Paul Rasavage
A time to unite
By Paul Rasavage
The Shepherd has been struck So, how does this affect us and what might be the consequences?
John Paul II is gone. Once more, the shepherd has been struck, taken from our midst in these perilous times by our Heavenly Father. We orphans are left behind to mourn, to reminisce, to pray, to honor, but most important of all, we, the Church Militant, remain here to fight the good fight. With the grace of God, this we must do with all of the vigor, energy, zeal and conviction that we can muster.
Because our beloved shepherd is gone, all evil men are now that much freer to promote their treachery and wickedness. One more significant constraint that has held back the turbulence and chaos of our times has been removed. I, for one, believe that as a consequence of all of this, God's small but true and faithful flock will be forced to scatter once more, as in the days of old. (Mark 14:27)
It is precisely because of our awareness that we will be sorely tested makes it important to recognize this is the hour to truly believe in God and to put our faith and trust in Him alone. This is the hour to live our faith. As this last hour of Mercy ends, God's graces will assist those who truly believe in Him, for these loyal and faithful sheep constitute His faithful remnant. All others not of this flock will unite under satan's banner, following him unto eternal death.
Everyone must choose one side or the other. There no longer exists any middle ground. The time is at an end for half measures born of efforts to live some false and dangerous illusion of peaceful coexistence with evil.
Many things are becoming clearer now and making more sense, especially when viewed in retrospect over the last 50 years of recent Catholic Christian history.
Beginning in the late 1960's and continuing to this day, the changes within the Church that we witnessed as Catholics seemed to occur too methodically, too abruptly, too systematically, and all too completely to make me think that they were the random and accidental fruits born of naοve but well intended shepherds.
It may be a result of my watching too many episodes of the X-Files combined with having lived in Dallas at the time of JFK's assassination and grown up in the shadow of that conspiracy and its aftermath, but consider how we Catholics have observed over the past half century as first the Latin, then the music, then the incense, followed by changes in the priestly vestments, then the liturgy, then the statuary all disappeared or were radically modified to the point of being rendered nearly unrecognizable in may instances, continuing to this present day as we see in all too many "modern" Catholic churches, the tabernacle itself, the ark in which reposes the precious, physical Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ there for our adoration and spiritual benefit, being moved out of the main area of the church into another room again, ever so slowly and subtly but ever so steadily, first out of sight, then out of mind and, ultimately, (as I am convinced is the intent), out of the faith.
The Holy Eucharist out of sight? Out of mind? Aborted and cast off from the faith? "NEVER!" you say?
It happened before, it CAN happen again. In fact, it is already happening.
Please don't get me wrong. As a faithful and obedient son of the Catholic Church, I know that Vatican II was both truly good and very necessary. It has and continues to bear many good and blessed spiritual fruits.
However, many of the heretofore unrelated and unnecessary changes brought about in the years subsequent to this council were born, not as fruits of the Holy Spirit, but as the result of concerted efforts on the part of many a self-serving Catholic who, in positions of authority and responsibility, instead of being faithful, obedient and loyal to the Church, opted, rather, to champion personal agendas guided by ulterior motives "in the name of Vatican II." By their demonstrable actions, they thus chose to serve someone other than Christ and His flock.
As anyone who peruses the media will quickly recognize, the Catholic Church has many enemies. And, as we can see, these enemies are free and fully capable of effectively attacking either from without or from within.
Being an inquisitive person, I have to ask myself, Who would benefit most from effecting a weakened and disunified Catholic faith? Who stands to profit from bashing the Catholic Church, especially in these modern times? Why would anyone care? I don't see anyone picking on the Mormons, for crying out loud. So, what's going on?
To help answer these questions, one can look back historically and ask Who benefited most from the Reformation? It's a pretty safe bet to say that it wasn't you and it wasn't me. It most likely wasn't our Catholic and Protestant ancestors either. Incalculable suffering was endured on both sides as a consequence of that unfortunate and regrettable calamity that so splintered Christendom.
In the Gospel of John, (17:11), our Lord prays that we, His flock, may be one just as He and the Father are One. Occasional heretical uprisings and false movements notwithstanding, that single, unified Christian flock lasted tenuously for 1000 years, until the Great Schism of 1054. Then it all started to fall apart.
How did we get to be a Christian flock so divided? So tumultuous? So contradictory? So contentious?
One thing is certain It couldn't be that all of this corruption and division within our Lord's Christian fold happened by accident or without the ongoing Herculean efforts and hidden assistance of someone or something somewhere. The pattern seems too consistent to be accidental or the result of occasional theological errors on the part of a few individuals scattered randomly throughout history for that to be the case.
Rather, the pattern is one of an unseen but consistent and contrary force to be reckoned with that causes all of Christianity to seemingly forever swim upstream against the current. Unfortunately, this pattern has established itself so firmly and comfortably within Christianity over the years that we faithful, instead of being united in a single fold, find ourselves content to be scattered in small schools across many rivers, tributaries and inlets, competing amongst ourselves for survival and dominance.
What we have to do is look at recognizing, identifying and understanding the source of this dark, hidden and oftentimes tumultuously violent stream.
Then again, we already know who and what it is that has made for itself a firmly entrenched and comfortable home within the truth and reality that we call Christianity.
The malevolent one works slowly and steadily, always methodically, stealthily paying great attention to manipulating the smallest detail, scheming and plotting over many years in order to accomplish his evil objective, which is nothing less than our individual and collective spiritual destruction.
If there ever were a time, it is now that we Christians must put and end to our rivalries and unite in the Spirit so that, in recognizing evil for what it is, we may confront the enemy head on for he is no match against the completely unified Mystical Body of Christ. The strength of God is with us in this battle. We just have to call on Him.
At this critical and historic juncture, if America is to have any hope at all for survival, Christianity must become a stronger and totally united presence, particularly here in our once great land. God is here to lead us through it all until we conquer in His name. Although the battle is raging and will worsen, all who remain faithful to the end will be victorious. At the end of this final battle, a new day will dawn in which our King and our God will reign in His kingdom of peace. (Isaiah 66:22, Rev. 21: 1-4)
But for the present, especially here in America, we Catholics find ourselves on the threshold of yet another major spiritual revolt, a schism of potentially unprecedented scale. Without prayer and vigilance, a divided Christianity doesn't stand a chance. Our Lord Jesus promised that the gates of hell would not prevail against His Church. He never said, though, how close hell might actually come to achieving victory or how painful and bloody the battle might be that we are destined to endure before it is all over and He chooses to return in His glory.
Ut unum sint That they may be one. Because our Lord desired it so long ago, I believe that it will, sooner or later, come to be. For the sake of all Christians, if there were ever a good time, it would seem the time to unite is now.
© Paul Rasavage
The Shepherd has been struck So, how does this affect us and what might be the consequences?
John Paul II is gone. Once more, the shepherd has been struck, taken from our midst in these perilous times by our Heavenly Father. We orphans are left behind to mourn, to reminisce, to pray, to honor, but most important of all, we, the Church Militant, remain here to fight the good fight. With the grace of God, this we must do with all of the vigor, energy, zeal and conviction that we can muster.
Because our beloved shepherd is gone, all evil men are now that much freer to promote their treachery and wickedness. One more significant constraint that has held back the turbulence and chaos of our times has been removed. I, for one, believe that as a consequence of all of this, God's small but true and faithful flock will be forced to scatter once more, as in the days of old. (Mark 14:27)
It is precisely because of our awareness that we will be sorely tested makes it important to recognize this is the hour to truly believe in God and to put our faith and trust in Him alone. This is the hour to live our faith. As this last hour of Mercy ends, God's graces will assist those who truly believe in Him, for these loyal and faithful sheep constitute His faithful remnant. All others not of this flock will unite under satan's banner, following him unto eternal death.
Everyone must choose one side or the other. There no longer exists any middle ground. The time is at an end for half measures born of efforts to live some false and dangerous illusion of peaceful coexistence with evil.
Many things are becoming clearer now and making more sense, especially when viewed in retrospect over the last 50 years of recent Catholic Christian history.
Beginning in the late 1960's and continuing to this day, the changes within the Church that we witnessed as Catholics seemed to occur too methodically, too abruptly, too systematically, and all too completely to make me think that they were the random and accidental fruits born of naοve but well intended shepherds.
It may be a result of my watching too many episodes of the X-Files combined with having lived in Dallas at the time of JFK's assassination and grown up in the shadow of that conspiracy and its aftermath, but consider how we Catholics have observed over the past half century as first the Latin, then the music, then the incense, followed by changes in the priestly vestments, then the liturgy, then the statuary all disappeared or were radically modified to the point of being rendered nearly unrecognizable in may instances, continuing to this present day as we see in all too many "modern" Catholic churches, the tabernacle itself, the ark in which reposes the precious, physical Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ there for our adoration and spiritual benefit, being moved out of the main area of the church into another room again, ever so slowly and subtly but ever so steadily, first out of sight, then out of mind and, ultimately, (as I am convinced is the intent), out of the faith.
