I just returned from watching the movie For Greater Glory, which is about the Cristeros resistance movement in Mexico. The basic story behind these historic events of the 1920's was the attempt of the Mexican government to violently suppress Catholicism, and the heroic resistance offered by the Mexican people. I would highly recommend the movie, despite its glorification of the use of violence against violence. It is a beautiful movie that is sure to leave your eyes wet at the faith shown by the people of Mexico.
As I was contemplating the movie, I had an interesting thought. What if something like that happened in America? How would the Catholics in America respond to such a great evil? This line of thought brought me to ponder just what kind of evils we do face in our country. I kept coming back to the evil of abortion. Why do we stand idle while our children are murdered? We lack zeal. The Cristeros had only to look around and see the many atrocities of their government spelled out in blood: thousands of Catholics hung from the telephone poles or rotted in gutters. We have to look a little harder, but the murders are still there. Approximately 3700 children are aborted each day. That means that in one week, more than 25,000 children are aborted. That means that in just 4 months, we lose more children in America than we did in the entirety of World War II. Why do we cringe at the horror of the number dead in a distant war, when far more are murdered in almost every city in America? I am disgusted at our indifference. Thousands of people stood up and died in Mexico rather than live in a country that did not grant basic rights to individuals. Where is that zeal?
We see evil, and we sit back and do nothing. We watch it, complaining about how bad it is for those who come into contact with it, and yet we do nothing. Looking at history, we can find a general pattern when it comes to change. The people of a nation are faced with what they consider to be an injustice. Enough people pressure the government into action. The government responds either by a) a change in legislature or b) violent suppression. Change happens, there just has to be enough pressure first.
So how do we create pressure? People need to get involved. We need ACTION. Americans are good at complaining and bad at fixing, because we don't know what sacrifice is! We don't know where to start. I heard a good rule for this kind of thing: come up with a number for how much you think you can give, double it, and then get started. If you think you can afford the time to pray one rosary a week for the end of abortion, then pray two. If you think you can give one hour at a Planned Parenthood praying for an end to abortion, then give two. I'm beginning to get frustrated with the amount of people who think that what we are doing on Crossroads is remarkable. If we think that action is remarkable, then no one will actually get involved. We need to begin to expect action. A bunch of college kids with no real commitments shouldn't surprise us when they give up a summer in order to be a witness to the Truth. It shouldn't be considered surprising or unusual when an 85 year old woman wants to spend an hour at Planned Parenthood praying for the end of abortion. We should begin to expect these things! Furthermore, we should begin to consider it unusual when the most that someone does is complain about abortion on their Facebook. We should be surprised when someone declines the invitation to get involved. We should cringe at the thought of indifference, because if we are indifferent then we sacrifice democracy. If we are uninvolved, then we sacrifice freedom.
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