September 29, 2016

The useless soldier

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Picture a soldier sat in the trenches. Despite the sound of battle above, which cannot be mistaken, he feels safe as long as he remains underground. His loyalty cannot be questioned. He is passionately patriotic and unswerving believes in the kingdom he serves. Furthermore he has every confidence that, ultimately, his side will win..

But what would we make of him if we discovered that he had lost his nerve? That he himself refused to fight anymore. Had grown too timid to even raise his head above the parapet and take aim at the enemy? Would we not denounce him and seek to send the infamous white feathers? Would we not be quick to accept that he himself is of no use to the kingdom he claims to serve?

St. Paul was clear; the Christian life, if done with sincerity, is a battle. Jesus also pointed out that he came not to bring peace but a sword! A point made at each and every baptism. Weaklings need not apply because the cross of Christ is heavy; it comes at tremendous cost.

Why then do we present the faith today as a comfort blanket for the lame- as belief alone will do? Where is the call to arms- why they won’t even sing Onward Christian Soldiers anymore! Despite a battle which St. Paul warns us is so severe- and he should know having been beaten, imprisoned, chained and shipwrecked, – that we need daily put on the armour of Christ. Evil is real and must be defeated and we will need to be loving yet firm to conquer for Christ.

How sad then that the church in the West, like that cowardly soldier, seems emasculated at present beyond parody! When did men of God like St Paul, who risked everything for Christ, turn into middle managers and politicians; silent regarding moral issues in the media but enraged if Mass faces East?! And let us not only point at the Episcopate because this disease is near universal. Meaning you and I are part of the problem too. We do not challenge as we should. We buy into the nonsense of the church of nice and cosy having grown so very comfortable in this world as to have lost the zeal and hunger of the ancient saints and martyrs.

Yet the enemy advances at pace. All around us Judeo-Christian culture is under attack and a brave new world is being erected. Just consider the forthcoming election in America where the so called ‘choice’ is between an abortion enthusiast serial liar with strong ties to the war machine, and a narcissistic thrice married twit whose dick swinging antics belong in the Neanderthelic era!

Is this really the best on offer for the most powerful political post on earth? Where is the Christian voice in all of this? Where are the bishops speaking out and demanding greater honesty and integrity and better candidates within the political process? Why do Christians just shrug shoulders when faced with the obvious truth that anyone espousing our  beliefs today would get nowhere in the political process? Only the corrupt, the compromised and the self serving need apply. So much for civic duty and the building up of society for future generations.

The point I am making- whilst enjoying a jolly good moan- is that the Church of the West is sick at present. So many Christians having rolled over to the prevailing culture that the church has lost its fight. How pathetic mealy mouthed clerics of the West appear in comparison with those giving lives for Christ in Middle East! Where is the back-bone? Where the staunch defence of the faith? How did the redefinition of marriage occur with barely a whimper? The loss of our adoption agencies with almost no fight?

Dear Lord save us from ourselves. Raise up men and women of true courage and zeal to rescue us from peril and restore the true vision of Saints.

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Admin


Your Signature

  • Father,
    With regard to our adoption agencies.
    Until the mid 70’s Catholic adoption agencies existed to place catholic children within catholic families so that they could be brought up into the faith into which they had been baptised.Then some agencies decided it was ok to place children with non-Catholics, then later on with single parents.
    No one protested about this, indeed I’m not sure many people even noticed. It was only when the state began to impose its equality legislation regarding same sex couples adopting that the catholic authorities became concerned.
    If the Catholic adoption agencies had stuck to the tradition of placing Catholic children only with Catholic families then their concerns regarding gay adoption would have had some credibility, but as usual it was the gay aspect that enabled all those good catholic protesters to make this gay adoption crisis as a vehicle for homophobia.

  • Hmm.. Never forget who the Boss is. I sometimes think along the following lines:-

    It’s a bit like a widely scattered naval fleet in wartime. Some units of the fleet may be becalmed and surrounded by enemies and perhaps despairing, others are in the thick of battle and yet others in recovery rest. The local units may not see the whole picture which is available to the Fleet Admiral who will take the action that officer deems needed. In the case of the Church that Admiral is the Lord himself and He knows what is needed and will act to renew in His own time. We, on the other hand, must be ready to play our part when He prompts.

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