The Holy Eucharist out of sight? Out of mind? Aborted and cast off from the faith? "NEVER!" you say?
It happened before, it CAN happen again. In fact, it is already happening.
Please don't get me wrong. As a faithful and obedient son of the Catholic Church, I know that Vatican II was both truly good and very necessary. It has and continues to bear many good and blessed spiritual fruits.
However, many of the heretofore unrelated and unnecessary changes brought about in the years subsequent to this council were born, not as fruits of the Holy Spirit, but as the result of concerted efforts on the part of many a self-serving Catholic who, in positions of authority and responsibility, instead of being faithful, obedient and loyal to the Church, opted, rather, to champion personal agendas guided by ulterior motives "in the name of Vatican II." By their demonstrable actions, they thus chose to serve someone other than Christ and His flock.
As anyone who peruses the media will quickly recognize, the Catholic Church has many enemies. And, as we can see, these enemies are free and fully capable of effectively attacking either from without or from within.
Being an inquisitive person, I have to ask myself, Who would benefit most from effecting a weakened and disunified Catholic faith? Who stands to profit from bashing the Catholic Church, especially in these modern times? Why would anyone care? I don't see anyone picking on the Mormons, for crying out loud. So, what's going on?
To help answer these questions, one can look back historically and ask Who benefited most from the Reformation? It's a pretty safe bet to say that it wasn't you and it wasn't me. It most likely wasn't our Catholic and Protestant ancestors either. Incalculable suffering was endured on both sides as a consequence of that unfortunate and regrettable calamity that so splintered Christendom.
In the Gospel of John, (17:11), our Lord prays that we, His flock, may be one just as He and the Father are One. Occasional heretical uprisings and false movements notwithstanding, that single, unified Christian flock lasted tenuously for 1000 years, until the Great Schism of 1054. Then it all started to fall apart.
How did we get to be a Christian flock so divided? So tumultuous? So contradictory? So contentious?
One thing is certain It couldn't be that all of this corruption and division within our Lord's Christian fold happened by accident or without the ongoing Herculean efforts and hidden assistance of someone or something somewhere. The pattern seems too consistent to be accidental or the result of occasional theological errors on the part of a few individuals scattered randomly throughout history for that to be the case.
Rather, the pattern is one of an unseen but consistent and contrary force to be reckoned with that causes all of Christianity to seemingly forever swim upstream against the current. Unfortunately, this pattern has established itself so firmly and comfortably within Christianity over the years that we faithful, instead of being united in a single fold, find ourselves content to be scattered in small schools across many rivers, tributaries and inlets, competing amongst ourselves for survival and dominance.
What we have to do is look at recognizing, identifying and understanding the source of this dark, hidden and oftentimes tumultuously violent stream.
Then again, we already know who and what it is that has made for itself a firmly entrenched and comfortable home within the truth and reality that we call Christianity.
The malevolent one works slowly and steadily, always methodically, stealthily paying great attention to manipulating the smallest detail, scheming and plotting over many years in order to accomplish his evil objective, which is nothing less than our individual and collective spiritual destruction.
If there ever were a time, it is now that we Christians must put and end to our rivalries and unite in the Spirit so that, in recognizing evil for what it is, we may confront the enemy head on for he is no match against the completely unified Mystical Body of Christ. The strength of God is with us in this battle. We just have to call on Him.
At this critical and historic juncture, if America is to have any hope at all for survival, Christianity must become a stronger and totally united presence, particularly here in our once great land. God is here to lead us through it all until we conquer in His name. Although the battle is raging and will worsen, all who remain faithful to the end will be victorious. At the end of this final battle, a new day will dawn in which our King and our God will reign in His kingdom of peace. (Isaiah 66:22, Rev. 21: 1-4)
But for the present, especially here in America, we Catholics find ourselves on the threshold of yet another major spiritual revolt, a schism of potentially unprecedented scale. Without prayer and vigilance, a divided Christianity doesn't stand a chance. Our Lord Jesus promised that the gates of hell would not prevail against His Church. He never said, though, how close hell might actually come to achieving victory or how painful and bloody the battle might be that we are destined to endure before it is all over and He chooses to return in His glory.
Ut unum sint That they may be one. Because our Lord desired it so long ago, I believe that it will, sooner or later, come to be. For the sake of all Christians, if there were ever a good time, it would seem the time to unite is now.
© Paul Rasavage
The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)
