One Nation, Under God with Liberty and Justice for All

Friends of Faith:

“Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and all my will—all that I have and possess. You, Lord, have given all that to me. I now give it back to you, O Lord. All of it is yours. Dispose of it according to your will. Give me love of yourself, along with your grace, for that is enough for me.” –St Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556)

I search for truth: for liberty and justice for all. And I find I need to say nothing, except to quote this week’s scripture and the prayers of the Saints scattered amongst prayer book after prayer book to remind me that if I put God FIRST, and never second then I too will have the freedom I am seeking.

“Brothers and sisters: For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.
For you were called for freedom, brothers and sisters. But do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh; rather, serve one another through love. For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement, namely, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. But if you go on biting and devouring one another,
beware that you are not consumed by one another. I say, then: live by the Spirit and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh. For the flesh has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you want. But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” Gal 5: 1,13-18

Serve God, not the law: don’t abuse the freedoms and the free will that God has given us (God may have given me a choice, but if it isn’t God’s will, then it might not be a good choice).

Give him my memory—my memory? (put into my head, my memory, only what is truly God’s understanding, and forgive and forget any injustices I may have received so that I may love my “enemies” as unconditionally as God loves me.)

And a reminder that the world is made of things to serve our flesh (good things to consume, look at, buy, and use) but that the Spirit which guides us would only give us these things to sustain us and to use for the good of others. Food is to sustain, sex is to procreate and unify a marriage, and time, talent AND treasures are to give away: so that others may also be filled with Christ (physically, emotionally and spiritually.)

Only God’s law IS law: and man’s laws which override the commandments take away our freedoms instead of protecting them.

“O God our Creator, from your provident hand we have received our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. You have called us as your people and given us the right and the duty to worship you, the only true God, and your Son, Jesus Christ. Through the power and working of your Holy Spirit, you call us to live out our faith in the midst of the world, bringing the light and the saving truth of the Gospel to every corner of society. We ask you to bless us in our vigilance for the gift of religious liberty.

Give us the strength of mind and heart to readily defend our freedoms when they are threatened; give us courage in making our voices heard on behalf of the rights of your Church and the freedom of conscience of all people of faith.
Grant, we pray, O heavenly Father, a clear and united voice to all your sons and daughters gathered in your Church in this decisive hour in the history of our nation, so that, with every trial withstood and every danger overcome— for the sake of our children, our grandchildren, and all who come after us—this great land will always be “one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.” (Prayer of St. Thomas More, patron for religious freedom)

Happy Independence Day! May you seek and be blessed with the truth of God, the Spirit of Undivided Liberty and Justice, Joyful Freedom from worldly desires, and be justified thru the Grace of God.

In Faith,

Charlotte

Fortnight of Freedom - A Call to Action

Friends of Faith:

I write this morning to call every Christian into action and to ask us all to join together in the 2013 Fortnight for Freedom: June 21 to July 4.

The U.S. bishops have called for a Fortnight for Freedom, a two-week period of prayer and action, to address many current challenges to religious liberty, including the August 1, 2013 deadline for religious organizations to comply with the HHS mandate, Supreme Court rulings that could attempt to redefine marriage in June, and religious liberty concerns in areas such as immigration and humanitarian services. http://www.fortnightoffreedom.org/

Regardless of our personal religious beliefs and/or which denomination we name ourselves, we as Americans have long taken pride in the fact that if what we believed would not harm another being than that belief would be protected by the religious liberty our country was founded upon.

That did not mean that the pursuit of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness would be trumped by “equality.” Or that one belief was more equal than another belief. It meant that we would have the right to form a rightful, faithful conscience and that our conscience choices would allow us to make the choices necessary within our lives, businesses and families based upon the faith that we each profess.

Freedom (and our conscience) should not allow us to take a life, abuse widows or orphans, or ignore the one who created and died for us—but rather it should protect our right to live our conscience beliefs, including choosing a religion and accepting the gift of faith each of us has been given.

Without God there is no conscience, and without God there is no freedom. That is why this country was founded: to protect our freedom to believe in God and to give liberty and justice to all. God is the one who designed and created us. God is the only one who can and should judge. His law is the only law that will protect us and His law is the only law that should limit us by stopping us before we do wrong.

“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.” Mt 22: 37-40

God’s laws should form our conscience. God’s laws do not contradict but give freedom to all.

The media have implied all along that the dispute is mainly of concern to a Catholic minority with peculiar views about human sexuality. But religious leaders of all faiths have been quick to see that what is involved is a flagrant violation of religious freedom. That's why former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Baptist minister, declared, 'We're all Catholics now.'" – Mary Ann Glendon, Wall Street Journal

"We are Catholics.” (And I would add faithful Christians) “We are Americans. We are proud to be both, grateful for the gift of faith which is ours as Christian disciples, and grateful for the gift of liberty which is ours as American citizens. To be Catholic and American should mean not having to choose one over the other. Our allegiances are distinct, but they need not be contradictory, and should instead be complementary. That is the teaching of our Catholic faith, which obliges us to work together with fellow citizens for the common good of all who live in this land. That is the vision of our founding and our Constitution, which guarantees citizens of all religious faiths the right to contribute to our common life together. " —Our First, Most Cherished Liberty: A Statement on Religious Liberty, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, April 12, 2012

O GOD OUR CREATOR,

From your provident hand we have received our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

You have called us as your people and given us the right and the duty to worship you, the only true God, and your Son, Jesus Christ.

