Our Lord Always Calms the Tumultuous Waters

Yesterday, Sunday, November 3, 2024, was the Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost (within the Octave of All Saints). The text of the Mass was that of the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany because of the early Easter this year, which meant that there were only three Sundays after the Feast of the Epiphany of Our Lord on January 6, 2024. Thus, there are twenty-seven Sundays after Pentecost this year, meaning that the three Masses that were not prayed after the Epiphany are prayed following the Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost.

The Gospel passage from yesterday’s Holy Mass was that of Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ calming the seas that rocked the boat on which He was sleeping soundly as His Apostles feared for their lives during the tumult:

At that time, Jesus got into a boat, and His disciples followed Him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was covered by the waves; but He was asleep. So they came and woke Him, saying, Lord, save us! we are perishing! But He said to them, Why are you fearful, O you of little faith? Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the sea, and there came a great calm. And the men marvelled, saying, What manner of Man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him? (Matthew 8: 23-27.)

Yet it is that many people, including many Catholics who should know better, are terrified of the prospect that fear-mongering, demagogic Chinese Communist Party stooges masquerading as candidates for the presidency and vice presidency of the United States of America (Kamala Harris and Timothy James Knucklehead Elmer Fudd Walz) might be elected to the offices they are seeking on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, the fifth day in the Octave of All Saints (and also the feasts, in some places, of the Holy Relics or, here in the United States of America, of Blessed Martin de Porres, T.O.P.).

Although the four-part video series that I recorded last week and the commentary I wrote to complement part four of that series, Witness from Nagasaki: Dr. Takashi Paul Nagai, were meant to exhort Catholics to rise above the agitation to see all things as occurring within the Providence of God for his own greater honor and glory and for our own sanctification and salvation, the three sermons by Father Francis X. Weninger for the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany are also apropos to help inspire those who read this website to remain calm in prayer and to accept which of two forms of chastisement that will be visited upon us.

That is, we know what is in store for believing Catholics if the anti-Theistic CCP stooges win. However, we must also be clear-headed enough to understand if the forty-five president is elected to become the forty-seventh president to mark only the second time in American history that a president will have lost re-election after a first term and then win a second nonconsecutive term (Stephen Grover Cleveland was elected in 1884 against James G. Blaine, lost in 1888 to Benjamin Harrison, and then defeated Harrison in 1892) that the “progressive” forces of “unity” and “tolerance” will unleash a torrent of violence upon American cities, and will threaten not only former President Donald John Trump personally but, quite possibly, even the electors and their families in the “swing” states. A Harris-Walz loss will not be accepted with pacifically by the “left,” who will take their cure from whatever George and Alex Soros desire to get down through their network of “community organizers.”

In the midst of all this needless conflict caused within a nation that was founded upon a welter of anti-Incarnational, Judeo-Calvinist-Masonic naturalism and rank Pelagianism, we should take the time to consider these words of Father Francis X. Weninger’s three sermons for the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost:

The life of man is a struggle. We can also call it justly a tempest. This comparison is also applicable to the Church which St. Peter called a ship, and the ark of Noah. How often is Eternity compared to a haven where we shall land when we shall have crossed the ocean of time. As there are storms upon every sea, even upon that which is called the Dead Sea, so there are tempests in the life of all--as we know too well by experience--especially in the lives of those who earnestly desire to serve God and win souls for heaven.

But heedless of the wildly raging tempest upon the ocean of life, let us have recourse to Christ, and thus steering in the right course, we shall escape the dangers, and never perish. O Mary, thou star of the sea, pray for us that the Lord may assist us in the storms of life! I speak in the most holy name of Jesus, to the greater glory of God!

The cause of the storms which lash the sea from calmness into fury are the winds which cross each other. To these winds I compare all the different influences of those circumstances which awaken the storms of hinderance and opposition against us and our endeavors to work for the kingdom of God.

There are, first, the storms of our own heart, roused by the tumult of passion. We need only consider one by one the sources of sin, principally the deadly sins, and question our own experience, and we can recognize the truth of what I just have said, namely that unbridled passions raise the storms which disturb our hearts.

And the names of these storms are: pride, ambition, vanity, covetousness, anger, envy, gluttony, sensuality, lust. If in our hearts there were no trace of pride, covetousness, envy, enmity or impatience, how calmly would our lives pass on, how bright and clear would heaven reflect itself in the mirror of our soul!

