A Knights of Columbus Challenge

As I'm leisurely stalking my news feeds and timelines, it seems like every other person is doing the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Totally a worthy cause to raise awareness and raise money to fund for a cure for a debilitating disease. I have seemingly evaded any sort of nomination or challenge to do the Ice Bucket Challenge, but that's okay because participation doesn't require me to be challenged. As it is summer here in Texas, a cold splash of ice water would feel absolutely wonderful but not necessary. But I can still donate. With that said, I decided to donate to Compassionate Care ALS, who doesn't do research for a cure but rather gives personal care to those who suffer from ALS.  I figured this would be a good way to undoubtedly remain consistent with my Catholic faith and not contribute or potentially contribute to unethical means of finding a cure for ALS.

Something that's been occupying my mind lately is hearing about all this news about the persecution of Christians and other minorities in Iraq. I'm not hearing a lot about it in mainstream news, but for sure via Catholic channels. It sucks. Totally sucks. The militant extremists are essentially forcing everyone to convert to Islam and if they don't, they are killed. Families are having to flee from their homes and if they stay, they're subject to either high taxes or death. People kidnapped. Women raped. Men executed in groups at a time. Children dying from starvation and beheaded. Terrible. They are systematically driving out Christians and killing them if they don't submit and convert. Crazy terrible. For the people fleeing, they're essentially leaving everything behind and have nothing with them except the clothes on their back.

It's escalating towards genocide status. It's terrible because these acts violence are objectively crimes against humanity.

And I don't know what to do.

The other day at work, for whatever reason my cubemate seemed to be upset or sick or something such that he was pretty much silent the rest of the afternoon. That's unusual. I didn't ask him how he was doing. I remained silent and didn't take any action even though it seemed obvious to me that something wasn't right/normal. I know I should have said something or asked him how he was doing to let him know that I was concerned. But I didn't. I was silent, minding my own business.

Earlier in the week, I had heard on Catholic radio that the Knights of Columbus have set up a fund to help with humanitarian efforts for Christians and minorities in Iraq. 100% of donations will be used for those efforts. That's awesome! They're looking to raise $1M total. That's not a lot, but every little bit helps.

I keep seeing how virally successful that the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is and how much money that has raised in a relatively short amount of time.

Considering all these things, an idea hit me that afternoon when my cubemate was silent. A challenge. I should start a challenge akin to the Ice Bucket Challenge.

After some thought, the idea converged to the following...

A two-part challenge:

1) One minute of silence in the car. Silence because I feel like driving in silence with the radio off is uncommon. How often do we allow ourselves to be silent and still, especially in the car? Prayers can be offered up or just simply existing. Maybe you could have a print out of the Prayer for Iraq. No music. No talk radio. Nothing. Mainstream media has been quiet on this issue. Let our purposeful silence resonate and bring light to this issue.

2) Donate money to the Knights of Columbus fund. Again, 100% of the donations will be used to help those in need. You can find the link here: Knights of Columbus Charities. At least a $5 donation would be good if the challenge was accepted to do a minute of silence in the car.

Challenge people you know to take one minute of silence in the car for persecuted peoples in Iraq as well as offer a small donation. You have 24 hours to accept and complete the challenge.

Here's me accepting my own challenge and nominating others:

Thanks and God bless,
- JD

A North American Example of Losing Religious Freedom

No. This isn't about the HHS Mandate. Actually, this isn't directly even about any of the religious liberty issues we face here in our nation today.

Ah, al contrario. This is about México.

Whenever the movie, For Greater Glory, came out a year ago, I found out about the Cristero War. Up until the movie was about to be released, I had never ever heard about it.  Thanks to all the talk on Catholic radio, I was able to learn more about the War.

Basically, in the early 1920's, the Mexican government made it illegal to be Catholic and to do anything Catholic. It got to the point where the Mexican government and army hunted and killed Catholics. This sparked a rebellion known as the Cristero War.

Sure, that was nearly 100 years ago in a country that isn't the United States, and times are different. But the question is...what kind of parallels can we draw from the Cristero War with some of the things that are happening in our world today? ...in our nation, today?

Patrick Madrid, prominent Catholic speaker/writer/radio host, gives a 45 minute talk on the topic, entitled "Attack on Religious Liberty."  He had family members who were killed during the Cristero War.  In his talk, he provides the historical context which led to the Cristero War.  He also details a lot of examples of how the Mexican government took away religious liberty (besides dealing death).

