I must confess that I had no idea today was the feast of Saint Joseph Moscati (+1927) medical man and miracle worker, who signifies in a vivid way not only the ideal to which every physician should strive, but also every layman: To strive for holiness, for divine charity and, by implication, for perfection in the work to which one is called in life. Besides the fine reflection by Father Mario Attard today in Catholic Insight, peruse also this article by Michael Miller, as well as the homily of his canonization by fellow saint, John Paul II, during the synod on the laity in 1987.
We must pray for those in the medical profession, not least here in Canada, where the expansion of euthanasia laws currently being debated in parliament – insofar as such a thing as rational ‘debate’ still exists in our benighted dominion – will soon turn our physicians into assassins, or at least accomplices thereto. Such false, and evil, compassion is a far, far cry from Saint Guiseppe Moscati, and we must do all we might to support those who would follow his view of the medical arts.
And speaking of laymen, we continue to pray for the truth to win out in the election debacle south of the border. The evidence is compelling, if not overwhelming, that the Democrats engaged in widespread election fraud, and the question now is whether a legal case can be mounted, presented, and won. President Trump is of quite recent Scottish ancestry, with their fighting spirit, and Saint Margaret, a Scot by marriage, is a fine intercessor. Whatever one thinks of Donald Trump – yes, he is not (yet) a Moscati, but the evidence is there of his pro-life proclivities and his relatively sane socio-economic policies – the choice of a Biden and Harris administration is a harrowing, even hellish, one. The descent – to totalitarian control of speech, of religion, of freedom in general – will be swift and sure should their administration take office.
Then again, whatever happens in the election, how do the ‘two Americas’ ever co-exist? Not to over-generalize, but the one side holding that unborn children may be murdered right up to birth and beyond; that bearded men may be women, and un-bearded ladies, men, and vice versa, back and forth; that transgenderism is the ‘human rights issue of our time’; that children may be irrevocably mutilated in the cause of ‘gender dysphoria’; that fossil fuels are evil and to be banned forever; that religious orders, and the rest of us, must be mandated to violate our conscience in conforming to the ‘consensus’; that borders don’t really exist; and if borders don’t exist, then neither does a nation. For if everyone is a citizen, then no one is.
The other side? Well, we may not agree on everything, but hopefully there is some core of sane moral and common sense – the sacredness of life, of family, of religion – holding us conservatives together.
The Church, as the pillar and bulwark of the truth, needs to be a strong – yes, a stronger – voice in this battle, for the truth, for freedom, for family, for the faith. Yes, that is the task of our bishops and priests but also, as Saint Joseph Moscati and countless others have taught us, it is also up to us lay men and women, who comprise approximately 99.8% of that Church.
So get out there and fight the good fight of our Faith in this magnificent melee, every man doing his duty. Whatever happens, good or ill, the reward will be glorious.