Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Lectionary: 690A

Then the dragon stood before the woman about to give birth, to devour her child when she gave birth. She gave birth to a son, a male child, destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod.
Her child was caught up to God and his throne. The woman herself fled into the desert where she had a place prepared by God.

Scripture scholars generally agree that the Woman of Revelation 12 is the Church which is persecuted by the world and blessed by the Lord. 

A recent story in the Catholic News Agency described a threat to the Newman Center on the University of Nebraska campus: 

“If our right to abortion in Bellevue is taken away due to the attempt to pass an abortion ban and it gets passed[,] we will shoot up your Newman center with our new AR14 rifles. Sincerely, Jane’s Revenge.” 

The statement reflects a secular society's hostility to the Catholic Church in particular, and women and sexuality in general.

I am convinced the polarization of the left and the right masks their basic agreement. It is a resurgence of the eugenics movement which was strong in the 19th and early 20th centuries, especially in western Europe and the United States. Reacting to the predictions of Malthus, eugenicists planned to manage human reproduction. Margaret Sanger was one of its greatest proponents,

To avoid the Malthusian catastrophe, today's right would restrict immigration and the potential mixing of the races. Like the Nazis of the early twentieth century, they believe there is a "white race" which is inherently superior to other apparent races. Their movement is saturated with antisemitism, an inordinate fondness for guns and violence, and an unwillingness to share health care, education, housing, and opportunities for advancement with minority groups. 

The left attempts to manage population growth with birth control, abortion, and the ideology of LGBTQUIA+. In a culture with unrealistic definitions of male and female, they promote sex change among confused and vulnerable young people. Girls especially are encouraged to become like their more powerful brothers. 

Left and right agree on an ideology of personal freedom which trumps all concern for family and the common good. Neither object to suicide, whether medically-assisted or otherwise; and promote it among the aged and the infirm. 

In the face of this 21st century resurgence, the Catholic Church honors and defends the fecundity of the human male and female. She opposes abortion and defends the fertility of women while promoting the responsibility of men. This struggle for the integrity of honest sexual relations and marriage, of course, is not new; it's found in the most ancient passages of the scriptures. 

The dragon of Revelation 12 cannot overwhelm the protecting power of God. The woman escapes with her child just as the Church maintains her faith in Jesus despite the rage of foes. The danger is real and the struggle sometimes seems hopeless but, as every reader of Revelation knows, the battle has already been won. 

Today we remember the Virgin of Guadalupe and notice especially the apocalyptic signs of that vision. A pregnant virgin is a divine omen of dramatically changing times, as are apparitions of angels. She is standing on a crescent moon with a crown of stars like the Woman of Revelation 12.  

And like the Book of Revelation, the Virgin's message is reassurance. Changing times are necessarily violent, but the Lord remains faithful. He will not abandon or forget us. He will show his mighty hand as he did when he delivered the Hebrews from Egypt, and the Lord Jesus from the grave. Mary's silence recalls the Lord's battle cry, "Be still and know that I am God!" 

When extremists threaten from the right and left, the Lord speaks to us again, 

...your ears shall hear a word behind you:
“This is the way; walk in it,”
when you would turn to the right or the left. (Isaiah 30:21)