{"id":20183,"date":"2015-07-20T14:32:45","date_gmt":"2015-07-20T20:32:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/?p=20183"},"modified":"2017-04-17T21:58:39","modified_gmt":"2017-04-18T01:58:39","slug":"keep-still","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/keep-still\/","title":{"rendered":"Keep Still","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Monday, July 20th, 2015
Opt. Memorial of St. Apollinaris<\/p>\n

Liturgical texts here<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

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THERE <\/b>wasn\u2019t always enmity between Pharaoh and the Israelites. Remember when Joseph was entrusted by Pharaoh to hand out grain to all of Egypt? At that time, the Israelites were seen as a benefit and blessing to the country.<\/p>\n

So too, there was a time when the Church was perceived as a benefit to society, when her charitable works of building hospitals, schools, orphanages, and other charities were welcomed by the State. Moreover, religion was seen as a positive force in society that helped direct not only the conduct of the State, but formed and molded individuals, families, and communities resulting in a more peaceful and just society.<\/p>\n

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But then Pharaoh died.<\/p>\n

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Then a new king, who knew nothing of Joseph, rose to power in Egypt. He said to his people, \u201cSee! The Israelite people have multiplied and become more numerous than we are! Come, let us deal shrewdly with them to stop their increase\u2026 (Exodus 1:8-10)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

So too, in our time, a whole new generation has arisen that has \u201cforgotten\u201d the positive and powerful influence of Christianity in society. They are like a people who stand on the shore, seeing only to the end of their limited horizon rather than perceiving the great ocean of history beyond. And so, they are electing leaders who see the Church as a force that must be dealt with \u201cshrewdly\u201d in order to stop its increase.\u00a0Just as it took many generations for Egypt to forget the blessings that Israel brought to their nation, so too, it has taken centuries to arrive at the point we are today where the State is veritably\u00a0hostile to Judaeo-Christian morality.<\/p>\n

As Pope Benedict pointed out,<\/p>\n

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…the critique of Christianity… began with the Enlightenment and grew progressively more radical\u2026<\/b> \u2014Deus caritas <\/i>est, <\/i>n. 3<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In my book,\u00a0The Final Confrontation<\/a><\/em>, <\/i>this critique was really the beginning of the final confrontation between Satan, the \u201cdragon\u201d, and the Church, \u201cthe woman\u201d, as symbolized in Revelation 12. For the Enlightenment was born in the 16th century with the philosphy of deism<\/i>, which led to more and more \u201cisms\u201d that were increasingly anti-Church, such that today we have arrived at an emerging \u201cnew Communism\u201d that essentially combines all the \u201cisms\u201d before it. [1]<\/sup><\/a>cf. Understanding the Final Confrontation<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/span>