We must therefore learn to master all these chief sins, all these disorderly inclinations of our heart, which are the consequence of the passions, excited to rebellion by original sin. In order to be able to do this we must hasten to Jesus, we must look upon Him as our model, and imitating Him, practice the virtues opposed to the disorderly inclinations of our heart.

If pride arouses the tempest, look upon the meekness Jesus. He, who was God "debased Himself, taking the form of a servant." He appeared among men not as their Creator, Lord and King, but as their equal. He did not even appear in the splendor of temporal majesty but in the humility of a child and of a poor artisan. And if the commencement of His career was so humble, how much more humiliating was His departure from this world, nailed like a criminal to the cross, between two thieves!

Cry to Him: O most humble Jesus, have pity on me and bestow upon me the humility of Thy Heart! Pray to Him sincerely thus, and the storm of temptation will abate.

Is it covetousness, avarice, or immoderate cares over the goods of this world which arouse the storm in your heart so powerfully that your conduct plainly manifests the intense desire you have to enrich yourself? The fury of this tempest is aggravated by the storm-clouds rising from the example of others who have succeeded in procuring wealth. How shall this storm be calmed? Cast your eyes upon Jesus Who for our sake became poor. In the cold of winter He was born in a stable and laid in a manger where He was warmed by the breath of animals. Mary, when she presented Jesus in the temple, offered in sacrifice the gifts of the poor, and our Lord ever remained poor as child, youth and man. He possessed no house, no place upon earth which He could call His own; He lived by alms, and at last was betrayed for money, and died destitute of every thing, upon the cross.

Look up to Him, pray to Him: Jesus come to my aid, and pour into my heart the love of holy poverty that I may not become a Judas to Thee! Pray thus, and the tempest of temptation will be allayed. Is it anger which rouses the storm? Oh, how high swell the waves when the mind is tempest-tossed by this passion! To what fury does not anger rouse the mind when, excited to madness, man hesitates not to lay violent hands on those who are dearest to his heart--when under its influence he even takes his own life.

And what shall we say when we think of the horrors of war? Enmity and anger, moved by insult, raise the waves of animosity; thousands and hundreds of thousands endanger their lives to avenge the injury. Apart from this, however, do not countless occasions of irritation and impatience arise even in every-day life? We excuse ourselves and, laying the fault upon our irritable temperament, say we can not help it.

Look upon Jesus and listen to His words: "Learn of me, for I am meek and humble of heart." Think of the mildness of Jesus, Who even upon the cross prayed for His murderers, and who shed His last drop of blood for them; think of Him, and the storm of temptation will abate.

Does envy torment you? No doubt it is this temptation which disquiets the minds of many who number themselves among the good and perfect. The words of St. Ambrose: "Envy burns even in the hearts of the saints," will ever remain a memorable saying. And why? Because envy approaches us under cover of zeal; we seem to be all aflame for the honor of God, while in reality it is only envy that animates us.

What remedy is there for this vice? Look upon Jesus Who has done for each soul individually what He did for all; Who will one day share His glory and bliss in heaven with all, and through Whom in communion with the saints we have all become brothers and sisters and joint-heirs of heaven. Call to Him: O most loving and generous Jesus! Thou Who hast done for each soul what Thou didst for all, grant that for love of Thee I may love all men as myself and wish them only good. Pray thus, and the storm will subside.

Further, who is not aquainted with the temptations of intemperance? Turn your eyes upon Jesus in the wilderness where He remained without food or drink. Think of Him on the cross, where to refresh Him, they offered Him vinegar and gall. Call on Him and, strengthened by His grace, you will be able to break the force of habit, and the storm of temptation will be calmed.

The wild waves of impurity, especially, disturb the peace of many hearts. Whilst the storm rages, irresolute souls find it difficult--they almost imagine impossible--to resist its violence. Soul in temptation! look upon Jesus torn and bleeding on the cross, and listen to the praises entoned by the virgin souls who follow the Lamb.

Look at Jesus, the King of virgins, embracing the cross, walk in the spirit of self-abnegation, then aided by Him you will find yourself strengthened, and by the power of His holy name you will overcome the temptation. Receive Him frequently in the Most Holy Sacrament, and the tempest in your heart will subside.

