The Faith of the Left

I didn’t know Charlie Kirk. I’d neither met him, nor corresponded with him. I caught him a few times on TV, usually as he was interviewed by newspeople, or as a guest on a few opinion shows. Intrigued by this young man, I later watched the online video coverage of one of his interactive visits to a college. This was several years ago and I can’t recall the college or university involved, but that really doesn’t matter. I suspect Charlie Kirk dealt with all others in much the same generous, warm-hearted way, regardless of the venue. What truly impressed me, and I suppose surprised me, was his openness, his willingness to listen to a wide range of opinions, many of them absolutely crazy, and debate them graciously, respectfully, and kindly. And yet he never backed down. He never denied that which was most important to him. Charlie Kirk was remarkably consistent and open in his beliefs. And those beliefs all derived from his deeply held Christian faith. This was apparent whenever he spoke about what I’ll call his mission in today’s world.

Now, in our traditional American culture, one would think that someone like Charlie Kirk, who openly and strongly supported our Constitution's First Amendment — its protection of religion, speech, the press, and the right to assemble peaceably — would be almost universally praised. But no, a significant minority of Americans despises Kirk, and continues to despise him, even in death. They have habitually called this young man, who celebrated religious freedom and free speech, a Nazi, a fascist, and the reincarnation of Adolf Hitler. No rational person can overlook the irony here. That those who glorify the intended silencing of Kirk through a political (really a religious or spiritual) assassination have the temerity to call him a fascist is remarkable, and yet understandable considering its source.

What’s behind it all? Well, you might not agree with me, and that’s okay. But I believe all the hatred directed toward Charlie Kirk and so many others has its roots in a visceral hatred of God and in particular of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. You see, the left, even those who claim to be believers, have seemingly turned away from the one, true God and instead turned their ideology into a little god. Their leftist ideology has become that which they worship, that which must be accepted by all. Anyone who rejects this ideology must be stopped. How best to stop them? Use language. Call them the worst things imaginable: Hitler, fascist, Nazi… This allows them to respond to an almost predictable assassination by saying, “Well, what did you expect? He deserved it!” Yes, indeed, they plant the seeds, turning language into a weapon, one gladly picked up and used by their cadre of “useful idiots”, thoroughly brainwashed via the very worst of social media. 

If you know history, you’ll know Marxists have always hated the God who created them, especially the God who redeemed them from their sinfulness, Jesus Christ. They have tried to exterminate God from the world, a fruitless task, by destroying believers. But as Tertullian reminded the early persecuted Christians, “The blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church.” 

Charlie Kirk was right, and so is his grieving widow, Erika, who only two days after his death courageously exposed the stupidity of the left to the world. The haters don’t know what they have unleashed. Charlie Kirk and the vision he brought to life will continue and will grow in ways never imagined. God bless Charlie, his family, and those who will carry his vision forward. Oh, yes, continue to pray for our country, asking God’s will be done, for it is always good. 

Persecution Update

Living as we do in this nation where true religious freedom was once celebrated by the vast majority of Americans, we can easily overlook the attacks believers must endure throughout the world. Religious persecution here in the United States certainly exists but, at least until recently, it has been somewhat subtle, typified by verbal attacks and social exclusion, or what we now call "cancellation." Times are changing, though, and even here the enemy tries to exercise judicial and governmental power to eliminate any reference to religious values in the public square, and to belittle those who espouse them. Yes, the persecution of Christians is far worse in many parts of the world, where the martyrdom of the faithful has become an almost everyday occurrence. Sadly, though, the purveyors of hatred have become more adept at selling their product to the uninformed and spiritually indifferent here in the USA and in once-Christian Western Europe. I've included below just a few subtle and not-so-subtle examples pulled from recent news stories.

• St. Brigid Cancelled. Ireland, no longer the Catholic land of my ancestors, has seemingly regressed into a new form of paganism. St. Brigid, Ireland's traditional #2 saint, has apparently been cancelled. At first, it seemed the beloved fifth-century saint, whose feast day is February 1, would be commemorated by the creation of an annual "bank holiday" on the first Monday of February. But the Dublin City Council altered the celebration a bit. Forgetting the saint, they made the holiday a celebration honoring Irish women and the arrival of spring, all "inspired by the Celtic goddess, Brigit." They have, therefore, cancelled St. Brigid, replacing her with a virtually unknown Celtic goddess. The Dominican priest, Fr. Conor McDonough, who has researched both the saint and the goddess recently stated: 

"It's really quite incredible how this paper-thin theory became so widely accepted. We know almost nothing about the pagan divinity identified as Brigit in the 10th-century text, Sanas Cormaic. Brigit there is described as a goddess worshipped by poets, while her sister, also Brigit, is a goddess of medics, and another sister, Brigit again, is a goddess of blacksmiths. That's it; that's all we know. We don't know whether there was really a cult of Brigit(s) in pre-Christian Ireland. All we have is this very late report, written at a time Irish intellectuals were actively fabricating elements of the pagan Irish past."

I include this story just to demonstrate how Christian, and especially Catholic, traditions and beliefs have been undermined even in the least likely places. Thankfully, there remains in Ireland a "holy remnant" that will keep the faith alive and resist religious indifference or the return to paganism. Pray for them, that they will mirror the earlier evangelizing efforts and success of St. Patrick and St. Brigid. (Oh, yes, in the above image of St. Brigid, you'll notice her holding the St. Brigid Cross. One of those hangs just inside our front door.)

