{"id":40389,"date":"2013-06-29T10:00:17","date_gmt":"2013-06-29T15:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.austincnm.com\/?p=40389"},"modified":"2013-06-28T21:50:09","modified_gmt":"2013-06-29T02:50:09","slug":"chaos-at-the-capitol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/06\/chaos-at-the-capitol\/","title":{"rendered":"Chaos at the Capitol"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/a>\"37756960_af09230a40\"<\/p>\n

Wow. What a challenging week for Catholics and Christians. Between the HHS mandate, Prop 8, DOMA and SB5, God has put before us quite the challenge (Sidenote: anyone else think it’s crazy that this is all happening during the Fortnight for Freedom??) Amidst the chaos of arguments on Facebook and the emotionally-charged accusations, it has become especially difficult to follow Christ\u2019s new commandment, to love one another.<\/p>\n

As we saw from this past week\u2019s events, following Jesus means being distinctive from the rest of society. We are those formally known as \u201cJesus freaks\u201d. To be a true Christian means being counter-cultural.<\/p>\n

The Call to Love<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

No matter what vocation we are called to, whether it be to single, married or religious life, we all have a universal vocation: to love. However, to love others does not mean tolerating them. In loving somebody, we should only desire his or her own sainthood. Accepting the sinful behavior of others for the sake of avoiding discomfort is not charitable because it doesn\u2019t lead our brothers and sisters to eternal salvation.<\/p>\n

It becomes really frustrating when we see others so in line with the desires of the devil. But instead of seeing people for their faults and weaknesses, try and illuminate their strengths. It becomes easier to be charitable to others when we see the gifts God has given them. We are all weak in the eyes of God.<\/p>\n

Remembering this humbles myself and helps me to be charitable when someone says something very uncharitable towards the Church. It reminds me to rely on the Holy Spirit rather than my own logic and intellect, because honestly I really don\u2019t have a lot of either. When I become too prideful (which is very easy when you have the Truth on your side) or too emotional, I walk away from the conversation. We all need to remember to rely not on our own strength when having discussions with the other side, but instead rely on the Holy Spirit\u2019s guidance.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s really difficult to love everyone at all times, but God is pleased with our faithfulness to Him. God doesn\u2019t ask us to show our faith through great<\/i> works, but through good<\/i> works; and what makes a work good is that it is rooted in love.<\/p>\n

Speak the Truth<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Abortion is the murder of an innocent, voiceless child. Gay \u201cmarriage\u201d destroys the fabric of society by separating marriage from the potential of having children. Contraception leads to STD\u2019s, unwanted pregnancies, breast cancer and prevents the complete expression of love.<\/p>\n

These things are so obvious to us Catholics because we hold the fullness of Truth, but the lies of relativism and tolerance have consumed our society. The fallacy of relativism is relying solely on a concept that is based on uncertainty. The misconception of tolerance is that it is equal to love, but isn\u2019t true. Tolerating your spouse is not the same as loving your spouse. We must speak the Truth to those misled, whether we want to or not.<\/p>\n

There is a reason why faith, hope and love are the three pillars of the Christian life (1 Corinthians 13:13). We must hope that God\u2019s will be done, have faith that He does all for our good and love Jesus through loving others. These are all very radical ideals, but we live a radical Faith that cannot afford to be dormant any longer. We can\u2019t sit idly by and allow our Mother the Church to continue to be attacked over and over again. I\u2019ll be the first to admit that it hurts when people unfriend and unfollow us, but Jesus is right there helping us when we pick up our cross.<\/p>\n

Be Christ to the World<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

The word \u201cChristian\u201d means \u201cLittle Christ\u201d. We are all called to be Christ\u2019s hands and feet to the world. There is nothing the enemy wants more than to destroy us. Of course, we all know how this story ends. Jesus will prevail. It probably won\u2019t be in the way we expect for God works in mysterious ways. All He asks of us is to do our part; He\u2019ll take care of the rest.<\/p>\n

So pray for your enemies, fast for religious freedom and most importantly, love as Christ loves.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you angry with someone? Pray for that person. That is what Christian love is.\u201d \u2013 Pope Francis<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=FiicZMV98tY<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wow. What a challenging week for Catholics and Christians. Between the HHS mandate, Prop 8, DOMA and SB5, God has put before us quite the challenge (Sidenote: anyone else think it’s crazy that this is all happening during the Fortnight for Freedom??) Amidst the chaos of arguments on Facebook and the emotionally-charged accusations, it has… [Read More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":150,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-40389","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-blog","7":"entry","8":"has-post-thumbnail"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":106106,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/04\/sunday-says-april-19-2015-mass-readings-and-reflection\/","url_meta":{"origin":40389,"position":0},"title":"Sunday Says – April 19, 2015 Mass Readings and Reflection","author":"Crist\u00f3bal Almanza Herrera","date":"April 18, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Third Sunday of Easter Lectionary: 47 (NAB Readings) (Jerusalem Bible Readings) Reading 1 Acts 3:13-15, 17-19 In the season of easter, we place a large scriptural focus on the book of the Acts of the Apostles to show the important consequences of the resurrection of Jesus. 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It was right after the 12 had fled. What a time to show up. And then he also fled, somehow losing the little bit of clothing he had. 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