Today's first reading from Philippians 3 is so appropriate for Americans, given the state of our nation. St. Paul starts out by talking about people who "conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction. Their God is their stomach; their glory is in their 'shame.' Their minds are occupied with earthly things." Sound familiar?
St. Paul has the antidote. "But our citizenship is in heaven. Therefore...in this way stand firm in the Lord, beloved."
It's easy to become obsessed with the craziness that seems to have enveloped our world. People seem to be glorying in things that are truly shameful - the obsession of killing children in the womb, advocating for "gender affirming" surgeries and medical procedures for children, the pornification of everyone, , to name a few - seems to be exactly what St. Paul was talking about. I believe it is important to fight against these things. But we must also keep our minds focused (read: occupied) on heaven. There must be a balance in our minds. All things must begin and end with prayer.
Father, help us to keep our minds occupied on heaven, not to obsess over the things of the world, but to always have recourse to prayer and to remember that our true citizenship is in heaven. Amen.
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