From Bob Myers re "Let's not have any illusions".

When I was a child attending St. Joseph Convent School in the midlands of Ireland, the good sisters taught us by rote and rule; if we didn't master the rote, the rule(r) rode our knuckles. "The two greatest sins against hope are despair and presumption," along with many other Catholic truisms is still etched in my memory and this one came to the forefront as I read Prof. Hunter's column. In his argument that "gay marriage" is here to stay, he presents all the reasons why there is no defence--save the "notwithstanding" clause--against the Liberal government's juggernaut to secure this so called "right". And he proposes that, as this clause will never be invoked, all is lost.

I hope that Prof. Hunter does not believe his own words. Between his lines emerge a sense of frustration, defeat and despair. "It is pointless", "waste of time", "useless", and other phrases suggest that he has given up the battle. The last words in the column "'Gay marriage' is here to stay" presume that the immediate defeat is also a permanent one. The ever vigilant and hopeful sisters would have wrapped his knuckles soundly and had him come to the front of the class to repeat the rule ten times. If he had been in my class, this column would never have been written.

As writers in many C.I. issues continue to remind us, we as Catholics have a duty to action in the face of the attacks upon our faith. Letter-writing campaigns, petitions, demonstrations are some of the ways we enact that duty and they are not pointless. In them, we witness our faith to our community and more importantly, to our family. By them, we say that the cause is worth pursuing, not a waste of time. We demonstrate that we are a people of hope, not of despair and presumption. We do not look to the "notwithstanding" clause for our deliverance but to God almighty. After all, wasn't it His Son who said, "Heaven and earth (and Paul Martin, the Supreme Court of Canada, the Liberal Party, the gay activists et al.) ... shall pass away, but my words will not pass away"?

A quick examination of the history of the Catholic Church will reveal to Prof. Hunter that she has been under attack many times before, has stayed the course and emerged victorious. The only difference between this battle and those of the past is that we are living in the present turmoil and the immediacy is intimidating especially as we can look into the faces of the enemy. God will not be mocked. He himself told us that He will prevail so we are called upon to be hopeful despite the circumstances. It may take several generations for the victory to be achieved, but we must act with hope for our grandchildren and not despair over the present.

I can't recall the sources but I have heard it said that there were more martyrs for the faith in the 20th century than all others previous and more saints have been canonized by Pope John Paul II than by all his predecessors. Here in the fat First World we are smug and arrogant perhaps because we haven't had to shed blood for Christ or defend our soil. Maybe we can be living martyrs by our little acts of hope and achieve sainthood silently.

Through his contributions to C.I. Prof. Hunter has been a reliable source of inspiration for me and will probably continue that role in forthcoming issues. Even if what he predicts comes true, I will still do my small part to defend the faith and rest assured by hope that a (potentially) lost battle doesn't mean a lost war.

If Prof. Hunter wants to discuss this topic further, I invite him to visit me. Have I got a rule for him!

Elora, ON