The first set of Blessed is the Kingdom holy cards are in the mail. Thanks for all who requested them. This month, I am once again offering one of a kind holy cards that will celebrate the feast of the Chair of St. Peter. If you would like to have one, follow the simple instructions below.

1. Say a prayer for the person in your life most in need, and if you are able, do what you can to assist them.

2. Make a comment on your favorite recent post.

3. Send me an email with your address.

I will send you a holy card in honor of the Chair of St. Peter.

But I am not sorry for posting this video about those of you who like to hug nuns. Thanks to The Crescat for reminding us of the need to give nuns a hug.

Since posting Bishop Stika’s letter to the Diocese of Knoxville that states his opposition to the recent Health and Human Services mandate that will require certain Catholic institutions to provide insurance coverage for services such as sterilizations and certain abortion drugs, I have been engaged with many of my friends and acquaintances on the issue of religious liberty. While I see this recent government mandate as a clear violation of religious liberty for Catholics (and other Americans for that matter), many of those I have been in conversation with do not.

Let me take a stab at explaining why I feel this is one of the most blatant attacks on religious liberty I have witnessed in my lifetime. The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States reads,

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

In the case of the current HHS mandate that certain Catholic institutions, including hospitals, universities and social services must by August 2013 begin providing insurance to cover drugs and procedures that are in opposition to the moral teaching of the Catholic faith violates the First Amendment’s law against the prohibition of the free exercise of religion. The argument against this that I have heard most frequently is that somehow it is not the federal government that is violating the freedom of Catholics to hold their religious beliefs, but rather the Catholic Church that is seeking to limit the freedom of its employees. I have a difficult time with this logic. You see, it is not a recent thing that the Church opposes procedures and drugs that cause the death of children, or ones that prevent life. This religious belief has been held for 2,000 years. This is not difficult to discover with a minimal amount of research. It is not a secret the Church supports the cause of life. It is also not a secret that there are many who hold a strong opposition to this belief and feel that the Church is very much in error and should change. The fact is that the Church cannot change its mind on the sacredness and dignity of life. And so when our government orders the Church to provide the means for its employees to engage in actions that are opposed to life, it has no choice but to oppose that law, and if necessary to suffer as a consequence of not obeying it.

Several people have mentioned to me that because many Catholics do not respect the Church teaching on contraception that this somehow diminishes our ability to stand behind the teaching. History tells me this is a poor argument. Whenever I hear the “majority rules” argument when it comes to the Church I think back to the Arian controversy of the Fourth Century. For several hundred years the majority of Christians believed incorrectly that Jesus was not divine, but simply some sort of super human. They were not correct simply by the fact that they were in the majority. Those who stood firm in the Orthodox belief the Jesus is the second person of the Trinity suffered for their steadfast belief. We should expect no less.

Many have argued with me that because institutions like Catholic hospitals do not primarily employ or serve Catholics that they are not really connected to the Church. I think these people overlook the fact that the reason we have Catholic hospitals is that Jesus told us to care for the sick, the reason we have Catholic schools and universities is that Jesus told us to instruct the ignorant and the reason we have organizations like Catholic Charities is that Jesus told us to care for the poor and marginalized. The Catholic Church has been doing these things far longer than the United States has been in existence. We do it because of the Gospel.

Regular readers of this blog probably have noticed that I tend to shy away from writing about anything that smacks of politics. In this case I am speaking out not as one who wants to convince you to support any particular candidate or party, but as a person who is concerned both for the future of my religion and my country. The freedoms which are defined in the First Amendment were won with the blood of many Americans. They have been defended by the blood of many Americans. What’s more, the faith that I hold dearly was strengthened by the blood of many martyrs and defended by the lives and sufferings of many confessors. Now is the time for us to join with those who have gone before us to assure that this basic freedom is not lost. While I freely admit that our Constitution is meant to defend those who vehemently disagree with the teachings of my Church and that it is there to make sure that any religion cannot impose its beliefs upon those who do not share those beliefs, I just as strongly adhere to the fact that it allows those who follow a particular religious tradition to be free to do so without interference from the government.

I do not want to give the impression that I feel Catholics should be afforded more rights than those in our country who practice any other religion or no religion at all. The Second Vatican Council affirmed this belief in its Declaration on Religious Freedom, Dignitatis Humanae:

This Vatican Council declares that the human person has a right to religious freedom. This freedom means that all men are to be immune from coercion on the part of individuals or of social groups and of any human power, in such wise that no one is to be forced to act in a manner contrary to his own beliefs, whether privately or publicly, whether alone or in association with others, within due limits.

The council further declares that the right to religious freedom has its foundation in the very dignity of the human person as this dignity is known through the revealed word of God and by reason itself. This right of the human person to religious freedom is to be recognized in the constitutional law whereby society is governed and thus it is to become a civil right.

It is in accordance with their dignity as persons-that is, beings endowed with reason and free will and therefore privileged to bear personal responsibility-that all men should be at once impelled by nature and also bound by a moral obligation to seek the truth, especially religious truth. They are also bound to adhere to the truth, once it is known, and to order their whole lives in accord with the demands of truth However, men cannot discharge these obligations in a manner in keeping with their own nature unless they enjoy immunity from external coercion as well as psychological freedom. Therefore the right to religious freedom has its foundation not in the subjective disposition of the person, but in his very nature. In consequence, the right to this immunity continues to exist even in those who do not live up to their obligation of seeking the truth and adhering to it and the exercise of this right is not to be impeded, provided that just public order be observed.