A brief postscript: It seems celebrating St. Patrick in Ireland will also be subject to wokeness. According to Ireland’s Arts Minister, Catherine Martin, this year’s St. Patrick’s Day Festival will celebrate diversity and inclusivity by highlighting LGBT entertainment, including parades of drag queens. The intent, of course, is to eradicate anything religious from the feast day of Ireland’s patron saint. We can only hope at least some Irish will have the courage to object.

• Iran and Lebanese Christianity. Thanks to the Islamic Republic of Iran, hundreds of thousands of Christians in Lebanon and elsewhere in the Middle East, are being killed and displaced. Iran uses its Shiite puppet, Hezbollah, a Lebanese terrorist group, to sabotage the nation’s physical, economic, and cultural infrastructure while also working to eliminate Lebanon’s Christians. 

Habib Malik, of the Philos Project, states that Lebanon faces a “new and unprecedented threat unlike previous scourges — it is the difference between what I would term the ‘dumb evil’ of the Islamic State (ISIS or Daesh) and the ‘cunning evil’ of Hezbollah and its Iranian Mullah overlords.” Hezbollah, he says, is determined to destroy Lebanon as a nation and replace it with a terror state. Malik added that Hezbollah’s goal is “to alter Lebanon’s identity as a country and a society: from a free and open society with both solid Arab and Western connections to one with stronger if not exclusive ties with Iran, Assad’s Syria, China, and other anti-Western states.”

Malik stresses that Iran is waging war on Christians throughout the Middle East and not just in Lebanon. Iran’s war, he states, “has been deliberate as part of a larger objective of creating the Shiite Crescent stretching from Iran to Lebanon through both Iraq and Syria.” Malik adds that the Iranian terrorist regime hates freedom and “sees the native Christians, especially those of Lebanon who have resisted dhimmitude over the centuries at enormous cost to them in terms of lives and resources, as the great obstacle in the face of their domination of the region.” 

The Iranian strategy appears to be working since huge number of Lebanese Christians, particularly young Christians, are leaving the country to live in the relative freedom available elsewhere in the West. How sad that Christians, who have lived throughout the Middle East since the time of the apostles, are being forced to leave their homelands.

• Worldwide Persecution of Christians Increasing. Christians are the most persecuted religious group in the world, largely because of Islamic extremism and repressive governments. The ever-increasing persecution has led Pope Francis to call it a "form of genocide" and "religio-ethnic cleansing." Keeping up with the news on the persecution of Christians is no easy task since the mainstream media tends to ignore it. You really have to dig deep to find stories on the subject. One good source, however, is Aid to the Church in Need International, a Catholic organization that is serious about keeping track of persecution throughout the world. (By the way, there are few organizations more worthy of donations than AID. I highly recommend throwing a few dollars in their direction every so often.)  Just a brief scan of the news section of AID’s website provides a quick review of the persecution of Christians in many countries, including:

Democratic Republic of the Congo where armed militias attack villages in the eastern provinces and often slaughter the inhabitants. Fr. Marcelo Oliveira, a missionary who serves the people in this dangerous region, stated that “Terror is widespread…It’s one village here today, another there tomorrow, and all this in silence. And this is what gets to us, as missionaries, seeing the silence of the international community, the deafening silence, while human lives are massacred.” Fr. Oliveira spoke right after terrorists used explosives to attack a Protestant church, an attack the killed at least 15 worshippers and wounded dozens of others. This is just one example of ongoing terror attacks aimed largely at Christian communities and churches.

Christians Massacred in Nigeria

Nigeria has undergone perhaps more persecution of Christians than any other African state. Between January 2021 and June 2022, more than 7,600 Christians have been killed in terror attacks. The terrorists have focused much of their attention on killing and kidnapping Catholic priests. In just the past year, four priests have been murdered and 28 kidnapped. Then in mid-January, two Catholic priests were attacked in their presbytery by terrorists. One, Fr. Isaac Achi, was burned alive when the building was set afire, and the other, Fr. Collins Omeh, was shot but survived the attack. On the same day another priest was kidnapped. Unfortunately, the Nigerian government has been less than enthusiastic protecting Christians or pursuing the terrorists. Speaking to the UK Houses of Parliament, Nigeria’s Bishop Jude Arogundade stated: “I strongly appeal to this important body and all people of goodwill to compel the Nigerian government to stop the genocide.” I suspect that the UK, the nations of Western Europe, and the USA will probably just wipe their hands of it all, saying, “Really, what can we do?” And when Christians are massacred by Muslim extremists, the Western media keeps silent. Of course, the unspoken sentiment that drives so much of the liberal, woke West’s attitudes and actions relates to Christianity’s unwillingness to stop “making disciples of all nations…baptizing…and teaching all that I have commanded you” [See Mt 28:19-20]. As one liberal, agnostic acquaintance said to me a few years ago, "All your proselytizing does is anger the Muslims. In a sense you Christians are the root cause of terrorism." How can you argue with logic like that? Another unstated motivation? The systemic racism of the atheistic left. Hey, it’s in Africa, not really worth our trouble.

I simply don’t have the time today to address all the other nations of the world where Christian persecution is widespread, but if you visit the AID website and click on their “News” section, you can read these stories yourself. The Christians in Africa are among the most courageous and their courage is the reason Christianity is growing so rapidly on that continent. Read about persecution and anti-Christian terrorism in Mozambique, Mali, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, and other nations. But Africa’s not unique. The same kind of persecution, much of it conducted by governments, takes place today in Asian nations such as Pakistan, Syria, Iraq, North Korea, and too many others. 

Keep the Christians of the world in your prayers. Think of them as you drive to church this weekend, knowing that you can do so without fearing for your life or wondering if your children and grandchildren might be targets of a terrorist attack or government reprisals simply because they are Christians.

