Fr. Michael writes: “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God!” Today I suppose you could say that Caesar’s place is taken by the Secular State, that is the State which is not so much against God as without God. It is a State which no longer bases its laws on God’s laws. In modern states you have a complete separation between Church and State. At times this can pose serious dilemmas for Christians involved in public office, but every Christian living in the modern world is faced with dilemmas. There are so many little “Caesars” vying for a piece of our conscience. We must always remember that our conscience belongs to God and whatever else we give to Caesar let us not give him the most precious thing we have.29th Sunday of the Year