Last week we talked about "prophecy" and how God would always provide someone to speak directly, truthfully and honestly on his behalf – for the complete and total welfare – but most especially – the spiritual welfare of his own beloved People, his own beloved Friends.
Today, St. Paul tells the Corinthians that, in a sense, he has been called to continue and extend the Prophecy of Jesus, the One, True, Full and Last Prophet. In this context, "God's speaking through a man" is called "preaching the Gospel." Paul tells them that preaching is an obligation imposed on him (directly by Jesus – when he made him an Apostle and sent him to the Gentiles), and there is nothing about the preaching that is a matter of boasting for him. He takes credit for nothing. He is not doing it for money. He has been entrusted with a stewardship – God's precious gift of Truth-to-Tell! And woe to me if I do not preach as God intends!: these are Paul's words.
I, as an ordained priest, feel exactly as Paul does. Preaching is a primary duty imposed upon me by ordination itself. And woe to me if I do not preach as God intends. Now, God the Father apparently intends for you to hear TRUTH from me; that is why he sent Jesus, who sent Paul and the other Apostles who eventually sent Bishop Malone, who sent me to you! And if I carefully and prayerfully prepare my homilies – then you are hearing not my words, but rather TRUTH! I carefully and prayerfully prepare my homilies…
The TRUTH in today's gospel passage is that Jesus has power over demons: he can cast them out and help keep them out! In the world today there are many who are victims of these insidious varmints who crawl into the minds and hearts of innocent people and divert them from what they would otherwise know TRUTH and Goodness and Rightness to be! In the passage, Jesus went all over the region very easily and successfully driving out demons! Peace, calm, wholeness, balance – and right judgment, is restored for the healed people and they know that it is God who did the healing: through Jesus!
Demons lurk today! And Jesus still has power to drive them away, and to help keep them away - if he is asked; and if the askers are willing to show their gratitude by helping him carry the blessing and the healing to others!
The Freedom of Choice Act which President Obama promises to sign – take it from me – one who has been ordained to stand here and tell you TRUTH – is a demonic piece of legislation. It has everything to do with the "culture of death" and nothing at all to do with a sane, nurturing "culture of life!"
It is hard to fathom that some or even great numbers could be "pro-death!" What seems more likely is that great numbers are "pro-choice" – "God gave me free-will – I ought to be able to choose to do anything at all that I want to do!" This is true – BUT, the one who gave the free-will also gave a written manual on how to use it: it is called the Stone Tablets of the Ten Commandments. And one of them says: Thou shall not kill! To further help us use our free-will he also wrote another version of the law deep within our hearts: do unto others as you would have them do unto you! And fear me, as you love me, for I wrote all the laws – and I am your final Judge and Jury!
"Freedom to do whatever you like" is not freedom at all! Freedom to do what your "objectively informed mind" and your "deeply loved heart" tells you to do will lead you to "for-life-choices" every single time. St. Augustine put it this way: If you let yourself be loved by God totally and completely; and love him back with all you got; and you fear him because he will determine where you spend eternity – then you will always be free to do whatever you want: because it will always upbuild, nurture and be helpful to your neighbor, whoever they may be! This is the "freedom of the children of God" made possible for all once again by the Death and Resurrection of Jesus on the Cross. This is deep, true, lasting, objective and undebatable TRUTH!
I, and Bishop Malone, along with all of the Bishops of our country ask all of you to freely choose to make your voice heard to those who represent you in public office – and tell them that freedom is not freedom if it takes away anyone's freedom – especially the voice and freedom of an unborn child! Freedom is not freedom if it threatens to take away the rights of others to have affordable sectarian Catholic health care. Freedom is not freedom if it promotes a free-for-all mentality of "equality for death!" There is no equality for death!
Freedom is God's precious gift: FOR LIFE! always! and forever! world without end! Amen! TRUE FREEDOM ALWAYS CHOOSES LIFE!
Something that just happened on Friday in Florida makes explicitly clear what the signing of FOCA would actually encourage and condone and make perfectly legal: a teenage woman who sought an abortion in October, decided to give birth, but her physician falsified her medical records, then assigned a late term-abortion to unlicensed personnel who killed the baby immediately after it was born alive: while the mother watched! He has lost his license to practice medicine and is being charged with murder. Does any part of this scene have anything at all to do with freedom and life and responsibility and God? This is not reality TV, this is reality – and something can be done about it!
On the Judgment Day that is surely coming: Jesus – the one on the Cross – will ask each one of us directly: did you use your precious gift of free-will to do all you could for other people – to truly care for all their needs – most especially the tiniest and the smallest and the most defenseless of them all: my most favored and beloved brothers and sisters waiting in their mother's wombs for a chance to make a difference in the world? Such potential they had, such gifts they had, such an opportunity we have to do something about it NOW! Join me, if you choose to, in signing a postcard FOR LIFE! NOW!
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