External circumstances frequently call forth commotions in the human heart. The first is: care for the necessities of life, which, no doubt, gives rise to troubles and storms. Look up to Jesus, confide in Him, our Father in Heaven, who clothes the lilies of the field and who nourishes the sparrows; He thinks of you, He knows what you need. Trust in Him, and the storm will be calmed.

Does sickness befall you? Are you tormented by fear that you may never recover? look at Jesus and say with the leper in the Gospel: "Lord, if Thou wilt Thou canst make me clean." Say to Him, full of trusting love: "Lord, Thy will be done!" and the storm of despondency will subside.

If the tempest of calumny roars around you, look at Jesus and remember how He was numbered among thieves and murderers. Remember that He is your Judge, not men nor angels, and the storm in your heart will abate.

Are you assailed by persecution for the sake of justice? Look at Jesus and think of His example, His word: "If they have persecuted me they will also persecute you." No, not one hair falls from your head without His knowledge, without the will of His heavenly Father. Should you even suffer martyrdom--what a grace!--it would carry you straight from earth to heaven.

If, however, no martyr's death opens to you the portals of heaven, all the suffering which you patiently endure in this world will serve as an earthly purgatory, and increase your weight of glory in the scales of eternal joy! Amen!

Second Sermon

"But He was asleep."--Matt. 8

 

Jesus sleeps, while the boat is cast about, the toy of the roaring tempest and surging sea. The disciples tremble and cry loudly for aid, but Jesus sleeps on and seems not to be disturbed by thoughts of them. Yet such is not really the case. He slept as man, but as God He knew the danger of the boat and of those who were in it. The disciples had nothing to fear. He was willing to help, and did help them, but not immediately, and, for the greater benefit of their souls, He chose to help them by a miracle.

Thus, to the soul assailed by the storms of temptation it often seems as it the Lord slept. He appears not to hear our prayers, to withdraw from us; and yet this is not the case; on the contrary, exactly at the time when He seems not to listen to us, Jesus watches over us most compassionately hears our prayer and comes to our aid in the way most beneficial to our souls. I will give you today my reason for this statement.

O Mary, grant that in our sufferings we bow submissively to the will of the Almighty, in order that our souls may profit thereby after thy example, O Mother of Sorrows and Queen of Martyrs! I speak in the most holy name of Jesus, to the greater glory of God!

In adversity we call upon God and He appears not to hear us. He seems to sleep, His ears seem closed to our prayers, and yet this is not so. On the contrary, He often aids us the most efficaciously then, when He defers His help, or when He assists us in a manner different from that which we desire. Let us consider--in as far as human beings are capable of recognizing the ways of the Lord--the reasons which influence God to prove us in this way.

First.--He does it in order to strengthen our faith, our trust, our hope, our love, and to give us an opportunity to practise these divine virtues. If in our daily life we desire to learn or to excel in any thing we have to practise it diligently. Practice makes perfect. If this is so, who does not perceive at a mere glance what a splendid opportunity the Christian has to show his faith when, in adversity calling upon God and apparently not heard, he nevertheless faithfully believes and acknowledges: God knows my misery, it is He Who sent it to me; for not a hair of my head falls without His knowledge; He is my most kind and loving Father. He can and will help me, if it be for my good. I believe! Is it not humiliating when unbelievers or followers of a false creed show more calmness, more patience in suffering than those who call themselves believers and children of holy Church. You kneel before the cross at home and in the church, and yet in life you turn away from it in fright, refusing to accept it. How inconsistent with yourself!

Yes, even if inner storms against holy hope well nigh drive us to despair, as many a saint has experienced, how sublime an act would it then be to hope with Abraham the Patriarch against hope itself! How great and meritorious an act of love if entire union with the will of God permitted us to desire nothing in adversity, loneliness, persecution and sorrow, save the patience to endure whatever God chooses to send us!

St. Francis of Sales was right when he said: In sorrow and misery a single "Deo Gratias" is worth more in the eyes of God than a thousand of them when we have all that goes to make life pleasant.

As a spiritual writer of our day justly observes: Even the angels have reason to envy us this opportunity of meriting, especially in regard to the sufferings which we have to bear through others, and which we have not deserved.

He says: "If there were any thing more sublime than to suffer innocently, God the Father would have given it to His Incarnate Son to bear;" and I add: Neither would He have let Christ suffer so bitterly as to force Him to cry at the consummation ot the work of Redemption on Calvary: "My God! my God! why hast Thou forsaken Me?"