Here's the link to a message Patrick Madrid sent out if you'd like to download it yourself:

http://www.flocknote.com/note/76696

Or you can watch a longer version of his talk here:


Why do I even care about this?  
I think it's important to learn history, even as difficult as it is sometimes, so that the same mistakes aren't made.  People will always cite the Inquisition, the Crusades, and other examples to paint the Catholic Church as a violent force in history, but it works the other way around too where other entities violently oppose Catholics and the Church.  From what I've been hearing and reading about in recent news, it is a great challenge to live a peaceful Catholic life in the Middle East because some of those in power have a great love for persecuting Christians to the point of killing them. And not just in the Middle East, but other governments and entities have made it super hard to do anything Catholic.

But what about here in the United States?  While I don't expect us to get to the level of killing people of Catholic faith like in Mexico (at least, not in my lifetime...I hope...)... are we getting comfortable with allowing our liberties to be limited or taken away? Are we getting comfortable with being forced to do un-Christian things because the government said so? Are we getting used to the idea that our  faith is being forced to stay within the confines of our church walls and the Sabbath? Hmm.

Well, I will not make this a full commentary on everything regarding the attacks on religious liberty here in the United States.  But I'll just say that it is important to know about the Cristero War so that we can take action (hopefully peacefully) in the defense of religious liberty if necessary.  After all, it is a First Amendment right that we're able to enjoy here in the United States. As long as the U.S. doesn't begin impinge on our other First Amendment rights, we'll be able to publicly and peaceably address issues of religious liberty.

And then! To be Catholic means that our faith goes beyond the doors of our churches ("Mass" in Latin is "missa" which means "dismissal" or understood to be "mission"....or simply put, we "are sent out").   We are Catholic in everything that we do, 7 days a week, no matter where we are.  And there are those who have issues with this idea that Catholics are to be Catholics outside of Catholic churches.  Awkwardly, we do have hospitals, universities, humanitarian efforts, religious communities, businesses, etc. that identify as Catholic and they are fully expected to be in line with Church teaching because if they aren't...then they cease acting in an authentically Catholic way.  Or more gravely, they cease being Catholic. And there are those who want this!  President Calles of Mexico wanted to erase Catholicism out of his country so that his grand ol' scheme wouldn't have the Catholic Church standing in his way. So he took away Mass. He destroyed churches. He killed priests. He killed anyone associated with the Catholic faith.

It seems to me that anytime that the Church finds herself being persecuted heavily, she all the more grows and grows in a profound way.  And saints arise.  In fact, here's a Wikipedia list of saints (some waiting canonization) from the Cristero War. What saints will arise out of today's forms of Christian persecution? Who will make a stand by the life they live and the actions they take? Who will be martyred?

But anyway...

...because it's a good movie to get a feel for what happened during the Cristero War! :-D

...oh and yes, preparation for the greater glory of rising above persecution in all of its subtle and blatant forms. We must prepare for that too.

So let us all learn about the Cristero War and hope/pray/fast that this country never reaches that point.  Besides, I selfishly think it would be a shame if things started going downhill for the American Catholic Church when my knowledge and appreciation for it is steadily growing.  But, what can I do to help? That's what I should reflect and take action on. :-)

Blessed are those who are persecuted, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

- JD

Fr. Francisco at the moment of being shot / TouchStone's Jests

Voter's Guides

I've been silent on this blog about this election. Not because I don't want to talk about it, but because the issues and importance of this year's presidential election are too great for me to spend time blogging about it at length, and I never seem to have a lot of free time as of late.  But...that needs to change.  Soon.

But that's okay since I've been putting real effort into talking about the major issues surrounding this election in real life, away from keyboard, to younger generations with the hope of empowering them to maintain their Catholic identity by the life they live and in their right to vote whenever they are old enough.  And praise God that resources are available online!  For free!

I voted on the Monday before the election (yay early voting!) and while I am motivated to vote the way I did for more than simply Catholic reasons, I did focus on learning what it means to vote like a Catholic, especially lately. And it's nice to know that my Catholic and non-Catholic motivations on who to vote for resulted in the same candidate.

I want to offer this blog post as a sort of summary of resources. Therefore, let's begin:

What does the Catholic Church teach on involvement in political matters?
Catechism of the Catholic Church #2234-#2246

CCC 2246...hmm...considering the status of our country right now...it is clear that something must be done.  We cannot idly stand by and let things happen.

We are Catholic first before we are Republican, Democrat, or (insert your non-mainstream political party here). In communion with the Church, our consciences must be formed and carried out genuinely with the mind of the Church, regardless of which political party we associate ourselves with.