Praised be Jesus Christ...now and forever!

Homily: Feast of the Holy Innocents

 Readings: 1 Jn 1:5-2:2; Ps 124; Mt 2:13-18

______________________________

More than any other time in the liturgical year, Christmas is a celebration of life. It’s the day we celebrate the remarkable gift of the Father – the gift in which He gives us His Son, Jesus Christ, by having Him share in our human life. During this season God sends Himself into the world. He becomes one of us:

“And the Word became flesh, and made His dwelling among us” [Jn 1:14].  

Yes, Christmas is a wonderful manifestation of God’s love for us – His regard for the gift of life He has given us.

Today, however, in our Gospel reading we witness an event describing man’s rejection of this gift. Herod, so afraid of losing his earthly power, a power that cannot last, turned his fear into hate, and hate into the destruction of innocent life. In a very real sense, these little ones gave their lives so the Son of God could be Emmanuel and live among us.

Like many of today’s political leaders, Herod foolishly believed he could defeat the will of God. Driven by fear and hatred, he became a mass murderer of the most innocent among his people.

Slaughter of the Innocents

Sagrada Familia, Barcelona

Today we face with something very similar, but in truth it’s something far worse. Since 1973 over 60 million of our nation’s most innocent have been slaughtered by abortion. And that’s just a small percentage of the global total. It’s time to stop this child-killing and put the Life back into Christmas, to eradicate the culture of death.

I’m convinced, though, this won’t come about through politics. No, it will happen only when we as God’s People undergo a change of heart, when we all begin to lead the Christian life the Gospel calls us to lead. As Catherine Doherty phrased it, when we learn to live “the Gospel without compromise.”

We can start by following Joseph and obeying God’s commandments – quite simply, to do what He tells us, even if He tells us to get up in the middle of the night and go to where we don’t want to go.

We are called also to love, and that means loving even the Herods of today’s world. Love them into God's kingdom by forgiving them, praying for them, suffering for them, and sharing the love of Jesus with them.

We are called, too, to repentance, to ask God to heal our apathy, our own weak faith. As John told us in our reading today,

"If we acknowledge our sins, He Who is just can be trusted to forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrong" [1 Jn 1:9].

You see, brothers and sisters, you and I aren’t engaging in battle with people. No, our real battle is with Satan. By prayer and fasting we can drive out the demons of abortion and hatred, as well as the plagues of war and terrorism.

And finally, we can fix our eyes always on Jesus. It is He who welcomes the innocents of yesterday, today, and tomorrow into the Kingdom, and it is He, and only He, Who can forgive those who took their precious lives.

Only Jesus Christ, and the grace He showers on us through His holy Church, can save us from our sinfulness and from eternal death.

Only Jesus Christ can give us the gift of life, eternal life, for He is the Lord of Life.

We must never forget that.

“Catholic” Universities

Every so often I come across news stories about some aspect of the Church, stories that too often lead to scandal. And if they scandalize me, a deacon of the Church, I can only imagine their effect on others, regardless of their religious affiliation. This past week presented me with a pair of these offensive stories, each centered on a university that defines itself as Catholic.

Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles provides us with our first story. It seems this Catholic, Jesuit university permitted a student group to hold an on-campus fundraiser for Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider. In fact, in 2020 Planned Parenthood performed more than 354,000 abortions — that is, they murdered that many innocent unborn babies — a total representing nearly 40% of all abortions in the U.S. last year. Yes, indeed, Planned Parenthood seems to enjoy profiting off the killing of babies.

The student group sponsoring the fundraiser call themselves Women in Politics and obviously support abortion. A group of alumni and students petitioned the university, urging it to cancel the event, calling it “an egregious violation of LMU’s Jesuit, Catholic identity.” The petition went on to state that “As a Catholic university, LMU has a responsibility to stand up for Catholic values.” Samantha Stephenson, an alumna involved in preparing the petition, said Women in Politics should support charities that “more effectively support women’s dignity…not at odds with the Catholic Church.” Stephenson also quoted Pope Francis, a Jesuit, who recently stated:

“Is it right to eliminate, to take a human life to solve a problem? Is it right to hire a hitman to solve a problem? That’s what abortion is.”

Thank you, Pope Francis, for showing us that Planned Parenthood and their ilk are nothing more than a collection of hitmen whose victims are the most innocent among us.

In response, a statement from the university’s administration argued that the fundraiser, although held on campus, was not a “university-sponsored event,” and went on to state that “The events, actions, or positions of student organizations, including Women in Politics, are not endorsed by the university.” The university’s statement also informed the world that it remains fully committed to its “Catholic, Jesuit, and Marymount heritage, values, and intellectual traditions.” Its demonstration of this commitment is apparently carried out in secrecy because it’s certainly not done publicly. Oh, yes, the school’s statement continued by declaring the activities of its student groups as “living examples that LMU embraces its mission, commitments, and the complexities of free and honest discourse.” 

To read more about this travesty, click here: Loyola Marymount University and Planned Parenthood.

I think we can dismiss the idea that Loyola Marymount University remains a Catholic university. It has instead caved to the reigning zeitgeist, a culture of death supported by far too many Catholics on the political left, including more than few Jesuits. As a result, this Catholic university is actively supporting the nation’s largest abortion provider. One recalls Jesus words…

“He said to his disciples, “Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the person through whom they occur. It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin” [Lk 17:1-2].

And that’s just for those who cause little ones to sin. What about those who murder the most innocent little ones among us?