Troubled soul, do you hear this? Why do you complain? Does God seem not to hear you? Make use of this precious opportunity, and give evidence of your faith, your hope, your love, and return thanks to Him. We cry to Him in our suffering and seem not to be heard. Why? He desires to show us the way to heaven. He wishes to teach us to walk till death in the path of tried virtue. He wishes to show us that the way to heaven is none other than the way of the cross.

Man vainly endeavors to find here below a paradise of happiness, undisturbed by suffering, and after death to enter heaven. Christ Himself went before us upon the path of sorrow and pain. A life in which suffering is borne for love of God, points like the hand of a guide to heaven; and in order not to forget this, God forces us to remember it, making us strive to imitate Christ in laboring after perfection.

For this the first thing necessary is: thorough humility. You suffer, the Lord does not seem to heed your prayers; beat your breast and say: I am not worthy that He should hear me. I have sinned so often, I have deserved still greater punishment. I am so imperfect, so covered with the dust and defilement of sin, I am not worthy that the Lord should listen to me and release me from my misery.

Humble yourself! How much you will gain if God seems not to hear you ! But, especially, the Lord tries us in this manner to strengthen us in the virtue of holy patience, and perfect our love for Him and our neighbor. Patience, as the Holy Ghost teaches us through St. James, hath a perfect work, for it strengthens in us, as we have already seen, the theological virtues, Faith, Hope and Charity, as well as the cardinal virtues, Wisdom, Temperance, Justice and Fortitude.

What a grand opportunity of meriting is afforded us when we suffer innocently, when we can perform acts of heroic charity by forgiving for love of God the authors of all our woe, when we can bear our complaints in silence, without easing ourselves by complaints to relatives and friends, giving all a perfect example of Christian patience.

Do you understand now, O suffering soul, how much you may gain and how greatly your eternal joy may be increased when God seems not to hear you? And not only this, but furthermore such a life is equivalent to a martyrdom, as St. Bernard has said, a martyrdom which, though it kills not the body immediately, is the more painful on account of its duration.

Such sufferings, besides, may be sent us as a substitute for purgatory. And the exchange is in our favor, for, besides that the pains are shorter and less severe, they are also meritorious, which is not the case beyond the grave. I remember once having visited a sick man who was suffering the most excruciating pains. At the foot of the bed was placed a large crucifix. When I endeavored to comfort him with the remark: "Such great pains do not last long and they must either soon cease, or God will take you from this world," the sick man said: "O Father, I suffer willingly, and let it last ever so long, I only hope that this is my purgatory." Then he gazed full of love and confidence upon the crucifix and continued: "I trust, O Lord Jesus, that Thou wilt let me do penance here, and that Thou wilt take me from this bed of suffering to Thee in heaven."

May you all think the same, when you pray in affliction and seem not to be heard by God. Persevere in trusting, in suffering humbly and patiently as long as it pleases the Almighty, and you will surely stand high in heaven, where no longer prayers of petition, but prayers of praise will resound, and that too for those very dispensations of divine Providence which permitted us to experience storm-tossed lives on earth! Amen!

Third Sermon

"Why are you fearful, O ye of little faith?"--Matt. 8.

"Father, they know not what they do," are the words of Christ upon the cross, and they are applicable to the conduct of most men. They do not consider what it means to offend God, they do not realize why man is placed upon earth, and that at the end of this life there is an eternity of joy or misery. Most men live unscrupulous, wicked lives, utterly careless of their salvation, among whom are even many children of the Church, who, from their youth up have been warned of the many and great dangers of this world, but who, notwithstanding, continue to live in sin. This is an extremely dangerous condition.

But the opposite state--that of despondency, is also dangerous, Christ reproaches His disciples for being in this state, and while He points out to them the cause, He at the same time presents them with the cure.

For the benefit of your souls I will today expound this subject. O Mary, thou strong woman, thou mighty tower of David, pray that we children of the Church militant, whose Queen thou art, may receive the grace to conquer death and hell! I speak in the most holy name of Jesus, to the greater glory of God!

