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Today is of course the 33rd anniversary of Roe vs. Wade. It struck me as particularly apt that the Epistle for this Third Sunday after Epiphany was Romans 12. We all know the numbers–50+ million of our contemporaries murdered. For indeed every contributor to this blog is of the first generation to escape this large-scale state sanctioned murder; we are now entering our adult lives; we are heir to this regime of death.This issue cuts to the heart of what it means for us to live in this society; how far are we complicit when we enjoy its (manifest and manifold) benefits? Locke argued that we grant tacit consent to be governed by our enjoyment of the goods of a social structure ensured by that government. I think there are significant difficulties with this notion, but nonetheless it has a certain intuitive pull. What does it mean for us to be Christians in such an objectively disordered society? At what point is a society so unjust that Christians simply cannot sustain that society in good conscience? These are not rhetorical questions; I seriously do not know how to think or what to do. Neither, of course, does everything point in the same direction–this society has been, and continues to be, the chief protector of many of the deepest values of our Western heritage. In some ways Tradition gives us guidance, but in other ways it does not. As I struggle with the question, however, in the back of my mind I know that revenge is the Lord’s; I wonder how long before we’re repaid?
Mater Misericordiae, ora pro nobis
St. Louis-Marie de Montfort,
Pope St. Pius X,
St. Joseph,
St. Ambrose of Milan,
St. Thomas Aquinas,
St. Francis (and St. Clare),
St. Catherine of Siena,
St. Alphonsus Ligouri,
St. John Chrysostom,
74 abortions for every 100 live births in NYC. Kyrie Eleison.
The CCC mentioned the St. Patrick’s Day Four during the prayers of the faithful because their sentencing is this week. I prayed for a stiff sentence.
Does this mean the CCC approves of their actions?
Doctor Asinorum, as you know, I’ve long had the same questions, questions which are driven home by the weight of this crime of abortion.
If these were children outside the womb, would we have long ago said that Enough is enough? And if we were to say that, what action would be incumbent upon us?
I also like your observation that while we have this atrocity on our consciences, we are yet a bastion for a dying civilization; we’re not all bad, or at least on paper we don’t look all bad.
Finally, I agree with you that it does not seem that we can go much longer before we face the just sentence. Perhaps a disease which will kill most of the country, or a devastating terrorist attack, a nuclear weapon or several; who knows?
But St. Alphonsus says that the most terrible punishment of God is when He abandons the sinner to his sin. Such a thing we are seeing in Europe: what will be their suffering when then the old, though now young and reveling sins, will have no one to care for them, economic ruin for whole countries; they will be engulfed by the desserts of their own designs; and another people will replace them.
As for what we ourselves have coming, God only knows.
South Dakota is considering a bill to outlaw abortion, but the proposal does not include any penalties for “doctors” who perform abortion. There are two nuns in the picture about this story.
http://www.keloland.com/NewsDetail2817.cfm?Id=0,45410
Just curious if you took that pic. I was standing two feet to the left of it when we were in front of the Supreme Court. The March was beautiful this year as always, and the Vigil managed to maintain orthodoxy more than I expected it to.
No, I think the pic was from several years ago just harvested from the web.
Ah, I finally found someone reputably saying what I was trying to say, I mean, an actual quotation about God’s harshest punishment being the abandonment of the sinner to vice.
Leo XIII, talking about those who have thrown off the yoke of Christ, the divine truth, has this to say: “Nec raro, poenas de superbia sumpturus, sinit illos Deus non vera cernere, ut in quo peccant, in eo plectantur.”
“Not rarely, about deal the punishment for pride, God suffers them not to see the truth, so that by their own sin they may be punished.” Tametsi futura prospicientibus
Iacobus’ latest post inspired me to read Le Pelerinage de Lourdes, and therein I found another quotation to add under this post:
“In a society which is barely conscious of the ills which assail it, which conceals its miseries and injustices beneath a prosperous, glittering, and trouble-free exterior, the Immaculate Virgin, whom sin has never touched, manifests herself to an innocent child. With a mother’s compassion she looks upon this world redeemed by her Son’s blood, where sin accomplishes so much ruin daily, and three times makes her urgent appeal: ‘Penance, penance, penance!’ She even appeals for outward expressions: ‘Go kiss the earth in penance for sinners.’ And to this gesture must be added a prayer: ‘Pray to God for sinners.’”
Again, from Pelerinage de Lourdes:
“This materialism is not confined to that condemned philosophy which dictates the policies and economy of a large segment of mankind. It rages also in a love of money which creates ever greater havoc as modern enterprises expand, and which, unfortunately, determines many of the decisions which weigh heavy on the life of the people. It finds expression in the cult of the body, in excessive desire for comforts, and in flight from all the austerities of life. It encourages scorn for human life, even for life which is destroyed before seeing the light of day.”