Hiding the Image of God.

"Genuine freedom is an outstanding manifestation of the divine image in man. For God willed to leave man 'in the power of his own counsel' (cf. Sir 15:14), so that he would seek his Creator of his own accord and would freely arrive at full and blessed perfection by cleaving to God." (Veritatis Splendor 34) 

all rights reserved.

We are given the freedom to seek the Creator or to walk away from the Creator. The former holds our happiness, the latter our misery.  This freedom is not a merciless risk on God's part, but a revealing of our dignity. Not only do we have a right to the exercise of this freedom - the pursuit of God in all that is true, good, and beautiful, but we also have the obligation to do so. 


What does this all amount to? Consider someone who walked up to you and demanded that you supply the knife for him to slash your own tires, and your neighbors. We would balk at such audacity. Now, consider the government demands that you pay for someone to act in direct opposition to the dignity of the human person: kill and/or desecrate sex, sexuality, and family. 


This is what is happening when the government requires that Catholic Institutions (our money) be used to pay for abortifacients and birth control. Our conscience are not free to choose what is good, true, or beautiful. We are being coerced and manipulated - our reason under attack. Conscience, Reason, Freedom - all being made into relative, subjective ideas at the beck and call of the majority - amounts to an attack on the very heart of who we are as creatures created in the Image and Likeness of God. 


This is no small thing. While, we know that NO ONE can ever take that dignity away. It is our hope and prayer  that we defend that dignity, and never allow anyone or anything (including our own indifference) to desecrate it. We must never hide the image of God in us, but insist on using our reason, forming our conscience in the pursuit and exercise of genuine freedom. 


Let us Pray:

O God our Creator,

Through the power and working of your Holy Spirit,
you call us to live out our faith in the midst of the world,
bringing the light and the saving truth of the Gospel
to every corner of society.

We ask you to bless us
in our vigilance for the gift of religious liberty.
Give us the strength of mind and heart
to readily defend our freedoms when they are threatened;
give us courage in making our voices heard
on behalf of the rights of your Church
and the freedom of conscience of all people of faith.

Grant, we pray, O heavenly Father,
a clear and united voice to all your sons and daughters
gathered in your Church
in this decisive hour in the history of our nation,
so that, with every trial withstood
and every danger overcome—
for the sake of our children, our grandchildren,
and all who come after us—
this great land will always be "one nation, under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.