Defeating The Forces of Evil

Reading the news, it would be very easy to live our lives today in a constant state of fear.

War seems to be everywhere, and it is seldom reported by our major news services.  For example, there have been over 170,000 people killed in Syria since 2011.  That is just one country.

There are the horrifying crimes against humanity being committed by ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

There is Boko Haram in Africa basically mirroring ISIS.

Israel and the Palestinians have been going at each other and threatening to escalate into all out war.

Russia seem ready to declare war in the Ukraine, which is also a threat against NATO.  We are now hearing that Russia is planning "nuke exercises", which sounds ominous to say the least.

Ebola is killing hundreds of people in Africa and threatening to become a worldwide epidemic.

We have the unbelievable mess on the US southern border with tens of thousands of illegals streaming into the US.

Next week is the anniversary of 9/11 which is always a very anxious time here in New York.  And now we have a news report that says 11 jet airliners were hijacked from the Tripoli airport in Libya and there are fears they will be used in terrorist attacks next week on 9/11 [HERE].  From that report:

Intelligence reports of the stolen jetliners were distributed within the U.S. government over the past two weeks and included a warning that one or more of the aircraft could be used in an attack later this month on the date marking the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against New York and Washington, said U.S. officials familiar with the reports.

As a New Yorker who lived through 9/11/2001, this does not help me sleep better at night.

As a Catholic, I am also very concerned by the actions of many of my fellow Catholics.

We have modernists who pick and choose what they like about Catholicism, basically creating their own religion by rejecting everything with which they personally disagree.  They seem to be intent on making the Church into a toothless lion, jettisoning any teaching that is not "politically correct."

On the other end of the spectrum, we have traditionalists whose main occupation in life seems to be to find fault with the hierarchy of the Church.  If they don't like something they see or hear, they get on the Internet to tell everyone that the Church is going to hell in a handbasket.  They scrutinize and pick apart every word and action of Pope Francis and the bishops.  They are, in effect, their own magesterium and, as far as they are concerned, anyone who does not agree with them is a heretic and apostate Catholic.  As I have already stated elsewhere, I am truly concerned about a major schism.

How do we, who claim to be the children of God, deal with all of this?  Just what should we be doing to combat the evil around us and not become a part of it?

I felt that the Office of Readings from Tuesday, September 2, gave some really beautiful lessons on how to cope with the evil times in which we live.  It started with Psalm 37, one of favorite Psalms:

Do not fret because of the wicked;
do not envy those who do evil:
for they wither quickly like grass
and fade like the green of the fields.

If you trust in the Lord and do good,
then you will live in the land and be secure.
If you find your delight in the Lord,
he will grant your heart’s desire.

. . .

Calm your anger and forget your rage;
do not fret, it only leads to evil.
For those who do evil shall perish;
the patient shall inherit the land.

A little longer–and the wicked shall have gone.
Look at his place, he is not there.
But the humble shall own the land
and enjoy the fullness of peace.

I especially love the antiphon associated with this psalm:

Surrender to God, and he will do everything for you.

This is followed by the next antiphon:

Turn away from evil, learn to do God’s will; the Lord will strengthen you if you obey him.

Credit:  www.searchquotes.com

The Office of Readings then continues with Psalm 37:

The wicked man plots against the just
and gnashes his teeth against him;
but the Lord laughs at the wicked
for he sees that his day is at hand.

The sword of the wicked is drawn,
his bow is bent to slaughter the upright.
Their sword shall pierce their own hearts
and their bows shall be broken to pieces.

. . .

He protects the lives of the upright,
their heritage will last for ever.
They shall not be put to shame in evil days,
in time of famine their food shall not fail.

But the wicked shall perish
and all the enemies of the Lord.
They are like the beauty of the meadows,
they shall vanish, they shall vanish like smoke.

. . .

I was young and now I am old,
but I have never seen the just man forsaken
nor his children begging for bread.
All the day he is generous and lends
and his children become a blessing.

. . .

The unjust shall be wiped out for ever
and the children of the wicked destroyed.
The just shall inherit the land;
there they shall live forever.

