Posted on 10/22/2008 7:09:18 AM PDT by livius
Judgment Day is on its way. We cannot stop it. We don’t know when it will come, but just as surely as the sun rises daily, the Son of Man will come when we least expect.
Judgment Day is on its way. For many, this coming election may very well be judgment day, for this election will measure us. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells us in 10:32-33: "Everyone who acknowledges Me before others, I will acknowledge before My heavenly Father. But whoever denies Me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father."
Judgment Day is on its way. When my time comes, I will be measured by my Savior for the decisions I have made. I will either be acknowledged by Jesus or denied by Him in the presence of our heavenly Father. The question I need to ask myself is this: What kind of witness will I give to Him when I go into the voting booth this election day?
The decision I make in the voting booth will reflect my value system. If I value the good of the economy and my current lifestyle more than I do the right to life itself, then I am in trouble. Pope John Paul II, in his post-synodal apostolic exhortation Christifideles laici tells us: "Above all, the common outcry, which is justly made on behalf of human rights — for example, the right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture — is false and illusory if the right to life, the most basic and fundamental right and the condition for all other personal rights, is not defended with maximum determination."
The right of our children to be protected from destruction is greater than my right to a thriving economy. I am living proof of this, since I am here because my parents believed this priority and lived it. My desire for a good economy cannot justify my voting to remove all current restrictions on abortion. My desire to end the war in Iraq cannot justify my voting to remove all current restrictions on abortion.
My parents got married about one year before the stock market crash of 1929, and yet they raised 15 children in the midst of the Great Depression. They had no money. My mother made her own wedding gown and her own bouquet of flowers. I have my parents’ wedding picture on the wall of my office, and I am reminded every day of the sacrifices they made for life.
We had no money, but we had each other! My parents were at home with us for three meals every day. We had plenty to eat because we raised almost all of our food. We seldom got new clothes, but we wore hand-me-downs, unless my mother would buy materials and make our clothes. We lived in poverty, but we learned the value of hard work. We had no running water or electricity. We had no TV, Internet or cell phone. Yet, we were very happy because we had life! We had each other! Today, all 15 children in my family of origin are most grateful for the sacrifices Mom and Dad made so that we could have life. Making sacrifices for each other brought us incredible joy and enhanced our dignity, because it gave us a chance to participate in serving each other!
In an article written by Pope John Paul I, printed in the current issue of Magnificat, the pope reflected on the life of Andrew Carnegie, who wrote: "I was born in poverty ... but I would not exchange the memories of my childhood with those of a millionaire’s children. What do they know of family joys, of the sweet figure of a mother who combines the duties of nurse, washerwoman, cook, teacher, angel and saint?" Does life get any better than this, when gifts of creativity, generosity and faith are nurtured in the midst of poverty? This is the abundant life on this earth, because it is fueled by faith and sacrifice! Perhaps this is not so much poverty as it is faith-filled luxury.
Judgment Day for us is on its way. Those 47 million children our nation destroyed are still living. We have destroyed their bodies, but their souls are still alive. When our Lord comes again, they may very well be there to judge us. Even worse, Jesus tells us that whatever we do to the least of our brethren, we do to Him. We would truly shudder if we heard the words, "I was in your my mother’s womb but you took my life!"
It is quite possible that we might see these children, but, depending upon the choices we have made, we may very well be separated from them by a great chasm which cannot be crossed, much as the rich man who ignored Lazarus, the poor man, during his lifetime here on earth but was separated from him after death. The rich man was in flames, but Lazarus was in the bosom of his heavenly Father.
The Catholic Church teaches, in its catechism, in the works of Pope John Paul II and in the writings of Pope Benedict XVI, that the issue of life is the most basic issue and must be given priority over the issue of the economy, the issue of war or any other issue. These same teachings inform us that when both candidates permit the right to abortion, but unequally so, we must chose to mitigate the evil by choosing the candidate who is less permissive of abortion.
Judgment Day is on its way! I may deny it. I may pretend that it is still far away, I may deny that my actions are sinful, but that will not change God’s judgment of me.
The deepest problem with many of our Catholics is that they have become so accustomed to rationalizing away a life of sinful actions so that they seem to be on cruise control, heading in the wrong direction. "If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts."
My goal is not to engage you in some political party way but to engage you with our Savior and His teachings. We need to constantly challenge our accustomed behaviors in the light of the Gospel. We may say that we are following our conscience, but are we informing our consciences with the truth about these issues? Cardinal George Pell of Australia has said that we must follow truth and our conscience, but be steeped in truth so that our consciences be rightly formed.
