Conquest Of Obama

"Let hearts rejoice who search for the Lord"

Rejoice in the Lord Always

St. Paul exhorts us: "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say rejoice!" Are we going to focus on the circumstances or are we going to focus on the face of Jesus? If you hope to rejoice, you better know where to put your focus. Yes, we must rejoice even as we see the culture of death succeeding in the election of Obama. At times like this, the saints are the ones with the healthy perspective. St . Francis de Sales, for example, reminds us: "Do not look forward to what might happen tomorrow; the same Everlasting Father who cares for you today will take care of you tomorrow and every day. Either He will shield you from suffering or He will give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace, then, and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginings."

For many of us, the outcome of the election was not surprising but nevertheless, we were deeply saddened. With Obama's election we see the culture of death extending to the highest office in our land. Some of us might feel we have fought the good fight and lost. But in reality, we haven't begun to fight because despite our fumbling efforts, the culture of death continues to triumph in the battlefield of our nation.

Are we not the Church militant? Isn't it high time that we demonstrate who we are? The proverb comes to mind: The road to hell is paved with good intentions. We cannot be satisfied with the name militant if, in fact, we are pacifist. Our opponents would never be successful if we lived out our vocation instead of providing, in large measure, lip service to our Master. If we don't wake up, it won't be long before we will discover that we will be sharing the experience of the early Christians: persecution by the state.

Each of us needs to do a serious self-examination. For me, I realize that it was eight years ago that I gave up on street evangelism. It was in June of 2000, only four months before the Bush/Gore battle for the presidency. At the time, I quit street evangelism after seven years experience. Why did I stop? I allowed my discouragement with people's indifference to rule my decision. Instead of giving into discouragement, I should have been on my knees before the Lord in our Eucharistic chapel seeking a solution to effectively address people's indifference and hostility. We should have looked for a militant solution instead of a passive giving into discouragement.

Realizing that the cultural climate has rapidly deteriorated during these past eight years, we have decided, after much prayer, to return to street evangelism. We have to still contend with massive indifference as well as hostility. But what we realize now is that the Lord has an answer if we keep focused upon Him and not the situation. It is not in our coffee shops or church corridors that we are going to find the solution but on our knees in our adoration chapel where the Lord whispers His solutions to our difficulties in our personal initiatives.

Are we willing to earnestly seek His face? Are we willing to love the Lord our God with all of our hearts and minds and bodies? This is the key to conquest with our enemy who is not very subtly disguised in the culture of death. Can we conquer him? Of course we can because Jesus has already won the victory. Your job and mine is to get on board with Jesus plan of attack. That plan can only be discovered in prayer.

We cannot continue, as Christians, to buy into the self indulgence that is so pervasive in our midst. If we continue to participate, we might find ourselves among those on judgment day whom Jesus says: "I know you not." Obama's victory is a wake up call. There is no more time to procrastinate. Our bishops have clearly spoken and the Catholic 'faithful', in large measure, have ignored Jesus' Apostles. Jesus words come to mind: "the road to hell is wide and many go that way." Are we going to be among the many? Or are we going to be among those who pick up their cross daily and follow Jesus?

When I wrote to our former pastor, Fr. Frank, asking if Ann Arbor was a bubble of insanity in the midst of a more sane country. Fr. Frank could read my discouragement between the lines. He wrote back cautiously but encouragingly. He admitted AA is a bit insane "but at the same time there are many with their heads and hearts together." He concluded by saying: "keep up your fight."

Only a few days before the election we heard from an old and dear friend, Sharon. Her family lives in Ohio. She shared with me some of what she was doing in the campaign. Her involvement was remarkable. Sharon was an example of a point Fr. Frank made: "there are many with their heads and hearts together." However, Sharon's efforts raise an important question: Were there enough Sharons out there fighting for the Culture of Life? The answer is obviously 'no'.

Now that the culture of death has captured the White House, are we going to retreat into our Christian bunkers? God forbid! Jesus has won the victory but you and I cannot participate in His victory unless we share in His cross. Are we going to pick up His cross that leads to victory or are we going to create a man made solution that is doomed to failure? Jesus reminds us: "Without me, you can do nothing." It is in those silent moments in the Adoration chapel that our particular response will be shaped. If our response is not the fruit of our prayer, we are spinning our wheels. We know where our unguided efforts lead: further victories of the culture of death.

I don't know Jesus plan for victory over the culture of death but I do know He will reveal it day by day as we fumble to come before Him, seeking His way. We need to humbly seek His face if we want to discover His way, the only way!

So let's follow Fr. Frank's advise and 'keep on fighting' with our God in prayer to shape us and mold us into His instruments of peace.