St. Thomas of Villaneuva Distributing Alms(Murillo)

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“It is indeed interesting that our Lord never praised those who sought freedom apart from justice. Never did He say: “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after freedom,” but “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after justices,” and “Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice’s sake, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.” Let us, then in the name of God, stop talking about freedom until we decide why we want to be free; let us, when the world has gone mad with freedom alienated from the law of God, unfurl the flag of justice – then we shall be free: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His justice and all these things shall be added unto you.” 

~ Fulton J. Sheen, A Declaration of Dependence, 1941, page 52.~~

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Bishop Sheen is most kind to remind the Americans this Church Sunday morning, at our Lenten time, ours and His Quadragesima, that a thirst for justice, must appropriately, precede, guide and define our concentration on securing freedom~

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The Americans say they want the kingdom of liberty but they don’t want God in it~which is unjust~~

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Johnny Cash sang a wonderful song~The Wanderer~part of which goes~”I stopped outside a church house where the citizens like to sit~they say they want the Kingdom~but they don’t want God in it.”~~

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America today suffers a dreadful catharsis~The Americans are terribly sad, lonely, skittish and afraid~everyone knows it~we try to ignore~but it follows us everywhere~

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We too want the Kingdom but we don’t want God in it~

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Today a friend sent a note from Bishop Sheen which, as Bishop’s works ever do~remains very poignant this very morning~despite having been penned now 80 years on~~

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Bishop asks~~and adroitly answers this question~

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Is There Hope in A Perilous World?”

“We are living in perilous times when the hearts and souls of men are sorely tried. Never before has the future been so utterly unpredictable; we are not so much in a period of transition with belief in progress to push us on, rather we seem to be entering the realm of the unknown, joylessly, disillusioned, and without hope. The whole world seems to be in a state of spiritual widowhood, possessed of the harrowing devastation of one who set out on life’s course joyously in intimate comradeship with another, and then is bereft of that companion forever. … God came. And He came to set men and their world right with God – not only their hearts and their souls, but their businesses, their secular affairs, their governments, and their all. How did He do it? God solved the social, political, and economic problems of the world not by enunciating a new economic system; nor by instructing man in the ways of supply and demand; nor by a great piece of research which revealed the many aspects of their problem; nor even by giving to the world a formula for finances, trade agreements, armaments, slavery, imperialism, or war. He saved it from its ills by being born as a Babe in the insignificant village of Bethlehem.”~~

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Citation~~FULTON J. SHEEN, THE PRODIGAL WORLD, THE REBIRTH OF A WORLD, 1935. [THE FULTON SHEEN GUY]~~

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~~Our reflection for today, brethren is just this and no more~~

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Liberty absent Justice is

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Neither free~~

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Nor just~~

Jesus in the desert in His Quadragesima

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