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The Solemnity of the Birth of the Lord Jesus Christ
24 December 2011
My Dear Friends in the LORD,
Our Savior taught us to expect opposition, rejection, and even hatred and persecution from “the world” simply because we are his disciples. But, by “the world”, the Lord Jesus did not mean the universe he created or this planet which is his handiwork; rather, by “the world”, the Messiah meant that part of his creation which is in rebellion against its Creator. And in every age from his Resurrection to our day, the solemn warning of Jesus has been fulfilled — even if the nature of the opposition and persecution have changed in different times and places.
As we celebrate with joy the Birth of the Messiah, we must be mindful that all over the world, Christian men, women, and children are in real danger of poverty, persecution, and even death simply because they believe — as we do — that Jesus Christ is Lord. In nations where militant Islam, fanatical Hinduism, or Communism are the dominant force in culture, government or both, Christians do not enjoy the protection of law, cannot exercise the natural human right of freedom of religion, and are under constant threat of imprisonment, torture, forced “conversion” to other religions, and violent death either from judicial murder or mob violence.
But we do not have to look to foreign prisons to find such persecution. Here in the United States of America — the Land of the Free — Catholics are systematically being denied our freedom of religion in the name of the dictatorship of relativism. In different parts of our country, the Church has been forced to abandon placing children for adoption, and every Catholic institution in the nation (hospitals, colleges, universities, etc.) is under threat right now from the Federal Government of being obliged to cooperate with and pay for abortion, sterilization and contraception as “health care”. Unless this trend is resisted, then in due course, ministers of the Catholic Church will no longer be permitted to witness marriages with effects in civil law and Catholic schools may well be forced to hire persons who do not believe and are not living according to the Catholic Faith.
If we are to worship the Kings of kings with our lives as well as with our words, we have a solemn moral obligation to resist these injustices — at home and abroad — with every available means and to bear witness to our faith no matter the cost. Three days after Christmas, on 28 December, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Innocents, the children who were martyred by King Herod in his vain effort to prevent the true Son of David from taking the Throne of Israel. From that first Christmas until the Day of the LORD, following Jesus Christ will always require from his disciples the readiness to endure opposition and persecution for the sake of proclaiming that Jesus Christ is Lord. May God give us the grace to bear witness to the truth of the Gospel this Christmas and every day of our lives.
Father Newman