PAD 23: Burden of the Heart

 

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PAD Challenge, Day 23 prompt: for today's Two-for-Tuesday prompt: write a "(blank) of the Heart" poem, and/or write a "Heart of the (blank)" poem.

Burden of the Heart

"See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him." (1 John 3:1).

"Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him" (John 13:16).

"And when they bring you to trial and deliver you up, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say; but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit" (Mark 13:11).

My heart weighs so heavy within my own soul,
My heart bears a cross that so few people know;
This cross is the knowledge that where Christ hath trod,
I will quickly follow my Master, my God.

There looms in the sky such an ominous cloud
Attempting the light of my faith to cast out.
May God grant me courage to stand and be true,
Despite that strong persecution will ensue.

I often do wonder ‘bout what I will say,
But God will give words to my mouth on that day.
May God grant me courage to say what I must
‘Gainst participation in others’ own lusts.

A law has been made and been put in effect:
In others’ own sins we must partake direct;
But I will not bow to this godless decree
That strips us of all religious liberty.

Now some say that prudence means bowing to this,
But we must stand up against evil amiss,
Or otherwise suffer the fate that is sure
For letting an evil agenda endure.

Written in 2016 at Martindale Army Airfield in San Antonio, Texas, just after a mandatory class on transgenders and homosexuals in the military. I nearly walked out during that class because the NCO giving it said, “Any individual or any religion still holding that transgenderism and homosexuality are wrong needs to get with the times.” I was so furious that I would have walked out, except that my fellow soldiers must have seen how red my face got (my face must have been beet-red because I know I was trembling and burning hot), for they really plead with me during the break, saying, “Don’t ruin your career!”

I will state outright that I do not hate anyone, not even transgenders or homosexuals. There are many who suffer from the disorders of gender dysphoria or same-sex attraction, and I am aware that such are heavy crosses to bear. But what I cannot and will not tolerate is being told that I have to sit down and shut up, and act like those disorders are ordered to true love when they are in fact ordered to sin (if they are indulged in and acted upon). I have often heard it said that “You can’t help who you love,” and that may be true because we should love everyone; but even if we reduce love to mere physical attraction, people can still help how they love others. To phrase it similarly, “You can help how you love.” Not all love is or should be marital love; there are also other types of love: there is filial love, which a child has for a parent; or parental love, which a parent has for a child; or the love of friendship. In Christianity, there are also the self-sacrificial love (agape) and love that wills the best for others in light of eternity (caritas). Though there are times in a marriage when the marital love is good and delightful, there are also other times when the love is more akin to agape-love or caritas-love, wherein spouses let go of their own desires for the good of one another or of the whole family.

There is one more point. There are nine ways of being an accessory to another's sin:

1. By defending the sin.
2. By being silent.
3. By being a partner in the sin.
4. By concealment, or hiding another's sin (in this case, a sin that is public; revealing someone else's sins that are not public is another sin called detraction).
5. By praise or flattery for the sin.
6. By provocation.
7. By consent.
8. By command.
9. By counsel.

The NCO instructing the class ultimately said that we must agree and act like everything is normal. That would force us into participation in others sins by violating numbers 2 and 7; those who participate in June Pride events or misrepresent the whole affair as one of "civil rights" are also violating numbers 1 and 5; and those who try to paint these sins as normal and acceptable are also violating number 9, and potentially number 6 as well. Those who, in schools or other venues, conceal from the parents any surgical procedures, pharmaceutical prescriptions, or sexual education or counselling that their children receive, are also in violation of number 4. Of course, when we speak out about anything, prudence is required. Sometimes others are not ready to hear our message, at other times they are unwilling to hear it. In that case, we pray for them so that their interior disposition will be softened and enlightened and ready for the grace of God. Then, when they are ready, we speak the truth with great charity. As Aristotle once wrote, "having virtue just means doing the right thing, at the right time, in the right way, in the right measure, toward the right people." And we should take these words to heart when teaching others the truth of the Catholic Faith.