Today we celebrate the feast of the immaculate conception, of the mother of God -- The ark of the new covenant. The original Ark, portrayed in the film the raiders of the lost ark, contained manna used to feed the Jews on their travels seeking the promised land, the tablets given to mosses... containing the 10 commandments, and Aaron's rod, which spotted and began to grow before the very eyes of Pharaoh during the captivity of the Jews.


Today is a day of reflection on the power and foresight of God, as we celebrate this great miracle, which is the begging of our freedom as Catholics.


What better day to reflect on the voiceless victims of abortion. 


The Supreme Court Holding in Roe v. Wade can be seen as spiritual decline. One may also see it as the starting point for the rhetoric of victim blaming?


An innocent victim in the womb is blamed for making life uncomfortable, unprofitable, an annoyance, an interference, a burden, a threat to feminist values, and female health. As with all forms of victim blaming this type of thinking is designed to absolve one from sin, by holding the innocent victim accountable, as if doing so somehow absolves makes the actions of others reasonable. In God's eyes all have equal value, and none are burdensome.  


If we are truly a free country based on unalienable rights, these must be extended to all from conception to natural death.


Victim blaming has become fashionable in some circles, many very powerful. We blame victims for their poverty, their disabilities, their old age, their homelessness, we even blame victims for their incarceration and execution with or without a trail and due process. 


You say you believe in civil rights and equality for all. Life begins at conception, and the rights we hold dear begin, once a human being is conceived.

Civil Rights to the Conceived NOW!


One would expect no less from a society, that does not value the conceived as human beings. From their the downward spiral begins. The moment we start to categorize human life in an artificial hierarchy, is the moment we sin by blaming those on the rung lower than us on any ladder for being lower than us. This is not in line with Catholic social teaching, which reflects Jesus, the mind of God.


In God's eyes their are no ladders nor rungs, there is no one to blame, save ourselves for not helping a brother or sister up, help to bring them out of the womb; alive and kicking, and anyone else who we may perceive to be beneath us. 



Luke 16:19-31Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA)

19 There was a certain rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen; and feasted sumptuously every day.

20 And there was a certain beggar, named Lazarus, who lay at his gate, full of sores,

21 Desiring to be filled with the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table, and no one did give him; moreover the dogs came, and licked his sores.

22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. And the rich man also died: and he was buried in hell.

23 And lifting up his eyes when he was in torments, he saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom:

24 And he cried, and said: Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, to cool my tongue: for I am tormented in this flame.

25 And Abraham said to him: Son, remember that thou didst receive good things in thy lifetime, and likewise Lazareth evil things, but now he is comforted; and thou art tormented.

26 And besides all this, between us and you, there is fixed a great chaos: so that they who would pass from hence to you, cannot, nor from thence come hither.

27 And he said: Then, father, I beseech thee, that thou wouldst send him to my father's house, for I have five brethren,

28 That he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torments.

29 And Abraham said to him: They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.

30 But he said: No, father Abraham: but if one went to them from the dead, they will do penance.

31 And he said to him: If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they believe, if one rise again from the dead.
Without due reflection, these days it has become fashionable to blame the victims of poverty, incarceration, refugees, the disabled, the mentally Ill, and victims of Sexual abuse in favor of clergy perpetrators. 



Matthew 25:31-46Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA)

31 And when the Son of man shall come in his majesty, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit upon the seat of his majesty.

32 And all nations shall be gathered together before him, and he shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats:

33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on his left.

34 Then shall the king say to them that shall be on his right hand: Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

35 For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in:

36 Naked, and you covered me: sick, and you visited me: I was in prison, and you came to me.

37 Then shall the just answer him, saying: Lord, when did we see thee hungry, and fed thee; thirsty, and gave thee drink?

38 And when did we see thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and covered thee?

39 Or when did we see thee sick or in prison, and came to thee?

40 And the king answering, shall say to them: Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me.

41 Then he shall say to them also that shall be on his left hand: Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels.

42 For I was hungry, and you gave me not to eat: I was thirsty, and you gave me not to drink.

43 I was a stranger, and you took me not in: naked, and you covered me not: sick and in prison, and you did not visit me.

44 Then they also shall answer him, saying: Lord, when did we see thee hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to thee?

45 Then he shall answer them, saying: Amen I say to you, as long as you did it not to one of these least, neither did you do it to me.

46 And these shall go into everlasting punishment: but the just, into life everlasting.
Matt 25:31-46 is quite clear. We blame the homeless and look the other way, for they are invisible. Often Angels take the form of the homeless, and we walk by as if we do not even see them and miss a conversation, with perhaps St. Michael himself. 

What better way for an angel to move about the world unnoticed than to take the form of a homeless person. 
How quickly we look away from stories in the news and justify, when African American males, innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, are executed without trial while in police custody, on camera or after body cams mysteriously turn off.
And what of those incarcerated, justly or unjustly. Innocent victims, in ever increasing numbers are being released from our prisons, after having served time for crimes they did not commit. 30% of the time our criminal justice system imposes the death penalty on innocent inmates.
Mary Was Full Of Grace And Fully Free
"Mary was free from original sin and from internal temptations but not from external temptations. Even Jesus himself was tempted. So just as Adam and Eve sinned, Mary also could have sinned - since in fact she was fully free."
(In the Arms of Mary, pg. 151)
How would our blessed mother be received by your parish, if she were to walk in to Mass this Sunday. She a young unmarried woman carrying a bastard child. A young woman who heard voices and saw visions of angels. 
Advent is not only a time when we wait for the baby Jesus, it is a time to reflect on how we see and treat others. 
Are we ready?
Are we Worthy of the baby Jesus.
Pax Christi
Copyright Fred Celio 12/08/2016