St. Louis University is a Catholic university that is also — surprise, surprise! — a Jesuit university. The school’s Students for Life chapter made a pro-life, cross-shaped, flag memorial on the campus of this Catholic university. Although the memorial was approved by the university, some students apparently did not agree. As always today, there are videos. They’re rather disturbing, so I won’t include the videos here, but if you like you can watch them on other sites. 

The students who objected to the memorial decided they had to destroy it. Two young women, identified by the media as Fiorella Michelis and Olivia Jarrell, began to kick the flags, pull them up out of the ground, and stomp on the memorial. They also confronted Nick Baker, a Students for Life member who objected to their actions. 

When Baker told them the Students for Life had created the memorial, one responded with, “So, you just love disrespecting women.” The other added, “Yeah, a man who has absolutely no right telling women what to do with their bodies or trying to shame them or trying to make them feel guilty about their decisions that they have absolutely all the right to do.” 

They objected also to the effects of the memorial on those women who have had abortions: “If a woman was walking by who had an abortion, how do you think she would feel about this?” 

A male student replied saying, “I’m sure she wouldn’t feel great, but that’s why we need to reach out to them and help them.”

The two women students also demonstrated that their remarkable vocabularies matched their destructive actions and the ideology behind them. One of the students approached Baker and said, “People hate you. You’re a disgusting misogynist, and you know karma is going to f*****g get you. You’ll see that when you die and hopefully you f*****g go to hell.” She then added, “You can see my pictures, you can see how pretty I am, how good a life I have. And what do you have? You’re a f*****g loser, and you think you can tell other people what to do with their f*****g bodies.”

When Baker told her that most Students for Life members were women, she replied with a remarkable non-sequitur, “You just really enjoy your life, ‘cause I’ll enjoy mine. And I’ll f*****g keep killing babies.”

“…keep killing babies.” I don’t know about you, but all I hear here is Satan speaking through these young women. How very sad. 

Several other students tried to destroy the memorial but left when confronted by Students of Life members. 

The university issued a statement: It is conducting an investigation, and it “takes seriously any alleged violation of our Community Standards, and has policies and processes in place to address concerns when they are reported.” Hmm…after reading that little piece of administrative cover, I suspect nothing will happen.

How To Save the World

I actually saw the title of this post in an online business magazine and must admit it got my attention. The author of the article, of course, doesn’t know what he’s taking about because neither you nor I can save the world. It’s already been saved by Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God. Our task isn’t to save the world; rather, as St. Paul reminds us, it’s to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” [Phil 2:12]. And God doesn’t want us to be focused solely on our own salvation, for we are called to help others on their journey as well: “As each has received a gift, employ it for one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace” [1 Peter 4:10]. Yes, indeed, God spreads His grace lavishly, but sometimes you and I need a wake-up call, a bit of encouragement from another, to respond to God’s gratuitous gift of grace [See Mk 2:3-5].

I expect these truths never crossed the author’s mind. I can’t be certain about this since I know nothing about him and really didn’t read the entire article but just glanced at some of the paragraph headings and caught a few of his thoughts. For example, among his world-saving ideas was the suggestion to “Call your local politician.” Why? Because “Most people won’t be able to save the world all by themselves. Politicians, on the other hand, can’t save the world without you. They need public support to drive home legislation that can make the world a better place.” As if legislation, too often the product of political compromise, lobbyist dollars, and ideological fervor, will lead to a better world. Not!

I’m sorry, but even with your help and my help, no politician can save the world. I’ve known more than a few politicians, some quite well, and only a tiny handful would have willingly sacrificed their political futures to “make the world a better place.” Not surprisingly, none of these considered politics a life-long career. The very fact that most politicians refer to their work as a “career in public service” tells us all we need to know. Most politicians are not unlike the heretics that have plagued the Church for 2,000 years. The heretic believes he is smarter and holier than the Church founded by Jesus Christ [See Mt 16:18-19]. In much the same way, the politician believes he is wiser and far more necessary than those who elected him to office. Of course, they are both wrong. St. Paul again reminds us that “if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself” [Gal 6:3]. I hope, then, we can agree that our politicians cannot, with or without our assistance, save a world that’s already been redeemed. This knowledge is nothing new. As the Psalmist sings, reminding us:

Put not your faith in princes,

    in a son of man, in who, there is no help.

When his breath departs he returns to his earth;

    on that very day his plans perish [Ps 146:3-4].

I will, however, agree with the author that we can each do our part to “make the world a better place.” But for me that means to follow the Gospel, or as Jesus said when He began His public ministry, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the Gospel” [Mk 1:15]. We are called to repent of our sinfulness and called to faith. Salvation, you see, is God’s work, since only He can save. Each of us, though, has been placed in a tiny slice of God’s Creation — a place, a time, a community — in which we are called to evangelize. 

To me, this is the key. We must begin where we are, in our families, our community, our humanity. We are all children of a loving God, regardless of race or any other characteristic we humans decide separates us. We are all, every single one of us, in God’s family, children of the Father, brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ. That’s the reason He became one of us, to show us the Father’s love for all whom He created. The humanity of Jesus should bring us together. We must all learn to rejoice in the very fact of our creation, to accept that God loves each of us in a remarkably personal way. 

Sadly, far too much of the world today acts as if there is no God. To deny God is to slide into despair and fear. What’s left? Nothing. The only human solution is to see yourself, or humanity, as a God replacement, and so, we create our own little gods that signify nothing. Soon enough we come to focus solely on our own convenience. This leads to hatred — hatred of others and, ultimately, self-hatred — a self-focused attitude that sees little need for the existence of others. We then easily accept the murder of the innocent child in the womb, the infanticide of the newborn but imperfect child, and the willingness to eliminate the seriously ill, the elderly, and any others whose lives just cost the rest of us too much.

