians.”  But listening to the You-tube video of President Obama in its entirety, demonstrates how perversely he interprets scripture, which he quotes mockingly to point out (in his mind) its ridiculous demands.  He even derides the sermon on the mount, saying that it “is so radical, it is doubtful our own Defense Department would survive its application.”  Revealingly, he goes on to say, “Even if we were all Christians, which form of Christianity should we follow, Dr. Dobson’s, or Al Sharpton’s?”   Given the fact that the president has welcomed Rev. Sharpton to the Whitehouse more than 50 times, I guess we know that answer to that rhetorical question.  If you think I’m exaggerating , view the You-tube video yourself: www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOOrSAbU9z8

President Obama has indeed transformed our nation, or perhaps it is more accurate to say he is dismantling our nation.  What is a ‘nation’ after all?  The standard definitions include things like, “defined territory;” “people sharing a common culture, tradition and language;” and “people united by common interest.”  Our borders are so porous, can we say we have a ‘defined territory,’ when people can stream in illegally and be welcomed with an array of rights and welfare benefits?  We certainly no longer share a common culture or even common interests, and we welcome and celebrate multiple languages.  People being offered legal status and/or citizenship are not required to take a civics course, or pledge allegiance to our nation, but rather, just show up.

In the midst of all this bad news, I turned to scripture for solace and encouragement.  Here’s what I found in Sunday’s first reading: “…justice is undying.  For God formed man to be imperishable; in the image of His own nature He made him.  But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world, and they who belong to his company experience it.” (Wisdom 2:23-24)   Our nation is in the grip of the ‘culture of death’ and is sinking deeper and deeper into the lies and deceit of our president and his appointees in the courts, and the Departments of Health, Justice, Education and the EPA.   Each departments is busily cranking out reams of new regulations repressing religious freedom, inhibiting job growth,  and stifling  our economy.  But worst of all, our elected and unelected rulers have abandoned morality in favor of absolute freedom that disparages and ridicules religious sensibilities.  What remains to be seen is whether or not this newly imposed law on marriage will result in legal action against Christians and religious institutions who will not abide by it.

The answer to that question depends heavily on the next presidential election.  The presumptive Democratic nominee will surely advance the liberal agenda.  A couple years ago Hillary Clinton accepted the “Margaret Sanger Award” from Planned Parenthood, and said this in her acceptance speech: “I admire Margaret Sanger enormously – her courage, her tenacity, her vision.  I am really in awe of her; there are a lot of lessons we can learn from her life.”  This is the very same Margaret Sanger who wrote voluminously about “race purification.”    In her book Women and the New Race, Sanger wrote, “The most merciful thing a large family can do to one of its infant members is kill it.”   In The Woman Rebel Sanger wrote, “I look forward to seeing humanity free some day from the tyranny of Christianity, no less than capitalism.”   This is Hillary’s role model, and she is on the threshold of becoming our next president!   Barack Obama, despite all he’s done to undermine our democracy and impose immoral laws on our nation, may have been only the warm-up act for what’s to come if Hillary is elected.

Alveda King, the niece of Dr. MLK, has pointed out that Planned Parenthood is “the most obvious practitioner of racism in America.”  They target black neighborhoods and are the biggest contributor to the fact that 25% of all African Americans have died at the hands of abortionists over the past 40 years.  Although African Americans comprise only 11% of the population, they account for 43% of all abortions.  Clearly, Margaret Sanger (and Hillary’s) dreams have come true, and much of it is now financed with government tax dollars from direct grants and government-provided health insurance.  Under Hillary’s presidency, religious organizations who refuse to support these “women’s health” initiatives will be punished severely unless they change their beliefs and adhere to the new laws.

Our nation is dying and those who advocate for the culture of death, the destruction of children’s lives, and their natural rights, are deeply mired in evil and the death that accompanies it.  Unhinging society from the moral values that protect human life and uphold marriage and traditional family values, is like committing national suicide, albeit in slow motion.  Is Christianity on the wane, or are we only being temporarily repressed?  The choice of our next president will determine whether or not we, as a nation, are “Imperishable, created in the image of God,” or does America “belong to the company of evil?”  This is the time to choose between Life and death.  Remember, “Justice is undying.”  

