Take a Stand

I finally watched For Greater Glory — a little late, I know — about the persecution of the Church in Mexico in the 1920s. The Cristeros joined the cause for freedom for various reasons, plunder, prestige, faith, but in the end they stood for something even to death.

It was a moving testament which gave me cause to wonder aloud to my husband, “Do you know anyone who would stand up for the faith like that?”

The response was emphatic, “No!”

Not even priests. Suddenly things were seen in a different light, weighed by a different scale. My mental rolodex went over clergy I have known. Not a few would be iffy; too many would go along to get along. And some, like the pony-tailed padre on TV would make a point of marching off in the opposite direction from Church teachings. I could hear my favorite pastor saying, “You must do what you are called to do by baptism.” And we all know what that got Jesus Christ.

Lucky for us, the government isn’t hunting Christians down in persecution. The secret sins of disavowal remain secret.

Home free? Not really. The challenges may not be riding a bullet but they are present nonetheless for all of us:

Abortion — personally opposed but…?
Contraception — follow your own ill-formed conscience?
Marriage Amendment/Gay Marriage — go along to get along? Who can deny the “right” to marry to anyone? Except it isn’t a right like the right to bear arms or the right to free speech (which should protect my Vote Yes sign, doesn’t).

A prominent sign on the lawn, a banner on the church, these should be a given; so why are so many Catholic Church brick walls empty? Why do so few pray for souls at abortion clinics? Are these opportunities to take a stand what it means in 2012 USA to be a Cristero?

So few….

This article, Take a Stand is a post from The Bellarmine Forum.
https://bellarmineforum.org/take-a-stand/
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