By Judie Brown
In Ephesians 6:12, Saint Paul teaches: “For it is not against human enemies that we have to struggle, but against the principalities and the ruling forces who are masters of the darkness in this world, the spirits of evil in the heavens.”
As we read about St. Paul’s description of this struggle, we thought about our daily struggle to defend the babies. As we enter into this Independence Day four-day weekend, we then came to this conclusion:
It is time for Americans to think long and hard about where this nation is headed. Prior to becoming the Vicar of Christ, Pope Benedict XVI taught that truth and justice can become like a yoke on the shoulders of a man—a yoke that man would prefer to shed. But once accomplished, this rejection of God and His laws leaves the man empty. Pope Benedict stated: “It leads into the desolate land of nothingness and disintegrates of itself. Yet the yoke of truth in fact became ‘easy’ (Mt 11:30) when the truth came, loved us, and consumed our guilt in the fire of his love. Only when we know and experience this from within, will we be free to hear the message of conscience with joy and without fear.”
Indeed, it is only in accepting Christ and His unconditional love that each individual person and the nation as a whole can find healing from the tyranny of self-will.
On this birthday of our great nation, let us bow our heads in prayer, saying: Lord, Jesus Christ, guide us along the way to a real appreciation of Your healing power. Help us strive to honor You and our American heritage by doing more to defend the vulnerable and educate the ignorant. We ask You this, and we ask You to bless our nation and our families. We love you, Lord Jesus, our hope and our light. Amen.