 

 

The Encyclical and The Magna Carta

Sunday’s readings proclaim God’s power over nature, starting with the Book of Job when the Lord asks, “Who shut within doors the sea, when it burst forth from the womb; when I made the clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling bands?  When I set limits for it and fastened the bar of its door, and said: ‘Thus far shall you come, but no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stilled!’ ”  (Job 38,1)

The gospel recounts how Jesus calmed the storm at sea when, “He woke up, rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ ” (Mark 4:39) These readings and many others throughout scripture make the point that God created the heavens and the earth.  People have understood this for thousands of years, giving humanity great respect for nature and “nature’s God.”  However, with the advent of our modern scientific age, we have gradually come to believe that we humans have unlocked the secrets of the universe and now have within our grasp the ability to harness nature and use it as we see fit. 

This is the context into which Pope Francis has released his encyclical “Laudato Si” named after the first words of the Hymn of St. Francis of Assisi: “Praise be to you, my Lord with all your creatures…”  The encyclical is 72 pages long in pdf form, with another 10 pages of bibliography.  The introduction includes statements being widely quoted by the media who claim that the pope acknowledges the fact of global warming.  Of course they omit the very next sentence which says, “… even if scientifically determinable causes cannot be assigned to each particular phenomenon.”  The pope cites the possibility of natural causes for global climate change, such as “volcanic activity, changes in the earth’s orbit or axis, and solar activity, along with greenhouse gases from human activity.”  Several times throughout the encyclical the pope makes the point that “the Church does not presume to make scientific declarations.”

The bulk of the encyclical is devoted to making a strong case for The Gospel of Creation which is the heading of second chapter.  The pope makes numerous references to scripture and the wisdom of biblical accounts of nature and the laws of nature, as created by God.   He explains that the word creation has a much broader meaning than nature, and “has to do with God’s loving plan in which every creature has meaning and significance.  Nature can be studied and understood, whereas creation can only be understood as the outstretched hand of the Father of all, and as a reality illuminated by love.”  He goes on to explain, “The universe did not emerge as the result of arbitrary omnipotence.  Creation is the order of Love.  God’s love is the fundamental moving force in all created things.”  (paragraph 76)  With this awareness, Pope Francis warns that Science without ethical horizons is a danger to all humanity when it views nature as “insensate, a space to be hammered into useful shape, compromising the intrinsic dignity of the world.” ( p.115)  Although the pope praises the value and tremendous contributions of science, he also warns that, “The present ecological crisis is a sign of the ethical, cultural, and spiritual crisis of modernity.  Our relationship with the environment can never be isolated from our relationship with others and with God.  Since everything is related, concern for the protection of nature is incompatible with the justification of abortion.” (p. 119-120)

Citing many other examples of conflicting ecological ethics, the pope cautions that “Misguided anthropocentrism (putting man, not God at the center of our ethics) leads to misguided lifestyles – giving priority to immediate convenience and all else becomes relative.  Such Relativism sees everything as irrelevant unless it serves one’s own immediate interests, leading to environmental degradation and social decay.” (p. 122).  This culture of relativism is a “disorder” which drives people to take advantage of others, treating them as objects; e.g. sexual exploitation, child abandonment, abandonment of the elderly and disabled.   Most of the second half of the encyclical is devoted to this theme, explaining that “In the absence of objective truths, what limits can be placed on human trafficking, crime, drug trade etc.?”  “It is this relativistic logic that justifies the sale of human organs, abortion, and embryonic research.” (p. 123)

Among the topics covered by the encyclical are Social Ecology, Cultural Ecology, and Human Ecology, in which the pope makes a strong case for the vital importance of the family as the basic cell of society, “the place where life – the gift of God – is welcomed, protected and educated.”  (p 213)  He warns that anything threatening the family has negative consequences which include injustice, violence and the loss of basic freedoms.   Pope Francis supports the concept of subsidiarity which empowers people to make decisions best for their local circumstances, rather than be limited by more tyrannical forms of master planning from national or federal government.  He also included a section on the importance of work and the need for free markets to create jobs that reward productivity and creativity.

