If the most powerful nation on earth, with sufficient military power to destroy all life on the planet, disintegrates there will be no "quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity." Unless God intervenes, there will not be a remnant to tell the tale. That is, our existence as a nation is threatened should the proceedings collapse, we can expect unimaginable chaos. The debacle taking place in several courtrooms in Washington, Florida, Georgia, and New York signal an existential moment for the United States. Like them, we still pray that our rulers - be they autocratic tyrants or democratically elected officials - will govern with more justice than the people deserve. Only a remnant survived, as God had ordained, to preserve the Word of God and pass it to us. Their governments were corrupt because the people were corrupt and their nation suffered the inevitable collapse. Their widows were still neglected their orphans, abandoned and their aliens, despised. The crowds, like Herod Antipas, might enjoy their outrageous poetry, but they left their religion in the temple where they'd found it, or in the Jordan River where they'd been baptized. The LORD sees the heart!īut the prophets, despite their religious authority and their oratorical and literary skills, had little real influence on what went on. They did not seem to understand that the LORD demands outward and inward compliance to justice and mercy. But there were always foreigners living among them who worshiped other gods, and the Jewish majority didn't mind entertaining these false gods when it served their own purposes. If the majority had been faithful, God-fearing citizens, their rulers would not have gotten away with their abuse of authority. The Bible testifies to that as we hear prophets fuming against the kings of Judah and Israel. History and philosophy assure us that there was never a time when the governed were entirely powerless over their governors. The Apostle hoped that with just and reasonable governance, the People of God might "lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity." That we may lead a quiet and tranquil lifeĪ s the unimaginable happens and a former president of the United States faces indictment on 41 counts for conspiracy, we hear Saint Paul urging us to pray for "kings and all in authority." Because the US is a representative democracy, we must pray for those voters, congresspersons, and senators who supported the attempted coup and the alleged conspirators. Petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone, If it is God's will, may he bring to completion what he has begun.First of all, I ask that supplications, prayers, So it is going to take awhile, three years from when I began in Advent 2010, and that is presuming that I do not need to take any major time off. I estimate that, using my standard homily lengths, this will be about half a million words. It is my hope, eventually, to have one homily for every daily mass throughout the two year cycle, along with one homily for every Sunday throughout the three year cycle, and also one homily for every feast and solemnity that comes with its own readings. Here the homilies are being sorted through the liturgical year.
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