You can recognize the haters because they always accuse others of their own sins. It began with Adam and Eve and hasn’t stopped. We are called to love others, even our enemies, but that doesn’t mean we have to like them. Loving another is not an emotion; it’s a decision, one in which we desire the good of another. We must want what God wants for the other since His will is the only will that truly counts. This, of course, demands that we must accept and repent of our own sinfulness, that which separates us from God and from each other.

The other day, on the feast of our parish patron, St. Vincent de Paul, I remarked that perhaps the central theme of the Gospel is John’s declaration:

“For God so loved the world that he gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” [Jn 3:16].

Yes, God loves the world, all of the world, the world He created: “And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good” [Gen 1:31]. From this, then, we realize that we must love our God in return, for how could we not love the God who created each one of us in a unique act of love. 

So that’s my thinking about making the world better. If we all accepted our role as evangelists, if we all accepted the commission that Jesus extended to every Christian, God would change the world in the most remarkable way. It was a pretty straightforward command, not a complicated thing:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age” [Mt 28:19-20].

Signs of the Times

Watching or reading the news these days can certainly be disheartening, but if we ignore what’s happening in our world we run the risk of allowing evil to overwhelm the good, at least temporarily. And, believe me, there is much evil in this world. Let me share a few — ten to be exact — reports I’ve stumbled across recently. In most instances the headlines say enough, but I’ll add a link to each so you can read the entire story should you want to dig more deeply into one or more of these reports.

Some of these articles report on palpable demonstrations of real evil, while others depict the weakness of those afraid to counter its more subtle manifestations. In all of them, however, we encounter a betrayal of Judeo-Christian values and a rejection of the Gospel. Behind many of these stories is a hatred of the Church, which Marxists have always believed to be its most “dangerous” enemy.

European Union Parliament Declares Abortion a Human Right

Nellis Air Force Base Hosts First-Ever Drag Queen Show: “Essential to the Morale, Readiness”

Religion Professors Argue Evangelical Christians Are White Racists Who “may end up killing us all”

Paris Archbishop Laments Attacks on Catholics Honoring City’s Martyrs

In the Safe Spaces on the Berkeley Campus, No Jews Allowed

Catholic Senator Tim Kaine Compares Catholic Teaching on Abortion to “Sharia Law”

Catholics in the Big-Tech Crosshairs: De Facto Online Censorship Raises Concerns

Satanists Buy Billboard Promoting Abortion as Religious Ritual, Citing “Abortions Save Lives”

In an Affront to its Namesake, the Tolkien Society Goes “Woke”

Congressman Ted Lieu Promotes Abortion, Tells Bishops “I dare you to deny me Communion”

…that’s it for now, but enough to show how evil has infiltrated so much of our society, indeed, our entire world. 

Because I’m a deacon some people seem to think I have all the answers, or at least some of them. Of course, I don’t, and like the rest of the faithful struggle to find my way to salvation. As St. Paul instructed the Philippians, “work out your salvation with fear and trembling” [Phil 2:12]. And that’s exactly where I am — just a servant overcome with awe, with fear of the Lord, and trembling over my own sinfulness. But still, I’m asked questions: 

As a Christian, how should I respond to the growing evil and hatred I see around me? 

Should I be politically active? 

What does God want us to do? 

What does He want me to do?

These, and similar questions, are asked by faithful Christians who want only to do what is right but are troubled by the conflicting words they hear and the signs they see emanating from politicians, clergy, academics, media people, and others, all competing for their attention, their allegiance…or their vote. My response? Turn to the Word of God and listen to what St. Paul told the Ephesians while he was imprisoned, “an ambassador in chains.”

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done it all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the equipment of the gospel of peace; above all taking the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the flaming darts of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that utterance may be given me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak [Eph 6:10-20].

Did you happen to notice the warfare and military metaphors St. Paul used? They’re hard to miss. He knew the Church will always be engaged in battle against the powers of darkness, not a physical battle, at least not often, but a spiritual battle. 

In the beginning, though, the Risen Jesus didn’t send those first disciples into the fray unprepared: 

“...He enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, He said, ‘you heard from me, for John baptized with water, but before many days you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit’” [Acts 1:4-5]. 

Here Jesus acknowledged that their mission would not be an easy one, that the disciples must be well-armed for the battle, armed with spiritual weapons only the Holy Spirit can provide. Only then can we "stand against the wiles of the devil...and boldly...proclaim the mystery of the gospel." 

We must realize, though, to engage in this battle does not mean responding to hatred with hatred. St. John Paul II certainly recognized this. In his encyclical,  Evangelium vitae (The Gospel of Life), he showed he understood our struggles, reminding us that unlike the “culture of death,” Christianity is a love story. And St. Paul offers us even more specifics on how we should approach the fight:

"Do everything without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine like lights in the world, as you hold on to the word of life, so that my boast for the day of Christ may be that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. But, even if I am poured out as a libation upon the sacrificial service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with all of you" [Phil 2:14-17].

Is this easy? Not at all. Do you and I really "shine like lights in the world" or do we sometimes try to hide from the powers of darkness? Just like the Apostles, we can't do it on our own. We, too, need the gifts of the Holy Spirit as we struggle to carry out God's will in our lives.

COVID-19 Bible Study Reflection #7: Love One Another

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve written one of these reflections, and several people have asked me why. I’d like to say I’ve been extremely busy doing all kinds of important stuff, but that wouldn’t be true…well, not completely true. Thanks to the lifestyle changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve stepped away from some of my usual activities, probably out of sheer laziness. But during the past week or so, I’ve also been forced to think about what’s been happening in and to our country and didn’t want to react unthinkingly. I’ve needed time to digest these events, to understand them better, and to consider how best to respond.

