One of the things that helps me keep my sanity around here is regular exercise. And not just here at St. Joe’s, but wherever I have been. Since high school, exercise has been a crucial part of a healthy approach to living. Just last week, for some reason, I was reflecting on the the fact that I have been exercising and working out consistently for the last 15 years. That’s a pretty long time! And yet, isn’t a little sad and frustrating that even with a decade and a half of working out, it only takes a few weeks away from the gym to start losing all that hard work. That is one of the great mysteries of the human body; it can accomplish amazing things, become incredibly strong. Just look at the athletes that are competing for a chance to represent our nation in the Summer Olympics. But if the body stops exercising and challenging itself with resistance training, within a month, muscle mass begins to decrease cardiovascular endurance drops dramatically. I don’t think it’s fair really; that we have to work so hard to get in shape and to stay there but that it can be lost so quickly if we stop exercising those good habits.
But physical fitness is not the only area which must be exercised consistently or risk being lost. A more important aspect of our lives which follows the same pattern is our human and civil rights. These basic human rights, which are defined as the rights of citizens to political and social freedom and equality, are not something we have to earn. We have certain rights that are due to us, simply because we are human beings, made in the image and likeness of God. As Americans, we naturally think of those rights that protect life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness or fortune and the free practice of religion. We think of them because they are the foundation of our country, the cornerstone of what makes our nation free and prosperous and a symbol of liberty to the whole world. But these rights must be exercised consistently or risk being lost. If we are lazy or complacent or think that these fundamental rights will never be infringed upon, well, then we are already starting to lose them.
How sad it is, that Americans are increasingly blind and apathetic to the dangers and infringements on their God-given rights! Even more troubling that many citizens of this great nation allow those rights to be slowly taken away and even vote in ways that reduce their own rights! (If they vote at all) Did you know that voter participation in nearly every general election has decreased since 1960? That only about half of eligible voters are showing up to choose our nation’s leaders when it is a presidential election and only about a third are bothering to vote when the president is not involved. Why have we gotten so lazy in the practice of our rights? The same rights that so many brave men and women have sacrificed their lives to defend?!
As you know, recent legislation, namely the Health and Human Services Mandate, ignores yet another one of our God-given rights, to freely practice our religious beliefs and not violate our consciences. This unjust law requires employers to provide drugs and procedures for contraception, sterilization, and even abortifacient purposes, regardless of the employer’s religious convictions. In about 31 days, this immoral law takes legal effect for all employers, except religious institutions, which are given an additional year to “comply” with the rule.
We might wonder, “how did we get to this point?” We might be tempted to simply blame the current administration. It carries a major share of the blame to be sure, but the problem runs much deeper. The only reason our elected officials are able to pass laws that compromise our freedom and violate our religious beliefs is because we put them there, we tolerated their shenanigans in lesser issues, we bought into the lie that our religious beliefs have no place in the public square and policy making and, as a result, with religion removed from the legislation, what fills the gap are secular principles which change according to the fickle winds of public opinion, approval ratings, and in some dangerous cases, personal agendas and ideologies.
We find ourselves face to face with the current threat to our religious liberty in large part because Catholics have grown lazy in exercising and defending their God-given rights and as a result, they are in danger of being lost and taken from us. Now let me make this clear, I have been edified by the faithful and prayerful response of so many in our church, including the bishops, who have spoken clearly and courageously in against the immoral Health and Human Services mandate. But I have also been surprised by how many good, faithful catholics have told us priests that this is none of the Church’s business, that we are getting involved in a political issue, that the Church should not be trying to impose her morality upon others.
But this is simply not true! The Church did not go looking for this fight; it was pressed upon us with no respect for our religious beliefs by our government. The Catholic Church did not make this a political issue, politicians have and it is dividing our country deeper and deeper. Finally, this is not simply a Catholic issue; it is much bigger than that. It is a human rights issue. The problem has less to do with the fact that we believe contraception, sterilization and abortifacient drugs are immoral and more to do with the fact that our government is deciding that it can tell us to violate our consciences and how we will be allowed to practice our faith. As citizens, we have the right and obligation to speak against this unjust law and to disobey it if it goes into effect. And even if we are not Catholic or disagree with the Church on this issue, we should have a problem with this law, which sets a precedent for the government to infringe on the religious liberty and conscience of any person. If we know our history, we know that every dictator and tyrant has made use of this kind of power to commit atrocities and seize power for themselves.
So what can we do to nip this danger in the bud? How can we keep our nation from following in the footsteps of governments that have taken away the rights of its people to freely practice their faith? First, we must pray and offer sacrifice for our country and her leaders. We must ask God to give them a conversion of heart and see the evil they are about to do. We must ask for courage and strength for those leaders who are fighting to protect our religious liberty and overturn this immoral mandate. Secondly, we have to witness to our faith by exercising our right to vote and participating in the democratic process of our county. Far too long, Catholics have ignored their faith when it came to their vote and have not been good witnesses of Jesus Christ when it came to choosing people who would represent them in our government. We must also be willing to take the time and effort to contact our elected officials and urge them to protect our God-given right to freely practice our faith and obey our consciences. Finally, we must be prepared to suffer for what we believe. It may happen that our religious liberty is taken away and ignored in the next month. We must not, we cannot comply with the evil that is about to take place. If that means that we are fined, then so be it. If it means that some of us are in danger of going to jail, so be it. We must not and cannot abandon our faith in this time of crisis. We must be willing to endure any hardships this law might impose upon us. We mustn't be afraid to stand up for what we believe in. This may be difficult and unpopular, it may cost us dearly but it is the right thing to do and God will give us the strength to do it. So let us pledge ourselves to this moral and noble cause: to defend our liberty and the right to follow our consciences. And not just for ourselves, but for the generations that will follow us as citizens of our great nation. May God give us strength and may God bless America!
