Lk 12:49-53 Fighting Tooth and NailDo you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three…
Very often I think of the world as an enormous battlefield and that my life is one great big battle. Conventional wars come close to expressing the internal wars between my body and soul; between my will and God’s Will.
Every man has his battle. What is yours? Every man has his victories and defeats. Every man has his worries and fears. What are yours? Every man has to slay his dragons or be consumed by them. Our society is a reflection of our battles – our worries and fears, our victories and defeats, our dragons and dungeons! If there is a problem with our society today, then there is a problem with our families. If our kids are a mess, then chances are we are a mess! If there is an increase in crime, then there is an increase in the great divide – of those who have and those who have not.
Yesterday I had dinner with a wonderful family (5 children, mom and dad). For the first time this year they had to send their children to public school. They had gone to Catholic school all their life. It wasn’t an easy decision. The oldest son said to me, “Father, I went from a school with five priests to a school with five police.” The oldest daughter said, “At the start of the year, we had a ‘What-not-to-wear' fashion show! It was very sad to see what some people would wear if they could." I thought to myself, they wear what their parents would wear: sexually suggestive t-shirts, skirts, jeans, piercings, etc… I asked the kids, “What surprised you the most about public school?” The middle child answered, “The random drug searches that go on and how the police enter our classroom, tell everyone to get up and leave, and then they send in the dog to search for drugs.” Forgive me if this sounds like old news to you, but for me it was nothing less than a shocker! I went to public school nearly all my life, I don’t ever remember seeing the police or dogs or metal detectors or random drug searches in my middle or high school.
What has changed? The definition and reality of family! What has changed? The definition and reality of marriage. What has changed? The purity and innocence of children. What has changed? The base and foundation of our lives.
Is this living? Is this progress? Let’s be honest! We are not living…We are trying to survive! We have all been sucked into this vortex that continues to rip apart and destroy marriages, families and children. Everyone is under attack and no one is spared – not even the unborn!
The Occupy movement in Rome recently vandalized a Church and destroyed a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary! It was all caught on tape. Now they want to blame the Blessed Virgin Mary for all our problems or the wealth of the Church! Hah!
Who is to blame for the mess we are in and the mess of what we are? We know the answer: It always goes back to our willingness towards sinfulness! Too many of us (husbands, wives, children) are losing the battle for personal holiness and we don’t mind at all! When the going gets tough; when I need to stand up for what I believe; when I need to stand up for myself and others; when I need to examine myself before a Higher Power; when it’s time to buckle down and get to work, I prefer, like so many spoiled children, to look for an easy way out - a scapegoat, an excuse so as to not blame myself!
The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 6:23)
Let’s begin to fight the good fight! Fight for personal holiness! Don’t give up and don’t give in!
