# Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel: A call for courage and faith
*2020-07-15*

> On the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Bill Young reflects on the rise of anti-Catholic violence and calls for Catholic leaders and politicians to speak out against hate crimes.

## Violence Against the Church

Today is Thursday, July 16th, the feast day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. While we celebrate, it is also a very important day to pray for our country. I have been watching the news and saw that there was a decapitation of a statue of our Lord Jesus Christ outside of a church in South Miami. I previously spoke about the dismantling and destruction of statues of Mary in Boston and New York City, and I feared it was only a matter of time before this reached South Florida.

Additionally, in Florida, a man drove his car into a Catholic church and burned it down. I believe he has been arrested and will be charged with hate crimes. It is deeply concerning to see these incidents occurring across the country.

## A Call for Catholic Leadership

I recently saw a commercial for Joe Biden where he is pictured inside a Catholic church near an altar. He identifies as Catholic, but I find it amazing that he remains silent while these incidents of destruction and hate crimes against the Church are happening. If you are Catholic and believe in Jesus Christ and His mother Mary, you must condemn this. The First Amendment guarantees freedom of religion, yet there is a silence from those in power.

I also question Nancy Pelosi, who suggested that the destruction of statues does not bother her. Our Lord and His mother should matter. I believe many feel that the far left is controlling these leaders, pushing a Marxist agenda that seeks to defund the police and destroy the justice system, as we have seen in Portland, Oregon. I ask the bishops, the priests, and the Pope: we cannot be silent. We will all be judged for our silence.

## Prayer to Our Lady of Mount Carmel

In these times of need, we turn to Mary. I am praying from a prayer book I received from Rome in 2007. We ask the Mother and Splendor of Mount Carmel for protection and strength to overcome the difficulties of our lives. We recall how Mount Carmel was the place where God reconciled Himself with His people and where the prophet Elijah prayed for the rain that restored the earth.

We honor the Brown Scapular, a symbol of filial devotion and a defense against the enemy of our souls. We pray for the souls in Purgatory, asking the Queen of Purgatory to hasten their entry into paradise. We ask for the grace to be kept from sin and for the blessing of the Pope, the bishops, and all those in religious life.

## Final Reflections

I encourage everyone—those on Facebook, Twitter, and beyond—to speak out against these hate crimes. Repentance begins with the courage to condemn the destruction of the images of our Lord and the saints. 

On a personal note, I understand the struggles of those in need. I grew up in the Bronx with a single mother who struggled with heart disease and poverty before she passed away when I was 17. I know what it is to be bullied and to struggle. But regardless of our background, we must stand up for our faith. It is not a time to be quiet; it is a time to speak.

*We must not remain silent in the face of hate crimes against the Church, but instead find strength in the protection of Our Lady of Mount Carmel to speak the truth.*