The encyclical ends with a meditation on Ecological Spirituality which reminds us that “the world is God’s loving gift, created with a certain order and dynamism.  When we exclude God from our lives or replace Him with our own egos, we think our subjective feelings can define what’s right and wrong.” (p 224)  He cites the example of the Holy Trinity, a community of relationship in whose image we have been created, and ends with a prayer for our earth, asking for God’s grace to help us protect life and beauty, while respecting the dignity and worth of every living thing.

This encyclical is in keeping with the many contributions made by the church to the ongoing evolution and protection of society and the common good.  Coincidentally, the day the encyclical was released was the 800^th anniversary of the Magna Carta which is the basis of modern jurisprudence in the Western world.  It was written to secure the rights and freedom of the people at a time when kings and barons were prone to governing according to the principle of “might is right,” rather than the rule of law.  What most people don’t realize is that the document itself was written by the church.  Bishops and abbots wrote the document for King John who then signed it along with numerous bishops, barons and earls.  The opening paragraph of the Magna Carta reads, “…at the prompting of God and for the health of our soul and the souls of our ancestors and successors, for the glory of holy Church and the improvement of our realm, freely and out of our good will have given and granted to…”   It then lists all those responsible for drawing up the document, and the very first article ensures the freedom of the Church and the people.  The Magna Carta served as in inspiration for our own Constitution.

Despite all the controversy, I believe Laudato Si makes an important contribution to the discussion of ecology and the environment.  It is a strong reminder that we must not pick and choose which laws of nature we shall decide to follow, and which to ignore.  There are, of course, ‘cafeteria Catholics’ who will cite the encyclical to support their political agenda while ignoring the main body of the message which is that we violate the laws and order of nature at our peril.

Is Life a Parable?

Sunday’s gospel contains two familiar parables used by Jesus to describe the kingdom of heaven.  The first describes the common practice of planting seeds which grow day and night to become a fruitful harvest.  The second is the mustard seed, which though tiny, grows to become “the largest of plants.”  Pope Benedict XVI once explained that Jesus spoke in parables because “reality itself is a parable.”  In all of Jesus’ parables we discover deep meaning that has been there all along, in the familiar activities of life.  Many of Jesus’ parables describe the attributes of God, such as the father in the story about the prodigal son.  Others give us insight about the nature of heaven, comparing it to a wedding banquet, or a pearl of such great value that everything else pales in comparison.

The reality we are familiar with and so often take for granted, is filled with mystery and meaning when we consider it more carefully.  In fact, everything about our earthly existence seems to point toward an even deeper reality.  The seasons of the year point to the cycle of life: growth, death and rebirth.  Every living thing experiences these cycles, from plants that die and give up their seeds, to humanity whose offspring represent the future.  But if we stop there, we are overlooking the obvious metaphors that point to an even greater reality: our rebirth in life after death.  The recently departed Cardinal Francis George explained it this way:  “If our belief about life ends in the grave, then the world is closed in upon itself.  But if Christ is risen from the grave, then our destiny reaches beyond space and time, beyond what can be measured and controlled.  And therein lays our hope.”  But life itself points to this greater reality in metaphor after meaningful metaphor.  Like seeds that die and are buried, when we make sacrifices for others, our hearts are rewarded with fulfillment and happiness.  When a child is born and we hold them in our arms, we are overwhelmed by love and the desire to protect and sacrifice everything for that child.   When a loved one dies, we know deep in our hearts that they still live beyond the grave.  Modern culture’s recent obsession with vampires and zombies is a dim reflection of this deep seated belief in our immortality.

In my blog on The Mystery of Love, two weeks ago, I described the Community of Love that is the Trinity, and how we have been created male and female in that image.  When we aspire to love as God loves, unselfishly, mercifully, and sacrificially, we are building relationships that will endure.  When we die, Cardinal George said, “The only thing we take with us is what we have given away.  The only things that endure are our relationships with God and with others.”  The strongest, most enduring relationships we experience in this life are most likely within our family.  The family is not only the source of new life, but also the one place where we can truly be ourselves and learn to live with one another.  The love of father and mother sets the tone for relationships within the family, and cultivates civility among children as they grow into adults.  What children need most of all in the family setting is not only the love of parents, but the security of knowing parents love one another and will always be together, forming the backbone of the family and of society at large.  Being a family engenders responsibility, requires sacrifice, and brings with it the growing awareness of the ultimate meaning of life, which is that love matters.

