Tuesday, November 7, 2017

ELECTION DAY

Proverbs, Chapter 28, Verse 14
Happy those who always fear; but those who harden their hearts fall into evil.

Fear is a different verb than in the phrase “to fear (or revere) the Lord.” The verb means to dread an oppressor. The saying states a paradox: those who fear in the sense of being cautious are declared happy, whereas those who are fearless will fall into traps they did not “fear.” In short, there is good fear and bad fear.

Oppression of the Church[1]

WASHINGTON—Cardinal Daniel N DiNardo, of Galveston-Houston, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), has issued the following statement in response to yesterdays mass shooting during a church service in Sutherland Springs, Texas. 
Cardinal DiNardo's full statement follows:

"Earlier today, we heard of the mass shooting at the Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas.  With Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller, I extend my prayers and the prayers of my brother bishops for the victims, the families, the first responders, our Baptist brothers and sisters, indeed the whole community of Sutherland Springs. We stand in unity with you in this time of terrible tragedy—as you stand on holy ground, ground marred today by horrific violence. We ask the Lord for healing of those injured, His loving care of those who have died and the consolation of their families. 
This incomprehensibly tragic event joins an ever-growing list of mass shootings, some of which were also at Churches while people were worshipping and at prayer.  We must come to the firm determination that there is a fundamental problem in our society. A Culture of Life cannot tolerate, and must prevent, senseless gun violence in all its forms. May the Lord, who Himself is Peace, send us His Spirit of charity and nonviolence to nurture His peace among us all."

To Pack or Not to Pack that is the question


Catholics and Concealed Carry[2]

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, in its section on the Fifth Commandment, has this to say on self defense:

2263 The legitimate defense of persons and societies is not an exception to the prohibition against the murder of the innocent that constitutes intentional killing. “The act of self-defense can have a double effect: the preservation of one’s own life; and the killing of the aggressor…The one is intended, the other is not.

2264 Love toward oneself remains a fundamental principle of morality. Therefore it is legitimate to insist on respect for one’s own right to life. Someone who defends his life is not guilty of murder even if he is forced to deal his aggressor a lethal blow.

·         If a man in self-defense uses more than necessary violence, it will be unlawful: whereas if he repels force with moderation, his defense will be lawful…Nor is it necessary for salvation that a man omit the act of moderate self-defense to avoid killing the other man, since one is bound to take more care of one’s own life than of another’s.

2265 Legitimate defense can be not only a right but a grave duty for one who is responsible for the lives of others. The defense of the common good requires that an unjust aggressor be rendered unable to cause harm.

Guns not only protect people from being attacked, but they discourage people from even attempting such attacks. Part of building the Culture of Life involves discouraging and breaking down the Culture of Death. Guns in the hands of law abiding citizens are part of that process. Not that I’m picturing a shooting war between the two cultures, but when people who are steeped in the Culture of Death are unable or unwilling to carry out their crimes because their victims are armed, then the Culture of Death is weakened. The crime is not committed, it doesn’t end up on the news, and other would-be-criminals don’t see it and aren’t inspired to do something similar. The violence which Cardinal Dolan rightly condemns is lessened by the presence of guns in the hands of ordinary citizens. Paradoxical, I know, but it’s been shown to work time and time again. Any honest researcher will tell you that when the law-abiding are armed, violence diminishes. As long as there is evil in the world, people will need to be armed, and Catholics should not be afraid to choose to carry weapons if they feel they need to.

I would say if you are trained and an expert in weaponry and decide to pack “I would keep it to myself” and pray you never have to use it. “Those who live by the sword will die by the sword.”





Purgatory[3]

Father Gerard, that the custom of having thirty masses said for the dead is also widely spread in Italy and other Christian countries. These Masses are called the Thirty Masses of St. Gregory, because the pious custom seems to trace its origin back to this great Pope. It is thus related in his Dialogues (Book 4, chap. 40): A Religious, named Justus, had received and kept for himself three gold pieces. This was a grievous fault against his vow of poverty. He was discovered and excommunicated. This salutary penalty made him enter into himself, and some time afterwards he died in true sentiments of repentance. Nevertheless, St. Gregory, in order to inspire the brethren with a lively horror of the sin of avarice in a Religious, did not withdraw the sentence of excommunication: Justus was buried apart from the other monks, and the three pieces of money were thrown into the grave, whilst the Religious repeated all together the words of St. Peter to Simon the Magician, Pecunia tua tecum sit in perditionem—“Keep thy money to perish with thee.” Sometime afterwards, the holy Abbot, judging that the scandal was sufficiently repaired, and moved with compassion for the soul of Justus, called the Procurator and said to him sorrowfully, “Ever since the moment of his death, our brother has been tortured in the flames of Purgatory; we must through charity make an effort to deliver him. Go, then, and take care that from this time forward the Holy Sacrifice is offered for thirty days; let not one morning pass without the Victim of Salvation being offered up for his release.” The Procurator obeyed punctually.



Election Day[4]

Election Day refers to the day on which general elections in the United States are held.  Presidential elections are held every 4 years and the elected president will then be sworn in and take office the following January 20th, a day known as Inauguration Day. Election Day is always held on the first Tuesday in November in the US.

Election Day Facts & Quotes

·         Elections held for federal offices only occur on even-numbered years.
·         There is no law in the Constitution or Federal mandate which requires electorates to vote in accordance with the popular vote of their state.
·         There are 538 Electoral College members. In order to win the vote for President of the United States, a candidate must obtain at least 270 of these votes.
·         Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting. - Franklin D. Roosevelt
·         Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote that he is not making a present or a compliment to please an individual--or at least that he ought not so to do; but that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country. - Samuel Adams, The Writings of Samuel Adams, Harry Alonzo Cushing, editor (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1907), Vol. IV, p. 256.

Election Day Top Events and Things to Do

·         Register to vote prior to Election Day.
·         Attend a local polling place and cast your vote.
·         If voting by absentee ballot or mail-in ballot, make sure it arrives on or before Election Day.
·         Be informed about the candidates and new amendments on the ballot before going to the polling place.
·         Attend an Election Day party.

2240 Submission to authority and co-responsibility for the common good make it morally obligatory to pay taxes, to exercise the right to vote, and to defend one's country:

Pay to all of them their dues, taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.
[Christians] reside in their own nations, but as resident aliens. They participate in all things as citizens and endure all things as foreigners. . . . They obey the established laws and their way of life surpasses the laws. . . . So noble is the position to which God has assigned them that they are not allowed to desert it.

The Apostle exhorts us to offer prayers and thanksgiving for kings and all who exercise authority, "that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way."

Daily Devotions
·         Drops of Christ’s Blood



[2]http://thecatholicnerd.blogspot.com/2013/03/catholics-and-concealed-carry.html
[3]Schouppe S.J., Rev. Fr. F. X.. Purgatory Explained (with Supplemental Reading: What Will Hell Be Like?)

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