Flags adorn the front entrance of church this morning in honor of Memorial Day. We as a Church are committed to praying for the deceased. We do that in a special way today for all those who have given their lives in service to our country. The freedom we enjoy came at a great price.
As I observe the culture around us and listen to celebrities and political pundits spout off about one topic or another dear to their personal agenda, I feel great concern for our country. A lack of knowledge can be a very dangerous thing when you have a platform to influence millions of others equally as ill-informed as you.
Socialism and communism were two words that painted a definite picture when I was growing up. We would have never thought of embracing such ideologies because of the consequences experienced by those who suffered under such forms of government.
Now look at our own elected "leaders" today promoting and campaigning for the same things which we fought against years ago. Do they not know and understand history? Worse yet, do they know and understand it, and yet, still work to undermine our republic? As I watch the shenanigans of many of our politicians, I am dismayed at the lack of respect shown toward the people they are supposed to serve. The term "civil servant" seems to have lost its meaning in the modern age.
The encyclical "On Atheistic Communism" was written by Pope Pius XI in 1937. The document is 82 paragraphs long. I will just insert two paragraphs below for you to see the clarity of what was said. I encourage you to read the whole document. Those who gave their lives for our freedom deserve our willingness to at least learn about their sacrifices and the cause of freedom.
w2.vatican.va/content/pius-xi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_19370319_divini-redemptoris.html
3. This all too imminent danger, Venerable Brethren, as you have already surmised, is bolshevistic and atheistic Communism, which aims at upsetting the social order and at undermining the very foundations of Christian civilization .
4. In the face of such a threat, the Catholic Church could not and does not remain silent. This Apostolic See, above all, has not refrained from raising its voice, for it knows that its proper and social mission is to defend truth, justice and all those eternal values which Communism ignores or attacks. Ever since the days when groups of "intellectuals" were formed in an arrogant attempt to free civilization from the bonds of morality and religion, Our Predecessors overtly and explicitly drew the attention of the world to the consequences of the dechristianization of human society. With reference to Communism, Our Venerable Predecessor, Pius IX, of holy memory, as early as 1846 pronounced a solemn condemnation, which he confirmed in the words of the Syllabus directed against "that infamous doctrine of so-called Communism which is absolutely contrary to the natural law itself, and if once adopted would utterly destroy the rights, property and possessions of all men, and even society itself."[1] Later on, another of Our predecessors, the immortal Leo XIII, in his Encyclical Quod Apostolici Muneris, defined Communism as "the fatal plague which insinuates itself into the very marrow of human society only to bring about its ruin."[2] With clear intuition he pointed out that the atheistic movements existing among the masses of the Machine Age had their origin in that school of philosophy which for centuries had sought to divorce science from the life of the Faith and of the Church.
Socialism and communism were two words that painted a definite picture when I was growing up. We would have never thought of embracing such ideologies because of the consequences experienced by those who suffered under such forms of government.
Now look at our own elected "leaders" today promoting and campaigning for the same things which we fought against years ago. Do they not know and understand history? Worse yet, do they know and understand it, and yet, still work to undermine our republic? As I watch the shenanigans of many of our politicians, I am dismayed at the lack of respect shown toward the people they are supposed to serve. The term "civil servant" seems to have lost its meaning in the modern age.
The encyclical "On Atheistic Communism" was written by Pope Pius XI in 1937. The document is 82 paragraphs long. I will just insert two paragraphs below for you to see the clarity of what was said. I encourage you to read the whole document. Those who gave their lives for our freedom deserve our willingness to at least learn about their sacrifices and the cause of freedom.
w2.vatican.va/content/pius-xi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_19370319_divini-redemptoris.html
3. This all too imminent danger, Venerable Brethren, as you have already surmised, is bolshevistic and atheistic Communism, which aims at upsetting the social order and at undermining the very foundations of Christian civilization .
4. In the face of such a threat, the Catholic Church could not and does not remain silent. This Apostolic See, above all, has not refrained from raising its voice, for it knows that its proper and social mission is to defend truth, justice and all those eternal values which Communism ignores or attacks. Ever since the days when groups of "intellectuals" were formed in an arrogant attempt to free civilization from the bonds of morality and religion, Our Predecessors overtly and explicitly drew the attention of the world to the consequences of the dechristianization of human society. With reference to Communism, Our Venerable Predecessor, Pius IX, of holy memory, as early as 1846 pronounced a solemn condemnation, which he confirmed in the words of the Syllabus directed against "that infamous doctrine of so-called Communism which is absolutely contrary to the natural law itself, and if once adopted would utterly destroy the rights, property and possessions of all men, and even society itself."[1] Later on, another of Our predecessors, the immortal Leo XIII, in his Encyclical Quod Apostolici Muneris, defined Communism as "the fatal plague which insinuates itself into the very marrow of human society only to bring about its ruin."[2] With clear intuition he pointed out that the atheistic movements existing among the masses of the Machine Age had their origin in that school of philosophy which for centuries had sought to divorce science from the life of the Faith and of the Church.
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