I found the next antiphon very reassuring and comforting:

Wait for the Lord to lead, then follow in his way.

We as humans are always fretting and trying to figure out ways we can overcome the evil and hardships in our lives. But as Christians, all we need to do is "Wait on the Lord." However, waiting does not mean doing nothing. It means going to Our Lord and placing all of our needs, wants and concerns into His Hands, and then following through in the way He leads.

An example of this is Mother Teresa. In 1982, at the height of the Siege of Beirut, Mother Teresa rescued 37 children trapped in a front line hospital by brokering a temporary cease-fire between the Israeli army and Palestinian guerrillas. She did not do this through her own strength or her own reasoning. There can be no doubt she brought this to Our Lord in prayer, and then did not hesitate to follow in the way in which she was guided by the Holy Spirit with no equivocation and no fear.

Mother Teresa with one of the
37 children she rescued in Beirut
Credit:  www.usatoday.com

Back to the Office of Readings, we continue with Psalm 37:

The just man’s mouth utters wisdom
and his lips speak what is right;
the law of his God is in his heart,
his steps shall be saved from stumbling.

The wicked man watches for the just
and seeks occasion to kill him.
The Lord will not leave him in his power
nor let him be condemned when he is judged.

Then wait for the Lord, keep to his way.
It is he who will free you from the wicked,
raise you up to possess the land
and see the wicked destroyed.

I have seen the wicked triumphant,
towering like a cedar of Lebanon.
I passed by again; he was gone.
I searched; he was nowhere to be found.

See the just man, mark the upright,
for the peaceful man a future lies in store,
but sinners shall all be destroyed.
No future lies in store for the wicked.

The salvation of the just comes from the Lord,
their stronghold in time of distress.
The Lord helps them and delivers them
and saves them: for their refuge is in him.

What separates the "just" man from the "wicked" man?  Those whom the Lord calls "just" place all of their trust and hope in him.  They do not look to their own reasoning and do not rely on their own strength.  The just man or woman realizes, as our Lord said, that we have nothing to fear from those who can only harm our bodies.  They also realize that to glorify God means to allow Him to do our fighting for us.  That is the definition of "waiting" on the Lord.

The just man realizes that there is only one place where salvation - be it physical or spiritual - can be found. And that is with Our Lord. It is not in other men, and it is not in ourselves. The Psalm Prayer of the Office of Readings brings this out:

You proclaimed the poor to be blessed, Lord Jesus, for the kingdom of heaven is given to them. Fill us generously with your gifts. Teach us to put our trust in the Father and to seek his kingdom first of all rather than imitate the powerful and envy the rich.

As we look around our beleaguered world, it seems that good is being crushed and evil is winning. We need to remember this is just how it looked at Calvary when Our Lord was crucified on the Cross, so beaten and scourged that He barely looked like a human being. But it was precisely at this point that evil was being completely defeated. Death was defeated by the death of the Righteous One.

The first reading in the Office of Readings was from Jeremiah 20:7-18 - "The prophet's anxieties."  In this passage, Jeremiah voices his worries and anxieties about his situation.  But he realizes that the Lord will fight for him and rescue him.  The Responsory following this reading summarizes as follows:

I hear the whispered threats of those who were my friends;
now they watch for my downfall and say:
Perhaps we can deceive him,
and then we shall have him in our power
and take our revenge.
– But you, Lord, are a mighty warrior,
always at my side.

I hear the whisperings of the crowd,
threats from every side as they plot to take my life.
– But you, Lord, are a mighty warrior, always at my side.

There are dark storm clouds surrounding us on every side.  Evil seems to be ruling the day and crushing the good and holy.  But Our Lord is always there with us.  Jesus Christ Himself suffered unjustly and mercilessly at the hands of evil.  But He did this so that we might be freed from this evil.  If we belong to Christ, we must be willing to do the same.

The movie, "For Greater Glory" was about the intense persecution of the Catholic Church by the Masonic Mexican government in the early 20th  Century.  Father Robert Barron talked about this film and how we, as Catholics, should react to evil and violence and unjust aggressors.

