A small, family-owned farm in Louisiana is being economically martyred for its faith, losing about two-thirds of its restaurant business after posting about Catholic identity, June being “Pride” month, and how Christians should respond to a culture they see as sinful.
Beginning, the post decried the extent to which American culture has been homogenized and used to oppress those who have different views on morality and life, saying, ” Americanization = homogenization = subjugation.”
Continuing, the post got to why the homogenizing influence of American culture is a bad thing, noting how a secular American culture has infiltrated and taken over traditionally Catholic Louisiana, in which that faith is tied to a person’s identity. “The push to have every mainstream value and holiday represented in some way in our Louisiana ought to make no sense at all to any Louisianais or Louisianaise, unless recognized as a forward offensive by an ever-encroaching enemy that has sought for generations to destroy our unique culture which is so intimately tied to our Catholic identity,” the post said.
It then got to the even more controversial part of the post, which is where the farm described Pride month as “offensive” and gave Catholics suggestions for resisting it in a peaceful, Catholic way. “The attempted coup of the month of June is part of that offensive, but I can suggest some antidotes to a false pride,” that part of the post began. The suggestions given were:
- As is our tradition, enthrone the Sacred Heart in your home this month, and place your family under the protection of the furnace of Christ’s most merciful love.
- Wear the Sacred Heart as a badge wherever you go! If you know your history, you’ll know that it was meant to be the livery of France (and was that of the Vendéens)!
- Pray the Rosary for the conversion of souls. Pray it in French.
- Check out my most recent journal entry on our website.
For God and the King! For God the King! Pour Dieu et Le Roi ! Pour Dieu Le Roi !
Following the post, a concerted campaign was launched to kick the farm’s products out of restaurants, leading to a two-thirds drop in its business. Appearing on Fox and Friends to describe his experience, farm owner Ross McKnight said that the campaign to boycott his products was a “concerted effort,” saying, “I did know, I suppose in the back of my mind, that eventually there would be a conflict. It’s not out of nowhere, of course, right. Because the conflict happens across the country all the time. But, that it would happen now seemed a little bit perhaps like it was a concerted effort.”
Continuing, McKnight said that the farm had lost a large chunk of its business, which is hard for him because it’s a small, family-owned and run farm, but that his faith is undiminished in the face of economic adversity. “Like you mentioned, you know, about two thirds of our restaurant business. So that’s, of course, never a good thing when you’re a really, really tiny operation that’s just a family farm. But, you know, we have a great deal of confidence in our faith. We have a great deal of confidence in the triumph of the Sacred Heart and of the Immaculate Heart of Mary,” he said. Continuing, he added, “And so, we’re not worried in that sense. You know, we know we will be taken care of regardless of what that looks like, but it’s a veil of tears. So what’s to be expected other than suffering?”
McKnight also shared and update on Facebook that was addressed to “Friends of Backwater Foie Gras.” Beginning, he noted that his family is faithfully Catholic and holds firmly to what the church teaches, saying, “It would be difficult to miss the fact that we are Catholics who sincerely hold what Holy Mother Church teaches.”
Continuing, he added that what he and his family does is motivated by faith, saying, “Subsisting upon the realities of the Faith instills certain motivations and desires, one of those well-ordered desires being to make beautiful things, hence the very existence of our foie gras farm.”
He then described how the restaurants his farm served suddenly cancelled longstanding orders after the Pride month post, saying, “Recently, we received two texts from two restaurant owners who have decided that they’ve had enough of our Catholicism based on our latest Instagram feed post and have cancelled their large, recurring orders. One of these restaurant owners had a long-standing relationship with us.”
Continuing, his faith undiminished, McKnight added that some customers see his Catholic values as unacceptable, but that he considers it an honor to have had so much to lose when the culture struck back against him and to have suffered for his faith. “While we’ve never required our customers to pass a litmus test before serving them, it seems our values, which come from lives lived as Louisiana Catholics, are considered unacceptable by some. We count it a privilege to have lost much. It is an honor to participate, through the suffering of our family, in the triumph of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary,” he said.
The post then added that there are already signs the suffering is over, as a chef has offered to buy as much as is available, and that the McKnight family is more than willing to stand by Christ even as the culture heaps suffering upon them for doing so, saying, “We have already seen Divine Providence working through all of this, and we have already seen that business we lost by rejecting pride beginning to be restored – in no small part by fellow Catholics who have reached out to support us and to share in the great victory that it is to suffer for and with Christ the King. Already many chickens have been purchased or spoken for. I have also received communications from a very well-known chef who wants to buy as much as we can provide. This to say: the glory of the Sacred Heart of Jesus will grow and be established throughout the world no matter the obstacle, and God cares for our well-being. He is a good General, and He knows how to maintain His troops. We are grateful! – And we will remain, as always, irreformably Catholic.”
A GiveSendGo campaign has been created for the farm and family if you would like to donate.
Featured image credit: Backwater Foie Gras Facebook
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