July 4th - What Does It Really Mean?

From the Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible, here is 2 Chronicles 7:14 - "And my people, upon whom my name is called, being converted, shall make supplication to me, and seek out my face, and do penance for their most wicked ways: then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sins and will heal their land."  This is part of God's reply to Solomon's first public prayer to God and his humble acknowledgment of his inadequacy to govern God's people.  God promises to give Solomon wisdom, and He does.  Sadly, Solomon drifted away from God and havoc ensued quickly after his death.

All around us we see similar havoc being wrecked upon the United States of America - much now emanating from the White House and other institutions of government, with our bishops largely cowering before these same entities.  Quite frankly, the United States is falling apart as large chunks of its populace rebel against God and His laws; sexual perversion and the whole-scale murder of innocent babies are but the most garish manifestations of this national insanity and self-destruction.

With so many people being preoccupied with indulging all manners of appetites their fixations with entertainment, they are at once becoming childish, hedonistic and yes, murderous.  I regret to say that I meet many of these Saturday mornings as some of us offer Christian witness in front of Planned Parenthood in Silver Spring; a goodly number of these confused individuals wear the orange vests of "clinic escorts".  With that in mind, I now link to an address given by John Adams to the Massachusetts Militia on October 11, 1798.  I urge you to study the whole thing, particularly the warning contained therein.  The United States is careening down that primrose path.

Now couple the statement above with a more recent statement, this one from Ronald Reagan: "If we ever forget that we are one nation under God, then we will be one nation gone under."  We're headed in that latter direction.  Today many of us sang the "Star-Spangled Banner".  The last line states that ours is the "land of the free and the home of the brave".  That is now in question.  Our freedoms are being chipped away because we are becoming less and less brave.  Such is the natural consequence that happens when we, as a people, forget God and become morally, spiritually and intellectually dissipated and stupefied.

Right now our trajectory as a nation is towards implosion into annihilation.  Have we passed the point of no return?  Many of my associates believe that we have.  I'm not too sure, but I know that if we don't make some serious changes - and soon - that "point of no return" will be upon us quite quickly.

That takes us back to the first paragraph, and to 2 Chronicles 7:14.  We Catholics bear particular responsibility for to us has been given the fullness of the Deposit of Faith as well as the Sacraments.  It is urgent that we Catholics heed the requests of Our Lady of Fatima.  It is urgent that our bishops recall that they are bishops, not glad-handing politicians, to protect their flocks from wolves and to proclaim Christ's message in fullness.  We laity too have our work cut out for us.  And we don't have much time.