Father Barron says in this video:

"If we have confidence in the Power of the Cross and we're grounded in prayer, we can unleash this great resistance to the world. Not on the world's terms. Again, I understand it. I get it. When people are pushed against a wall, and there's such aggression thrown at them, that they respond in kind. But I think the Church should unleash its own dynamite. It should marshal its own power, which is the power of non-violent love. It doesn't mean acquiescence, it doesn't mean caving in. It means this provocative challenge to the violence of the world precisely through non violence."

Execution of  Saint Cristóbal Magallanes Jara

Father Barron then talks about the scene from "For Greater Glory" about the elderly priest played by the late Peter O'Toole who is martyred:

I think a very good example is Father Cristóbal Magallanes [canonized on May 21, 2000], played by Peter O'Toole. Old man, he is an old priest at the end of his life. And instead of taking up arms or fleeing - see, there is the fight/flight - he chose a third option, which is non-violent resistance. He knew, I think, that with this last great act of witness, he would strike a blow against this oppression. And so in his full Mass vestments and wearing his priestly biretta, there he stands against the wall and is put to death. That, too, is photographed. I think he knew that his last great act would be an act of witness against this terrible violence.

Now does this require enormous courage? Yes. Gandhi said it takes the courage of a warrior. Not the sword of a warrior, but the courage of a warrior, absolutely, to do this sort of work. I felt for a long time we are not good in training our people in non-violent resistance. But that is the way Christ is King.

Here is a beautiful video that includes the scene mentioned by Father Barron of  Father Cristóbal Magallanes' martyrdom from "For Greater Glory."  This scene involves Blessed José Luis Sánchez del Río, who was also martyred by the Mexican government.  As Father says to Blessed José, "Who are you if you don't stand up for what you believe?  There is no greater glory than to give your life for Christ. "  The heart wrenching scene of Blessed José's martyrdom is also shown in this video.

We need to wait on the Lord in the face of evil, and that means standing strong and allowing Him to work through us. We must not succumb to the ways of the world. We must allow the Holy Spirit to work through us, as we see in these scenes with Saint Cristóbal Magallanes' and Blessed José Luis Sánchez del Río. That is the way to peace, and that is the way to true salvation. "Don't be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matt. 10:28)

Incorrupt feet of Blessed Jose Sanchez del Rio, who gave 

his life for the cause of Christ and his Church.

Credit:  http://www.espacojames.com.br/?cat=21&id=11982

Stop Blaming the Bishops

A Pew survey was recently done which found that for the first time in our history, Protestantism is no longer the majority religion in the United States.  The fastest growing religion in our county is the "unaffiliated", which includes those who identify themselves as atheist, agnostic and "nothing in particular."   This study found that "about 20 percent of Americans say they have no religious affiliation, an increase from 15 percent in the past five years."

For years we have heard people say, "I'm spiritual, but not religious."  I personally think that's a cop out, but at least it showed a belief in some sort of God.  Now even that pretense is being dropped by a growing number of people:  "In 2007, 60 percent of people who said they seldom or never attend religious services still identified themselves as part of a particular religious tradition. In 2012, that statistic fell to 50 percent, according to the Pew report."

Below is a chart showing the breakdown in religious beliefs in the United States, and how it has profoundly changed in the past five years.  As you can can see, Christian belief in general has gone down 5%, equaling the drop in Protestant affiliation.  Catholics have dropped 1%.  The "unaffiliated" have risen steadily over the last five years, from 15.3% to now just under 20%.  That means 1 in 5 Americans have no religious belief, nothing to guide them morally.   It is then only logical that "Pew found Americans with no religion support abortion rights and gay marriage at a much higher-rate than the U.S. public at large."  And we wonder why society's morals are in the toilet?

And according to this study, the future does not look promising:

More growth in “nones” is expected. One-third of adults under age 30 have no religious affiliation, compared with 9 percent of people 65 and older. Pew researchers wrote that “young adults today are much more likely to be unaffiliated than previous generations were at a similar stage in their lives,” and aren’t expected to become more religiously active as they age.

