PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS
22ND SUNDAY OF THE YEAR AUGUST 29, 2020
“IN 1945, AT THE AGE OF 20, ANDRE STAMOS WAS CAPTURED BY THE SOVIETS AND THROWN INTO JAIL. AFTER MANY YEARS OF IMPRISONMENT THEY THOUGHT HE WAS INSANE. THEY TRANSFERRED HIM TO A PSYCHIATRIC WARD 300 MILES OUTSIDE OF MOSCOW. IN 2000, WHEN THE RUSSIANS WERE TRYING TO EMPTY OUT THEIR PRISONS AND PSYCHIATRIC WARDS, THEY BROUGHT A HUNGARIAN PSYCHIATRIST TO EXAMINE THIS MAN.
THE PSYCHIATRIST EXAMINED ANDRE STAMOS FOR A FEW HOURS. HE SAID: “THIS MAN IS NOT INSANE. HE IS NOT TALKING NONSENSE. RATHER, HE IS SPEAKING A RARE HUNGARIAN DIALECT.” THE AUTHORITIES RELEASED HIM.
AS SOON AS HE WAS RELEASED, THE FIRST THING ANDRE STAMOS ASKED TO SEE WAS A MIRROR. HE HAD NOT SEEN HIMSELF FOR 55 YEARS; HE WAS 20 YEARS OLD WHEN HE LAST SAW HIS FACE. NOW AT 75, HE LOOKED INTO THE MIRROR, WHEN HE SAW HIS FACE HE PUT HIS FACE IN HIS HANDS, AND SOBBED UNCONTROLLABLY LIKE A LITTLE BABY. HE COULDN’T BELIEVE WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO HIM IN 55 YEARS.HE WENT THROUGH MOST OF HIS LIFE NOT KNOWING WHAT HE LOOKED LIKE.
IMAGINE YOURSELF LOOKING INTO A MIRROR AT THE AGE OF 20 AND THEN LOOKING AT YOURSELF FOR THE FIRST TIME AT AGE 75. WHAT A SHOCK.
WHAT IF PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS COULD LOOK IN A MIRROR TO SEE WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO THEM IN THE LAST 50 YEARS? WHAT IF PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS COULD LOOK INTO A MIRROR AND SEE WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO THEIR COUNTRY, THEIR REGION, AND THEIR CULTURE?
THE FIGHT AGAINST RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IS MOUNTING. THERE WAS A REPORT THAT 80 PERCENT OF PEOPLE ON PLANET EARTH, LIVE IN PLACES WHERE RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IS UNDER ATTACK. RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION IS BECOMING MORE AGGRESSIVE IN OUR COUNTRY AND IN AT LEAST 144 COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD.
THERE ARE 2 BILLION CHRISTIANS IN THE WORLD, TODAY. YOU AND I ARE RELATED TO THESE CHRISTIANS THROUGH BAPTISM. WE CALL THESE CHRISTIANS THE PEOPLE OF GOD. WE CALL THESE CHRISTIANS THE MYSTICAL BODY OF CHRIST. WE CALL THESE CHRISTIANS OUR SISTERS AND BROTHERS IN CHRIST. THEY MATTER TO US.
THEIR LIVES MATTER TO US BECAUSE THEY ARE HUMAN BEINGS. THEIR LIVES MATTER TO US BECAUSE THEY ARE PART OF THE MYSTICAL BODY OF CHRIST. THEIR LIVES MATTER TO US BECAUSE THE ASSAULT ON CHRISTIANS, ANYWHERE, IS A FUNDAMENTAL ASSAULT ON HUMAN FREEDOM EVERYWHERE.
ACCORDING TO THE PEW RESEARCH CENTER CHRISTIANS REMAIN THE MOST PERSECUTED RELGIOUS GROUP IN 144 COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD. WHY ARE THEY BEING PERSECUTED?
MANY CHRISTIANS ARE LEADING ACTIVISTS FOR DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN-RIGHTS.THEY ARE USUALLY LOYAL CITIZENS. THEY HAVE A LOYALTY TO ABSOLUTE MORAL AND SPIRITUAL STANDARDS. THEY REFUSE TO ALLOW THE STATE TO BE THE ULTIMATE ARBITER OF HUMAN LIFE. THEY REFUSE TO ACCEPT CAESAR AS GOD. THIS DRAWS ANGER AND A BLOODY RESPONSE FROM EVERY TOTALITARIAN REGIME.
CHINA IS A TOTALITARIAN REGIME. CHINA IS A COMMUNIST COUNTRY. CHINA IS A SOCIALIST COUNTRY. IN THE COMMUNIST MANIFESTO MARX INSISTED THAT THE JUDEO-CHRISTIAN GOD WOULD HAVE TO BE BURIED. MARX INSISTED THAT THE OLD MORALITY WOULD HAVE TO BE ABOLISHED. MARX INSISTED THAT THE OLD MORALITY WOULD BE MADE UTTERLY OBSOLETE BY THE CREATION OF NEW HUMAN BEINGS.
