Dear Parishioners,
Our Christian morality comes from several sources—the New Testament, especially St. Paul, Church teachings and traditions,
and the Old Testament. Within the Old Testament are found the Ten Commandments and God doesn’t mince words. When I hear the confessions of children, I can almost always tell them what they are going to say, especially if they are young people. “Bless me,
Father, for I have sinned. I talked back to my parents, hit my brother/sister, and I lied.” These are the basic sins that small children
commit. Our Christian morality is to teach and guide them that they are offending God and others.
I can no longer be silent as lies are told by government leaders. How can we teach that it is a sin to lie if lies are openly told
on the news by government leaders? On Mon., Oct. 6, it was said that Portland, Oregon, was burning! My niece and family live in
Portland, and she didn’t know that her home city was burning—because it wasn’t. A small example, but lies are constant. Lies and
exaggeration hurt people, and reputations are ruined, as we have seen here in Springfield in recent weeks. There is a reason God gave us the eighth Commandment. When you break it once and then again, it becomes easier, until it becomes such a habit that you can no longer know the difference. I stress that over and over with our young people.
Since I have studied so much of history, there is a quote that I often use from George Santayana, a Spanish-American
philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist: “People who do not study history are doomed to repeat it.” He suggests that by studying
the past (history), individuals and societies can avoid repeating the same errors, make more informed decisions in the present
age, and avoid repetition of past mistakes.
Over the past weeks, the Holy Father has been calling for the humane treatment of immigrants. In speaking with journalists on Sept. 30, Pope Leo XIV said, “Someone who says I am against abortion but I am in agreement with the inhumane treatment of
immigrants, I don’t know if that’s prolife.”
Maybe I am too old fashioned or too much of a student of history, but nighttime raids into homes of people by masked men
carrying guns, breaking down doors, and taking people away while leaving children crying for their parents seems inhumane to me.
I close with a quote from St. Mother Teresa: “The greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion, which is war against the child. The mother doesn’t learn to love, but kills to solve her own problems. Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want.”
Her prophecy has come true. In the last ten years, there have been 431 school shootings, most did not result in death, but the intent was present when you aim a gun. Students, teachers, and administrators have been shot and killed.