The month of June has brought several events that have given me happiness and joy. June 11 was one of those milestone year birthdays for my wife, Pat, and celebrating with family was most important. Two grandsons, Chase and Colton, graduated from high school. Then Father’s Day brought a wonderful opportunity to be with my three sons, their wives and 9 of our 16 grandchildren.
A wise person said, “Happiness and joy comes to you when it moves through you. You will have a number of opportunities in the days just ahead to be a vehicle of happiness and joy for another. Step right into that. Be the SOURCE of that. As you bring others to a smile, so, too, will you bring yourself. The method is foolproof.”
This is so true and it is so meaningful when shared with family.
I have been thinking a lot of late about what is happening (1) in our country? (2) to the traditions and foundational principles of American society? and (3) to activities that are influencing the minds of young Americans?
These questions make me wonder if we have lost our vision for America or if there is even an identifiable vision.
The following is how Bob Gass in the Word for Today suggests asking God for vision:
“Vision is a picture of what “can be” rather than “what is”. Your vision may be to bring health where there is sickness, education where there’s ignorance, freedom where there’s oppression. Or your vision may be smaller and simpler-like being the first one in your family to graduate from college. Or breaking a bad habit…or overcoming your fear or spending your retirement years impacting the world around you instead of sitting in a rocking chair waiting to die.
But having a vision isn’t enough; there has to be a commitment to act on it. That’s called a mission–and it requires setting specific, measurable steps to achieve it. Those steps are called goals; they establish a plan for accomplishing your mission and thus fulfilling your vision.
You’ll generally have one vision, but many goals. And each goal you reach brings you a step closer to fulfilling your vision. When your vision comes from God, He’ll give you the strength, wisdom, connections, relationships, and resources to make it happen because He’s “the author and finisher of our faith.”
On May 17, 2016, Cardinal Robert Sarah, keynote speaker at the 12th Annual National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington D.C., issued a stirring alarm for America as follows:
“In your nation, God is being eroded, eclipsed, liquidated…All manner of immorality is not only accepted and tolerated today in advanced societies, it is even promoted as a social good. The result is hostility to Christians and increasingly, religious persecution…The entire world looks to you, waiting and praying to see what America resolves on the present unprecedented challenges the world faces today. Such is your influence and responsibility…
Sadly, the advent of artificial technologies, surrogacy, so-called homosexual marriage, and other evils of gender idolatry will inflict even more wounds in the midst of the generation we live with…Do we not see signs of this insidious war in this great nation of the United States?…
In the name of tolerance the Church’s teaching on marriage, sexuality and [the] human person are being dismantled. The legalization of same-sex marriage, your beginning to accept contraception within healthcare programs and even bathroom bills that allow men to use the women’s restroom and locker rooms…
How low we are sinking for a nation built on a set of moral claims about God, the human person, the meaning of life and the purpose of society, even by America’s first settler and founders. George Washington wrote that the establishment of civil and religious liberty was the motive that induced him into the field of battle…
Today we find ourselves before the battle of sickness…I call this sickness the liquidation, the eclipse of God…The Church’s challenge today is to “fight with courage and hope…and not be afraid to raise her voice to denounce the hypocrites, manipulators and the false prophets” who would lead the faithful astray…
The battle to preserve the roots of mankind is perhaps the greatest challenge the world has faced since its origins. “Be prophetic, be faithful, pray” for the soul of America and to “help stem the tide of evil that is spreading throughout the world, the cardinal exhorted. “For in the end, it is God or nothing.”
This wake-up call causes me to ask a group of questions that cry out for answers for the future of our country. We must reflect on what is one of the greatest problems facing America today. The issue of immigration, refugee aid or resettlement or stated another way, who comes into our country legally with the intent to make America their home. In light of ISIS, how do we keep our citizens and this country safe from those who seek to do America and Americans harm?
In starting I must express a personal belief that we as individuals and as a country have a moral obligation to help all people in need, regardless of religious affiliation, who are being tortured, persecuted or otherwise have their life in danger. However, there are limitations and priorities which must be considered.
Do you know the story of the Good Samaritan?
- How did the Good Samaritan help the injured man he found on the side of the road?
- Where did the Good Samaritan provide the care the injured man needed?
- Did the Good Samaritan get care locally, or take the injured man out of his home country for care?
- Did the Good Samaritan help but then abandon him?
- Did the Good Samaritan take the injured man to the Good Samaritan’s own home?
- How would St. Thomas Aquinas answer these questions?
- Who should take priority, people suffering in America or persons from foreign countries?
- Should persons from foreign countries needing help be helped in their own country or be brought to America?
- If persons are brought to America should they be screened for security reasons?
If a certain group of people are identified as a security risk should that group be profiled for safety and security?
I am afraid many Americans have their head in the sand or are oblivious to many things that have been happening for many years in the Middle East, North America, more recently Western Europe and occurring in the United States today. Don’t let this be you. We must remember what happened in Germany under Hitler. When good people turn a blind eye to evil they lose their freedom. We all must become better informed.
I have my answers to these questions. Please develop your answers. We will continue next month with a further analysis. Your answer to these questions, with God’s guidance, will shape the future vision for America.