It has been a wonderful year. I can say that now, I could not have before knowing the results of the Presidential election. There is still much unknown about the Trump administration, but thus far he is showing the good judgment in his appointments and other actions to save American workers jobs that we had hoped for. The continued open outrage from persons on the left demonstrates how out of touch with reality the liberal elitists are with hard working Americans of white, black, brown and yellow skin color. The liberal elitists may never recognize that voters for Trump had had enough of Obama and Clinton values.
As we have started the Advent Season in preparation for the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ at Christmas, we should reflect on the wisdom and beauty of the Bible particularly in Romans 13:12 where it implores us to “put on the armor of light.” To me this means to be a beacon shining forth the light of Christ as we seek to emulate Christ in our life serving Him and our fellow man.
We have had a year of growth and facing the unexpected with success at the St. John Paul II Life Center. We have saved nearly 300 babies from abortion this year, helped many women who thought they were infertile to achieve pregnancy and give birth, had Dr. Jeremy Kalamarides bring “A Glimpse Inside” to parishes showing by live sonogram the baby growing in the mother’s womb, and searched for and found another Ob/Gyn, Dr. Blake Weidaw, who has some 12 years of practice experience and will join the Vitae Clinic on January 2, 2017. This and much more positive happened while we added needed and remarkable staff, new board members, completed a major renovation of the Center, and utilized consultants to make us more efficient and build our relationship with Seton Health. We have much to look forward to in 2017 as we start development of a capital campaign for a permanent facility.
Our namesake Pope John Paul II, now St. John Paul the Great, was a remarkable and courageous man. I continue to be amazed and inspired by the content and wisdom of his writings. I would like to use some of his quotes to help us understand what has been happening in our great country and may now be redirected because there is hope to return to Judeo Christian values and to following the U.S. Constitution. We have been on a definitively planned course to move America to socialism. “The fundamental error of socialism is anthropological in nature. Socialism considers the individual person simply as an element, a molecule within the social organism, so that the good of the individual is completely subordinated to the functioning of the socio-economic mechanism.
Socialism likewise maintains that the good of the individual can be realized without reference to his free choice, to the unique and exclusive responsibility which he exercises in the face of good or evil. Man is thus reduced to a series of social relationships, and the concept of the person as the autonomous subject of moral decision disappears, the very subject whose decisions build the social order. From this mistaken conception of the person there arise both a distortion of law, which defines the sphere of the exercise of freedom, and an opposition to private property. A person who is deprived of something he can call “his own,” and of the possibility of earning a living through his own initiative, comes to depend on the social machine and on those who control it. This makes it much more difficult for him to recognize his dignity as a person, and hinders progress towards the building up of an authentic human community.” Pope John Paul II
As the movement towards socialism progressed, the American people were coming to experience a malaise and inaction to the point of putting our very freedom that has been valiantly obtained for us at risk of being lost. “When freedom does not have a purpose, when it does not wish to know anything about the rule of law engraved in the hearts of men and women, when it does not listen to the voice of conscience, it turns against humanity and society.” Pope John Paul II
So, then what is freedom. “Freedom is not doing what you want, but freedom is having the right to do what you ought!” Pope John Paul II.
These feelings of “let the government do it for me” or “if it feels good do it” were and are taking away our freedom to do what we ought. This leaves us with the loss of belief in Natural Law and the existence of truth.
I believe we are turning the corner to return to our American Roots. To believe that God does have a place in our public discourse and the values we have as a country are based on the Ten Commandments, the Golden Rule, and the fundamentals found in the U. S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
Indeed, America can be great when citizens accept the challenge to be personally involved in their communities, state and nation.
This challenge for Christians includes speaking out on the principles of our faith. “This is no time to be ashamed of the Gospel. It is the time to preach it from the rooftops. Do not be afraid to break out of comfortable and routine modes of living in order to take up the challenge of making Christ known in the modern metropolis”, Pope John Paul II. With this guidance from the words of a great man, the future of America can be bright and America can lead the world in doing what is best for mankind.
Let us hold fast to that which endures.
You might ask what is this about being a Chili Pepper. Well, it’s a challenge issued by Bishop Mike Sis of San Angelo. His recipe when making chili is to add chili pepper and stir, which adds a flavor that spreads throughout the ingredients. Each of us needs to add ourselves as ingredients, stir and lead within our church and larger community to work for what we believe in. When we do this, we answer a challenge and become a chili pepper.
Merry Christmas!
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Timothy Von Dohlen is the founder and president of the John Paul II Life Center and Vitae Clinic in Austin, Texas. (www.jpiilifecenter.org) For a more robust bio, click here: www.catholicbusinessjournal.biz/content/tim-von-dohlen. He may be reached at Timothy@CatholicBusinessJournal.biz