"Among Catholics who love our Lord Jesus, there is a great deal of interior suffering and perplexity of late. The reason is no mystery. The forces of evil have been unleashed on the world, and the the spirit of wickedness, the spirit of anti-Christ, grows ever stronger, like the thick, black clouds of a threatening storm devouring the horizon.
"Worse still, from this storm there seems to be no safe haven. For even our beloved Church has been infected by the spirit of the age. Confusion and dissension reign within her once sheltering walls. Catholics viciously attack one another with acid rhetoric. Shepherds who should guide and protest us abandon their flock in favor of political platitudes and corrupt cronyism. Priests who should be ministers of grace are mired in moral debauchery, luxury, or at the very least, lukewarm tepidity. Even good men who do care lose their courage and refuse to speak on behalf of truth.
"Faced with such looming darkness, the greatest temptation of all is despair and faithlessness. The devil whispers in our ear that it doesn't matter, the the Church has failed, that it is all a lie. The easiest thing in the world would be to believe it - to surrender to doubt and lapse into impotent anger and unbelief.
". . . When all that felt certain is crumbling around us, we must bear witness to the faith we hold."
In a recent commentary, writer Sam Guzman offered a number of "simple ways to keep the faith in difficult times," including nourishing our interior life, living sacramentally, and feeding ourselves with goodness.
To access Mr. Guzman's complete post, please visit:
The Catholic Gentleman: Be Not Afraid: 5 Ways to Have Hope in Dark Times (26 OCT 19)
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