Perhaps having to face these issues during this coming election can turn out to be a grace that truly awakens our need to learn more about the teachings of the Catholic Church, and then to use the Sacrament of Reconciliation so that we can receive His mercy and bring our behavior into conformity with the mind and heart of Christ. It is not too late to admit our sinfulness and turn to the Lord in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. When we do this, both we and the heavens will be filled with joy!
Judgment Day is on its way. Pray your way into conformity with the teachings of Christ and His Church. Pray the family Rosary daily between now and Election Day so that you may not only make the right choice but also have the courage to discuss these issues with others who may have been misled by our materialistic culture. Include the candidates in your prayer intentions. It is my hope that our discussions will bring all of us to our knees to seek help from above.
Why can't this "bishop" be on fire for the Lord of righteousness like Rick Warren or Benny Hinn or that Bible Code dude? / href= typical troll idiot posters on Catholic threads.
Another brave bishop heard from!
Now, be nice ... ;)
I have thought the same thing for over a year now.
I'm glad that at least one bishop sees this as it is and has the courage to say so.
Particularly sweet because IF Missouri goes to Obama it will be lost in St Louis.
I am glad our bishops are finally finding the courage they should have had these last 35 years. The cynic in me can't help but wonder if it's because these bishops have finally realized on which side their bread is buttered. It's the conservative Catholics sitting in the pews who are donating to the diocesan charities (and the parishes' annual diocesan assessments). Not speaking out strongly and firmly hurts the diocesan bottom line.
So I guess what I'd really like to know, is it courage these bishops have found this election cycle, or is it sound financial leadership? While my own cardinal has finally given some decent direction on this issue, he has failed to be a good shepherd when he knows his lack of action will be less well known (if at all) among the faithful. I know because we've done it. My wife and I have donated to Priests for Life or Crisis pregnancy centers in lieu of the annual diocesan assessment and Catholic Charities collections.
The “Campaign for Human Development” gives grants to Acorn, btw. Don’t give them ANY of your money. There was much leftist undermining of the Church in the 60s and 70s, and a lot of our organizations are not sound.
Somebody else just reminded me of those words the other day. They’re very true.
No worries, FRiend, I haven’t donated to the CCHD in years and years.
I thought the St. Louis aspect was excellent. I know that St. Louis used to be a heavily Catholic city, although I’m not sure it is any more. In any case, at least this bishop is trying!
There is no evidence at all that there is a financial motivation behind the bishops finally teaching the truth. The Catholics with power in this country, and most of those with money are opposed to the pro-life movement.
Thank God for these Bishops. Judgement Day is coming is exactly what I think of when I hear about peoples close relatives (mother, aunts, grandmother) saying they are going to vote for Obama. The first question that comes to my mind is “Aren’t they worried about going to hell?”.
ping
Take a look at the Al Smith Dinner. Year after year, the millionaire Catholics reserve their greatest applause for the pro-life statements that are made.
I'm not a wealthy donor, just a reliable Catholic guy sitting in the pew. But there are a lot us. And we've been furious with these bishops for years. And it's been reflected in our diocesan donations for years.
In any case, I will cease to talk them down at the request of my beloved.
I thought judgement day comes the day we die. happens to all souls, yup, even muslims, and atheists too. or, maybe it will come on November 4th. It’s a wait and see kinda thing.
America's founding geniuses recognition that our very life and liberty are prior rights, endowed by the Creator (therefore, unalienable), is the very bedrock of our Constitution's protections. It is also why they believed that man made laws which do not conform to "Creator's law," are unjust and subject to his judgment. This understanding of a prior basis for rights is what distinguished the American experiment from all other human experiments in government. It was the idea of Creator to People to Government--not that life and rights are grants from Government to People.
It is also why Jefferson, writing about the offense of slavery in their time and how it might be viewed by the Creator, said:
"The rights of human nature [are] deeply wounded by this infamous practice [of slavery]." --Thomas Jefferson: Rights of British America, 1774. ME 1:201, Papers 1:130
And:
"I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that his justice cannot sleep forever. . . . The Almighty has no attribute which can take side with us in such a contest." --Thomas Jefferson: Notes on Virginia Q.XVIII, 1782. ME 2:227
Earlier, Jefferson had capsulized the reason for the "unalienability" of rights by declaring:
"The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time: the hand of force may destroy, but cannot disjoin them."
As late as JFK's Inauguration, this was the prevailing legal view in America:
"The world is different now. . . . And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forefathers fought are still at issue around the globe--the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God." - JFK, Inaugural 1961
Now, one must ponder, as the Bishop has, how a just God views America's decision to deny life and the liberty to enjoy it to untold millions of his creations--all by judicial fiat and a mother's decision.
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