THESE ARE RADICAL IDEAS. ANTIFA AND THE BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT ARE FOLLOWING THE PLAYBOOK OF THE COMMUNIST MANIFESTO. WHEN YOU UNDERSTAND THIS YOU WILL UNDERSTAND THE ANARCHY THAT IS GOING ON IN OUR CITIES. IT IS A PLANNED ANARCHY.
CHINA IS FOLLOWING THE PLAYBOOK OF THE COMMUNIST MANIFESTO. ACCORDING TO THE TEXTBOOKS OF THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY, ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS FOR THE COLLAPSE OF COMMUNISM IN EASTERN EUROPE, WAS THAT RELIGION WAS ALLOWED TO PERSIST AND FLOURISH.
TO AVOID THIS SAME MISTAKE, PRESIDENT XI JINPING HAS LAUNCHED THE WORST CRACKDOWN ON RELIGION SINCE THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION OF THE FORMER PREMIER, MAO TSE TUNG. HE IS DESTROYING TENS OF THOUSANDS OF CHURCHES, MOSQUES, AND TEMPLES.
NOW, THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY IS TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE CURRENT PANDEMIC TO CLAMP DOWN ON RELIGION. THE STRATEGY OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY IS TO SHUT DOWN THESE RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC. BUT THE GOVERNMENT INTENDS TO KEEP THEM SHUT DOWN AFTER COVID 19 CRISIS IS OVER. THEY DON’T WANT THESE RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS OPERATING FREELY IN THE FIRST PLACE.
IN XINJIANG, ANYWHERE FROM 900,000 TO 1.8 MILLION PEOPLE, MOSTLY MUSLIM UYGHURS (WEE-GURS) ARE ESTIMATED TO BE IN MORE THAN 1,300 DETENTION CAMPS. THESE CAMPS WERE SET UP BY CHINESE AUTHORITIES. SURVIVORS HAVE REPORTED BEATINGS, TORTURE, FORCED LABOR, FORCED ABORTIONS AND FORCED STERILIZATIONS IN THOSE CAMPS.
A MEMBER OF THE THREE-SELF CHURCH, WHO IS A WOMAN IN HER 80s WHO LIVES IN THE PROVINCE OF JIANGXI, REPORTED THAT SHE LOST HER GOVERNMENT AID AFTER SHE WAS HEARD SAYING “THANK GOD” WHEN SHE RECEIVED HER SUBSIDY PAYMENT. SHE SAID: “THEY EXPECTED ME TO PRAISE THE KINDNESS OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY.”
IN APRIL 2020, ANOTHER ELDERLY WOMAN FROM THE HENAN PROVINCE REPORTED THAT HER MINIMUM LIVING ALLOWANCE WAS CANCELED WHEN OFFICIALS DISCOVERED A CROSS ON THE DOOR OF HER HOUSE. THE WOMAN, WHO IS A DIABETIC, LOST ALL GOVERNMENT AID DUE TO HER RELIGIOUS BELIEFS. WHAT DID JESUS SAY IN TODAY’S GOSPEL? “WHAT CAN ONE GIVE FOR THE EXCHANGE OF HIS LIFE?
PRESIDENT XI JINPING HAS ORDERED THE INSTALLATION OF 300 MILLION SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS. HE IS COMPELLING ALL CHINESE TO INSTALL FACIAL RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY AND SPYWARE ON THEIR SMARTPHONES. HE HAS DEPUTIZED “BLOCK CAPTAINS” TO VISIT THE HOMES OF CITIZENS.
IN SHANDONG PROVINCE, OFFICIALS RAIDED THE HOME OF A CHRISTIAN MAN. THE OFFICIAL TORE DOWN RELIGIOUS PICTURES AND POSTED IMAGES OF MAO TSE TUNG AND XI JINPING ON HIS WALL. THE OFFICIAL SAID: “IF YOU WANT TO WORSHIP SOMEBODY THEY ARE THE GREATEST GODS, THEY ARE THE ONES YOU WANT TO WORSHIP”.
IN SOME AREAS, CHURCHES WERE FORCED TO REMOVE DISPLAYS OF THE DECALOGUE, THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, AND REPLACE THEM WITH SAYINGS OF PRESIDENT XI XINPING. THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY IS PUSHING THESE POLICIES AND THESE SYSTEMS AROUND THE WORLD.
THIS CRACK DOWN IS NOT ONLY THE MUSLIM UYGHUR (WEE-GUR) POPULATION BEING TARGETED. THIS IS A FULL ATTACK ON CHRISTIANS, BUDDHISTS, AND THE FALUN GONG. YOU HAVE NOT HEARD MUCH ABOUT THIS BECAUSE IT RECEIVED LITTLE MEDIA ATTENTION. I WONDER WHY.
IN 2003, THERE WERE 1.5 MILLION CHRISTIANS IN IRAQ, NOW THERE ARE LESS THAN 250,000.
