MDP of God

A Reflection from Fr Jay

After some time it became obvious why the guy had lost his preveous job. So anyway, one of the things he did, besides bankrupting the company, was he withdrew taxes from the employees paychecks and never sent the money to the government.

When the government came after the company the only one who had some resources was my dad, so they came after him for everything. By the early 1980’s, when it was all over, between paying the back taxes, interest and penalties, it cost my dad roughly $43,000 ( in today’s dollars that would be over $130,000, according to Google).

Even though dad wasn’t running the company he was legally liable.

It was a very tough time for our family. I think it changed my dad forever. Dad had served in the United States Navy when I was a kin. Dad drilled patriotism into me. He was always speaking of the greatness of our country, how we should love our country, how we needed to stand up for our country. Dad couldn’t believe the country he loved so much was putting him through this.

I share that story because our first reading from Habakkuk reminded me of how my dad felt. “How long, O LORD? I cry for help but you do not listen! I cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not intervene. Why do you let me see ruin; why must I look in misery? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and clamorous discord.”

I know I felt that way in 1973 with the Supreme Court’s Roe vs Wade decision. I couldn’t believe the country I loved so much was going to allow the wholesale destruction of little kids – it just was beyond my comprehension how anyone could see the destruction of little babies as acceptable. And then of course as a priest, Ive worked with many women who had abortions and who lived heartache and pain and regret.

In any abortion one person dies and another, the mother, is wounded.

Ive spoken to you in the past about the reality of denial. That there are many men and women who have been involved in abortion who deny anything is wrong. But they feel anger, they feel rage, they feel hatred and they think they hate right to lifers, but its really self-hatred, a rage for stemming from what they did.

But they’re in denial so they live with constant pain (only God can heal them). They again think they have pain because of right to lifers, but its pain caused from having done something unspeakable, participation in the death of a child, participation in the death of their own child, and its only after someone repents and turns to God for mercy that true healing can take place.

The good new is I’ve seen many women repent and receive God’s healing but its often a long journey of healing.

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This weekend, the first in October, is Right to Life Sunday, and it has been since at least the 1970s. I believe that it’s important that we contemplate Habakkak who looked at the country he loved and couldn’t believe how people abandoned God.

It’s important that we contemplate our psalm “If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts” we need to hear the voice of God calling us to love the most vulnerable in our midst, the weakest, most defenseless among us and stand up for them.

And finally, in our 2nd reading St. Paul told Timothy about the grace of God he received through the sacrement of Holy Orders. He tells Timothy to stir the flame that grace and be the person God want him to be.

We need to do the some, we need to be the people of love God calls us to be. We need to love the innocent children and stand up for them. We need to love the women who made a tragic mistake in life and try to help them find healing. We even need to try and love the politician and media people and other woke activists who try and promote the destruction of the unborn as a “fundamental right” even the abortionists themselves.

I have to confess that last group, politicians, media and abortionists are the people I personally have the hardest time loving, but with God’s grace were called to love them.

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Habbakuk in the first reading was lamenting the corruption in his society. We have a lot to lament as well.

Just last week Right to life activist was arrested, his name is Mark Houk, and not just arrested, a father of seven had his home descended on by an FBI SWAT team, with about 25 FBI agents. When he opened the door there were guns pointed at his head. (Absolutely Inexcusable)

He had been outside an abortion clinic doing sidewalk counseling with his 12 year old son and an abortion activist was in his sons face trying to intimidate him. Houk got between the man and his son and that warranted an FBI raid.

I read an article about it and the FBI said it wasn’t a swat team and they claimed there was “ONLY 15-20 AGENTS” NOT 25″ Wow, that make it all right.

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Now remember thats in light of the fact that there have been 98 documented cases of attacks on Pro-Life pregnancy centers, Catholic Churches, maternity homes and other pro-life organizations and thye have been almost no arrests in those cases.

There was an assassination attempt on the sitting Supreme Court Justice, there have been protests outside the homes of Supreme Court Justices, which is a crime, that seen in the law as intimidation of the justices, which is against the law. But the justice department made no arrests in those cases of violating federal law. No FBI raids of the organizers or participants of those crimes.

But a guy outside an abortion clinic who defended his 12 year old son, that warrented a raid with guns drawn.

The justice department and FBI have been weaponized against the political opponents of those in power. These once great agencies now make our country look like a banana republic rather then the land of the free and home of the brave.

We no longer have equal protection of the law, destroying or vandalizing pro-life centers or Catholic Churches, no problem with the FBI there, intimidating Supreme Court Justices who voted to overturn Roe vs Wade, that law against intimidation doesn’t need to be enforced, but responding when your son is attacked by a pro-death radical, you’re a criminal ( 11 years).

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This isnt the first time federal agencies have been weaponized. In 2012 the IRS went after pro-life and other conservative groups and there was no accountability for those who did that.

So congress just authorized the hiring of 87,000 more IRD agents [ in advertising they say they have to be willing to carry a firearm and to use deadly fore…] Will they target the political enemies of the administration? From everything that’s happened of the past 10 years that most likely will happen.

There’s a famous poem written by a Pastor Martin Niemoler, who was a Lutheran Pastor during Hitler’s reign of terror and it goes like this;

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out – because I was not a Jew.

Ten they came for me – and there was no one left to speak for me.

SO what do we do? As followers of Jesus we must first of all reject violence as an answer, important to remember because when we hear about what’s going on – it can make us so angry – where we can be tempted to lash out [ not Christian approach]

But we do need to be praying fervently for our country – these are very scary times. I learned when the IRS came after my father, they have unlimited resources and they can crush anyone.

We need to make ourselves aware and when you voted you need to stand up against those who have weaponized our Justice system and the FBI [corrupt]

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And finally they’re trying to intimidate us. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if more Christians then ever. Participated in things like the life chain (1-2pm in Chesterlant) this weekend.

[40 days for life] Wouldn’t it be wonderful if more Christians than ever prayerfully stood outside abortion clinics to pray. Planned Parenthood has admitted that when people are outside praying, it raises their no show rate sometimes to as high as 75%, up to 75% of those scheduled for abortions don’t show when even one person is outside praying. Women see it as a sign from God and their inner reservations come our more.

Just being there can save, lives and you wont know it often, sometimes you have the opportunity to speak to a women, and she then leaves. but often you wont speak to anyone, but women scheduled just end up driving by and not even pulling into the parking lot.

My friends, we cant allow the evil people who presently run the justice department and the FBI or IRS to intimidate us. Let’s not be life Pastor Neimoller who was silent when justice was being perverted in Germany.

You and I are blessed to live in the greatest country in the history of the world. One of the reasons it’s the greatest is because it was founded on the christian idea that God is the once who gives us inalienable rights. Over the past 246 years millions of soldiers have fought for our freedoms and roughly 800,000 have died.

My friends, the United States is still worth fighting for, again, not with violence, but with peaceful prayer, peaceful protests, and civic involvement where we can seek to reform once great institutions that have been corrupted. Institutions that now are promoting injustice rather than promoting justice.

We have our HELP group, thye will be posting things to help make you aware of things you can do.

We’ll be arranging times ot go as a parish and pray in front of various abortion clinics.

My friends, as St. Paul said, stir the flame the grace you have received through the sacrements, as our psalm said, if today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts.

Habakkik in our first reading lamented the corruption he saw all around him in his culture, he refused to be silent, he stood up to be counted. My friends let’s do the same. Amen