VOX POPULI, VOX DEI?

"When they say that 'vox populi, vox Dei' and that the majority is always right, let us remember that dishonest majority that shouted: «Crucify him». When demagogues want something, they say that «the people want it». It is almost always a lie. But even if it were true, that is not all. The people may want bad things and good things: depending on how they are guided."

Leonardo Castellani, The Gospel of Jesus Christ, Passion Sunday

FIGHT UNFAIR LAWS

By Father Tomás Agustín Beroch

Today (June 24, 2022) is a day of grace. Not only Roe vs. Wade was overturned on the day of the Sacred Heart, but also on the day of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, who recognized the presence of the Lord since He was in the womb. As Elizabeth said: " The moment that the sound of thy greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leapt for joy. " (Lk 1; 44).

This is an example for countries like Argentina and wherever abortion has been approved. That a law exists does not mean that it is a just law; and not only that: we must fight it until it is eradicated forever. Abortion, no matter how lawful it is on paper, is always murder and cannot be approved in any case.

I always encourage mothers who have had an abortion and have repented of their sin to trust in the mercy of God who can always forgive us no matter how great our faults. If a woman had an abortion and repented, may she know that God's mercy endures forever and that Jesus Christ asks her to fight for the defense of human life from conception to death from now on. But there is no sin that God cannot forgive, however great it may be.

May today be remembered as a clear message from God: YOU CAN FIGHT UNFAIR LAWS LIKE THE ABORTION LAW, because the Lord does what He wants, and no one mocks the Lord. Although everything seems lost in our countries, let us never lose hope. Here in the United States, it took 49 years to overturn this unjust law. Now the different states will be able to freely decide what to do, and there are 26 states that are aiming at the absolute elimination of abortion. It is a miracle, but we should not be surprised, since God is the one who decides, not the politicians or the powerful (although it seems otherwise, God is and will be the one who moves the threads of history).

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For his mercy endures forever" (Ps 136; 1).

GREAT TRIUMPH OF LIFE

Life won! The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) overturned the famous Roe vs. Wade ruling, returning to the US Constitution its original nature of defending life. This is a decision that will surely impact many Latin American constitutions.

Providentially, on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Roe v Wade has been overturned, in a ruling that clearly indicates that, beyond the slogans, the "supposed right to abortion IS NOT constitutional." And so, Clarence Thomas, Judge of the Supreme Court of the United States, stated: "The purported right to abortion is not a form of liberty." Meanwhile, Judge Samuel Alito wrote in the decision: “Abortion presents a profound moral question. The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each state from regulating or prohibiting abortion. Roe and Casey arrogated that authority. We now overrule those decisions and return that authority to the people and their elected representatives.”

THE NECESSARY REAL PRESENCE OF CHRIST IN THE EUCHARIST

 Absence is the pain of friendship, its torment. Distance weakens and, if it is too prolonged, ends the firmest friendship by putting it to death. 

If Our Lord is away from us, removed from us, our love for Him will undergo the dissolving effect of absence. 

It is in the nature of man’s love to require, in order to live, the presence of the object loved.

Saint Peter Julian Eymard

PADRE PIO TEACHES US HOW OUR BEHAVIOR SHOULD BE IN CHURCH AND DURING THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS

A letter from Padre Pio to Annita Rodote, Pietrelcina, July 25, 1915.

Saint Pio of Pietrelcina teaches us how to hear Mass:

“The Divine Master calls the church the ho use of prayer. In order to avoid irreverence and imperfections I exhort you in the Lord to: 

Enter the church in silence and with great respect, considering yourself unworthy to appear before the Lord's Majesty.  Amongst other pious considerations, remember that our soul is the temple of God and, as such, we must keep it pure and spotless before God and his angels. 

Let us blush for having given access to the devil and his snares many times (with his enticements to the world, his pomp, his calling to the flesh) by not being able to keep our hearts pure and our bodies chaste; for having allowed our enemies to insinuate themselves into our hearts, thus desecrating the temple of God which we became through holy Baptism.  

Then take holy water and make the sign of the cross carefully and slowly. 

As soon as you are before God in the Blessed Sacrament, devoutly genuflect. Once you have found your place, kneel down and render the tribute of your presence and devotion to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.  Confide all your needs to him along with those of others. Speak to him with filial abandonment, give free rein to your heart and give him complete freedom to work in you as he thinks best.

When assisting at Holy Mass and the sacred functions, be very composed when standing up, kneeling down, and sitting, and carry out every religious act with the greatest devotion. Be modest in your glances; don't turn your head here and there to see who enters and leaves. Don't laugh, out of reverence for this holy place and also out of respect for those who are near you.  Try not to speak to anybody, except when charity or strict necessity requests this.  

If you pray with others, say the words of the prayer distinctly, observe the pauses well and never hurry. 

In short, behave in such a way that all present are edified by it and, through you, are urged to glorify and love the heavenly Father.  

On leaving the church, you should be recollected and calm. Firstly, take your leave of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament; ask his forgiveness for the shortcomings committed in his divine presence and do not leave him without asking for and having received his paternal blessing.  

Once you are outside the church, be as every follower of the Nazarene should be. Above all, be extremely modest in everything, as this is the virtue, which, more than any other, reveals the affections of the heart.  Nothing represents an object more faithfully or clearly than a mirror.  In the same way, nothing more widely represents the good or bad qualities of a soul than the greater or lesser regulation of the exterior, as when one appears more or less modest. 

You must be modest in speech, modest in laughter, modest in your bearing, modest in walking. All this must be practiced, not out of vanity in order to display one's self, nor out of hypocrisy in order to appear to be good to the eyes of others, but rather, for the internal virtue of modesty, which regulates the external workings of the body.  

AN ACCURATE PREDICTION

 

CHRISTOPHOBIA IN NIGERIA: MORE THAN 50 FAITHFUL MURDERED IN A CATHOLIC CHURCH

An attack, for which no group has claimed responsibility, took place during the Mass for the Feast of Pentecost in the Church of St. Francis, located in the town of Owo, in the state of Ondo, in the southwest of the country, less than 200 kilometers from Lagos.

The attackers, numbering at least five, were armed with weapons and explosives. After detonating a bomb near the altar, they methodically fired on the panicking worshipers trying to get out of the building.

The first report made in the morning on Monday, June 6, indicated that there were 21 dead, including several children. Later on Monday evening, several Nigerian newspapers announced a much heavier toll: at least 50 people had died in this massacre. There are also around 50 injured, some of them in serious condition.

The attack hit a state that has hitherto been spared the violence that has been taking place in the country. There have been no less than four attacks since Saturday June 4, with deaths and mass kidnappings in regions further north.

The Owo attack is undoubtedly linked to a political context, as well as a religious one. The ruling party, the APC (All Progressives Congress, or Congress of Progressives) must hold primaries for the presidential election of 2023, to succeed Muhammadu Buhari, who must step down after two terms.

Security is one of the greatest challenges in this country, which is – by far – the most populous in Africa and which is also the largest economy on the continent. In addition, tensions continue to grow on the one hand between the mainly Muslim states of the north, which have established Sharia law, and the mainly Christian states of the south.

The army has been fighting a jihadist war in the Northeast, which has dragged on for twelve years; they must fight against gangs of looters and kidnappers who terrorize the North West; and finally they must pacify the Southeast theater of separatist movements.

Sources: Le Monde/Blueprint/Le Figaro – SFPX.Actualités. Imagen:  © Rahaman a Yusuf