IN 2011, THERE WERE, 1.5 MILLION CHRISTIANS IN SYRIA. TODAY THERE ARE 500,000.
IN NIGERIA SINCE THE YEAR 2009, OVER 5,000 CATHOLIC FAITHFUL HAVE BEEN KILLED. NINETEEN SCHOOLS HAVE BEEN VANDALIZED AND DESTROYED, FOUR HEALTH CLINICS DESTROYED AND BURNT DOWN, AND THREE CONVENTS RANSACKED, DESTROYED, AND BURNT DOWN. ABOUT 20 RECTORIES HAVE BEEN VANDALIZED AND DESTROYED, 22 PARISH CHURCHES DESTROYED AND BURNT.
TO OUR CREDIT THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT HAS TAKEN THE MOST AGGRESSIVE ACTION OF ANY NATION IN THE WORLD TO PUSH BACK AGAINST THESE HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES COMING OUT OF XINJIANG.
RECENTLY THE UNITED STATES ELEVATED THE STATURE OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM WITHIN THE STATE DEPARTMENT. THE EXECUTIVE ORDER READS: “RELIGIOUS FREEDOM OF ALL PEOPLE WORLDWIDE IS A FOREIGN POLICY PRIORITY, AND THE UNITED STATES WILL RESPECT AND VIGOROUSLY PROMOTE THIS FREEDOM.”
WHEN ANDRE STAMOS PUT A MIRROR TO HIS FACE AND WAS SHOCKED AT WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO HIM AFTER YEARS OF TORTURE AND ISOLATION, HE WAS BROUGHT TO TEARS. CHRISTIANS WHO PUT A MIRROR UP TO THE MYSTICAL BODY OF CHRIST, TORTURED, INSULTED AND KILLED SHOULD ALSO BE BROUGHT TO TEARS.
WE MUST NOT IGNORE THE PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS. WE NEED TO REFLECT ON WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THEM BECAUSE IT COULD HAPPEN TO US. WHILE CATHOLICS IN OUR COUNTRY ARE DECIDING WHEN TO RETURN TO PUBLIC MASS AND HOLY COMMUNION THE FAITHFUL IN SOME PARTS OF THE WORLD ARE RISKING DEATH WHENEVER THEY ATTEMPT TO ATTEND MASS AND RECEIVE HOLY COMMUNION.
IN TODAY’S GOSPEL JESUS REASSURED THE DISCIPLES WHEN HE TOLD THEM: “THE SON OF MAN WLL COME WITH HIS ANGELS IN HIS FATHER’S GLORY, AND THEN HE WILL REPAY ALL ACCORDING TO HIS CONDUCT.
MARXISTS AND LENINISTS WILL NOT BE APPEASED TILL THEY HAVE VANQUISHED FROM THE FACE OF THE EARTH EVERY REMNANT OF JUDEO-CHRISTIAN CONCEPTS OF GOD, HUMAN BEINGS, LAW AND MORALITY.
THEY FLAUNT THEIR DISDAIN FOR JUDEO-CHRISTIAN VALUES BY MOCKING THE VIRTUE OF PATRIOTISM AND DISRESPECTING THE FLAG. THEY DILUTE AND RIDICULE THE SACRIFICES OF THE FOUNDING FATHERS AND HONORABLE MILITARY LEADERS. THEY DICTATE TO CHURCHES WHO THEY CAN HONOR AND HOW THEY MAY THINK ABOUT GOD. THEY VILIFY AND TEAR DOWN MONUMENTS OF CATHOLIC SAINTS WHO RISKED THEIR LIVES FOR CHRIST, IN ORDER TO BRING THE CHRISTIAN FAITH TO THOSE WHO WERE ENGAGED IN IDOLATRY AND HUMAN SACRIFICE.
AS CHRISTIANS WE MUST PUSH BACK ON THIS ANTI- CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT EVEN THOUGH WE KNOW WHO WILL WIN IN THE END.
THE NOTED BRITISH HISTORIAN, WILL DURANT, WHO WROTE A HISTORY OF CIVILIZATION, GIVES US PERSPECTIVE ON PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS FROM THE TIME OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE TO THE PRESENT DAY.
WILL DURANT SAYS: “THERE IS NO GREATER DRAMA IN HUMAN RECORD THAN THE SIGHT OF A FEW CHRISTIANS, SCORNED AND OPPRESSED BY A SUCCESSION OF EMPERORS,
BEARING ALL TRIALS WITH A FIERCE TENACITY, MULTIPLYING QUIETLY, BUILDING ORDER WHILE THEIR ENEMIES GENERATED CHAOS.
FIGHTING THE SWORD WITH THE WORD, BRUTALITY WITH HOPE, AND AT LAST DEFEATING THE STRONGEST STATE THAT HISTORY HAS KNOWN, CAESAR AND CHRIST MET IN THE ARENA, AND CHRIST WON. JESUS I TRUST IN YOU.