Last week I read about an article that appeared on the website of the Australian Broadcasting Company, entitled, “Is Having a Loving Family an Unfair Advantage?”  At first, I thought it must have been satire, but the author, wrote, “One way philosophers might think about solving the social-justice problem would be by simply abolishing the family.”   While he admits that the family cannot be completely abolished, the author points out that the family is a source of unfairness because children raised by both biological parents have an unfair advantage compared to children raised by single parents, or parents who are lax in their responsibilities.   As far-fetched as this may sound, isn’t this almost exactly what the Nazis did when they removed children from their families and put them in state-run boarding schools?  Our own federal government, through the Department of Education, insists that it knows best how to instruct our children, including recent mandatory education regarding marriage equality, gender identity, and women’s rights, despite objections from parents whose moral values differ from those being proffered by the secular schools.  Schools, not parents are held out to be the final arbiter of crucial moral teaching in these matters.  As I’ve mentioned previously, in her stump speeches on the campaign trail, Hillary Clinton keeps repeating the mantra, “Deep seated cultural codes, religious beliefs, and structural biases have to be changed.”  In other words, Hillary wants to continue the fundamental transformation of America by moving further away from our cultural mores and religious beliefs, when they conflict with the liberal policy agenda, and she apparently intends to accomplish by force of law or executive dictate.

What’s most troubling about all this, is that it ignores reality and denies consequences.  I believe it was G.K. Chesterton who observed that, “The greater the evil, the bigger the lie must be to cover it up.”  Attacks on marriage are attacks on children who have a God-given right to be raised by their biological parents, and to dismiss this is a great evil.  Even the Australian Broadcasting Company is aware of the effects of broken family relationships, but instead of addressing the need to protect marriage and family, it laments the disadvantages real families create for children of non-traditional families.  The evil of the Chinese one child policy, or to put it more accurately, the Chinese forced-abortion policy, is playing out in the form of a demographic disaster which is rolling out in slow motion over the next generation.  Declines in morality, resulting in lower birth rates are having the same disastrous effects on Europe, but most people today don’t give it a thought, because the burden of the consequences will fall on their children and grandchildren, not on themselves.  Each of these great evils is accompanied by lie upon lie upon lie, in all forms, from outright untruth, to elaborate schemes to hide the truth from public awareness. 

Nature and Nature’s God has revealed Truth in a million different ways:  In our biology, created male and female; in the nature of illnesses that are the consequence of immoral actions (think STDs); in the emotional and psychological consequences of selfish choices, not least of which is the choice to abort a child; in the health and well-being associated with making good moral choices; in the happiness and fulfillment we experience as the result of wholesome loving relationships; in the peace of mind that results from choosing good, even in the face of tragic circumstances.  All that is good and beautiful, points to the Truth as revealed by God in creation and in scripture.  Life itself points to the reality of God’s love and His promise of eternal life.  When these truths are denied or distorted, they lose their beauty, and evil is permitted to grow, despite all the signs that it is destructive to human life and well-being. 

Religious Freedom Under Attack in America

From the time of the first Apostles who were chosen and instructed by Jesus Christ Himself, the nascent Church celebrated the Feast of the Last Supper as commanded by Our Lord when He said, “Do this in memory of me.”  Central to that early liturgy was the “breaking of bread” in which the Apostles and disciples consumed the bread and wine which Christ had told them was His very Body and Blood.  St. John made this very clear in the sixth chapter of his gospel where we hear Jesus say, “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His Blood, you shall not have life within you.”  (John 6:53)

The entire lengthy sixth chapter of John’s gospel is devoted to this pivotal belief that Jesus Himself is really present in the bread and wine when it is consecrated in the feast of the Lord’s Supper.  In fact, all the gospels depict the centrality of Jesus Body and Blood as the “New Covenant” between God and humanity.  As Catholics we believe that this consecrated bread and wine are the Real Presence of Jesus’ Body and Blood.  Sunday is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ which we commemorate with a reading from Exodus in which Moses sprinkles the Israelites with the blood of sacrificial animals to seal the covenant in which God gave us His commandments.  However, the people failed to uphold God’s law and fell into sin and idolatry.  When Jesus established the New and Eternal Covenant, it was not with the blood of animals, but with His own Body and Blood.  This eternal covenant is not a once and done event, but the on-going sacrifice of Jesus very Body and Blood.  Mark, Matthew and Luke all recorded Jesus Himself saying, “This is my blood, the blood of the New and Eternal Covenant which will be poured out for the forgiveness of sins.”  (Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20; Matthew 26:28). 