The life of man is a combat, and the Church to which we belong is the Church militant. This truth bears directly on the subject of my discourse. The first quality requisite in a soldier is courage. Give soldiers the best weapons, let the number of their enemies be thrice, nay ten times less than their own, yet if despondency and fear fill their hearts, victory will leave their banner: perhaps the first encounter will witness their cowardly flight. The same applies to the timid soldiers of the Church militant.

Hence, if you would battle and conquer in union with the Church, avoid that timidity which clouds the mind with darkness. It a commander full of courage meets the enemy, despite advantages on the other side, he will find ways and means to conquer. If, however, he be wanting in valor or courage, he will retreat or surrender, though protected by walls and ramparts. This is strictly true of those children of the Church who fight for God and the salvation of souls. We must first of all clearly recognize what God demands of us, what we have to battle for, against what enemies, passions and temptations we must fight. We must further learn by what ways we must advance, how to forestall temptations, how to repel them when they set upon us without notice.

The greatest obstacle to a clear perception of our line of conduct is Faint-heartedness, which deprives our soul of vigor and decision. The soldier needs not only courage to withstand the foe, but also determination to attack and rout him. It has frequently happened that a small army has put to flight and conquered a much larger one, because it was ready and eager for the fray, and did not even allow the opposing forces to concentrate their strength.

The same may be said of the children of God's Church. Timid souls perhaps see clearly what they must do to conquer, but they lack determination; they despair, and believe that they are unable to complete what they have begun. What a dangerous state of mind this is! The more timid they become, the bolder Satan grows, and thus they are driven to despondency and at last to despair.

In order to conquer, an army needs reliance on its own strength; it needs good weapons and perfect familiarity with their use; moreover, the men must be strong enough to endure the hardships of a campaign. The same conditions are necessary for our success in the warfare for God and the salvation of our souls. There are many and splendid weapons at our disposal. St. Paul enumerates them in the well-known words: "Wherefore take unto you the armor of God, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breast-plate of justice, and your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace. . . , And take unto you the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit (which is the sword of God)" (Ephes. 6, 13).

Each of these weapons, fearlessly used, will procure us victory. Faint-heartedness, however, takes away all strength, as every one will readily perceive; for it does not love truth, but, rather, follows the vain glimmer of a false light, and, as Holy Writ says, "trembles for fear where there is no fear" (Ps. 13, 5).

The faint-hearted heeds not the call of truth to trust in the protection of God and to walk with fervor in the path of duty; he says with the slothful man of Holy Writ: "There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the midst of the streets." Faint-heartedness is not a breast-plate of steel, but soft and yielding as wax. Faint-heartedness can not furnish shoes wherewith to proceed on the path of salvation with heroic resolution, but sends us forth barefooted. Faint-heartedness is no shield of faith from which the darts of temptation rebound, but it leaves us defenseless in the face of the enemy. Faint-heartedness is no protecting helmet, but rather marks us out for the blows of the enemy. Faint-heartedness is no victorious sword, but a bending reed. How well protected is the soul that courageously confesses the truth, practises justice, and, strengthened by frequent holy Communion, remains firm in her resolves, who, well instructed in her religion, firm in faith, ever mindful of her last end and destiny, marches on boldly without swerving from her path. Such a soul will be victorious.

Finally, not till the combat is over can the victory be proclaimed. A partial or temporary retreat is not decisive; he who retains possession of the field in the end will wear the laurels of victory. The same is true in the struggle for God and for the salvation of our souls: "He that shall persevere to the end, shall be saved."

Confidence in God strengthens in us those sentiments with which we should leave this world: "In Thee, O Lord, have I hoped, let me never be put to confusion." Blessed is he who, when the darkness of death falls upon his heavenward-dazing eyes, has these words upon his lips; he has ended victoriously in the Lord.

What is the cause of our lack of courage? It is that same insufficient faith for which Christ reproved His disciples: "Why are you fearful. O ye of little faith?" Man would have reason to fear and despond when the storms of life roar around him, did he depend upon the aid of men. But one who has a living faith, whose mind is inundated with light from above, who is penetrated with the motives that the true religion inculcates for confidence in God, can not fall into the hands of faint-heartedness. He trusts in the goodness of the Creator and the merits of Jesus Christ, and in this confidence is saved!--Amen! (As found at: The Fourth Sunday After the Epiphany.)

Why have we such little Faith?

Why do we live in such fear and apoplexy?

Why be so agitated?

Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is still Our King and His Most Blessed Mother is still Our Immaculate Queen no matter what happens, good or bad, in this passing, mortal vale of tears.

Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is still Our King and His Most Blessed Mother is till Our Immaculate Queen no matter who wins (or does not) an election.

Yes, as I have noted so many times before, we must recognize that, because of Original Sin and the Actual Sins of men, most especially our own, there is no way to ameliorate the problems that exist in this world except by the means outlined by Pope Pius XI in Mit Brennender Sorge, March 17, 1937:

And today we again repeat with all the insistency We can command: it is not enough to be a member of the Church of Christ, one needs to be a living member, in spirit and in truth, i.e., living in the state of grace and in the presence of God, either in innocence or in sincere repentance. If the Apostle of the nations, the vase of election, chastised his body and brought it into subjection: lest perhaps, when he had preached to others, he himself should become a castaway (1 Cor. ix. 27), could anybody responsible for the extension of the Kingdom of God claim any other method but personal sanctification? Only thus can we show to the present generation, and to the critics of the Church that "the salt of the earth," the leaven of Christianity has not decayed, but is ready to give the men of today -- prisoners of doubt and error, victims of indifference, tired of their Faith and straying from God -- the spiritual renewal they so much need. A Christianity which keeps a grip on itself, refuses every compromise with the world, takes the commands of God and the Church seriously, preserves its love of God and of men in all its freshness, such a Christianity can be, and will be, a model and a guide to a world which is sick to death and clamors for directions, unless it be condemned to a catastrophe that would baffle the imagination.

20. Every true and lasting reform has ultimately sprung from the sanctity of men who were driven by the love of God and of men. Generous, ready to stand to attention to any call from God, yet confident in themselves because confident in their vocation, they grew to the size of beacons and reformers. On the other hand, any reformatory zeal, which instead of springing from personal purity, flashes out of passion, has produced unrest instead of light, destruction instead of construction, and more than once set up evils worse than those it was out to remedy. No doubt "the Spirit breatheth where he will" (John iii. 8): "of stones He is able to raise men to prepare the way to his designs" (Matt. iii. 9). He chooses the instruments of His will according to His own plans, not those of men. But the Founder of the Church, who breathed her into existence at Pentecost, cannot disown the foundations as He laid them. Whoever is moved by the spirit of God, spontaneously adopts both outwardly and inwardly, the true attitude toward the Church, this sacred fruit from the tree of the cross, this gift from the Spirit of God, bestowed on Pentecost day to an erratic world.  (Pope Pius XI, Mit Brennender Sorge, March 17, 1937.)

In other words, order in the world is premised upon order in the souls of men, who need Sanctifying Grace to overcome their sins and to make reparation for them while seeking to pursue the heights of personal sanctification. Catholic sanctity built and maintained Western civilization for nearly a thousand years, not the pursuit of “dreams” and “destinies” according to the dictates of Judeo-Masonic religious indifferentism.

Catholicism teaches us, therefore, that no number of Judeo-Masonic speeches, including those expressing a commendable commitment to defend national borders and the inviolability of innocent human life, can stop the inevitable rise of the monster state, which must be swallowed up in its own turn by the ultimate triumph of Judeo-Masonry, namely, One World Governance, wherein the elected officials of nation-states become mere instruments to carry out the budgetary decisions made by unelected caesars and caesarettes in order to protect the banking and financial establishment's control over individual lives. Individual citizens in such a perverse scheme become the slaves of these institutions of global governance, being reduced to a cruel slavery by means of usury and other unjust practices that humans never faced in the era of Christendom. Remember, the serfs in the feudal system were permitted to keep a certain amount of what they grew for their lords and vassals. The civil state today has such complete control of individual lives today that those who farm the land to feed their families find themselves being highly regulated by the civil state, whose minions are eager to do the bidding of Big Ag and Big Pharma and the various genetic companies that have altered seeds so as to experiment on crops and thus on us all.

Antichrist's One World Governance is here. The Constitution is as much a plaything of those who hold power at any particular time as the interpretation of the Bible is in the hands of Protestants. Without the Catholic Church, of course, there is no sure, infallible guidance to men on matters of Faith and Morals. All must indeed fall apart in the souls of men and their nations as a result.

