I mentioned in my last post the Ignatian examen prayer as a way of living in more conscious dialogue with the Lord, discerning his will and giving thanks for his gifts, while recognizing our failures and repenting of our sins. It occurs to me, as we come to Independence Day, that perhaps we ought to pray the examen as a nation.
While this prayer has five distinct steps, it’s probably safe to say that we could sum them up for the most part in two of them: thanksgiving and repentance. That is how I think we ought to approach the Independence Day of the United States of America.
Thanksgiving should always come first. God is the Initiator, the Giver, He who loved us first, and He
has bestowed—for reasons known only to Him—a disproportionate amount of blessings upon our country. There are many things we probably take for granted, like our freedom, religious and otherwise, the abundance of natural resources and natural beauty, general access to adequate food, clothing, and shelter, the strong and (mostly) reliable infrastructure of electric power, water, roads, communications, a high level of technology and modern medicine, etc. I’m quite aware that these aren’t anywhere near flawless, and that even some of our freedoms are eroding, but relative to most other nations we among the most free, prosperous, and even religious (according to statistics concerning faith and churchgoing) nations in the world.
Yet we have not proved to be worthy of such gifts and have often abused them or have simply turned away from God, the Source of all blessings, to the service of manifold idols. And for this we, as a nation, need to repent. Two of the most egregious moral failures of this country in recent decades have been the legalization and widespread practice of abortion (and other sins against human life like euthanasia and human embryo destruction) and the unprecedented flourishing of the “gay” movement, which is a direct and blatant attempt to undermine marriage, the family, and the meaning of human sexuality. These two major categories of sin will by themselves destroy our nation, corrupting it from inside, even if every other evil is rectified and cleaned up.
These evils have been around for a while, but since this nation has chosen Mr Obama to be its leader we can expect (as we have already seen) only an increase in them. He immediately took measures to promote abortion (and embryo experimentation, which means destruction) both here and abroad, and while he hasn’t yet made same-sex “marriage” legal nationwide (he’s still testing the political winds), he has made it clear where his sympathies lie. He made it all the more clear recently when he hosted a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride reception at the White House and told them: “I will not only be your friend, I will continue to be an ally and a champion and a president who fights with you and for you.” I guess, then, that he’s not going to be the friend, ally, or champion of anyone who upholds traditional morality, marriage, and family. The things he’s fighting for were illegal a short time ago and still are immoral.
I find it hard to believe that people still buy his phony rhetoric. Catholics said they voted for him because he said he would reduce abortions. He lied so as to get their votes. Do people still believe campaign promises? You don’t listen to what a politician says, you look at what he does, that is, at his voting record, and Obama was 100% pro-abortion and even pro-infanticide. So what made anyone think he would reduce abortions? Besides, even reducing them is not enough. One abortion is way too many. And that business about his being willing to “reach out” to and talk with those who disagree with him on abortion is pure b.s. Before there can be a friendly conversation on such a “divisive” issue you are required to accept Obama’s non-negotiables: abortion will be legal, abortion will be widely available, and you, as a taxpayer, will subsidize it. Now, let’s have a civil discussion and try to find some common ground. No need to get in a huff. I’m here to listen to you. I just happen not to give a damn what you think, because I’ll implement my agenda regardless. But let’s dialogue, shall we?
Because of the way his charisma and his lies and his Christian posturing to get Christian votes rocketed him to political stardom, some have speculated that he might be the anti-Christ. He probably isn’t, but there’s something in his style and his agenda that would be in character with that prophesied arch-fiend. I don’t remember if I said it here or somewhere else, but it’s worth repeating (my memory is going bad, so don’t surprised if I start repeating myself!). There are two meanings to the Greek anti. One, which we all know, is “against.” The other, less known, is “instead of.” Obama (and whoever the ultimate anti-Christ may be) doesn’t publicly stand against Christ. He would simply like to replace Him. We can have a secular messiah instead of the holy and true one. He won’t argue for the elimination of Christianity. He will just try to offer us something else instead of it, a different version, a politically-correct, “tolerant” version of it which allows the silent corruption to simmer until the nation is entirely brainwashed, desensitized to evil, and spiritually gutted—and thus ready to offer unquestioning obedience to its self-appointed savior. It was as chilling as it was ludicrous that, when the final blessing was given by the priest at the infamous Notre Dame commencement, the “blessed one” (which is what “Barack” means) also extended his hand to give his own. Don’t be fooled if he sometimes talks like a Christian. He has no use for Christ or his Gospel except to use caricatures of them as political tools.
Now all this talk about Obama is not just a digression. He is the elected leader of this country whose independence we are celebrating. This independence was hard-won, and this country was established with the understanding that Christian morality would be the bedrock upon which its growth and prosperity would be founded. But Obama is a traitor to the founding fathers and to all that once made this country great. Murder and sexual perversion are the “freedoms” he wants to enshrine. And if we go along with that, we deserve the consequences of it. “God is not mocked,” says the Apostle, “for whatever you sow, you will reap” (Gal. 6:7).
We still have much to be thankful for, much that hasn’t yet been lost or corrupted. But there is much to repent for, and we will do well to heed the words of the Lord, who offered blessings to those who would be faithful to Him in the Promised Land, but a curse to those who would not. “…when you have eaten and are full and have built fine houses and live in them, and when…your silver and gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied… beware lest you say in your heart, ‘my power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth’… And if you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you this day that you shall surely perish… because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 8:12-20).
The examen prayer concludes with a look—in the presence of the Lord—to tomorrow, to try to discover his will, recognize his new gifts, and learn from our past mistakes. Let us pray that those in power will somehow be, if it takes a miracle, open to be guided by divine grace, to repent of the evils still daily perpetuated and to learn how to lead this country to the greatness that is yet possible through obedience to the voice of the Lord our God.
