There is no doubt that we have plenty to misbehave about. Among them and first up for our consideration is the government's HHS Mandate versus our religious liberty. Our bishops have called for a Fortnight of Freedom prayer vigil. Our first duty is clear.
I am quite pleased to announce that former Marine (is there such a thing?) Frank at Why I Am Catholic has put together a brief for us.
The methods that will work best for us are of the kind pioneered by civil rights leader, Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. As our shepherds are wise to do, they have studied his strategies and tactics, and are adapting them to our struggle. Success with the 40 Days for Life campaigns have been helpful to prepare us for the fight as well. Organized, peaceful, charitable, and armed with no more than our rosaries, we’ll need to ramp up the size of these events, possibly to March for Life proportions.This is the essence of the thing and, frankly, it put heart into me.
Another role model to emulate is Mahatma Ghandi, and of course, St. Francis of Assisi’s meeting with the Sultan sheds light upon this well worn path towards the freedom that we have been given by God. From Christ the King to the present day, these peaceful, and nonviolent methods are the standard for us to follow.
In preparation for the struggle to come, we’ll be holding a Fortnight of Freedomprayer vigil from June 21 through July 4th. Some of you may not know, but prayer is our secret weapon in this fight. General George S. Patton once held forth on it’s importance, and the omnipotent power that it channels. The entire Church will be engaged in these prayers, both here at the front, and abroad across the entire Kingdom, to include all of the saints in the Church Triumphant as well.
To recap, we must be smart, soft like water, charitable, and filled with grace from the Holy Spirit through the power of prayer. I’ll now turn this briefing over to James Breig from HQ. He’s got a little presentation on Catholic heroes who have fought for, and secured for us, religious liberties that we will defend with our lives if necessary, as they themselves did.
I was feeling tired, worn out, and bashed. Now I feel rejuvenated. Go read it all and then let us go together to wage battle, not in a way that many may recognize, but in the way that counts the most.
I love that you're doing this -- I've admired your writing and faith for a long time. I wonder what you think of the exclusive focus when it comes to religious freedom on the HHS Mandate we see in Catholic circles when there are laws out there, like the Arizona anti-immigration laws that apparently prohibit Catholic groups from serving illegal immigrants.
ReplyDeleteI don't want to take away from the appalling nature of the mandate, it just seems that there are so many other appalling laws out there that would lend MORE weight to our argument if we would only mention them as well.
What do you think?
~Mary
Thank you for this! I am one Granny on a mission of prayer and peaceful protest. There are thousands more just like me, (Grandpas, too). We all remember the civil rights protests in the 1960s, and we know how it's done. We want to defend our freedoms for our children and grandchildren; and we have enough discretionary time to do it!--- Rosemary
ReplyDeleteHi Mary and thank you! :-)
ReplyDeleteYour comment reminded me of the bishops' original document proposing the protest. Sure enough, the second item is state immigration laws. So we are hitting it all while we are there. (And about time, right?) Be sure to read it for all the examples, not all of which are Catholic, I am glad to see. :-)
Anonymous Granny! Hello and I will be linking arms with you and singing "We shall overcome." :-)
That's what I love about our bishops -- they've highlighted everything, including the anti-immigration laws. I guess I was just wondering about your thoughts about the advertising, for lack of a better word, for the Fortnight of Freedom et al. which seems to me to only focus on the HHS Mandate. But maybe I'm wrong about that?
ReplyDeleteI'm lucky to be associated with CUA, under the awesome leadership of John Garvey, and I'm hoping we do some interesting things this summer/fall to 'misbehave. (LOVE the Firefly inspiration, btw.)
~Mary
Hi Mary ... I guess my thought is that it would be unwise to dilute the simple, powerful message with a lot of side issues. Each issue is worthy, don't get me wrong. But to get across the main point is difficult enough without giving people a chance to splinter the focus.
ReplyDeleteIf that makes sense ... :-)