Christian Hope: A Post-Election Commentary

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November 06, 2008 - 11:49 PST

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STEUBENVILLE, OH (NOVEMBER 6, 2008) - On the day following the election, Dr. Mark Miravalle, Professor of Theology and Mariology at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, offered the following statement on the election of Sen. Barack Obama.

It is Wednesday, November 5, 2008, the day after the election of the United States President.

I believe that for Catholics, for Christians, for people of sincerely good will, that whether it be in a few days, a few weeks, a few months, or in the not too distant future, those who cast a vote for the pro-abortion candidate, our President-elect, are going to wake up at some point with the shocking question and the realization, "What have I done?" I say that without judgment of heart, but I say it with objectivity of mind, in light of the President-elect that now will be guiding the United States of America and all its worldwide outreaches, in terms of both public policy and moral policy.

Evidently, based on exit polls, more than half of the Catholics in the United States voted for a candidate who has voiced the following positions:

1. The immediate putting forth and ratifying into law the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA). This is an act which removes all bans on any form of abortion, including partial-birth abortion. Since that is now public policy, it is important that you know precisely what that is. That means giving partial birth to a human being, and getting the head out of the womb, and then literally sucking the brain out of his or her tiny human head.

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2. This president elect, and the policies that he will advance, do not protect a child who survives an abortion. Based on legislation in Illinois previously backed by the President-elect, if a child does survive an abortion, the child has no rights, and therefore the child could be strangled or drowned, as has been the grisly case in some of these particular instances.

3. This country has elected a president elect, who has said that children a young as 13 years old can have an abortion without parental consent. This means a new undermining of the basic authority of father and mother in the family.

4. This president elect has expressed his intention to revoke the Defense of Marriage Act, which translates into the removal of any limitations of marriage in terms of being exclusively between a man and a woman. This was a policy given in an open letter in February 2008 to a gay, lesbian, and transsexual organization. There every reason to believe that this will also be enacted.

Sadly, the list goes on and on and on, as the president-elect will be promulgating a policy of moral degeneration which puts at risk most every foundational Judeo-Christian moral code or basic principle of the natural law.

My friends, if you feel a certain sense of violation in the coming days and weeks, it is understandable. The dignity, the goodness, the history of America in some real sense has been violated through the election of an individual who is so clearly against the dignity of the human person and so against the culture of life.

Many U.S. Catholics fatally decided to vote economy over morals. Now, tragically, we shall be losing both.

Where do we go from here?

There is a new call for Catholics who still put their faith first and foremost in Jesus Christ, in the Immaculate Heart of Mary, in the Holy Father, in the Magisterium, for people who understand what the President-elect's policy stands for. It is a call to spiritual action. Now is not a time of despair. It is a time to come forward like never before with the deepest conviction of the human heart that our faith does not lie first in our government or in any government. It lies first in the power of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in the mercy that comes to us through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and in the eternal and inestimable graces that come to us through the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church of Jesus Christ under the appropriate leadership by the power of the Holy Spirit through the leadership of Pope Benedict (who is not elected by man, but by God).

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While it is justified to feel the great loss of what we have done as a country in the United States, there's no time to lose in terms of responding in a way that disciples of Jesus Christ should respond. What precisely is that? More courage, more hope, more prayer.

I would invite each of you, if you are not already in the practice, to consider adding to the end of each Rosary three Hail Marys for the end of the horrific scourge of abortion (we must never grow accustomed to its horrific face), and also in reparation for culture of death policies which our new administration will soon be implementing.. We are called to a new level of prayer and dedication. The Rosary is an indescribably powerful pro-life prayer. Greater Eucharistic Adoration, where possible, is, along with the Mass, of the greatest possible spiritual benefits and spiritual weapons for these upcoming times. We can also exponentially add to the power of our prayers for life and family but adding some form of fasting to our prayers, typically offered on Wednesdays and Fridays as traditional Christian days of penance.

Spiritually, we must increase are generosity, our efficacy, and our protection in light of the serious new challenges we will be facing in our country.

Secondly, we keep our joy. Why joy? Because joy is a sign that the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts. Joy is a sign that Jesus Christ will be the ultimate victor and in the full Catholic understanding through the intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Our Lady of America, who wants to return this land to a land of purity, even though now it will be an even greater uphill battle. Ultimately, the Immaculate Heart will triumph and we indeed will be the country we are called to be.

In these difficult times, we must convey the light of Christ and the hope that only can come through Him by being living icons of his joy. Bl. Teresa of Calcutta put it very clearly and succinctly when she said to her sisters that if they could not leave the convent with joy, with smiles on their faces, then they should not go out at all.

Joy during the great trials ahead is more important now than ever. Ten people will be standing in a row in some public forum. Nine of those ten people will show the difficulties and despair of these times in their faces, their attitudes, their demeanors. Then they will see you, and you will have joy. They will see you with a smile on your face and peace of heart, and realize that in spite of all these grave crises inflicting our country, you can still smile. Then they will say, "I want what that person has." And they are going to come to you, and you will let them know, by actions or by words, that it is Jesus Christ who gives you this supernatural Christian joy, regardless what happens in this world and in this country. This joy comes only through the Holy Spirit.

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Thirdly, we must take as our platform "no moral compromise." No moral compromise on a personal level, in an environment where I'm afraid we will be soon be ubiquitously surrounded by moral compromise on a national level.

Yes, in a true sense, our country has compromised by electing an individual whose policies are so antithetical to the moral teachings of Jesus Christ and Judeo-Christian tradition. At the same time, we are going to be called upon to be witnesses of no moral compromise, a position which will call for sacrifice on an ever-increasing level. We can do it because of Jesus and Mary. We can do it because of the graces of the sacraments. We can do it because we can see our brothers and sisters in places like China and India who are uncompromisingly loyal to Christ and the Church in the midst of the greatest persecutions and sacrifices, including, for some, their lives.

We are called to be people of prayer, especially through the Rosary. We are called to have joy. We are called to be people who will not morally compromise based on faith in Christ and the conviction of hope that one day this country will ultimately return to its Judeo-Christian roots.

Have hope. Have peace. The Immaculate Heart will triumph. Our country will be transformed to its original greatness and much more.

Dr. Mark Miravalle
Professor of Theology and Mariology
Franciscan University of Steubenville

Contact

Mark Miravalle
http://www.motherofallpeoples.com
OH, 43952 US
Mark Miravalle - Professor of Theology and Mariology, 740 937-2277

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