The catalyst, of course, was the death of George Floyd on May 25. We’ve all seen the video, and I’ve heard absolutely no one support the police officer who knelt on Floyd’s neck, the act which allegedly caused his death. I suppose there are a few who believe otherwise, but I think I can safely say that 99% of Americans, and that includes me and everyone I know, were horrified by what they saw. But only a very few people, those actively involved in the case – investigators, medical examiners, prosecutors, defense attorneys, etc. – have access to all the evidence, so I will make no rash judgment, but will defer to our justice system. Like anything devised by man, our systems of justice are flawed. But we remain, at least for now, a nation of laws, and must allow the law to struggle toward a just result.

George Floyd was a black man who suffered death allegedly because of the actions of a white police officer. This has become the salient fact that initiated the protests against police brutality and racism spreading across the nation. I won’t argue the facts here, except to state that I do not accept the charge that the United States today is intrinsically a racist society. Indeed, if one actually takes the time to examine the statistics, particularly those that directly involve the actions of law enforcement professionals at all levels, obvious racist activity by the police is extremely rare, and actually on the decline. But that’s not my subject here.

The protesters have every right to go into the streets and let the nation know what they think. After all, in the Bill of Rights, the First Amendment to the Constitution recognizes some of our basic rights:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

Yes, we have the right “peaceably to assemble.” We do not, however, have the right to engage in violent protest, something Terrence Floyd recently reminded those protesting the death of his older brother, George.

Unfortunately, some organizations and movements have tried to take over many of these otherwise peaceful protests, infecting them with violence and hoping only to destroy and create chaos. The most violent among these organizations have even prepositioned bricks, water bottles filled with concrete, Molotov cocktails and other incendiary devices, and have encouraged looting and destruction by those confused souls who inevitably appear during times of urban unrest. How sad for the protesters who have exercised their right to come together and air their grievances peacefully. I might not agree with everything they have to say, but I spent many years in the uniform of our nation willing to give my life for their right to express it.

Among the most radical of the violent organizations that have embedded themselves into these protests is Antifa, a so-called anti-fascist movement. Ironically Antifa practices the same kind of violent criminal activity carried out by its predecessor, the Nazi Sturmabteilung (SA) or Brownshirts, who were largely instrumental in Adolph Hitler’s rise to power in prewar Germany. (If you don’t believe me, look up the history of the Brownshirts and compare their tactics to Antifa’s.)  Antifa, of course, is not alone, and is joined by a collection of mostly leftist organizations that desire not racial equality, but division. Some even espouse the destruction of American society.

I’ve found that extremists almost universally charge those they hate with the same evils that best define their own activity; hence Antifa, while claiming to be anti-fascist, is fascist to the core. Similarly, Black Lives Matter focuses only on the relatively few deaths of unarmed African Americans by law enforcement, while ignoring thousands of black on black murders. Apparently, only some black lives matter.

Communists, fascists, anarchists…In truth I’ve never seen much difference between the extremists of the left or the right. They all seek power and will use any means to achieve it. They claim to love democracy and yet despise the idea that the people are sovereign and “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.” We need only observe the results so evident in Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, Communist China, Castro’s Cuba, and so many other regimes that have essentially enslaved their people while calling themselves “democratic.”

As Christians, what then are we to do? 

First, we must always speak the truth. It’s so easy to speak only what others are saying, or what they want to hear from us. Indeed, it’s easy to assume that public opinion must be right because so many seem to accept it. But as Pope Benedict XVI once wisely said, “Truth is not determined by majority vote.”

The actual truth behind so much of human activity is impossible for us to grasp, simply because we cannot see into the hearts of others. St. Paul put it well when he wrote:

“For what person knows a man’s thoughts except the spirit of the man which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” [1 Cor 2:11].

We should, therefore, speak only that which we know to be true. This isn’t easy since much of what we think and say is influenced not only by the facts, but also by our own prejudices and emotional reactions to people and events. Perhaps if we turn to Jesus, specifically to His Sermon on the Mount, we can gain some clarity.

Judge with right judgment. I have tried – not always successfully – to rely on the teaching Word of Jesus. He first instructs us to be careful of judging others:

“Judge not, that you be not judged…You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye” [Mt 7:1,5].

But beam removal is difficult, isn’t it? All those prejudices, and emotions, and past experiences are hard to set aside…hard, but not impossible. The only real truth, you see, is Jesus Christ, “the way and the truth and the life” [Jn 14:6]. If we stick with Jesus, the incarnate Word of God, we’ll be safe and can proclaim the truth confidently. Only with a clean heart, only when all those pesky beams have been removed, can we grasp the truth and make just judgments. Of course, truth and just judgment demand God’s healing grace, His mercy, and His forgiveness. For this Jesus gave us the sacrament of reconciliation to free us from our sin so we can embrace the truth. How did St. John put it in his First Letter?

“If we say, ‘We are without sin,’ we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” [1 Jn 1:8].

So many today reject the very idea of truth, preferring instead to succumb to what Pope Benedict XVI called the “dictatorship of relativism.” Without the truth they cannot judge but only express faulty opinions driven by political and personal biases. Again, Jesus instructs us:

“Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment” [Jn 7:24].

With these words Jesus takes us back to the Torah, to the Law as revealed in Leviticus:

“You shall not act dishonestly in rendering judgment. Show neither partiality to the weak nor deference to the mighty, but judge your neighbor justly” [Lv 19:15].

