President Theodore Roosevelt and Primacy of the Home Life of a Citizen

Many pundits and members of the media try to make the key issue of the upcoming presidential election about the economy and jobs. They have relentlessly attacked Rick Santorum for his opposition to contraception and tried to paint him as an extremist. Here then is an excerpt from the 6th Annual Message to the Senate and the House from President Theodore Roosevelt,

"I am well aware of how difficult it is to pass a constitutional amendment. Nevertheless in my judgment the whole question of marriage and divorce should be relegated to the authority of the National Congress. At present the wide differences in the laws of the different States on this subject result in scandals and abuses; and surely there is nothing so vitally essential to the welfare of the nation, nothing around which the nation should so bend itself to throw every safeguard, as the home life of the average citizen. The change would be good from every standpoint. In particular it would be good because it would confer on the Congress the power at once to deal radically and efficiently with polygamy; and this should be done whether or not marriage and divorce are dealt with. It is neither safe nor proper to leave the question of polygamy to be dealt with by the several States. Power to deal with it should be conferred on the National Government.

When home ties are loosened; when men and women cease to regard a worthy family life, with all its duties fully performed, and all its responsibilities lived up to, as the life best worth living; then evil days for the commonwealth are at hand. There are regions in our land, and classes of our population, where the birth rate has sunk below the death rate. Surely it should need no demonstration to show that wilful sterility is, from the standpoint of the nation, from the standpoint of the human race, the one sin for which the penalty is national death, race death; a sin for which there is no atonement; a sin which is the more dreadful exactly in proportion as the men and women guilty thereof are in other respects, in character, and bodily and mental powers, those whom for the sake of the state it would be well to see the fathers and mothers of many healthy children, well brought up in homes made happy by their presence. No man, no woman can shirk the primary duties of life, whether for love of ease and pleasure, or for any other cause, and retain his or her self-respect.

The whole message is excellent and covers several other topics which are relevant and important for today.

President Theodore Roosevelt and Primacy of the Home Life of a Citizen

Many pundits and members of the media try to make the key issue of the upcoming presidential election about the economy and jobs. They have relentlessly attacked Rick Santorum for his opposition to contraception and tried to paint him as an extremist. Here then is an excerpt from the 6th Annual Message to the Senate and the House from President Theodore Roosevelt,

"I am well aware of how difficult it is to pass a constitutional amendment. Nevertheless in my judgment the whole question of marriage and divorce should be relegated to the authority of the National Congress. At present the wide differences in the laws of the different States on this subject result in scandals and abuses; and surely there is nothing so vitally essential to the welfare of the nation, nothing around which the nation should so bend itself to throw every safeguard, as the home life of the average citizen. The change would be good from every standpoint. In particular it would be good because it would confer on the Congress the power at once to deal radically and efficiently with polygamy; and this should be done whether or not marriage and divorce are dealt with. It is neither safe nor proper to leave the question of polygamy to be dealt with by the several States. Power to deal with it should be conferred on the National Government.

When home ties are loosened; when men and women cease to regard a worthy family life, with all its duties fully performed, and all its responsibilities lived up to, as the life best worth living; then evil days for the commonwealth are at hand. There are regions in our land, and classes of our population, where the birth rate has sunk below the death rate. Surely it should need no demonstration to show that wilful sterility is, from the standpoint of the nation, from the standpoint of the human race, the one sin for which the penalty is national death, race death; a sin for which there is no atonement; a sin which is the more dreadful exactly in proportion as the men and women guilty thereof are in other respects, in character, and bodily and mental powers, those whom for the sake of the state it would be well to see the fathers and mothers of many healthy children, well brought up in homes made happy by their presence. No man, no woman can shirk the primary duties of life, whether for love of ease and pleasure, or for any other cause, and retain his or her self-respect.

The whole message is excellent and covers several other topics which are relevant and important for today.

Prayer of St. Pius X to St. Joseph

I wonder how our economic situation might improve if whatever our job or profession, we all worked in the spirit of this prayer from St. Pius X to St. Joseph, rather than by greed, envy or indifference.

Glorious St. Joseph, model of all who are devoted to labor, obtain for me the grace to work in the spirit of penance in expiation of my many sins; to work conscientiously by placing love of duty above my inclinations; to gratefully and joyously deem it an honor to employ and to develop by labor the gifts I have received from God, to work methodically, peacefully, and in moderation and patience, without ever shrinking from it through weariness or difficulty to work; above all, with purity of intention and unselfishness, having unceasingly before my eyes death and the account I have to render of time lost, talents unused, good not done, and vain complacency in success, so baneful to the work of God. All for Jesus, all for Mary, all to imitate thee, O patriarch St. Joseph! This shall be my motto for life and eternity.

Prayer of St. Pius X to St. Joseph

I wonder how our economic situation might improve if whatever our job or profession, we all worked in the spirit of this prayer from St. Pius X to St. Joseph, rather than by greed, envy or indifference.