Likewise, Paul preaches this reality in several of his epistles (Heb 13:23; and 1 Cor 11:25).  Despite all this scriptural patrimony, most Christians no longer believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.  Even among Catholics, many no longer believe Christ is truly present in the Eucharistic bread and wine.   If they did, they would be far more reverent, knowing they were privileged to receive Christ Himself into their bodies.  This is also why we genuflect in front of the tabernacle holding the consecrated bread.

When I kneel in the presence of the Eucharist, I am in awe of the fact that Jesus offers Himself to us, body, soul and divinity, despite our unworthiness, our apathy, and our entitlement mentality.  For me, the Eucharist is far more than an ancient symbol of unity, it is Christ Himself making the ultimate sacrifice of His Body and Blood, for my salvation, not just once in the past but over and over again for each and every one of us.  The centrality of this belief makes it the sum and summit of the Catholic faith, dwarfing all other considerations.  We are saved by Jesus precisely because He made this New and Eternal Covenant on our behalf, and because He offers Himself to each of us, over and over again, no matter how unworthy we may be.

This is the essence of Catholic belief and it saddens me that so many have fallen away from it.  I believe it also explains how and why so many people feel free to interpret their faith as they see fit, ignoring the official teaching of the Church.  The further we stray from the Real Presence of Jesus, the more likely we are to rationalize our behavior and make excuses for our sins, even coming to believe, as some politicians do, that they can pick and choose which beliefs to retain and which to discard as outmoded, antiquated, and no longer relevant.  Last week Nancy Pelosi, who still claims to be a practicing Catholic, cited the Baltimore Catechism in defense of her belief in ‘marriage equality’ and ‘a woman’s right to choose.’  Apparently she thinks her interpretation of the Catholic faith trumps the teaching authority of the bishops.  She conveniently ignores the recent words of Pope Francis who has spoken out strongly against abortion and cautioned against what he calls the new “gender theory” which seeks to legitimize all forms of LGBT behavior.    Although not Catholic, Hillary Clinton boldly calls for religious beliefs to change so as to conform with the liberal policy agenda, and she threatens to hasten that change by force of law if elected president next year.  In effect, Hillary would establish her own brand of secular religion as the law of the land; so much for religious freedom and the First Amendment.

The term Body of Christ also refers to true believers in Christianity, those who accept and adhere to the teachings of Jesus in their authentic form.  It is not for me to judge whether or not people self-select exclusion from the Body of Christ when they rationalize behavior at odds with the true teaching of Jesus, but it was Jesus Himself who said that if we are to abide in His love, we must keep His commandments. (John 15:10)  Christianity is under attack worldwide.  Not only are Christians being murdered and exiled in the Middle East and Africa, Catholics and other Christians in America who maintain their belief in the sanctity of life and of marriage, are being marginalized and accused of intolerance and homophobia for holding to their faith convictions.  The force of law is being used to demand compliance and complicity with abortion and gay marriage.  The Body of Christ is under siege.  All this makes the next national election crucial if religious liberty is to be restored, or further disregarded.

As the 2016 presidential campaign shapes up, there are quite a few Catholics who have declared their candidacy, including, Marco Rubio, Scott Walker, Jeb Bush, George Pataki and Rick Santorum.  A couple of other Catholics who may throw their hats in the ring are John Kaisch and Bobby Jindahl.  Of these, only Pataki is supportive of gay marriage.  Except for Pataki, these candidates, as well as most of the other Republican candidates, are socially conservative, i.e., pro-life and pro-marriage.  If one of them is elected, and if a Republican majority is retained in Congress, there is hope for salvaging religious freedom, so that the Body of Christ in America is free to follow the commandments of Our Lord.