Through the power and working of your Holy Spirit, you call us to live out our faith in the midst of the world, bringing the light and the saving truth of the Gospel to every corner of society.

We ask you to bless us in our vigilance for the gift of religious liberty.

Give us the strength of mind and heart to readily defend our freedoms when they are threatened;

Give us courage in making our voices heard on behalf of the rights of your Church and the freedom of conscience of all people of faith.

Grant, we pray, O heavenly Father,

A clear and united voice to all your sons and daughters gathered in your Church in this decisive hour in the history of our nation,

So that, with every trial withstood

and every danger overcome—

For the sake of our children, our grandchildren,

and all who come after us—

This great land will always be “one nation, under God,

indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Copyright © 2012, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, DC. All rights reserved.

Let us stand together and pray together to protect God’s laws.

Blessings,

Charlotte

www.morningreflection.blogspot.com

Expecting a Miracle

Friends of Faith:

As we invoke our prayer and song of God Bless America and God Bless Me, what miracle are we expecting God to provide for us and for our country?

A miracle is an unexpected gift given by God. We have all received the first miracle—and that is life itself. He gave us life and our countries forefathers promised us the freedom of religion—the freedom to believe in Jesus and to walk in Jesus’ footsteps as he asks us to walk: to give life as he gave life; to love as he loves; and to forgive as he forgives.

Blessed Pope John Paul II said: “The challenge facing you, dear friends is to increase people’s awareness of the importance of religious freedom for society; to defend that freedom against those who would take religion out of the public domain and establish secularism as America’s official faith.” Baltimore, Oct 8, 1995

As Pope John Paul II said we must DO something to protect the miracle God has provided.

We must ACT to defend life. We must ACT to defend our freedom to choose God. And we must ACT out the faith we profess.

God did not make death, nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living. For he fashioned all things that they might have being; and the creatures of the world are wholesome, and there is not a destructive drug among them nor any domain of the netherworld on earth, for justice is undying. For God formed man to be imperishable; the image of his own nature he made him. But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world, and they who belong to his company experience it. Wis 1: 13-15, 2: 23-24

God gave us free will – and that freedom means we can choose what we will believe, what we will honor and how we will practice our faith. Will we CHOOSE LIFE—the very life that he created in his own image?

Will we choose to honor his design and plan for marriage: the union of one man and one woman – “God blessed them and God said to them: Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.^*  Genesis 1:28.

God also did not make death. We chose death in the original sin of Adam and Eve. And then God gave us his only son, Jesus, to free us from that sin by His gift of the greatest of miracles: a gift of suffering; a gift of sacrifice, and a gift of redemption—eternal life.

"Your daughter has died; ... he said, "Do not be afraid; just have faith." ..... So he went in and said to them, "Why this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep." And they ridiculed him. Then he put them all out. He took along the child's father and mother and those who were with him and entered the room where the child was. He took the child by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum," which means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise!" The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around. At that they were utterly astounded. He gave strict orders that no one should know this. Mk 5: 35-43

Faith is not: “believing if we see”—faith is “believing what we cannot see.” Miracles were not given so that we would have faith; instead they were given to those OF faith.

Currently the USA professes the freedom of religion (many other places in this world are persecuted just for their beliefs). But will we always have that freedom? Many Americans believe we are a “protected nation” built on God—but does God see us that way?

As Americans we have more wealth and more food than any other country. Do we share it, or waste it? Am I doing my job to serve others and giving freely of my gifts, time and talents? Do I serve my spouse, my family, the poor or needy? Or do I complain that I didn’t get enough for myself? What miracle are we expecting God or someone else to do for us?

Do Americans value entertainment more than we value God? We choose to attend and watch movies, sporting events, and concerts by the millions (and worship musicians, athletes and movie stars)—while our church pews grow emptier and emptier.  If we don’t worship God and honor him with our presence; if we don’t put God first, then why would he put us first? Why are we expecting a miracle?

Do our laws reflect a new form of equality—an equality that lets us CHOOSE whether a life is worth living, surviving or even being born; laws which define marriage as something other than one man and one woman (only a man and a woman can multiply). Are we creating laws to protect an equality that God didn’t promise or design?  Are we expecting that God will miraculously change unjust laws?

We are in the final days of the US Catholic Bishops Fortnight for Freedom. These 14 days of prayer, worship and study were brought about partially because of the impending HHS (health and human services) mandate brought about because of the health care bill (that ALL employers will be forced to provide health insurance coverage which guarantees abortion and contraceptives). This forces all employers, from Catholic hospitals to small Christian business owners, to provide health services which violate their religious beliefs. www.usccb.org

“O God our Creator, through the power and working of your Holy Spirit, you call us to live out our faith in the midst of the world, bringing the light and the saving truth of the Gospel to every corner of society. We ask you to bless us in our vigilance for the gift of religious liberty. Give us the strength of mind and heart to readily defend our freedoms when they are threatened; give us courage in making our voices heard on behalf of the rights of your Church and the freedom of conscience of all people of faith.

Grant, we pray, O heavenly Father, a clear and united voice to all your sons and daughters gathered in your Church in this decisive hour in the history of our nation, so that, with every trial withstood and every danger overcome— for the sake of our children, our grandchildren, and all who come after us— this great land will always be "one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.” (Prayer for the Protection of Religious Liberty, www.fortngight4freedom.org )

May each of us Go Forth, spread Your good news and BEcome the miracle, instead of expecting to receive a miracle.

And may God continue to bless America with the freedom of religion,

Charlotte