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| Overnight Eucharistic Adoration at the Shrine Church of the Holy Innocents in NYC |
When nothing in society deserves respect, we should fashion for ourselves in solitude new silent loyalties. ~ Nicólas Gómez Dávila
I was recently asked by a concerned reader if everything was okay with me because I haven’t written about Mass in awhile. Assuring him all is well and that I still attend the Traditional Latin Mass regularly, I’ve been devoting my time to Lenten prayer and works of mercy, so I haven’t (until now) really had the chance to write all that much about anything. Considering how scandalous things have been with the Church these days I honestly can’t blame him for thinking something was wrong, but the reality is I belong to a really good parish and, if anything, Church, prayer and my myriad devotions are the main reasons why I’m getting through these downright awful times.
On the other hand, I’m not sure how my secular friends and family (at least the normal ones) are coping with the current state of affairs, especially after the appalling events of the so-called “summer of rage” and contentious election. Everything they were taught to believe and hold dear has been utterly debased and adulterated. What a shock it must be to suddenly come to the disquieting realization that one’s precious state religion (i.e. democracy), with all its chimeric tenets (freedom of speech, equality, etc.), is a golden calf worthy of derision and scorn.
As world-weary as I am, even I’m amazed at the level of open corruption and decadence, and how feeble the resistance is. In fact, things are so bad that even with my faith if I didn’t already have a healthy distrust of the government, an animus towards politicians, and a fundamental antipathy towards democracy dating back to my youth, I’m not so sure I would be able to temper my passions.
Our progressive lords and masters aren’t even trying to hide it anymore; like pigs in slop, they are reveling in their iniquity. All the institutions (legacy media, Hollywood, big tech, education, and the financial oligarchs, not to mention the corrupt political class and a complicit and feckless church hierarchy) are waging relentless psychological warfare on the populace with an incessant barrage of politically correct claptrap and woke agitprop. One cannot turn on a computer or television without being inundated with fake news and virtue-signaling gobbledygook. The dystopian future we feared has arrived in all its discordant glory. I know it’s a cliche, but we really are witnessing the actualization of George Orwell’s 1984. Big Brother is watching you.
I belong to the opposition party, which is called life. ~ Honoré de Balzac
Before someone accuses me of taking sides let me be clear, I don’t trust or like either political party. As far as I’m concerned, both the Dems and the GOP are shameless crooks and reprobates. Neither represent or speak for me. This is not open to debate.
Believe me, I get no pleasure or morbid satisfaction watching the country implode in real time; but really, who didn’t see all this coming? About thirty years ago I predicted these United States would break up in fifty years. I was thoroughly mocked for it at the time, but I still stand by that prediction. Reality is on my side. Our moribund civilization is in the process of rapid and steady decline, and I believe without a return to the Faith this is irrevocable. It is plain to see that the system is broken and we do not live in a sane society or a free country. How long before the soft totalitarianism of cancel culture, censorship and social engineering turns into the hard variety with gulags, guillotines and firing squads?
With all pretenses of a legitimate government gone, we practicing Catholics will soon have to worry about a lot more than toppled statues and desecrated churches. Don’t kid yourself, tough times lie ahead of us and unless we discipline and harden ourselves in preparation there will be hell to pay. The future belongs to the ascetic and heroic; a servile and gelded existence awaits the cowards and eunuchs.
Take solace, we are not without realistic and tenable options. First and foremost we should concentrate on the things that are in our control and we can change. Strive to live a noble life, ovoid sin and practice virtue. Prayer, fasting and penance must take precedence. Support like-minded groups and individuals that support our values. Exercise, study, keep our traditions and folkways, and most importantly raise a God-fearing family. What can be more rebellious today?
We don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Faith, family and community need to be our priorities if we are to someday overcome the disordered demoniac consciousness currently infecting all aspects of society. In a more civilized time this was all considered sane and healthy behavior, now it’s deemed extreme and dangerous by the unhinged miscreants in charge. Bound by duty and love of God, I choose to live dangerously! Viva Cristo Re!
~ Giovanni di Napoli, March 10th, Feast of the Forty Holy Martyrs of Sebaste
