Suffering With Joy

A Rosary for Our Country

Today I prayed an extra rosary that our nation be delivered from the pro-death powers governing our country.  Over the past few days my mind has seen hordes of dead – not just babies, but disabled people of all ages and the elderly.  The implications for life if Congress passes any form of the health care bill they are wrangling over are dim, dim, dim. It’s not only abortion, it’s the denying of livelihood to so many Americans through policies that pander to special interest groups. Terrible poverty, anarchy, and despotism with the attendant cruelty of such a world is all too close.  It’s all a continuum. A demonic darkness pervades this country at every level of government, but especially Capitol Hill.  If we lose our moral authority through pro-death laws, we can no longer offer hope to the suffering elsewhere on this planet.

This morning, I understood that I was to devote more prayer and sacrifice to our country’s situation.  Since today is Friday, I took the Sorrowful Mysteries of the rosary to Our Lady and asked her to crush the head of Satan – to put the screeching demons to flight.  I cannot go out to demonstrate anymore, I have written letters, sent emails, and done what I can from the temporal angle.  Now what is left is penance and prayer.

Agony in the Garden, 1465, Donatello, bronze, Church of San Lorenzo, Florence

Agony in the Garden: Dear Mother Mary, Jesus suffered a terrible agony in Gethsemane with no one beside Him except the angels.  He knew the pharisees were out to kill Him.  He sweat blood for us.  We are your children.  Please Mother Mary, do not let the demons of hell continue to inspire the evil directed at America through the power-drunk politicians who seek to destroy the nation and make it into something it was never founded to be.  Obtain from your Son, Jesus, the great graces necessary to convert their hearts and waken to the love of God.

Scourging at the Pillar: Dear Mother Mary, Jesus was scourged almost to death while the sadistic Roman guards laughed and the Pharisees and High Priests gloated.  His blood was poured out everywhere.  Please, dear Mother Mary, gather your children, we the brothers and sisters of Jesus, and ask your loving Son to stay the hands of those who would have our blood and our livelihood. Obtain from your Son, Jesus, the great graces necessary to convert their hearts and waken to the love of God.

Crown of Thorns, c. 1510, Cranach, Lucas the Elder, oil on lime panel, private collection

Crowning with Thorns: Dear Mother Mary, with a cruelty beneath that of the animal kingdom and worthy only of the hateful demons of hell, the Roman guards pressed a crown of sharpest thorns into the head of your Son and our Brother.  They shoved a reed into His hand and threw a red cloak about Him while mocking His Kingship.  Please, Mother Mary, we are your sons and daughters, too.  Ask our dear Jesus to stay the hands and tongues of those who mock life and the dignity of all man with their plans to strike down the poor and helpless and continue the genocide of races. Obtain from your Son, Jesus, the great graces necessary to convert their hearts and waken to the love of God.

Carrying of the Cross: Dear Mother Mary, you followed Jesus as he carried his heavy cross through the streets of Jerusalem to Golgotha. You saw the people curse and spit on Him.  You saw the soldiers beat Him when He fell.  You saw little mercy toward Him except for Veronica.  Please, Mother Mary, for the sake of the suffering of your Divine Son, ask dear Jesus to give His followers the strength to remain on the narrow path of life and to defeat the demonic forces that would go against the natural law of God. Plead with Him to stay the hands that would lay burdens upon our backs so heavy that we will fail under their load. Obtain from your Son, Jesus, the great graces necessary to convert their hearts and waken to the love of God.

Crucifixion, 1503, Cranach, Lucas the Elder, pine panel, Alte Pinakothek, Munich

Crucifixion and Death of Our Lord: Dear Mother Mary, you saw and heard it all – the hammering of the nails, the thump and jolt of the cross as it sank into its hole.  You saw the soldiers gambling to win your Son’s clothes.  You heard the mocking of the crowd and more gloating from the Scribes and Pharisees. You heard him cry out from the Cross.  You accepted us as your children when He gave you to us as our Mother before He died.  Please, Mother Mary, ask your Son, Jesus, to come to our aid in this time when so many lives are threatened by the greedy and pompous who live by the dictatorship of relativity.  Plead with Him to stay the hands of those who would have us die because they believe we are unworthy of life.  Obtain from your Son, Jesus, the great graces necessary to convert their hearts and waken to the love of God.

Tags: Blessed Virgin, conversion, moral authority, pro-life

Mother Teresa a Political Philosopher?

Normally I would not deal with political issues in this blog, but since the subject of Mother Teresa was brought up by Anita Dunn, a White House media strategist, I am making an exception.  It seems that Ms. Dunn gave a talk this spring to some high school students in which she stated that her two favorite political philosophers are Mao Tse-tung and Mother Teresa.  In the clip shown on Glenn Beck’s show and which is available on YouTube for the entire world to see, Ms. Dunn continued her address by extolling Mao to the students and elaborating on his philosophy.

 I am not going to address the myriad issues here of how a communist sympathizer came to be addressing impressionable youth, nor why the students are being exposed to uncritical and positive remarks about communism and a brutal communist leader who was responsible for the deaths of millions of Chinese and a total degradation of the people of his country.  Instead I want to correct the falsehood that Mother Teresa was a political philosopher.  She was no such thing any more than Jesus was.

 Granted, we all tend to filter reality and information through our areas of expertise.  Mathematicians and scientists apply their knowledge to events through their scientific filters, musicians and artists through their aesthetic filters, and politicians through their power filters.  It is no surprise that a person as deeply involved in politics for her total career as Ms. Dunn has been would interpret Mother Teresa’s words and actions from within her own political construct. 

Mother Teresa gave her life to bring Christ to others.  She started every day with several hours of prayer and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.  She went into the streets of Calcutta and brought back the sick and the dying to care for them and honor their dignity as a human being.  Many times she said that she always saw Christ in the faces of the poor she ministered to, and that she was aware that she was bringing Christ to them.  Mother Teresa was never a political force.  She was a moral force, accomplishing what she did by the grace of God. 

By the power of God Mother Teresa was able to establish so many charitable foundations in over 700 countries.  Bishops from all over the world contacted her and invited her to bring her Missionaries of Charity to their dioceses to help with the poor and the sick.  Governments welcomed her foundations because she could do what the state could not – inspire many young women and men to give their lives selflessly for the good of others and care for the poor. 

As for herself personally, Mother Teresa lived her vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience daily.  She attracted wealth from many different sources and used it all for the people she so lovingly cared for.  Once Pope Paul VI gave her an expensive automobile that had been given to him for his trip through India.  Mother Teresa and her sisters raffled it off and used the proceeds for the poor.  She slept on the floor wherever she stayed and always lived simply.  She required her religious community to live among the poor they served. 

Tags: Anita Dunn, Blessed Theresa of Calcutta, Christ, Glenn Beck, moral authority, sacrifice