Glorious St. Joseph, model of all who are devoted to labor, obtain for me the grace to work in the spirit of penance in expiation of my many sins; to work conscientiously by placing love of duty above my inclinations; to gratefully and joyously deem it an honor to employ and to develop by labor the gifts I have received from God, to work methodically, peacefully, and in moderation and patience, without ever shrinking from it through weariness or difficulty to work; above all, with purity of intention and unselfishness, having unceasingly before my eyes death and the account I have to render of time lost, talents unused, good not done, and vain complacency in success, so baneful to the work of God. All for Jesus, all for Mary, all to imitate thee, O patriarch St. Joseph! This shall be my motto for life and eternity.

Treatise on St. John by St. Augustine

From today's Office of Readings is this treatise on St. John from St. Augustine

The double commandment of love

The Lord, the teacher of love, full of love, came in person with summary judgment on the world, as had been foretold of him, and showed that the law and the prophets are summed up in two commandments of love.

Call to mind, brethren, what these two commandments are. They ought to be very familiar to you; they should not only spring to mind when I mention them, but ought never to be absent from your hearts. Keep always in mind that we must love God and our neighbor: Love God with your whole heart, your whole soul, and your whole mind, and your neighbor as yourself.

These two commandments must be always in your thoughts and in your hearts, treasured, acted on, fulfilled. Love of God is the first to be commanded, but love of neighbor is the first to be put into practice. In giving two commandments of love Christ would not commend to you first your neighbor and then God but first God and then your neighbor.

Since you do not yet see God, you merit the vision of God by loving your neighbor. By loving your neighbor you prepare your eye to see God. Saint John says clearly: If you do not love your brother whom you see, how will you love God whom you do not see!

Consider what is said to you: Love God. If you say to me: Show me whom I am to love, what shall I say if not what Saint John says: No one has ever seen God! But in case you should think that you are completely cut off from the sight of God, he says: God is love, and he who remains in love remains in God. Love your neighbor, then, and see within yourself the power by which you love your neighbor; there you will see God, as far as you are able.

Begin, then, to love your neighbor. Break your bread to feed the hungry, and bring into your home the homeless poor; if you see someone naked, clothe him, and do not look down on your own flesh and blood.

What will you gain by doing this? Your light will then burst forth like the dawn. Your light is your God; he is your dawn, for he will come to you when the night of time is over. He does not rise or set but remains for ever.

In loving your neighbor and caring for him you are on a journey. Where are you traveling if not to the Lord God, to him whom we should love with our whole heart, our whole soul, our whole mind? We have not yet reached his presence, but we have our neighbor at our side. Support, then, this companion of your pilgrimage if you want to come into the presence of the one with whom you desire to remain for ever.

Treatise on St. John by St. Augustine

From today's Office of Readings is this treatise on St. John from St. Augustine

The double commandment of love

The Lord, the teacher of love, full of love, came in person with summary judgment on the world, as had been foretold of him, and showed that the law and the prophets are summed up in two commandments of love.

Call to mind, brethren, what these two commandments are. They ought to be very familiar to you; they should not only spring to mind when I mention them, but ought never to be absent from your hearts. Keep always in mind that we must love God and our neighbor: Love God with your whole heart, your whole soul, and your whole mind, and your neighbor as yourself.

These two commandments must be always in your thoughts and in your hearts, treasured, acted on, fulfilled. Love of God is the first to be commanded, but love of neighbor is the first to be put into practice. In giving two commandments of love Christ would not commend to you first your neighbor and then God but first God and then your neighbor.

Since you do not yet see God, you merit the vision of God by loving your neighbor. By loving your neighbor you prepare your eye to see God. Saint John says clearly: If you do not love your brother whom you see, how will you love God whom you do not see!

Consider what is said to you: Love God. If you say to me: Show me whom I am to love, what shall I say if not what Saint John says: No one has ever seen God! But in case you should think that you are completely cut off from the sight of God, he says: God is love, and he who remains in love remains in God. Love your neighbor, then, and see within yourself the power by which you love your neighbor; there you will see God, as far as you are able.

Begin, then, to love your neighbor. Break your bread to feed the hungry, and bring into your home the homeless poor; if you see someone naked, clothe him, and do not look down on your own flesh and blood.

What will you gain by doing this? Your light will then burst forth like the dawn. Your light is your God; he is your dawn, for he will come to you when the night of time is over. He does not rise or set but remains for ever.

In loving your neighbor and caring for him you are on a journey. Where are you traveling if not to the Lord God, to him whom we should love with our whole heart, our whole soul, our whole mind? We have not yet reached his presence, but we have our neighbor at our side. Support, then, this companion of your pilgrimage if you want to come into the presence of the one with whom you desire to remain for ever.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

Reflection on Our Lady of Guadalupe by Pope Paul VI

From today's Office of Readings for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe is this message from Pope Paul VI.

Beloved sons and daughters, we wish to unite our voice to that filial hymn which the Mexican people raise up today to the Mother of God. Devotion to the most holy Virgin of Guadalupe must be for all of you a constant and specific demand for authentic Christian renewal. The crown which she expects from all of you is not so much a material one as a precious spiritual crown, shaped by a profound love of Christ and a sincere love of all: the two commandments which sum up the gospel message. The same most holy Virgin, with her example, guides us on these two paths.

