“Mediator of a New Covenant” (Heb.9:14)
Fr. Campbell
Jesus Christ, author of the New Covenant in His Blood, commanded His Apostles,
“Go
into the whole world and preach the Gospel to every creature. He who
believes and is baptized shall be saved, but he who does not believe
shall be condemned” (Mk.16:15,16).
Knowing that His disciples would be persecuted, Jesus prayed for them to His Father:
“Sanctify
them in the truth. Thy word is truth. Even as thou hast sent me into
the world, so I also have sent them into the world. And for them I
sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth”
(Jn.17:17b-19).
Those
who reject the truth of the Gospel preached by the Church as the Lord
commanded, must suffer the consequences. His words the Apostles:
“He who hears you, hears me; and he who rejects you rejects me; and he who rejects me, rejects him who sent me” (Lk.10:16).
The
Catholic Church alone, therefore, has the authority to preach the
Gospel, and to baptize those who believe. Catholics believe God’s holy
Word as taught by the Church. Furthermore, the Catholic Church alone has
the authority to interpret the Bible, as well as to preserve Sacred Tradition. But the Church can change nothing
of what it has received from the Lord. The Church teaches the truth as
long as she adheres to what has been taught from the beginning.
At
the same time, the Church reads “the signs of the times” spoken of by
Our Lord. Because she is the guardian of truth, the Church understands
the true meaning of present events. She sees that most Catholics have
fallen away from the true Faith, because they no longer believe what the
Church has infallibly taught throughout the ages. She sees that those
who are considered the leaders of the Church today are like the blind
leading the blind, because they no longer preach the truth.
“Let
them alone,” says Our Lord. “They are blind guides of blind men. But if
a blind man guide a blind man, both fall into a pit” (Mt.15:14).
The
Church sees that modern governments have no validity or authority,
because they contradict the Laws of God. They permit perversions of the
worst kind to be practiced openly, and to be honored by all. Worse than
that, they make it increasingly difficult for Catholics by passing laws
that favor these perversions. True Catholics, and others who have some
sense of right and wrong, will be increasingly marginalized, until they
are considered criminals to be persecuted, deprived of their property
and their rights, and thrown into prison.
The
true Church sees that alleged “pope” Bergoglio betrays the divinely
revealed religion of the true Church by holding “ecumenical” meetings
with the false religions, without making any effort to preach the Gospel
to them. And he expects all Catholics to do the same.
But
either we follow Jesus Christ and His Holy Church, or we risk losing
our faith altogether. Pope Pius XI stated in his encyclical, Mortalium Animos (Jan. 6, 1928):
“…No
religion can be true save that which rests upon the revelation of God, a
revelation begun from the very first, continued under the Old Law and
brought to completion by Jesus Christ Himself under the New. Now, if God
has spoken – and it is historically certain that He has in fact spoken –
then it is clearly man’s duty implicitly to believe His revelation and
to obey His commands… The erroneous opinion that all religions are more
or less good and praiseworthy, inasmuch as all give expression, under
various forms, to that innate sense which leads men to God and to the
obedient acknowledgement of His rule. Those who hold such a view are not
only in error; they distort the true idea of religion, and thus reject
it, falling gradually into naturalism and atheism. To favor this
opinion, therefore… is tantamount to abandoning the religion revealed by
God.”
The
only way out of the present darkness and utter confusion is to adhere
courageously to our Traditional Catholic Faith, the Faith of our
fathers, the Faith of the Apostles, the Faith of the saints and true
Catholics in every age. Those who adhere to the true Faith are able to
discern the signs that Our Lord said would precede His return:
“And
there will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth
distress of nations bewildered by the roaring of sea and waves; men
fainting for fear and expectation of the things that are coming on the
world; for the powers of heaven will be shaken” (Lk.21:25,26).
Our
Blessed Mother also wishes to prepare us. At the little village of
Knock, Ireland, she appeared on August 21, 1879, with St. Joseph and St.
John the Apostle. Beside them was an altar with a Lamb and a Cross. St.
John held an open book, no doubt the Book of the Apocalypse, the last
book of the Bible. The apparition was witnessed by fifteen parishioners
of various ages. I think it is no coincidence that on the anniversary of this apparition, August 21st, there will be a total eclipse of the sun, which will be seen only in the U.S.A.
If
we read the signs we must waste no time. We must do penance for our
sins and confess them. Now is the time to obey God’s Commandments, to
pray our Rosaries (the fifteen decade Rosary), and to keep our Holy
Faith. As St. Paul says, “Work out your salvation with fear and
trembling” (Phil.2:12). But it must be done NOW. If we wait until these
things are upon us, it will be too late. We dare not be like the people
in Noah’s time, who ignored his warnings and failed to take refuge from
the Great Flood on the Ark Noah built. Those who would be saved from
eternal death must take refuge on the Ark of the Church Jesus founded,
the Holy Catholic Church. And as the Church prays at the very end of the
Holy Bible:
