Article 675 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
The Church’s ultimate trialThen again, maybe not (having been in Protestant circles for years where "end times prophets" were a dime a dozen, I refuse to think that I can "figure out" the timing of these things unless Jesus appears bodily before me and tells me precisely), but it is hard (very hard) not to see a sobering similarity. Ultimately, without a divinely inspired prophet, we will never know until after it is already happening (and maybe not even then). So, I have no idea if this today is the "ultimate trial" or not. I do know, however, that it seems quite similar to what the Catechism says, and that means that we need to be prepared regardless.
Before Christ’s second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth will unveil the ‘mystery of iniquity’ in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth.
Let us look closely at the words of the Catechism and glean whatever we can to help us remain faithful in these "dark days". First, let me point out that in the opening sentence of the paragraph it refers to a "final trial". In other words, there are many trials that are "non-final" which the Church must pass through. These things that we are experiencing may be merely one of those (I am sure that during the previous "non-final trials" many of the faithful--and probably a number of clergy as well--thought it was the "final trial"), so we should be cautious about assuming that what we are going through is the worst thing ever to happen.
Second, that same sentence tells us the final trial will "shake the faith" of many of God's people. We do find a number of people today whose faith has been shaken by recent events; there is no doubt about that. Yet, this is not the first time that the faith of many has been shaken either. What I find interesting in this phrase is the fact that the next sentence refers to it as a "persecution". If anything weakens our faith it is certainly not a blessing. A simple "difficulty", however, is not the same thing as a "persecution". The former can stem from many different things, but the latter is always an intentional attack. Are we today enduring merely a difficulty for our faith, or are we experiencing a full persecution? It is usually hard to tell the difference when we are in the middle of it.
If it is an "attack" of the type of "persecution" that the Catechism is speaking about, then we have to ask, what is the nature of this plan of attack? I do not think that this appears in any way to be accidental or merely coincidental. Something or someone is causing a spread of confusion, such that the faithful are at times unsure of what is actually right. I have been reading a lot lately regarding the methods of attack that are used in the demonic realm. Demons, after all, are hideously wicked, but that does not mean that they do not have a plan of attack. In fact, sometimes they have very specific and detailed plans of attack. Furthermore, from what I hear from official Exorcists the spread of demonic activity has gained significant speed in the past few years. We would certainly call that an intentional persecution, but that still does not guarantee that it is the final persecution to come at the end of the world.
Along with this shaking of people's faith that the Catechism speaks of, there is also an unveiling of a "religious deception" that leads to great apostasy (cf. Rev 20:7ff). Although I have seen and heard of instances of apostasy in various locations (even among some clergy), I would be hesitant to state that it is of a degree as can be expected at the end of the world. It could, however, be the beginning of a downward spiral that leads to that. When the faith of God's people weakens, we find many will degenerate into Apostasy.
Today we celebrate the feast of Pentecost. The day on which the Holy Spirit descended upon the Church to give all her sons and daughters the extra strength needed to endure the trials of this world, and live in faithfulness to Christ. What better day could there be to renew our commitment to serving God in all holiness? If we are going to stand fast in these times, let us never imagine that we can do it on our own; let us humble ourselves and ask the Lord to grant us the strength that each one of us needs to serve God in the way that He has called us; young and old, men, women and children, clergy and laity.
Therefore, with all the trouble we are seeing in the Church throughout the world, we may not actually know whether this is "the end" or not, but that should make no difference to our behavior. If it is the end, then we must be ready for it; if it is not the end, then we must be ready for whatever it actually is! For our Lord loves us enough to send us the trials and challenges that will help us to grow in our faith, and He often tests us to see if we will remain in our faith. How are you going to respond to current events? Will you fall into despair? Will you ignore it? Or, rather, will you do everything in your power to help yourself, and those under your care, to "stand against the wiles of the devil" (Eph 6:11).
