Last SupperThe Christian Conscience - Apologetics Pages

I’ve noticed that when people attack the Catholic Church, the things they say and do can sometimes be quite ironic. The following case study is one such instance, and it is taken from a message board that has a long history of attacking Catholics and their theology.

Here is the quote:

Why is it so many Catholics do not want to discuss the Lord?

Outside the church walls, anyway??

Sure inside the walls, they do the repetitive, "hear my prayer, O Lord" stuff.

But yet -- you get out to lunch, or inside their homes, or anywhere else -- and they practically look at you like you've said a dirty word if you mention something good about the Lord!!

The only time they acknowledge Him outside of church, is if it's a main religious holiday, then they'll get together to say their MEMORIZED prayer!

Here is the irony…

In this persons message board profile, his/her location was listed as … one nation UNDER GOD…

Why is this ironic? Those two capitalized words, screaming out from your computer screen were placed into the Pledge of Allegiance after a campaign done by the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic Men’s Organization!

Here is the story of how those two words, under God came to be in the Pledge, compliments of the St. John N. Neumann Assembly #1763, Maryland ( http://home.earthlink.net/~cpoiani/knights/pledge.htm ).

On April 22, 1951, the Board of Directors of the Knights of Columbus adopted a resolution to amend the Pledge of Allegiance as recited at the opening of each of the meetings of the 800 Fourth Degree Assemblies of the Knights of Columbus by addition of the words "under God" after the words "one nation." The adoption of this resolve by the Supreme Board of Directors had the effect of immediate initiation of this practice throughout the aforesaid Fourth Degree Assembly meetings.

At their annual State meetings, held in April and May of 1952, the State Councils of Florida, South Dakota, New York and Michigan adopted resolutions recommending that the Pledge of Allegiance be so amended and that Congress be petitioned to have such an amendment made effective.

On August 21, 1952, the Supreme Council of the Knights of Columbus at its annual meeting adopted a resolution urging that the change be made general and copies of this resolution were sent to the President, the Vice President (as Presiding Officer of the Senate) and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The National Fraternal Congress meeting in Boston on September 24, 1952, adopted a similar resolution upon the recommendation of its President, Supreme Knight Luke E. Hart. Several State Fraternal Congresses acted likewise almost immediately thereafter.

At its annual meeting the following year, on August 20, 1953, the Supreme Council of the Knights of Columbus repeated its resolution to make the amendment to the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag general and to send copies of this resolve to the President, Vice President, Speaker of the House, and to each member of both Houses of Congress. From this latter action, many favorable replies were received, and a total of seventeen resolutions were introduced into the House of Representatives to so amend the Pledge of Allegiance as set forth in Public Law relating to the Flag. The resolution introduced by Congressman Louis C. Rabaut of Michigan was adopted by both Houses of Congress, and it was signed by President Eisenhower on Flag Day, June 14, 1954, thereby making the official amendment conceived, sponsored and put into practice by the Knights of Columbus more than three years before.

In a message to Supreme Knight Luke E. Hart at the meeting of the Supreme Council in Louisville, August 17, 1954, President Eisenhower, in recognition of the initiative of the Knights of Columbus in originating and sponsoring the amendment to the Pledge of Allegiance, said:

We are particularly thankful to you for your part in the movement to have the words 'under God' added to our Pledge of Allegiance. These words will remind Americans that despite our great physical strength we must remain humble. They will help us to keep constantly in our minds and hearts the spiritual and moral principles which alone give dignity to man, and upon which our way of life is founded. For the contribution which your organization has made to this cause, we must be genuinely grateful."

In August 1954, the Illinois American Legion Convention adopted a resolution whereby recognition was given to the Knights of Columbus as having initiated, sponsored and brought about the amendment to the Pledge of Allegiance; and on October 6, 1954, the National Executive Committee of the American Legion gave its approval to that resolution.

An additional article can be found in the September issue of Columbia, the official magazine of the Knights of Columbus ( http://www.kofc.org/columbia/september2002/under.htm ).

As one can see, Catholics have been involved in preaching God at the highest levels, in the most public places. What other organization can say that they were responsible for inserting the mentioning of God into a pledge that is repeated daily by millions of citizens of the United States? I daresay not too many, if any others could.

However, Catholics involvement in preaching the Word of God outside of their parish doesn’t stop there. According to news services, 25 Catholic missionaries were martyred in the year 2002 alone, preaching Christ across the world. Do the anti-Catholics think that twenty-five people isn’t a lot? I suppose they might, but tell that to the families who had to endure these losses, as well as the communities that benefited from the missionary work that these people did on their behalf. Every martyr for the faith will be rewarded (Revelations 6:9), for they have given the greatest sacrifice asked of them… their lives for the Lord.

Likewise, do I need mention the constant outcry of the Catholic Church against the horrors of abortion, the Church’s exhortation to Catholic politicians to vote morally correctly, the daily protesting of abortion clinics by recitation of the rosary outside those doors that lead to death of the unborn? I shouldn’t have to point out the obvious, but it appears that it needed to be done.

Are these things discussion? I guess some people would say “No, it isn’t.” but I would disagree. Any moment spent proclaiming God is a chance for discussion. I am sure those martyrs had no problem discussing the Lord and I’m sure that is why they were murdered. I am sure that those who pray daily for an end to abortion would have no problem discussing the Lord, heck, they are bringing the Gospel as close to the gates of hell (I mean abortion clinics) as the law will allow.

I could go on and on. I can give you hundreds, if not thousands, of organizations who help and assist the poor, the disadvantaged, the handicapped. They minister to people in prison, they feed the hungry, help those who cannot help themselves. All done out of a love for Christ and His word.

In the end, I suppose it doesn’t matter much what those who attack the Catholic Church think, after all, Jesus is the one who keeps track and Jesus alone is the One who need remember.

Matthew 25:40 - 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.


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