There is no getting the toothpaste of Modernity back in the tube any more than it is possible to get the toothpaste of Modernism back into its own tube. Great chastisements will have to come upon men and their nations to bring them to their knees. These chastisements will occur in God’s good time and according to His Holy Will. Everything “won” in one election is easily lost in another, and it is thus foolhardy to think that the demographic and sociological trends of a nation that was born in error and been nurtured and sustained in error will reverse the drift in the direction of socialism and all the miseries that always follow in its wake.

As has been noted so regularly on this site, we must always recognize the simple fact that our sins have played a significant part in worsening the state of the Church Militant on earth and the world-at-large. While we must pray always for the conversion of heretics, schismatics and all non-Catholics, we must first pray and work daily for our own conversion away from our sins, including our sins of spiritual torpor and our worldliness. We need to make reparation for our sins as we offer unto the throne of the Most Blessed Trinity all our prayers, sacrifices, sufferings, good work, fasting and almsgiving as the consecrated slaves of Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary. Suffering and reparation are not optional in the lives of Catholics as it is impossible to build up the Reign of Our Lord Jesus Christ socially if we do not first build up His Kingship in our souls.

Remember, error divides but only Catholicism unites.

Blessed Claude de la Colombiere, S.J., who was a confessor of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque and of the Princess of York, Mary of Modena, the wife of the last Catholic king of England, King James II, at the Court of Saint James, wrote a short book on Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence that has much to teach each of us about the necessity of refusing to be agitated in the midst of the events of this world and stop the utter insanity of Catholics, of all people, wasting their good Catholic time on addictions to conspiracy websites, especially QAnon, that elevate their hopes for some “naturalistic” shortcut to prevent the chastisements of the just God from being delivered upon us.

Here are some relevant passages from Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence:

It is one of the most firmly established and most consoling of the truths that have been revealed to us that (apart from sin) nothing happens to us in life unless God wills it so. Wealth and poverty alike come from Him. If we fall ill, God is the cause of our illness; if we get well, our recovery is due to God. We owe our lives entirely to Him, and when death comes to put an end to life, His will be the hand that deals the blow.

But should we attribute it to God when we are unjustly persecuted? Yes, He is the only person you can charge with the wrong you suffer. He is not the cause of the sin the person commits by ill-treating you, but He is the cause of the suffering that person inflicts on you while sinning. God did not inspire your enemy with the will to harm you, but He gave him the power to do so. If you receive a wound, do not doubt but that it is God Himself who has wounded you. If all living creatures were to league themselves against you, unless the Creator wished it and joined with them and gave them the strength and means to carry out their purpose, they would never succeed. You would have no power over me if it had not been given you from above, the Savior of the world said to Pilate. We can say the same to demons and men, to the brute beasts and to whatever exists — You would not be able to disturb me or harm me as you do unless God had ordered it so. You are sent by Him, you are given the power by Him to tempt me and to make me suffer. You would have no power over me if it had not been given you from above.

If from time to time we meditated seriously on this truth of our faith it would be enough to stifle all complaint in whatever loss or misfortune we suffer. What I have the Lord gave me, it has been taken away by Him. It is not a lawsuit or a thief that has ruined you or a certain person that has slandered you; if your child dies it is not by accident or wrong treatment, but because God, to whom all belongs, has not wished you to keep it longer.  (Blessed Father Claude de la Colombiere, S.J., Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence, p. 40, as found online at: Trustful Surrender To Divine Providence.)

Entrust yourselves and your families to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary and to make the family Rosary the hallmark of your daily existence.

The one and only election that should matter to us took place when we were baptized. It is up to us to cooperate with the graces sent to us by Our Lady, she who is the Mediatrix of All Graces, to make sure that we do not lose this election by persisting in unrepented Mortal Sin and thus, turning aside all sin and even our attachment to it by making regular use of the Sacrament of Penance (if this is available where you live), and know the following words Our Lord spoke in the following parable:

Well done, good and faithful servant, because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will place thee over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. (Matthew 25: 21.)

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.

Saint Joseph, pray for us.

Saints Peter and Paul, pray for us.

Saint John the Baptist, pray for us.

Saint John the Evangelist, pray for us.

Saint Michael the Archangel, pray for us.

Saint Gabriel the Archangel, pray for us.

Saint Raphael the Archangel, pray for us.

Saints Joachim and Anne, pray for us.

Saints Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar, pray for us.

Saint Charles Borromeo, pray for us.

Saints Vitus and Agricola, pray for us.