This past Monday, the Catholic Church celebrated the Solemnity of the great pioneers and leaders of the early Church, Saints Peter and Paul. These two made major contributions in helping the Church to grow amid difficult circumstances and without the structure and discipline that would come later. From what we read in the scriptures about them (and from St. Paul about himself) they were far from perfect in what they did before and after meeting Jesus Christ, but their zeal for the Gospel and readiness to die for their faith in Jesus (which happened to both of them in Rome), leads us to honor them and ask for their intercession when it comes to many needs in our Church and in our lives. I can't imagine anyone of strong faith and a compassionate heart suggesting that because these two spiritual giants committed their share of sins including serious ones that anyone take down statues that have been created and placed in their honor and memory inside and outside of churches and in other holy places.
It more than saddens me (and angers others) that the current unrest in our country has led some to be so bold as to pull down or deface statues and monuments of Americans of the past (especially our founding Fathers) who were admittedly anything but perfect, but who nevertheless cooperated with God's grace to make our country the land of the free and the home of the brave. In the patriotic rosary, which we pray almost once a month (and which I invite more of you to pray with us), we sometimes quote famous Americans like George Washington, John Adams and even General Robert E. Lee, as they speak of their faith in God and encourage the people of this country to recognize the sovereignty of God over everyone and everything in this country and over all the earth. While there are some who would not only knock down statues of Robert E. Lee because he fought on the side of the Confederacy that sought to maintain the inhuman practice of slavery, but also refrain from quoting anything he had to say. I do not hesitate to quote part of what he said to some of his troops in 1863, that certainly needs to be echoed and followed in the difficult and trying tims we are in. "Let prayer be our passion. Let prayer be our practice." I hope you can all join me in saying AMEN to that!
It more than saddens me (and angers others) that the current unrest in our country has led some to be so bold as to pull down or deface statues and monuments of Americans of the past (especially our founding Fathers) who were admittedly anything but perfect, but who nevertheless cooperated with God's grace to make our country the land of the free and the home of the brave. In the patriotic rosary, which we pray almost once a month (and which I invite more of you to pray with us), we sometimes quote famous Americans like George Washington, John Adams and even General Robert E. Lee, as they speak of their faith in God and encourage the people of this country to recognize the sovereignty of God over everyone and everything in this country and over all the earth. While there are some who would not only knock down statues of Robert E. Lee because he fought on the side of the Confederacy that sought to maintain the inhuman practice of slavery, but also refrain from quoting anything he had to say. I do not hesitate to quote part of what he said to some of his troops in 1863, that certainly needs to be echoed and followed in the difficult and trying tims we are in. "Let prayer be our passion. Let prayer be our practice." I hope you can all join me in saying AMEN to that!