Herod Wants To Kill You Series

Thursday of 30th week in course 2015

Joy of the Gospel

“Herod wants to kill you.” “ISIS wants to kill you.” “Planned Parenthood wants to destroy you.” Jesus and His followers have heard these refrains almost continually since Christ first began to proclaim the Gospel, and spread its joy. The Church will always have foes–people and institutions who, in the words of the OT, complain that we remind them they are not following God’s teachings. We can’t tolerate self-destructive and family-destructive behavior, and so we in charity speak up and remind people of their duties in justice and charity. That will never be the popular thing to do, especially in a self-absorbed culture like ours.

The Pope encourages our understanding and preaching of the social teachings of the Lord: ‘The Church’s teachings concerning contingent situations are subject to new and further developments and can be open to discussion, yet we cannot help but be concrete – without presuming to enter into details – lest the great social principles remain mere generalities which challenge no one. There is a need to draw practical conclusions, so that they “will have greater impact on the complexities of current situations”.

‘The Church’s pastors, taking into account the contributions of the different sciences, have the right to offer opinions on all that affects people’s lives, since the task of evangelization implies and demands the integral promotion of each human being. It is no longer possible to claim that religion should be restricted to the private sphere and that it exists only to prepare souls for heaven. We know that God wants his children to be happy in this world too, even though they are called to fulfilment in eternity, for he has created all things “for our enjoyment” (1 Tim 6:17), the enjoyment of everyone. It follows that Christian conversion demands reviewing especially those areas and aspects of life “related to the social order and the pursuit of the common good”.[149]

‘Consequently, no one can demand that religion should be relegated to the inner sanctum of personal life, without influence on societal and national life, without concern for the soundness of civil institutions, without a right to offer an opinion on events affecting society. Who would claim to lock up in a church and silence the message of Saint Francis of Assisi or Blessed Teresa of Calcutta? They themselves would have found this unacceptable. An authentic faith – which is never comfortable or completely personal – always involves a deep desire to change the world, to transmit values, to leave this earth somehow better that we found it. We love this magnificent planet on which God has put us, and we love the human family which dwells here, with all its tragedies and struggles, its hopes and aspirations, its strengths and weaknesses. The earth is our common home and all of us are brothers and sisters. If indeed “the just ordering of society and of the state is a central responsibility of politics”, the Church “cannot and must not remain on the sidelines in the fight for justice”.[150] All Christians, their pastors included, are called to show concern for the building of a better world. This is essential, for the Church’s social thought is primarily positive: it offers proposals, it works for change and in this sense it constantly points to the hope born of the loving heart of Jesus Christ. At the same time, it unites “its own commitment to that made in the social field by other Churches and Ecclesial Communities, whether at the level of doctrinal reflection or at the practical level”’

Many have given their lives up to the whims of autocrats who want to destroy the Church and the family for their own political enhancement or wealth. I think the Holy Father made a special visit to the Little Sisters of the Poor during his American visit precisely to show solidarity with them as they fight for their right to insure their employees without betraying the Faith. The mandate for contraception, sterilization and abortion is godless, and I’m glad we are pretty together on our resistance to it. Let’s pray for those who are on the front lines of the battle against secularism–and these days that would be most of us.