In the first place, she exhorts us to make Christ the center and summit of our whole Christian life. She remains hidden, with supreme humility, so that the image of her Son might appear to humanity with all its incomparable brightness. For this reason, true Marian devotion reaches its fullness and its most rightful expression when it is a path to the Lord and directs all its love toward him, just as Mary knew how to do, so as to intertwine in one and the same impulse the tenderness of a mother and the piety of a creature.

But in addition, and precisely because she loved Christ so dearly, our Mother fulfilled perfectly that second commandment which must be the norm of all human relations: the love of neighbor. How beautiful and delicate was the intervention of Mary at the wedding feast of Cana, when she moved her Son to accomplish the first miracle of turning the water into wine solely to help those young spouses! It is a complete sign of the constant love of the Virgin for humanity in need, and ought to be an example for all those who seek to be considered truly her sons and daughters.

Christians can do no less than to show solidarity in seeking a solution to the situation of those to whom the bread of culture has not yet come nor the opportunity of honorable and justly remunerated work. They cannot remain indifferent while new generations find no path for the realization of their legitimate aspirations, and while part of humanity continues to be placed at the margins of the advantages of civilization and progress. For this reason, on this celebrated feast, we urge you from our heart to give your Christian life a clear social sense—as the Council has asked—that you may always be in the front line in all efforts to attain progress, and in all the initiatives for improving the situation of those who suffer want. See in each person a brother or a sister—a brother or sister in Christ—in such a way that the love of God and the love of the neighbor become united in the same love, alive and operative, which is the only thing that can redeem the miseries of the world, renewing it in its most profound root, the human heart.

The person who has much should be conscious of his or her obligation to serve and contribute with generosity to the good of all. The person who has little or who has nothing should, with the help of a just society, make every effort at self-improvement and of going beyond self, and even in cooperating in the progress of those who suffer the same situation. And, all of you, feel the obligation to unite fraternally so as to help forge this new world for which the human race longs.

This is what the Virgin of Guadalupe asks of you today, this fidelity to the Gospel, of which she knew how to be the most eminent example.

Upon you, dearly beloved sons and daughters, we implore with confidence the maternal benevolence of the Mother of God and Mother of the Church, in order that she may continue to protect your nation and to direct and impel it more and more along the paths of progress, communal love, and a peaceful life together.

Reflection on Our Lady of Guadalupe by Pope Paul VI

From today's Office of Readings for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe is this message from Pope Paul VI.

Beloved sons and daughters, we wish to unite our voice to that filial hymn which the Mexican people raise up today to the Mother of God. Devotion to the most holy Virgin of Guadalupe must be for all of you a constant and specific demand for authentic Christian renewal. The crown which she expects from all of you is not so much a material one as a precious spiritual crown, shaped by a profound love of Christ and a sincere love of all: the two commandments which sum up the gospel message. The same most holy Virgin, with her example, guides us on these two paths.

In the first place, she exhorts us to make Christ the center and summit of our whole Christian life. She remains hidden, with supreme humility, so that the image of her Son might appear to humanity with all its incomparable brightness. For this reason, true Marian devotion reaches its fullness and its most rightful expression when it is a path to the Lord and directs all its love toward him, just as Mary knew how to do, so as to intertwine in one and the same impulse the tenderness of a mother and the piety of a creature.

But in addition, and precisely because she loved Christ so dearly, our Mother fulfilled perfectly that second commandment which must be the norm of all human relations: the love of neighbor. How beautiful and delicate was the intervention of Mary at the wedding feast of Cana, when she moved her Son to accomplish the first miracle of turning the water into wine solely to help those young spouses! It is a complete sign of the constant love of the Virgin for humanity in need, and ought to be an example for all those who seek to be considered truly her sons and daughters.

Christians can do no less than to show solidarity in seeking a solution to the situation of those to whom the bread of culture has not yet come nor the opportunity of honorable and justly remunerated work. They cannot remain indifferent while new generations find no path for the realization of their legitimate aspirations, and while part of humanity continues to be placed at the margins of the advantages of civilization and progress. For this reason, on this celebrated feast, we urge you from our heart to give your Christian life a clear social sense—as the Council has asked—that you may always be in the front line in all efforts to attain progress, and in all the initiatives for improving the situation of those who suffer want. See in each person a brother or a sister—a brother or sister in Christ—in such a way that the love of God and the love of the neighbor become united in the same love, alive and operative, which is the only thing that can redeem the miseries of the world, renewing it in its most profound root, the human heart.

The person who has much should be conscious of his or her obligation to serve and contribute with generosity to the good of all. The person who has little or who has nothing should, with the help of a just society, make every effort at self-improvement and of going beyond self, and even in cooperating in the progress of those who suffer the same situation. And, all of you, feel the obligation to unite fraternally so as to help forge this new world for which the human race longs.

This is what the Virgin of Guadalupe asks of you today, this fidelity to the Gospel, of which she knew how to be the most eminent example.

Upon you, dearly beloved sons and daughters, we implore with confidence the maternal benevolence of the Mother of God and Mother of the Church, in order that she may continue to protect your nation and to direct and impel it more and more along the paths of progress, communal love, and a peaceful life together.