Somehow, I have a feeling many have gotten to this point, is not coincidence, I think it may have been planned all along to go this way, get them comfortable in life, then throw a wrench into everything, and see how many remain true to their faith.
From what I see at my parish, not judging anyone, but I have feeling not many would stick to their faith, especially if it meant loosing their freedom (prison), loosing their jobs, income, homes, status in society, etc. I think many would deny they belong to the church in a heartbeat if it meant they were allowed to continue on as they have been.
I hope and pray I am strong enough to make the right decision when that time comes, I do worry about such things, as I just went into 3 yrs of debt for a car, if I were suddenly be thrown in jail, I would loose my job after not showing up for a few days, then my car would be taken back, eventually loose my home, utilities would all be shut off, debt collection, etc etc. I dont have that much money to last in times like this, maybe a couple weeks!
However, I dont think these times will happen this year or next, probably not for at least 3-8 yrs, but I truly believe eventually society will look at christians in the same manner as Nazis, we will be considered a hate group.
Good call, on all these points.
I, too, think Christians who take a stand on moral issues will be considered to be as hateful as Nazis, probably within 10 years. As time goes on, in order to have decent jobs, we will have to be “in the closet” even more so than now. I imagine we will be more thoroughly scrutinized–our online activity, what we buy, what we watch, our phone calls and emails, our location at any given time, etc. We need to make sure our Bibles and Catechisms last so we don’t have to buy new ones, and perhaps we will have to leave our gadgets at home when we go to Mass. But more likely, this will happen before we know what’s going on, and we will find ourselves fired and blacklisted, maybe even without knowing why. We could give up our gadgets and keep a collection of good Catholic books, but who among us has the strength to do this? (Or maybe giving them up will make us look suspicious.) All this will be mild compared to what comes after.
The point is, I don’t think there’s an escape. Even leaving the country is doubtful because Christians are hated in so many other countries. I read that there are militant secularist governments even in Africa, trying to suppress Christianity just like in the West. Christians fear for their lives in Latin America because of gangs. Muslim and Communist countries don’t have a monopoly on persecution, though when we look at those, we may be looking at our future.
Before this Supreme Court ruling, I thought I would be very old, nearing the end of my life, before I could get arrested for my faith. (I’m 31.) Now that this ruling has happened sooner than I expected–and no one around me even seemed to care (I expected a few triumphant shouts, but everyone in my hyper-liberal workplace was talking about some other news story)–I’ve had to adjust my thinking. I could very well spend my 60’s, 70’s, etc. in prison.
There is one more thing we can do to prepare that I forgot to mention: develop a devotion to the Rosary. I read about a bishop imprisoned in Communist Russia who prayed a full 15-decade Rosary every day, using his fingers to count. Also, it should go without saying that we will need to develop our prayer lives and our relationships with God, since we will have no friends in prison other than God and His saints and angels.
Here’s a question we can all think about: If God told you that you would spend many years in prison for your faith, and He told you the future date on which you would be arrested, what would you do in the meantime?
I’m sorry if any of you are annoyed by my hammering this point, but I think this needs to be talked about. If no one answers, at least the idea is here for others to read.
