Fr. Campbell, “Going up to Jerusalem” (Lk.18:31)
“But
Jesus taking to himself the Twelve said to them, ‘Behold, we are going
up to Jerusalem, and all things that have been written by the prophets
concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished. For he will be delivered
to the Gentiles, and will be mocked and scourged and spit upon; and
after they have scourged him, they will put him to death; and on the
third day he will rise again.’ And they understood none of these things
and this saying was hidden from them, neither did they get to know the
things that were being said” (Lk.18:31-34).
The
disciples did not understand because it “was hidden from them”. That
must have been the hardest part for Jesus. On whom could the Son of Man
rely for support in facing His Passion? Peter even tried to tell Him
that it would never happen, and Jesus had to reply sharply: “Get behind
me, satan, thou art a scandal to me: for thou dost not mind the things
of God, but those of men” (Mt.16:23). Except for His Mother and a
handful of the holy women, they would all abandon Him. But for Jesus
there was no turning back.
The
Church is now undergoing her passion. The many, who call themselves
Catholic but are so in name only, understand “none of these things.”
Those who still hold to the true faith know that they are following the
way of the Cross, but for them there is no turning back. As scandal
multiplies, the enemies of the Church, bolstered by distorted and
falsified media reports, are circling for the kill like a pack of hungry
wolves. What is left of the official Church is merely a shell which
cannot be fixed, as the apostate Francis and his bishops and cardinals
are now openly denying the essentials of the faith. Faithful Catholics
can only pray and keep the faith as best they can while all they hold
dear falls into ruin around them. This is the time for saints. The
Church, abandoned by her own and at the mercy of her enemies, will
suffer her own crucifixion and apparent death. But purified through
suffering she will rise once again as the holy and immaculate Bride of
Christ, prepared to welcome her Lord when He comes again.
The
saints, like St. Athanasius, testify: “Catholics who remain faithful to
Tradition, even if they are reduced to a handful, are the true Church
of Jesus Christ.” The holy Augustinian nun, Ann Katherine Emmerich, said
about the Church that “she would seem to be in complete decline. But
she would rise again; even if there remained but one Catholic, the
Church would conquer again because she does not rest on human counsels
and intelligence.”
St.
Nicolas von Flue, canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1947, made this
sobering prophecy: “The Church will be punished because the majority of
her members, high and low, will become so perverted. The Church will
sink deeper and deeper until she will at last seem to be extinguished,
and the succession of Peter and the other Apostles to have expired. But,
after this, she will be victoriously exalted in the sight of all
doubters.”
How
does one remain a faithful Catholic when faced with the crucifixion of
the Church he loves? That, dear friends, is what Lent is all about! We
must be obedient to the Church and observe a true Lent. On Wednesday of
this week, Ash Wednesday, we will receive the ashes on our foreheads as a
sign of penance – the penance we intend to do during Lent. Without the
Church’s Lenten program – prayer, penance and almsgiving – the ashes
remain a meaningless symbol. We must not let that happen.
This
is the most important Lent we have ever observed, since without it we
will remain spiritually weak, unable to resist the coming days of
suffering, falling away as the persecution intensifies. Take the
inspired word of God as your support, such as the following passage from
Jesus, son of Eleazar, son of Sirach, who wrote the book called
Ecclesiasticus:
“My
son, when you come to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for trials. Be
sincere of heart and steadfast, undisturbed in time of adversity. Cling
to him, forsake him not; thus will your future be great. Accept whatever
befalls you, in crushing misfortune be patient; for in fire gold is
tested, and worthy men in the crucible of humiliation. Trust God and he
will help you; make straight your ways and hope in him…
“Woe
to craven hearts and drooping hands, to the sinner who treads a double
path! Woe to the faint of heart who trust not, who therefore will have
no shelter! Woe to you who have lost hope! What will you do at the
visitation of the Lord? Those who fear the Lord disobey not his words;
those who love him keep his ways. Those who fear the Lord seek to please
him, those who love him are filled with his law. Those who fear the
Lord prepare their hearts and humble themselves before him. Let us fall
into the hands of the Lord and not into the hands of men, for equal to
his majesty is the mercy that he shows” (Ecclus.2:1-6;12-18).
Many
are beginning to see that the judgment of God is at hand. Think of the
corruption in our society, which is reflected in the entertainment
industry, a deluge of salacious movies, television programs and satanic
music, that are like gasoline thrown into the fire. As the sword of
God’s vengeance seems about to fall, God speaks to us through the
prophet Joel:
“Blow
ye the trumpet in Sion, sound an alarm in my holy mountain, let all the
inhabitants of the land tremble: because the day of the Lord cometh,
because it is nigh at hand… Blow the trumpet in Sion: sanctify a fast,
call a solemn assembly. Gather together the people, sanctify the church…
Between the porch and the altar, the priests the Lord’s ministers shall
weep and shall say: Spare, O Lord, spare thy people: and give not thy
inheritance to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them. Why
should they say among the nations: Where is their God?” (Joel
2:1;15,16a,17).
What
if this should be our last Lent? We must all be fervent in prayer. Come
to Holy Mass if possible sometimes during the week. Observe the fast
carefully. Even if you are not bound to keep the strict fast for reasons
such as age or illness, there are many ways to practice self-denial –
no eating between meals, giving up sweets, cutting out or severely
limiting TV and radio, abandoning idle talk, and practicing patience
behind the wheel. Giving to the needy and good deeds of all kinds are
called for also, to bring down God’s blessing upon His suffering Church.
“Blow
ye the trumpet in Sion, sound an alarm in my holy mountain, let all the
inhabitants of the land tremble: because the day of the Lord cometh,
because it is nigh at hand… (Joel 2:1).
