Lost Faith?

"War is God’s judgment on sin here; hell is God’s judgment on sin hereafter" In 1923 the government of Plutarco Elias Calles; president of Mexico made a law named “Calles Law” with this law people who were Catholic was obligated to stop following their faith. “Calles law” was revocable from the Constitution of Mexico in 1929. In the meantime, violence started to grow up in the middle of the city of Mexico affecting San Juan de los Lagos Jal, Mexico where my great-grandparents use to live. After 80 years there are still some sequals of the incident. The effect of “Calles Law” is still being felt in my family.

One of the three mayor events that affected my family was when the Calles’ soldiers got positioned my great- grandfather house. Do to this, they took my great-grandfather house as a place to rest and eat. They obligated my great-grandmother to cook for them; they also took my great-grandfather horses in order to look for more people to recruit for their army. The government soldiers stood at my great-grandfather house for three days. They took part of his land and belongings such as horses, cows, and carts. This was a total disaster for my great-grandfather and family, lost the land of their ancestors that took them a lot of work to keep it up. Land was the only way my great-grandfather had to maintain his family keep going forger.

Another big issue during “Calles Law” was women safety. Back to that time most of the women were hide from view in their house, or they had to evacuate the little tiny town in order to protect their child life. Unfortunately, my great-grandmother didn’t have the same fate. The government soldiers took her and one of her daughters as slave, furthermore; they obligated them to assist soldiers that were wounded in battle. One of the soldiers tried to rape my great–grandmother is daughter, but she refused and they killed her. After no more than one month, they decided to let her go. They thought that she wasn’t a great help, since she was old. Unfortunately or luckily for her she was free, but for some reason she wanted to stod within the camp. She wanted to help the priest to run away from them. She didn’t have any choices that leave the places; after all she wasn’t enough to help a priest to run away. She probably end up with the same fate that the priest.

One more affect during “Calles Law” was the assassination of priests. This battle started for this reason just kill priest and all people who followed the Catholic Church. Priest didn’t stop practicing their mass so, they decided to make clandestine church. My great-family also didn’t stop going to church, I did not said that they went to church because the law of “Calles” obligated his soldiers to destroy all the churches, so the priest didn’t have any choice that made the mass in someone’s house. On one occasion my great-grand family was in one on the clandestine church. The soldiers came into the house and took the priest, who was celebrating the mass. They didn’t kill the people who were there as they to do it, but they obligated all the people to watch the shooting. The priest that they killed back then is now our saint that we most pray, Saint Toribio Romo.

As you can see, after 80 years of “Calles Law” we don’t have any more “Calles Law,” but we still have some sequals of the incident. My great-grandfather lost most of his land that was the livelihood of the family. Although the government tried to repair most of his damage by taking out the “Law Calles” from the Constitution people, didn’t really care because they never followed it. My family still practicing Catholicism is something that our ancestors let us to continue true the years and our generation. I grow up being a catholic and I don’t think I will change my religion for anything. I think it is the best for me, and I feel confident with it.