So here we are with the barbarians attacking; and I am sad to say, their attack is largely from within the Church. It seems like lately we as Catholics are more concerned about the sins of those within the Church than those outside (which is not necessarily a bad thing). It is what we have been talking about so much recently. At the same time, the attacks against the orthodox faith (which has been held to for 2000 years) are also coming from within more than from without. It makes me wish I could run inside the Church and just stay there in the presence of Christ and avoid all the "yuck" that is going on. Of course, there is the fact that Jesus said that was not what we are supposed to do. So we must stay; and that means stay and fight (not hide in the basement).
How does one "fight" against members of one's own household? The rules are not the same as fighting against those from the outside. Having said that, I need to make clear what I mean by "fight" (just in case anyone reading this does not understand the context that I am speaking in). I am not saying to go and punch impenitent bishops in the face (leaving aside the fact that St. Nicholas may have actually done that to Arius). No, the fighting that I am referring to is much more scary. It is a fight of the spirit that works to defend the faith and remain devoted to our Lord in midst of severe opposition from liberals, modernists, and sodomites (and that growing group who are all three at the same time).
With that type of a "fight" before us, we have to ask the next question: what place do you have in the fight and what part do you play in it? We are not all called to fight in the same way. The way that I as a priest am supposed to fight is not going to be the same as the way that a homeschooling mother of 6 should, nor the way that a 73 year old widower should. Seeking faithfulness is certainly key, but we are all called to "speak the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15), which means (obviously) that we are supposed to speak the truth to others who need to hear it.
In the context of that verse in Ephesians I just quoted, St. Paul is telling us to mature in our faith,
so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the cunning of men, by their craftiness in deceitful wiles (Eph 4:14).The very reason to speak the truth is because there are those who are trying to distort it with their own ideas; it happened in the first century and it is happening today. We cannot give in to them, and that is what it means to fight. We fight by saying "no, I will not accept the lies of the world, and I will stand firm in the truth of Christ". Will you stand with me?
It is high time for us to learn what it means when the Psalms (149:5-9) say,
Let the faithful exult in glory; let them sing for joy on their couches. Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands, to wreak vengeance on the nations and chastisement on the peoples, to bind their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron, to execute on them the judgment written! This is glory for all his faithful ones. Praise the Lord!