Both the Catholic Church and the Constitution of the United States uphold the dignity of the human person through freedom of religion. How do you define this freedom? Do you feel religious freedom is strong in our country or in danger? I welcome your comments.

Upon returning from his Ad Limina visit this week, Bishop Richard Stika released this statement concerning the recent government mandate which would require the Catholic Church to provide health insurance benefits that include drugs and procedures that are in opposition to its belief.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

I write to you having just returned from my Ad Limina visit with Pope Benedict XVI who shared deeply the concerns that I and all the U.S. bishops have regarding a matter that calls for our steadfast prayer, solidarity and action. On January 20th, the federal government cast aside the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and essentially stripped Catholics and citizens of any faith of our Nation’s first and most fundamental freedom — our religious liberty.

In a decision that the Obama Administration calls “fair and balanced,” the mandate of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services forces almost all employers, including Catholic employers, to include sterilization, abortion-inducing drugs, and contraception in their employees’ health services. Additionally, almost all health insurers will be forced to include these “services” in their health policies. And regardless of a person’s conscience, almost all individuals will be forced to buy that coverage as a part of this Administration’s polices. 

This ruling will have dire consequences upon Catholics nationwide and the millions who are ministered to and served through our Catholic schools, higher education institutions, hospitals and charities. It is these that bear the name “Catholic,” founded as expressions of our Christian witness as disciples of Christ, that the Administration now deems to be secular in nature and subject to their manipulation. In so ruling, Catholics are compelled to either violate their consciences or to drop health coverage for employees and to suffer the penalties for doing so.

Let us not be deceived. What we are witnessing, as Pope Benedict XVI stated, is the drastic shift from “religious freedom to a mere freedom of worship without guarantees of respect for freedom of conscience.” This shift is but a thinly disguised way of silencing the moral witness of Catholics in protecting the sanctity and dignity of every human life, in defending marriage and family from attacks upon it, and from sowing the seeds of our faith through our works of mercy. It is an attempt to put a bushel basket over the light of our Catholic faith (Luke 11:33) and to keep it a private matter to be expressed only inside a church, and even then with limits. 

And so I join with my brother bishops throughout our nation in emphatically stating that we cannot and will not comply with this unjust law! It is time for Catholics to act.

But no call to action is first without a call to prayer. And so I ask you to join me in prayer and fasting to ask God for the strength and the wisdom to fight this unjust law. I ask you to also contact Congress and ask them to reverse this decision and enact legislation that protects the rights of conscience. You can do so through the U.S. bishops webpage at www.usccb.org/conscience.

With my blessings and prayers for all of you and your loved ones.

Sincerely in Christ,

The Most Reverend Richard F. Stika, Bishop of Knoxville. 

Update: I will continue to share posts from other bloggers and new sources that seem relevant to this issue at The Expanded Kingdom which can be accessed from the sidebar of this blog or by clicking here.

Today’s first reading recalls David’s grief at the death of his son Absalom. This song has always struck me as capturing the king’s sorrow very well.

Be Cheerful.

Maxim #30

As a boy I was heavily involved with Scouting. In my opinion, Scouting has the ability to teach boys the values that will make them good men. The core of scouting can be summed up well in the Scout Law.

One of the points of the Scout Law is:

A Scout is Cheerful. A Scout looks for the bright side of life. He cheerfully does tasks that come his way. He tries to make others happy.

Something that makes Scouting similar to the Church is its use of symbols. The Eagle Scout badge is marked at the top with a banner inscribed with the words, “Be Prepared”. If you take a closer look at the scroll you will see that the ends are curled upward, mimicking a smile. This is to remind the one who has been awarded the rank of Eagle of their duty to cheerfulness.

We Christians are also called to be cheerful. This is not a shallow cheerfulness, but rather the fruit of a deep faith that is marked by joy. Our task as Christians is to meet even our sufferings with joy and to carry our burdens in a way that shows others the way to Christ. This does not mean that we are to take a Pollyanna approach to the world. It is my opinion that too often people do not take Christians seriously because we present ourselves in a sugar coated way that does not accurately portray our faith. I am convinced that we can proclaim and live our faith in a way that is both serious and cheerful. We can willingly take up the cross and follow Christ, happy to be given the honor to follow in his footsteps, if only in small ways.

The next time you are given a cross, bear it cheerfully, remembering you have just been handed an opportunity to proclaim Christ to others by the way in which you carry it.

When I first began this blog it was my intention that beauty and music would always be present. While music has not completely disappeared from the blog, it has certainly diminished over time. Part of this is due to the fact that I wish to respect copyrights that protect an artist’s right to be paid for their work. I also want to respect many readers who do not always wish to have songs playing as they read.

One of my new goals for Blessed Is The Kingdom is to return to a greater use of music that relates to what is posted here. My hope is that by using more videos, I can both respect the rights of artists as well as readers who simply want to visit this blog in silence. I also hope that many of you will take the time to listen to the music when it is included in future posts.