“No one can serve two masters. You cannot serve God and mammon.” Jesus tells this to his disciples in today’s
Gospel from Matthew. We may try serve
two masters in this world. We may try to
live out the values of the Gospel and the values of the world at the same
time. We may think that this juggling
act is possible. But, at some point, we
need to decide who is a master. At some
point, we will have to take a stand.
Last right at this time, the Catholic
Bishops of the United States declared a Fortnight for Freedom, a 14 day period
of prayer and fasting that lasted from June 21 and ending on Independence Day
on July 4. This year, the bishops are
calling for the same, with issues such as the health care mandate, immigration
reform, and the definition of marriage are still the major issues of the
day. Last year, the bishops expressed
their concern over the threats to our religious freedom. That concern is still very alive today.
Thomas More and Bishop John Fisher died
for the faith in England in the era of King Henry VIII. Henry wanted them to recognize his power over
the power of God and the power of the Church.
These two courageous men sided with the Church and paid with their
lives. How many of us would be willing
to put our lives on the line – to serve the laws of God when they collide with
the laws of man? Many of us thought that
such decision had to be made in a bygone era, yet our faith is being put to the
test today as it is attacked by the secular world and by our own government. As we start the Fortnight for Freedom, may we
never take our religious freedom for granted.
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