Even more frightening, as seen in the chart below, is the fact that among the "nones", those who have no religious affiliation, 88% are not even looking for something to believe in. 

How did the United States, a nation's whose founding documents say that we are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights come to the point where so many not only don't believe in God, they aren't even looking for Him?

The answer can be found in the crisis of faith in the Catholic Church.

Symbol of the Catholic
Church showing the Keys
given to Peter

The Catholic Church is the one and only church founded by Jesus Christ  It is the only one to whom the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven were given.  All other religions were founded by men.  Only one was founded by our Creator and Redeemer.

All truth and light comes into the world through that one Church founded by Jesus Christ.  As Christ told us in John 15:5, "I am the vine: you the branches: he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing."  As our Lord also told us in John 8:11, "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me, walketh not in darkness, but shall have the light of life." Since Christ has only one church, if we are to walk in the light and bear fruit, we must be a part of that church in some way.

Walking in darkness

But what happens when those who are a part of that one true Church, which is the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, turn their backs on the Truth and Light?  What happens when large parts of the Mystical Body of Christ fall off the cliff and buy into the pluralism that is plaguing the world, a pluralism that says one belief is as good as another?  Our Lord told us in John 6:22-23:   "The light of thy body is thy eye. If thy eye be single [that is, unified], thy whole body shall be lightsome. But if thy eye be evil thy whole body shall be darksome. If then the light that is in thee, be darkness: the darkness itself how great shall it be!"  Vast numbers of the Catholic Church are no longer single or unified with the Magesterium, and much of the light given by the Church has become darkness, leaving the world in darkness.

The question is, what has caused this lack of unity?

I have done a lot of posts on this blog about the many priests, bishops and religious who have seemingly turned their backs on Church teaching and the Magesterium, from allowing pro-abortion Catholic politicians to receive communion, to accepting and in some cases actually promoting homosexuality, to allowing and even committing abuses in the Mass, to name just a couple of offenses.  As seen in the picture of the "nuns on the bus," far too many of the clergy and religious in the Church seem more concerned about the physical salvation of the world than about the salvation of souls.

Seeing this, many of us are quick to get on our high horse and point the finger at these priests and bishops, and some even dare to condemn our Holy Father, for this crisis of faith in the Church.  We say they just don't teach the faith anymore, never bringing up the important issues of the day such as abortion and homosexuality. They are poor examples of what it means to be Catholic.  We say the priests are not being properly taught in the seminaries, and it is their fault that the laity are not being properly catechized.  And, of course, the horrific sex abuse scandal in the church is always thrown out to undermine the authority of the bishops  But is it right to lay all the blame for the crisis of faith in the Church at the feet of the bishops and the Holy Father?

I recently came across the following quote:

Oh, what terrible harm, what terrible harm is wrought in religious (I am referring now as much to men as to women) when the religious life is not properly observed; when of the two paths that can be followed in a religious house -- one leading to virtue and the observance of the Rule and the other leading away from the Rule --  both are frequented almost equally! No, I am wrong: they are not frequented equally, for our sins cause the more imperfect road to be more commonly taken; being the broader, it is the more generally favoured. The way of true religion is frequented so little that, if the friar and the nun are to begin to follow their vocation truly, they need to be more afraid of the religious in their own house than of all the devils. They must observe greater caution and dissimulation when speaking of the friendship which they would have with God than in speaking of other friendships and affections promoted in religious houses by the devil. I cannot think why we should be astonished at all the evils which exist in the Church, when those who ought to be models on which all may pattern their virtues are annulling the work wrought in the religious Orders by the spirit of the saints of old. May His Divine Majesty be pleased to find a remedy for this, as He sees needful. Amen

Pretty scathing words, don't you think?  This pretty well describes the root of the crisis in the Church, right?  I think most of us would nod our heads in agreement that this is an apt description of the present crisis in the church. 

