The Cristero Centennial
In Mexico a hundred years ago,
The government forced secularization.
Its liberal politicos roared “No!”
To worship and religious education,
To convents, vows, processions, celebration
Of marriages and funerals that show
Devotion in a Christian civilization.
The communistic head of state and crew
Were ruthless hypocrites with much to do:
Enforcing law meant culture had to go,
And every criticism would be banned;
Church buildings seized by nationalization
Were given back in 1992.
Still, piled-up stones are not the Church. Faith grew
First peacefully against crude bigotry:
Boycotts, petitions, talks, tax payment strikes
Only increased the godless zealotry.
On August third of 1926,
Four hundred fought, the first Cristero band:
“Without a priest’s permission or command,
We throw ourselves into this blessed struggle
For freedom! Without permission or command,
We will continue till we win or die.”
Eighteen died that day. Two hundred thousand
Were killed in three unyielding years of war;
More yet, in twelve years of state treachery.
The common lay folk led in being martyrs;
Their bodies hung on telephone pole crosses.
Remembrance activates no frail nostalgia,
But firm commitment. “Viva Cristo Rey!
Viva la Virgen de Guadalupe!”
Whispered and shouted for a hundred years,
These words join earth with the celestial spheres.
Cristo Rey: Christ the King
Margaret Coats lives in California. She holds a Ph.D. in English and American Literature and Language from Harvard University. She has retired from a career of teaching literature, languages, and writing that included considerable work in homeschooling for her own family and others.
This is a fantastic preview of what could happen here! What a great treatment of classical historical proportions. I remember studying the communist rise and demise in Mexico in my graduate history minor. If only our younger generation could learn from history. The time has come for action by Christian forces of righteousness before the enemy within become overwhelming for even a short time.
I had the same thought as Mr. Peterson as I was reading your excellent poem, Margaret. Thank you for casting light on a very sad part of history, the likes of which we ourselves seem to be courting.
Hi Margaret,
Thanks for this bit of history!
Have you ever read Grahame Greene’s “The Power and the Glory”? I can never think of Mexico under communism without bringing that novel to mind.
Jeremiah
Hi, Margaret. Like Jeremiah, I’ve read about this chapter of Mexican history through the lens of Graham Greene, so it was nice for me to be reading of these events and not being totally ignorant of them.
Your poem is as inspiring in its way as the ‘whiskey priest’ in ‘The Power and the Glory’.
Thanks for the read.
Hello Margaret C.
This is, indeed, an ominous poem. My mind returns to the relatively “innocent” mid-century decades when corruption, upheavals, political tensions, religious persecutions , etc. were not in the every day mind-set ( at least in the Midwest) as those issues are today. Society and civilization seem to be at great risk today with so many under-currents raging. Your poem reminds us .
Thank you for the excellent poetic history lesson, Margaret. May courage not fail us.
God bless you for writing this! Indeed: A warning. But also a joyous proclamation: Jesus is King! Now and forever!
A somber reminder of what happened not too long ago. I fear that same atmosphere has engulfed the world we live in today. Prayers and courage, Viva Cristo Rey!