- Feb 5, 2002
- 181,677
- 65,693
- Country
- United States
- Gender
- Female
- Faith
- Catholic
- Marital Status
- Married
- Politics
- US-Others
This month, we ought to storm heaven with our prayers and ask for the intercession of our beloved martyrs.
José de Páez, ‘Sacred Heart of Jesus with Sts. Ignatius of Loyola and Aloysius Gonzaga,” ca. 1770 (photo: Public Domain)
We all are aware that June is called “Pride Month” in some circles. We have been assaulted all month with LGBT flags and messaging on social media and television broadcasts, at retail stores and restaurants, at sporting events and, perhaps, even by acquaintances and neighbors.
Of course, there is a social movement underway to resist this barrage. Boycotts of retail giants and sports teams, along with clear and firm statements by well-known athletes, musicians and the like, seem to have helped in significant measure. Still, we need to engage this on more than just an economic front. It is no coincidence, then, that June contains the memorial celebrations of a handful of Christian martyrs, each of whom provides a bold and firm witness against the prevailing trends of sexual immorality in their respective eras.
To begin the month, we recall the witness of St. Justin Martyr. While his teaching and writing were often focused more broadly on explaining Christian beliefs and practices, he did address the sexual immorality of Roman culture explicitly. In Chapter 27 of his First Apology to Emperor Titus, on the guilt of exposing children, Justin wrote:
Continued below.
www.ncregister.com
We all are aware that June is called “Pride Month” in some circles. We have been assaulted all month with LGBT flags and messaging on social media and television broadcasts, at retail stores and restaurants, at sporting events and, perhaps, even by acquaintances and neighbors.
Of course, there is a social movement underway to resist this barrage. Boycotts of retail giants and sports teams, along with clear and firm statements by well-known athletes, musicians and the like, seem to have helped in significant measure. Still, we need to engage this on more than just an economic front. It is no coincidence, then, that June contains the memorial celebrations of a handful of Christian martyrs, each of whom provides a bold and firm witness against the prevailing trends of sexual immorality in their respective eras.
To begin the month, we recall the witness of St. Justin Martyr. While his teaching and writing were often focused more broadly on explaining Christian beliefs and practices, he did address the sexual immorality of Roman culture explicitly. In Chapter 27 of his First Apology to Emperor Titus, on the guilt of exposing children, Justin wrote:
Continued below.
We Celebrate June as the Month of the Sacred Heart — Not ‘Pride Month’
This month, we ought to storm heaven with our prayers and ask for the intercession of our beloved martyrs.
