I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
Saint Paul’s powerful words in today’s second reading help us to appreciate the weakness of our faith and spiritual life. Saint Paul asks that his temptations and failures, which he calls the “thorn in his flesh,” be removed. The answer he receives to his prayer is that the grace of Christ is sufficient for him. So often we are discouraged by our failure to overcome the same temptations. We are embarrassed because we seem to commit the same sins over and over again. While it is our desire, and the Lord’s, for us to overcome our sinfulness and to experience true conversion, it may not happen when we want it to, or perhaps, ever.
In a strange but valuable way, our sins can bring us back to Christ. In the experience of the Sacrament of Reconciliation we receive the Lord’s forgiveness and the grace we need to sustain us. Our sin reminds us of how dependent we are on the Lord’s mercy. Our sin places us in a position of need and weakness, lest we become falsely independent. When we are weak due to sin, we have the opportunity to be made strong by Jesus’ merciful love for us.
NEW YORK STATE REFERENDUM – This week, pastors in New York State received an important communication from the New York State Conference of Catholic Bishops. They have asked us to share the following information about a referendum that is on the general election ballot for this November. It asks voters to approve or reject what is known as an Equal Rights Amendment to the New York State Constitution. While some of the language of the proposed amendment is unobjectionable, the New York State Catholic Conference, which represents the Bishops of New York State in public policy matters, strongly opposes the referendum for two primary reasons.
First, it would enshrine a fundamental right to abortion on demand in the state Constitution. While the practical impact of this likely would be minimal given that the state legislature already has embedded this right in statute, by adding it to the state Constitution, it would make it nearly impossible to enact any pro-life laws even if public opinion in New York was to evolve.
Second, because the language of the amendment would bar discrimination based either on “age” or “gender identity” or “gender expression,” it could open the door to a judicial interpretation barring parents from having any say in medical interventions of their minor children regarding “gender transition” and could impact youth sports, locker room and bathroom facility use and more.
There are also concerns regarding religious liberty implications for our charitable institutions. A ballot issue committee has been formed as the formal opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment. Known as the Coalition to Protect Kids (CTPK), this committee is registered with the New York State Board of Elections and reports on its funding and expenditures in accordance with state election law. The Catholic Conference and your local diocese support the goal of the CTPK to defeat the amendment.
CTPK asks for parish engagement in efforts to defeat the referendum, by sharing CTPK print materials in your parish and by sharing their digital materials on your social media platforms at your discretion. Please go to PROTECTKIDSNY.COM. For an in-depth analysis of several impacts of NY’s ERA, please see New York State’s Equal Rights Amendment: A Revolutionary Camel, published by the Human Life Review https://humanlifereview.com/new-york-states-equal-rights-amendment-a-revolutionary-camel/
Peace