Resist the Call to Abandon our Faith

Homily, 11-20-23; Monday of the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time:

Back in 2008, then presidential candidate, Barak Obama, criticized those who were bitter and clung to their religion. And in 2015, Hillary Clinton in addressing women’s rights issue stated: “Deep seated cultural codes, religious beliefs and structural biases have to be changed.” As she campaigned for president the following year at an LGBT rally, she would famously say that those who don’t share the beliefs of the progressive movement belong in a basket of deplorables. And now the FBI is focusing on Christians, especially Catholics who attend Latin Masses, as potential terrorists.

Not much has changed since the time of Maccabees. We heard this morning: “Then the king wrote to his whole kingdom that all should be one people, each abandoning his particular customs. All the Gentiles conformed to the command of the king, and many children of Israel were in favor of his religion; they sacrificed to idols and profaned the sabbath.” “Many of the children of Israel were in favor of his religion” and unfortunately, many Catholics seem to be in favor of the new religion of the American political left where any behavior is accepted and celebrated, where the Sabbath is profaned. We see this in the actions of many of the Catholic politicians who actively support abortion and a range of other immoral, anti-family, causes. We see it in the fact that half of Catholic voters supported Joe Biden for president despite his support of abortion and LGBT and other woke causes. Apparently, like many of the children of Israel, they are in favor of the new religion where anything goes. It’s easier to give up or ignore religious beliefs and go with the flow. They lose their true faith because they stop looking for it, and buy into a promise of happiness that is false/

The Israelites who did not favor the new religion of the Gentiles were persecuted and put to death. To escape the persecution, Mattathias would lead a remnant of the people to leave all their possessions behind and flee to the mountains. As Christians, we are being persecuted now, although maybe not to being put to death—yet. We must be prepared to separate ourselves from the pagan world around us in little ways, and possibly in extreme ways. We may be faced with losing freedoms and possessions. We may be forced to make great sacrifices for standing up for our faith. But we have the promise of being rewarded greatly for staying strong in the face of persecution. Jesus said: “Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.”

It was much easier being a Catholic 50, 75, 100 years ago. The world and our country are changing rapidly. The young people of today, our children and grandchildren, face challenges that I never experienced as a child. Society tells them that it is wrong for them to hold onto the religious beliefs of their parents, that they will be good citizens if they simply tolerate any immoral or perverted behaviors. What will their children believe? They need our prayers, but most of all, they need our unwavering example of standing strong in our faith, of willingness to make sacrifices rather than succumb to the pressures of society.

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