A Deo et Rege

I want to wish a blessed Easter to every reader of this blog! I give you the words of Saint, Pope, and Doctor Leo the Great (Sermon LXXI, section 6):

Let God’s people then recognize that they are a new creation in Christ,
and with all vigilance understand by Whom they have been adopted and
Whom they have adopted" forsake his work, but rather attend to that which he sows than look
back to that which he has left behind. Let no one fall back into that
from which he has risen, but, even though from bodily weakness he still
languishes under certain maladies, let him urgently desire to be healed
and raised up. For this is the path of health through imitation of the
Resurrection begun in Christ, whereby, notwithstanding the many
accidents and falls to which in this slippery life the traveller is
liable, his feet may be guided from the quagmire on to solid ground,
for, as it is written, "the steps of a man are directed by the Lord,and
He will delight in his way. When the just man falls he shall not be
overthrown, because the Lord will stretch out His hand." These thoughts, dearly-beloved, must be kept in mind not only for
the Easter festival, but also for the sanctification of the whole life,
and to this our present exercise ought to be directed, that what has
delighted the souls of the faithful by the experience of a short
observance may pass into a habit and remain unalterably, and if any
fault creep in, it may be destroyed by speedy repentance. And because
the cure of old-standing diseases is slow and difficult, remedies
should be applied early, when the wounds are fresh, so that rising ever
anew from all downfalls, we may deserve to attain to the incorruptible
Resurrection of our glorified flesh in Christ Jesus our Lord, Who lives
and reigns with the Father and the Holy Ghost for ever and ever. Amen.

From New Advent
Image "The Morning of the Resurrection" by Burne-Jones from CGFA

As bloggers fighting for Terri, many of us have become personally invested in this case. I know that I personally have woken up each day since her feeding tube was removed worried that I’ll hear the dreaded news that she has died. At the beginning of the court fight I had great hope that the federal judges would intervene, but now I don’t think so. The only secular solution seems to lie with Jeb or George W. Bush and action from them is looking less likely by the hour. A new report says that Terri is bleeding from the eyes and tongue. After more than a week without food and water, time is seriously running out. Barring a miracle, Terri doesn’t have much time left. We must pray hard. God is the author of life as we are especially reminded as we approach the holiest of holy days.

Ah, for the days of Teddy Roosevelt, someone who spoke his mind and more importantly acted on principle. During a strike of coal workers Roosevelt was so annoyed with the intransigence of the mine owners who refused to even to talk to the union workers gathered together at the White House that the President threatened to take over the mines and use the army to run them. When a congressmen questioned the constitutionality of this act, Roosevelt grabbed the man and said: "to hell with the Constitution when the people want coal."

The move would have been illegal or at least semi-legal, but the mine owners knew he’d probably at least try to do it. The result? The owners relented and agreed to submit to arbitration chosen by Roosevelt.

Terri Schiavo is being starved and dehydrated to death in Florida and the President throws up his arms in the air and says he’s done all he can do. Really? In the face of intractable and capricious courts, perhaps Bush needs to have a Teddy Roosevelt moment and threaten to send in the federal marshals to rescue Terri. Perhaps that would at least wakeup the courts. When a US Citizen is being murdered with explicit approval of the judiciary and this is considered "constitutional" (which, by the way, I think it isn’t), then to hell with this so-called interpretation of the Constitution.