Once again, I invite you to dive into American history via a dramatic presentation of two Catholic Civil War era bishops Saturday, July 23, 7pm at St James (10600 Archer Ave). After hearing Bishop Verot, from Virginia give an amazingly interesting defense of slavery, Bishop Purcell responds…
In Hosea (4:17) we hear: “Ephraim is joined to idols, let him alone.” It is interesting to see how the same bible quotation has two very different interpretations. I’m using the quotation because many wise men quote it for a noble purpose, but others, foolish and ignoble have perverted it to ends ignoble and foolish. It is commonly known as the doctrine of “laissez faire” or simply the “let them alone” policy.
For a wise man, it is a doctrine that meant, not the giving up of all responsibility, especially not an abandonment of moral control over unruly elements, not loosening of the reins to every license or desire of the passions. It was and is a doctrine that meant work, and activity. It pushed people into businesses. It required a self-mastery and self-respect. If government would leave us alone, we will take hold of things by the right handle, and regulate things according to rules of a well-formed conscience. But when a lazy person or a swindler gets hold of the doctrine, it means something very different. For them it means, Let matters take care of themselves, and go to their mischief. It means what democracy means to the vulgar, “Every man for himself, and the fiend take whatever he can carry”.
Now consider this my brethren, when Jesus said, “Resist not the evil man; but whosoever smites thee on the one cheek turn to him the other.” Surely Jesus could not by these words intend to take all restraint from wickedness, to remove all obstacles from its path. He meant, no doubt, to put surer restraint upon it, to throw heavier obstacles in its way, to make it incapable of overriding goodness at all. He meant to bind evil as the fairies in the Northern Mythus bound the tameless wolf, Fenrir with chains made of the noise of the cat’s footfall, the beards of women, the roots of stones, the fishes’ breath and the spittle of birds. The chain was invisible and intangible and the great beast knew not when it coiled about him. But it held motionless the creature whom the violent gods, with their iron cables, could not restrain.”
All this is to convince everyone of our duty to keep and spread good moral principles. These are the invisible chains he speaks of. God has given our nation an incredible opportunity to do just this as we debate “Roe”. God will not help us if we yawn through the present chapter of American history.