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#IStandWithMaria: An Outpouring of Support For Teacher Faced With Compromising Her Beliefs

Stephanie Foleyby Stephanie Foley

Since the beginning of the Church, Christians have been faced with choosing between the ways of the world and the ways of the Lord. Jesus gave us fair warning, when He said:

If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you. If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world—therefore the world hates you. – John 15:18-19

Recently, on The Patrick Madrid Show, a listener called who is facing the modern-day version of this conflict. Maria, a special education teacher in a middle school, told Patrick that she received training last week for the health curriculum, and it includes content that goes against her beliefs as a Catholic.

Maria said,  “They explicitly teach that abortion is an option, they teach gender ideology. One of the lessons that was scripted for us actually said, ‘Close your eyes, pretend you are a different gender or a different sexual orientation.'”

“And my heart stopped and I thought I need to get out,” she continued. “I cannot in good conscience teach this. But my concern is that I have 5 children of my own. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to approach this. I can’t even think about teaching it.”

Patrick gave Maria some encouragement to not compromise her beliefs, even though it may result in suffering and difficulty. He said:

“Here’s the bright side. There’s always a silver lining. Let’s say that the worst-case scenario plays out and they fire you and you’re out on your ear with no income – the silver lining is that it’s pleasing to God when you stand up for the truth, especially when it costs you something. But God will not be outdone in generosity. He will not let you down. It doesn’t mean that there won’t be some difficulty or suffering or rejiggering the family budget, or things like that. That’s probably going to happen. But you’ll be blessed in ways that you can’t even imagine right now. Not to mention the treasure in heaven that you’re laying up, and the strengthening of your faith through adversity. So many wonderful things accrue to you. And I know it’s easy for me to say, because I’m not the one facing the possibility of losing my job over this. But it’s true.”

Maria acknowledged that despite the difficulty, she agreed with Patrick and expressed her faith that God would take care of her and her family as they faced this complicated situation. She said:

“That has been in my mind this whole time, because God has been there every time we say yes to Him. Having 5 children and trying to go to school and finish my teaching credential, the whole way He was there. So I know He will take care of us, and I have faith in that, and that it will be OK.  Please say a little prayer for me, that God gives me the strength to be courageous. I know He will put the correct path in front of me.”

Patrick promised to pray for Maria, and encouraged his listeners to share their support of Maria on Twitter by using the hashtag #IStandWithMaria. Immediately tweets of support came rolling in:

See more at the hashtag #IStandWithMaria and listen to the full call with Maria below:

 

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Stephanie Foley

Stephanie Foley

Stephanie Foley serves as a Digital Media Producer at Relevant Radio®. She is a graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville, where she studied journalism, and she has worked in Catholic radio for 12 years. Stephanie is a wife, a mother of three boys, and in her free time she enjoys reading, running, and really good coffee. You can find more of Stephanie’s writing at relevantradio.com and on the free Relevant Radio mobile app.