By ERIC GIRTEN
THE CATHOLIC KITCHEN
Bishop Siegel recently announced his intention to consecrate the Diocese of Evansville to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on Sept. 12. He also suggested that parishes and individuals do the same. I say that the time could not be more right, and I would add that married couples and families should consider doing likewise.
I do not need to go into the challenges we face in today’s culture. The most recent disturbing news I read was regarding the decapitation of religious statues, including those of Jesus Christ and Mary, and the burning of churches. In the midst of these challenges, we must as Christians maintain our focus on the solid foundations of reality, the cornerstone of which is Jesus Christ. And it is Mary, our Blessed Mother, who always points the way to her Son.
It was Abraham Lincoln who said, “a house divided against itself cannot stand;” and so it would follow that a good strategy of any opposing force, call that force what you will, would be to divide the house against itself.
If we put this measure up against the backdrop of our country, we see that we have become a divided people who are increasingly incapable of having a civil conversation of differing viewpoints. If we put this measure up against the backdrop of our Church, we find that a virus has caused many of us to isolate from our parish communities and the Sacraments for the sake of our health.
This opposing force could be spiritual evil, natural phenomenon, social and political pressure, or even peer pressure; and yet the bottom line is that we as Christians cannot let the weeds of these opposing forces be sown into the fields of our good wheat.
Our primary defenses against this destruction of our spiritual landscapes are frequent reception of the Sacraments of the Church; creation of strong and impenetrable Catholic families; and the practices of charity, mercy, faith, hope, love, forgiveness and prayer. Nothing can penetrate a house that practices these Christian actions and the house that does not will at some point divide against itself.
So, my sisters and brothers in Jesus Christ, regardless of whether it has been recently or far too long since you have raised your heart and mind to heaven, fear not. Within the next couple of months, we will all be able to make acts of faith as we recommit ourselves to our Blessed Lady; she who is eternally pointing the way to her Son, Jesus Christ.