Warning: More on the HHS Mandate
Last time I suggested we Catholic men need to pray for religious liberty as our Bishops requested. Now I want to go one step further and issue a warning.
My warning to all of us Catholic men is twofold. First, as already explained, even if we're super-busy at work, we can never forget that our jobs are part of a bigger world. So we need to pay attention to the government's HHS Mandate, recognize the threat to our religious liberty, and do something about it - most of all pray, as our bishops request. (You will find the prayer by clicking HERE.)
But the second part of my warning is this: we may need to do more - a lot more.
This struck me when I read these comments by a representative of the New York Archdiocese recently. (That's where I live and work.) He was commenting on us Catholics standing up for our right to religious liberty. They were good, strong comments - for the most part. I'll quote from his remarks:
"...We are united in the defense of our religious freedom. We are united in standing up for the truth...We are not powerless - our unity and our faith in God gives us strength. We can do all things in Him who strengthens us.
Our resistance does not come with a a spirit of anger or hatred. It comes from love - love for God, love for our nations, nlove for those who oppose us, love for our children and our neighbors, and love for the truth."
So far, so good. But then he says something that disturbed me:
"We are not about politics. we about principle. We do not ask for special treatment. We ask only for our rights."
What disturbed me was the use of the word "ask." We are not asking for anything. We do not ask for our rights. We demand our rights.
By using the word "ask" the author implies that the government has the power to grant or deny our right to religious freedom. This idea that the government by its power grants us the right to religious freedom or any of the other fundamental rights is wrong and dangerous. Our fundamental rights come from God. If you're not clear on this critical point, then get clear NOW. The easiest and quickest way to get clarification is to simply look at the Declaration of Independence. (July 4th is coming up, so re-reading this great document anyway, if you haven't lately, is timely.) In the second paragraph is says that all people are...
Read this carefully and you'll know what your position should be when it comes to the HHS Mandate. We're not asking. We're demanding. And we may need to back our our demand by even stronger action than the prayer the Bishops recommend. I hope it doesn't get to that point, but it might.
Just because you're a busy, responsible guy at work doesn't mean you can ignore the rest of the world around you. Work takes up a lot of our time and energy. It's great that you're focused on your work, but not great that you can't focus (if that's the case) on other things that are equally important. Resisting in every way the government's HHS Mandate is one of those really important matters you need to focus on.
My warning to all of us Catholic men is twofold. First, as already explained, even if we're super-busy at work, we can never forget that our jobs are part of a bigger world. So we need to pay attention to the government's HHS Mandate, recognize the threat to our religious liberty, and do something about it - most of all pray, as our bishops request. (You will find the prayer by clicking HERE.)
But the second part of my warning is this: we may need to do more - a lot more.
This struck me when I read these comments by a representative of the New York Archdiocese recently. (That's where I live and work.) He was commenting on us Catholics standing up for our right to religious liberty. They were good, strong comments - for the most part. I'll quote from his remarks:
"...We are united in the defense of our religious freedom. We are united in standing up for the truth...We are not powerless - our unity and our faith in God gives us strength. We can do all things in Him who strengthens us.
Our resistance does not come with a a spirit of anger or hatred. It comes from love - love for God, love for our nations, nlove for those who oppose us, love for our children and our neighbors, and love for the truth."
So far, so good. But then he says something that disturbed me:
"We are not about politics. we about principle. We do not ask for special treatment. We ask only for our rights."
What disturbed me was the use of the word "ask." We are not asking for anything. We do not ask for our rights. We demand our rights.
By using the word "ask" the author implies that the government has the power to grant or deny our right to religious freedom. This idea that the government by its power grants us the right to religious freedom or any of the other fundamental rights is wrong and dangerous. Our fundamental rights come from God. If you're not clear on this critical point, then get clear NOW. The easiest and quickest way to get clarification is to simply look at the Declaration of Independence. (July 4th is coming up, so re-reading this great document anyway, if you haven't lately, is timely.) In the second paragraph is says that all people are...
...endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among
these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure
these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just
powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of
Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the
People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government,
laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in
such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and
Happiness.
Read this carefully and you'll know what your position should be when it comes to the HHS Mandate. We're not asking. We're demanding. And we may need to back our our demand by even stronger action than the prayer the Bishops recommend. I hope it doesn't get to that point, but it might.
Just because you're a busy, responsible guy at work doesn't mean you can ignore the rest of the world around you. Work takes up a lot of our time and energy. It's great that you're focused on your work, but not great that you can't focus (if that's the case) on other things that are equally important. Resisting in every way the government's HHS Mandate is one of those really important matters you need to focus on.
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