Thank God for Thanksgiving!!!

I posted a similar blog 3 years ago…liking what I reviewed, I wanted to share again. It’s a good reminder.

As a country, we have so much to be grateful for, to be thankful for on this Thanksgiving 2022. We get to live in the United States of America, the greatest social and economic experiment in world history. There’s no place in the world that compares to our country. While others have great architecture and landscape, no one has our freedoms, those things held so dear by our Founders, that include the freedom of:

Religion
Speech
The Press
Assembly
Petition the government

While race and gender inequality existed at the country’s founding, significant measures have been taken over the last 60+ years to dramatically improve the situation. Even with these historical challenges, we’re in a far better place than the rest of the world. Americans are a good people, a compassionate and generous people…statistically speaking, the most generous people in the world.

The economic opportunities in the United States are second to none. The story of our country is immigrants coming here and having financial success, finding a better life for themselves and their families. The same opportunities and experiences exist for American citizens. And as time progresses and innovation persists in this great country, more opportunities exist.

The United States of America is the leader of the world. That’s not by accident or just because we have the mite to make an impact…militarily and economically. It’s because we’re the role model for the world. We’re the best of the best and others want to emulate us.

I write the above, knowing that we still have challenges in this country. The one closest to my heart, in addition to the pro-life movement, is solving for poverty. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to remove politics from the conversation, understanding what has and hasn’t worked over the last 60+ years, to lift families out of poverty.

In closing, I’d like to offer the following prayer for our country:

Dear Lord, thank you for all of our many blessings

Here in the United States of America;

Help us to remember the freedoms you have provided us,

And the opportunities you have given us.

Help us dear Lord, come together as a nation, eliminating the division.

Lord, let us feel Your unconditional love, not caring what others think,

But being all that you call us to be. Help us to see Christ in all and be Christ to all,

Living Your Will, helping others be the best version of themselves.

Jesus Christ, Son of the Father, we thank you for our great country;

We ask for your continued blessings on its citizens and all that travel here.

Amen!!!

As always, please contact me at [email protected] with questions, comments, concerns, challenges or prayer requests.

God Bless you on your Path to Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment!!!

Mark Joseph

Why are We Losing our Liberties?

The New York Post broke a story a week ago about presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son’s pay for play behavior with several foreign countries, including China and Ukraine. The intent of this blog isn’t to argue the merits of this apparent scandal (you can decide that on your own), but to call out the fact that Google, Facebook, and Twitter blocked the story. While their rationale is that the story wasn’t substantiated, these are the same organizations that routinely publish things on Donald Trump that are unsubstantiated. The hypocrisy is so rich that it’s sick. Again, you can agree or disagree, which doesn’t change the message of this blog.

The above is an indisputable fact. Here’s the issue though, democrat or republican, what we’re talking about here is censorship. We’re the United States of America, not Russia or China, not Cuba or North Korea. Unlike these communist countries, who have a history of censorship, we don’t behave that way. We’re Americans and the freedom of the press is critical to our democracy.

The First Amendment to the US Constitution reads as follows… Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Understanding that we’re people of faith, notice that the First Amendment includes
“respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”. My fear, based on what we’re seeing happen in our country, is that our freedom of religion is next to go. The same people who are squashing our free speech have no tolerance for our religious liberty, as evidenced by the criticism of Judge Amy Coney Barrett for her (our) Catholic faith.

Why is This Happening?

True to my beliefs, I state often that everything happens for a reason. The question then becomes, “why is this happening now”? Why are we where we are as a country? In praying about it the other morning, I thought of repentance as indicated in Scripture. Referencing the Bible, I found:

Mark 1:15, Jesus states, “repent and believe in the Gospel”.
Luke 13:3, Jesus states, “but unless you repent, you too will perish”.

The above are two of over 100 like verses in the Bible. I think it’s clear. As a society, we have dramatically sinned. We have far fewer attending Church today than decades ago. We’ve removed God from our schools. Our society is hostile towards religion. We’re aborting over 800,000 babies a year. Two thirds of our babies are born out of wedlock. Instead of concentrating on character, integrity, and courage, people are busy chasing prominence, possessions, and pleasure. It seems that the richer our country becomes, the more secular and depraved it is.

There are many, although far fewer as a percentage as compared to past generations, who are passionate about our faith. That said, as a collective society our sins are many and grievous. Clearly, we need to repent.

I’ve indicated before in these blogs that all the answers to life can be found in Scripture and are taught by the Church. Maybe what is happening in America is happening because God has had enough of our pettiness, our hedonist ways. Given where our country has come, in this post Christian time, we need to repent…individually, as the Church, and as a nation.

In closing, related but slightly divergent, there’s no moral equivalent between the sanctity of human life, i.e. abortion, and any other issue, the former being intrinsic evil as per our faith.

God Bless America!!! John 14:6, Jesus is the truth, the way, and the light.

As always, please contact me at [email protected] with questions, comments, concerns, challenges, or prayer requests.

God Bless you on your Path to Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment!!!!

Mark Joseph