Here we encounter a concept of justice that is echoed centuries later by the prophet Isaiah when he points to the justice of He Who is to come:

“Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide, but he shall judge the poor with justice, and decide fairly for the land’s afflicted” [Is 11:3-4].

This, of course, is the essence of “right judgment” because it conforms to God’s Law and not the laws of men. So often we think that by showing “partiality to the weak” we are being just. But doing so is really no better than deferring “to the mighty” or the wealthy or the politically connected. Appearances are so often deceiving, aren’t they?

We can, therefore, make judgments, right judgments, but only when we look past the appearances and seek the truth. Our judgment must be based on reality, not wishful thinking. Again, in His Sermon on the Mount, after telling us to remove those wooden beams, Jesus gives us a way to identify the evil in our midst:

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will know them [Mt 7:15-16].

We live in a world with more than its share of “ravenous wolves” posing as innocent sheep. Jesus didn’t pull any punches when He exposed those plotting to take His life:

“You belong to your father the devil and you willingly carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks in character, because he is a liar and the father of lies” [Jn 8:44].

Yes, indeed, “By their fruits you will know them.” Unlike Jesus, however, you and I cannot know the heart or mind of another, we can judge only by the results of their words and actions…by their fruits. In other words, we can safely assert that the firebombing and looting of a business are both sinful acts. We can condemn the sin but should not be quick to condemn the sinner. 

Throughout the New Testament we are often reminded of the perils of unjust judgment. For example, as St. Paul instructs the Romans:

“Therefore, you are without excuse, every one of you who passes judgment. For by the standard by which you judge another you condemn yourself, since you, the judge, do the very same things. We know that the judgment of God on those who do such things is true. Do you suppose, then, you who judge those who engage in such things and yet do them yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?” [Rom 2:1-3]

To judge another is quite a challenge, then, isn’t it? I suppose it all goes back to those wooden beams. Unless we strive to remove them, to reject the power of sin in our own lives, how can we justly judge another?
Over the years I’ve served on a number of juries, and always found it morally painful to judge another whom I didn’t know, based on often conflicting testimony and evidence. As jurors we are instructed to convict only when guilt has been established “beyond a reasonable doubt.” But as I discovered when serving as jury foreman on several occasions, “reasonable doubt” can mean very different things to different people. And so, again, as we apply man’s law, we struggle to achieve some kind of real justice.

What, then, should be our attitude toward those who seem so intent on leaving little but hatred and destruction in their wake?

Love them and pray for them. Loving and praying for those who seem so intent on hurting you and those you love is more than difficult. It’s impossible…impossible, that is, without God’s help. It’s only by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit working within us, that we can love our enemies. Jesus, once again in His Sermon on the Mount, gives us a command very much at odds with the ways of the world:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect” [Mt 5:43-48].

“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” is a pretty clear command, isn’t it? And yet it’s one of those hard to do things that seems so counterintuitive, so contrary to human nature – one of those things that causes many to turn away from Jesus Christ and His Church. They see Christians, folks like you and me, ignoring God’s call to love, and they sneer at our hypocrisy. “You preach a good line,” they say, “but you don’t practice what you preach.” And you know something? Too often they’re right.
Notice, too, that Jesus didn’t call us to be pretty good or to be slightly above average. No, He called us to “be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” This, too, is impossible without God’s help. Called, then, to do the Father’s work in imitation of the Son, we need the grace of the Holy Spirit. God’s perfection is best defined by His love; and so, love is a Trinitarian thing, the very essence of the relationship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is only through love that we can even approach the perfection of our God. 

Some, of course, will ask why we are to love one another. That’s perhaps the simplest question to answer. We must love each other because God loved us first. He created each one of us in an individual act of love. He came into the world not just to redeem me, or to redeem you, but to redeem us all, every single one of us:

“This is good and pleasing to God our savior, who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth” [1 Tim 2:4]

Our loving, merciful God wills the salvation of all. And we are called to do our part by bringing others to a “knowledge of the truth” which is Jesus Christ, and to do so in love. Here’s how St. John explains it:

“Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us” [1 Jn 4:7-12].

Loving one another is not optional behavior. Love is not driven by emotion; it must be a decision. But loving our enemies, or the often greater challenge of loving friends and family, doesn’t mean we just love them from afar and pray for them. “Whoever is without love does not know God” and it’s up to us to introduce them to God and His redeeming, merciful love. 

I’ll conclude with the words of St. Peter as he calls us to unity:

“Finally, all of you, be of one mind, sympathetic, loving toward one another, compassionate, humble. Do not return evil for evil, or insult for insult; but, on the contrary, a blessing, because to this you were called, that you might inherit a blessing” [1 Pt 3:8-9].

Maybe then, maybe when we Christians come together, united in our faith, when we are “of one mind, loving toward one another,” God will send forth His Spirit to shed His saving grace on the world.

Blessed to be an American

I am always saddened when I hear Americans trash their homeland as if it were the worst country in the world. There seems to be a lot of this going around these days. And, perhaps most surprisingly, much of it comes from those who have most benefitted from that which makes the United States so different from all other nations.

Kaepernick et al. Kneeling

Hollywood celebrities, sports figures, academics, media pundits, lifelong self-serving politicians, ingrained bureaucrats, and assorted billionaires express truly remarkable hatred for the nation that made their worldly success possible. It's remarkable because, for so many, their parents and grandparents came to this country impoverished, seeking the better life which their descendants now enjoy.

Hollywood Intelligentsia

These elites, who mistakenly assume that worldly wealth and power are the product of wisdom, not only hate the nation and the founding principles that brought it into being, but also its most hard-working, productive people. Most disturbingly, the elites hate those who would sacrifice their lives to ensure the freedom of those who despise them. 