Another resource on Catholic voting from the Aggie Catholics blog:
How to Vote As a Catholic

Speaking of forming consciences, there are some hot topic issues to consider when voting for candidates. These issues are abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, human cloning, and so-called same sex "marriage." Collectively, these are non-negotiable issues that are intrinsically evil--they are not morally justifiable in any case. Here's a video summarizing the issues and see the following links for further reading:

Voter's Guide for Serious Catholics (PDF version)
...and what I like about this is...it outlines principles as opposed to aligning with a particular political party based on their platform.  Because platforms can change, but Catholic teaching and Catholic morality do not.

Certainly, the heart of the five non-negotiables mentioned in that Voter's Guide have to do with attacks on human life and dignity.

If we can't get the right to life right, the other rights we hold dear mean nothing.

However, for those of us who enjoy our right to life, some other important rights guaranteed by our government are being infringed upon. This year marks a historic time for the United States. No other time in US history has the government walked all over our religious freedom, especially for us Catholics. To read more about it, read this:
Why Should I Care: The HHS Mandate and Religious Freedom
and
a list of entities suing the Department of Health and Human Services (growing list) through The Becket Fund.

You should also watch For Greater Glory, because it tells the story of what Catholics in Mexico had to deal with during the 1920's when the Mexican government persecuted and killed Catholics.  Or Google the Cristiada or Cristero War.  While I don't think the US government will resort to direct killing of individuals outside of the womb, at the very least...we should reflect on the possibility of martyrdom which I think is awesomely portrayed by certain saints in this movie.

And then, on top of all this ... I've been listening to a lot of Catholic radio, particularly Catholic Answers which finds its home at catholic.com.  Thanks to them, I've been informed and educated about the issues.

And even if you didn't vote in this presidential election, there are local and state elections in the near future that require the same responsibility and informed conscience from us.

I challenge you, dear Catholic brothers and sisters--get informed. Take ownership of your faith, live it out, and vote accordingly in future elections at all levels.

And oh...don't be fooled by such things as this kind of voter's guide:
Planned Parenthood Action Fund's Voter's Guide
...because simple check marks that highlight people who are in agreement with Planned Parenthood's ideals isn't enough.  Seriously!  You won't find in-depth information about the issues that Planned Parenthood cares about in their voter's guide.  But I suppose it's harder to talk about justifying intrinsic evils than it is to speak the truth.  And hey, at the very least...this voter's guide helps us know names of individuals who are for Planned Parenthood in our government.  It's up to us to dig deeper and find out why it is they support Planned Parenthood.

Bottom line...there will always be those entities that try to sway your mind away from Catholic truth.  Stand firm.  And know where you stand. Matthew 7:15-29 (NAB).

I hope this all helps!

#CatholicVoting,
- JD

Viva Cristo Rey

Last weekend I had the spur of the moment opportunity to go watch For Greater Glory. My friends and I caught a last showing of the movie that required us to drive like 30 miles from where we were at.

I had heard great things about the movie when it first came out, but due to my schedule, it's been really hard to go watch it with fellow Catholics.

But! By God's will and my sense of adventure, I was able to see it! Missed the first ten minutes but that's okay!

I don't want to give the details of the story away...but man. What a great movie. After watching it, I have a better idea of the sort of things that Catholics in Mexico had to deal with in the early 1900s. Quite honestly, it is terrible that their own government would actively persecute Catholics and prevent them from exercising their religious liberty...to the point of outright killing them.

Given the current social, political, and religious climate that we're in right n now, the release of this movie could not have been more timely. While I don't expect the United States to sink low enough to start killing us for being Catholic, our government sure is making it difficult for us to exercise our beliefs freely by forcing us to go against our conscience.

I won't spend the time commenting on all that in this blog post and besides, I think you can find more eloquent and compelling commentary elsewhere.

But, I just to have to say... For Greater Glory inspires me. Am I willing to stand up for religious freedom, even staring death in the face if necessary? My answer approaches "yes." But I'm discerning the best approach.

There are reasons why there are a good handful of Cristeros who are on the road to be canonized or have been canonized already. For Greater Glory highlights some of them, especially in the credits.

I think every Catholic should watch For Greater Glory. Do we ask ourselves enough the question: what is the price of freedom?

Either way...

It's a good movie.  We have a legit cause to fight for.

Now is an exciting time to be Catholic. :-)

Faith. Hope. Charity. Religious liberty.
- JD