St. Teresa of Avila

It might surprise you to learn that these words are from the autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila written in the 16th Century. The truth is that there has always been a crisis of faith among the clergy and religious in the Church to one degree or another.  Almost all heresies have started among the clergy.  One of the very greatest of the heresies in church history - Protestantism - was started by a priest, Martin Luther.  When King Henry VIII declared himself supreme head of the Church of England, all of the Catholic bishops with one exception - St. John Fisher - assented.  When Pope Pius X spoke out and wrote against the heresy of modernism, this spiritual disease was found mainly among the clergy, not among the laity.



There has always been a greater or lesser crisis of faith among the clergy and religious.  Stpeterslist.com just recently gave us these quotes from St. John Chrysostom, who lived in the Fourth Century:

“The road to Hell is paved with the bones of priests and monks, and the skulls of bishops are the lamp posts that light the path.”

“The road to hell is paved with the skulls of erring priests, with bishops as their signposts.”

“I do not think there are many among Bishops that will be saved, but many more that perish.”

So what is the difference today?  If it is true that the clergy and religious have always been somewhat off the rails in the church, why does the crisis in the Church seem so much worse at our time?

The Church has never at any time seen such a major crisis of faith among the laity as seen today.  Bad priests, bad bishops, even bad popes have come and gone, but the laity have always remained strong in the church.  The laity with their faith and devotion have always been the ones to hold up the clergy.  But now that base is crumbling before our eyes in a way never seen before.

The Holy Father recently announced the Year of Faith, which began on October 11, as an attempt to get Catholics to learn their faith, of which so many Catholics are blatantly ignorant.  To quote Pope Benedict XVI from a public audience given on October 17, “Christians today often do not even know the central core of their Catholic faith.”  Among those who identify themselves as Catholics in the US, only about 20% attend weekly Mass.  They rarely go to Confession, they pick and choose which teachings of the Church they will accept, e.g. contraception and abortion.  54% of Catholics voted for pro-abortion Barack Obama in 2008, and while the number is somewhat lower in 2012, there are still over 40% of Catholics supporting Obama.

And yet these same Catholics, ignorant of their faith and more times than not unaccepting of the little they do know of what the Church teaches, are some of the most vocal opponents to the bishops.  We are not hearing one unified voice in the Church but a cacophony of voices, each trying to yell louder and drown out all the others. Far too many of us are not seeking God's will but our own.  When we see something we disagree with, we don't deal with it in prayer and ask for the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  Instead, we yell and protest to show our dissatisfaction.  We look for the approval and guidance of the world, and the light of the Church grows ever dimmer while the darkness engulfs us.

It is interesting to look back on Church history and see how the church reacted when challenged with a crisis of some kind.  An absolutely wonderful movie came out this last summer about the horrendous oppression of the Catholic Church in Mexico in the 1920's called, "For Greater Glory."  This movie told the story of the Catholic Church's fight against the Masonic Mexican government's attempt to destroy the Church.   The bishops in Mexico alone could not have withstood this assault on the Church.  The laity, who called themselves Cristeros, took it upon themselves to literally fight for their church.  The cry of the Cristeros was "Viva Cristo Rey". which means "Long Live Christ the King."  They fought long and hard, willing to spill their blood and die for their Church and their beliefs.  They put down their weapons only when they were told to do so by the Vatican, and the government then betrayed them by continuing the persecution.  They paid a heavy price.  According to Wikipedia:

Cristeros

On 27 June 1929, the church bells rang in Mexico for the first time in almost three years. The war had claimed the lives of some 90,000 people: 56,882 on the federal side, 30,000 Cristeros, and numerous civilians and Cristeros who were killed in anticlerical raids after the war ended. As promised by Portes Gil, the Calles Law remained on the books, but no organized federal attempts to enforce it took place. Nonetheless, in several localities, officials continued persecution of Catholic priests based on their interpretation of the law. In 1992, the Mexican government amended the constitution by granting all religious groups legal status, conceding them limited property rights and lifting restrictions on the number of priests in the country.