They attack our Constitution, a document specifically designed to keep us free and protect us from the tyranny of  elites of every stripe. Far more than the men who wrote and ratified it, the Constitution is responsible for our nation's greatness and continued existence.

But, of course, they must also attack our nation's founding fathers for their sins, forgetting that all men are sinners who still manage to accomplish good, and occasionally great, things. In their ignorance and their pride they consider themselves far superior not only to their fellow citizens, but also to the giants who went before them.

Is our nation perfect? Of course not. Perfection is unattainable through human means. But its perfections far outnumber its defects. And having traveled throughout much of the world, I cannot imagine living anywhere else. 

Ben Stein

Yes, indeed, I am saddened by these shameless attacks; but every so often I encounter something that offers at least a glimmer of hope.

Ben Stein, whom many would probably number among the elites since he is an economist, speech writer, media pundit, actor, etc. And yet he seems to be a man with a reasonably accurate sense of self-worth, one who accepts that success is largely the result of gifts from both God and man.

Occasionally, therefore, he can be counted on to write some wonderful things. In a recent American Spectator piece -- from Ben Stein's Diary -- he wrote the following:

"I spend a lot of time thanking God for letting me live in America, the greatest refuge that man ever created. I pray endlessly for the families and the souls of those who died in agony fighting the Nazis and the Japanese and the Communists to keep us free. I have air conditioning. Hot water. Indoor plumbing. Super abundance of food. Warm blankets. And freedom to do as I wish all day long. Yes, and I owe every bit of it to men and women who never even knew me, but who fought and lost lives and limbs so that I, a total unknown to them, could live in peace and prosperity. What thanks is possibly even remotely adequate?"

A comment worth sharing from a man, who like me, is 73 years old and has also reaped the harvest of the far greater lives that came before us. Thank God that, among our youth, we can still count many who believe their country is worth serving and saving. But too many today (like pajama boy below) think otherwise.  

Will these United States survive what may well be its greatest challenges? As one who served his country for many years, I suppose I'm hopeful, but, like the psalmist, I've also learned to

Put no trust in princes, in children of Adam powerless to save [Ps 146:3].

...and so I place my trust in God alone, thanking Him for what I am and have, but asking only that His will be done. 

Homily: Saturday, First Week of Lent

Readings: Dt 26:16-19; Ps 119; Mt 5:43-48

As a Navy pilot during the war in Vietnam, I flew search and rescue helicopters. We were stationed aboard ships in the Tonkin Gulf and most of our rescue work involved picking up fighter and attack pilots who had been shot down. Although we were armed with a .30 caliber machine gun mounted in the cabin door, and we all carried small arms, these light weapons really provided very little protection. Anyway, our goal was to avoid detection. We just wanted to get in, pick up any survivors, and get out as quickly as possible. On the few occasions that one of our helicopter crews actually fired their weapons, I don’t think they ever hit anybody. I suppose they made us feel safer though.

The enemy, of course, were the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong communists. As my POW friends will attest, they were not nice people. And as my many Marine friends discovered when they liberated the ancient city of Hue, the communists had tortured and murdered over 7,000 men, women, and children during their month-long occupation. Yes, they were an easy enemy to hate.

But hating them troubled me because I had read the Sermon on the Mount and knew what Jesus had commanded of us. And so one day I paid a visit to the Catholic chaplain and asked him how we could reconcile the command to love our enemies with this conflict in which we were engaged. I’ll always remember that conversation.

It was a long conversation. I won’t go into our lengthy discussion on the just war doctrine. That’s a subject for another time. But I will tell you what he had to say about enemies and hatred and love and forgiveness.

He began by saying that if our enemies are those we hate, we have ceased being Christians. As disciples of Jesus Christ we are to hate no one. But if our enemies are those who hate us, then we will always have enemies.

After all, Jesus had many enemies, simply because He loved everyone, especially those despised by the world, and He spoke the truth even when it upset people, and did the Father’s will. Yes, Jesus had enemies, but He hated no one.

Our enemies decide how they will treat us. We decide only to love them or to hate them. Love and hate, you see, are not emotions. They’re decisions. Jesus calls us to make the decision to love regardless of the evil others do. And He calls to exclude no one from our love.

These are hard words for us, aren’t they? Hard indeed… until we come face to face with the Cross, and we hear His words, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do” [Lk 23:34]. It’s there, on the Cross, that we encounter Divine Mercy: God’s perfect  love, a love that demands forgiveness.

Forgiveness is the only thing we can do to those we are called to love. If we refuse to forgive, we are refusing to love.

Do you remember the movie, “Dead Man Walking”? Well, one person you won’t see in the movie is Debbie Morris, the one victim who miraculously survived kidnapping, rape and torture -- a horrific ordeal at the hands of Robert Willie. He was executed based largely on her testimony. But after a long healing process, she said, “Justice didn’t do a thing to heal me. Forgiveness did.”

Yes, it’s easy to hate and scream for justice, for man’s justice, but it never brings healing. It never brings the closure the world promises. Only forgiveness can do that. Only forgiveness can heal.

The world will never run out of objects for our hatred, especially today when enemies abound. If we hope to become the people Moses spoke of in our first reading, “a people sacred to the LORD” [Dt 26:19], we must live up to God’s expectations for us, we who were created in His image and likeness.

And so He calls each of us to view this life as a pilgrimage of love, one in which we seek out others, finding Jesus Christ in each person we meet, and letting them recognize Jesus in us.

Let God be the one who will judge His creations.

We need only love.