85
years ago, our neighbors to the south were embroiled in a life and death
struggle to maintain their freedom to worship as they saw fit. The Mexican Government systematically
suspended and suppressed the rights of Catholics to gather for Mass, for priests
and nuns to wear religious garb outside of a house of worship, and any foreign
born cleric was expelled from the country.
These stories are told eloquently in the new movie For Greater Glory
which is in theaters now.
Our
brothers and sisters to the south did not sit by quietly to allow this
oppression to persist, however. Bishops,
priests, religious and lay men and women, Catholic, Protestant and Atheist,
even, bonded together in a wide range of efforts to preserve the rights of
Mexican citizens to express their religious liberty. And while it was a long and difficult
struggle, eventually the government had to withdraw, eventually the struggle
for freedom was won; through the power of prayer and an attitude that they
would not succumb to the forces arrayed against them.
My
friends, we live in such a time and we must look to our fathers and mothers in
the faith to see the example of their courage in the face of oppression, their
resolve in the face of insurmountable odds, their determination when even family
is turned against them. This is our time
to stand and be counted. This is our
time for greatness.
There
are forces arrayed that want to redefine religious liberty into merely a
freedom to worship as we please. This is
not the right protected in our Constitution.
This is not what so many of ancestors came to this country to find. We seek a liberty to be guided by our
religious ideals to serve the poorest of the poor, to educate the young, to
meet the needs of the sick and downtrodden, not because they are Catholic or
co-religionists; but because WE ARE. Our faith demands that we serve, our mission
is not solely ad intra, but as
commanded by Our Lord, it is necessarily ad
gentes, to the nations, to be a leaven in society and to be a force that works
for The Good, not just for ourselves, but for ALL PEOPLE.
This
is not a struggle solely for the bishops and the priests to undertake. While i ask you to please pray for our
courage in leading you through the dark times ahead, you must also be active in
this! I ask you to do three things:
1) fast and pray
for this effort!
2)
Stay informed on the topic, and don’t get caught
in the trap that this is just about contraception, it is much deeper and
broader than that.
3)
Use social media to keep the conversation going. The main stream media is not covering this,
so we must take it on ourselves to make sure this message gets out.
As
we gather here today, we stand accompanied by the witnesses who have gone
before us and who have given their lives for this most cherished of all
American liberties. Let us follow the
example of the martyrs of Mexico during the Christeros movement, of England
during the Reformation, of Japan and the Far East during the missionary times
and of the Early Church who first sowed the seeds of faith in Europe; that as
they were willing to give all in testimony to their faith, and by doing so won
the hearts of their enemies, that we might be willing to take up the call in
our own day and age to be the leaven for society and to allow Christ to continue
to speak through our words and actions.
May
God bless our country and all who are gathered here.
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