There are many, many amazing stories of devotion and heroism among the Cristeros.  One of those stories is  is that of 14-year Blessed Jose Luis Sanchez Del Rio, who was captured and tortured by the Mexican government in an attempt to force him to renounce Catholicism.  Again, from Wikipedia:

José's killing was witnessed by two childhood friends. One of those friends, Father Marcial Maciel, reported in a book he later authored that José was "captured by government forces," who ordered him to "renounce his faith in Christ, under threat of death. He refused to accept apostasy".

Father Maciel recalled the gruesome events that transpired after the government's failure to break José's resolve on the evening of February 10, 1928: "Consequently they cut the bottom of his feet and obliged him to walk around the town toward the cemetery. They also at times cut him with a machete until he was bleeding from several wounds. He cried and moaned with pain, but he did not give in. At times they stopped him and said, 'If you shout, "Death to Christ the King" we will spare your life.' José would only shout, 'I will never give in. Viva Cristo Rey!'" When they reached the place of execution, his captors stabbed him numerous times with bayonets. The commander was so furious that he pulled out his pistol and shot José. Moments before his death, the boy drew a cross in the dirt and kissed it.

Blessed Jose Luis Sanchez Del Rio and all the thousands of other Cristeros who died while protecting their church were a great inspiration then and continue so to this day, especially now when we face religious persecution right here in the United States.  I have previously quoted the Venerable Fulton Sheen:

Who is going to save our Church? Not our bishops and religious. It is to you, the people (LAITY). You have the minds, the eyes, the ears to save the Church. Your mission is to see that your priests act as priests, your bishops like bishops, and your religious act like religious.

Venerable Fulton Sheen

Archbishop Fulton Sheen, that great and holy voice of the Catholic Church in the 20th Century, has told us in one sentence both the root of the crisis of faith and the solution.  A 14-year old Mexican martyr holds the key to our problems.

Many in the church, especially among so-called "traditional" Catholics (of which I would include myself), tend to point our fingers at the bishops and priests and say it's all their fault. They're all a bunch of liberals who are trying to undermine the church.  But as I have shown, this is nothing new in the Church.  The priests and bishops are on the spiritual front line, directly in the line of fire of our enemies, and sometimes they become casualties.  But that is all the more reason why we need to stand behind and support them.  Just as the bishops alone could could not withstand the onslaught of the Mexican government in the 1920's, so the bishops and priests cannot stand up alone against the evil infecting our world today.  Our Lord made us one Body, dependent upon each other.  "A house divided cannot stand."

There is an old saying that when you point a finger at someone, you have three fingers pointing back at you.  It is our responsibility as the laity to hold the bishops and priests accountable for their actions and words, but the only way we can do that is to be sure that we ourselves are in line with the teaching of the Church.  We need to listen and take to heart the message of our Holy Father in this year of faith and learn the basic dogmas of the church.  We need to turn off the world and open our hearts and minds to the Holy Spirit, our Blessed Mother, the saints and angels - all of the many helps and guidance given to us by Holy Mother Church.

You will see this blog continue to hold the clergy and religious accountable for their actions.  As Bishop Sheen told us, that is our responsibility as the laity of the Church. But I hope that I will always do this in a prayerful and respectful attitude, one that is intending to build up, not tear down, shed light not darkness, and one that will always be in line with Catholic dogma.

The world is drowning today in misery and evil.  We see it everywhere we look.  I honestly don't know how the world can hold all of its misery.  And now we are seeing the death of Christianity right here in the United States.  Our Lord has told us that we are the light of the world, and a city set on a hill.  We who have received the great gift of the Holy Spirit in baptism have a responsibility to bring that faith to the rest of the world.  Our Lord gave His Life to save the world.  We must be willing to do the same, and we must stay unified with the Body of Christ to do this.  We must be part of the solution, not part of the problem.

Below is a video of interviews with surviving Cristeros who tell of the war against the Mexican government.  Their strong faith and devotion is evident all these many years later.  There is much we can learn from them.

Pray for us, Blessed Jose Luis Sanchez Del Rio.  Viva Cristo Rey!