Editorial

The Gospel and Recent Events

By Father Yves le Roux

The Gospels are an advanced school of formation, which molds our spirit and allows us to form an adequate judgment on the recent terrorist attacks. Present events, even the most concrete, can only be understood in the context of eternity.

We cannot but denounce with horror the resorting to indiscriminate violence as we recall that those who take up the sword will perish by the sword.

It is our duty to pray for the victims, the deceased, the injured and those who suffered loss from the bloody terrorist attacks of last September. Let us not forget, however, that every day political laws legally authorize the murdering of innocents. These crimes cry out for justice before the throne of God.

Therefore these terrorist attacks of last September, as horrible as they were, should not surprise us, nor overly frighten us:

First of all, it is certainly astonishing that this type of violent action does not occur more often. A world which scorns the order established by God, as our world does, cannot endure, and warrants its self-destruction.

Secondly, the scenes of horror that we have seen recently, invite us to reopen our holy Gospels, because the unbearable sight of these bodies torn to pieces, or of these buildings destroyed, may frighten us unreasonably. Notice, furthermore, that there is in these scenes of horror a morbid aspect that says a lot about our society’s degree of health, which takes pleasure in seeing such scenes over and over. And yet, we well know that we must not fear anything except that which can kill the soul and carry it away to the Gehenna of eternal fire. The present world is devised to damn souls. Our souls are in grave danger and we must be extremely vigilant to preserve ourselves from the world’s diabolical spirit, which, alas, penetrates even into the heart of Tradition. It is a spirit of compromise with the world, which indiscernibly penetrates us and imperceptibly but radically changes our judgment. We are not of this world and, if we must live in the world, our duty is to fight against these pernicious forces that kill our souls. At the time of physical danger, men come once more to a sense of reality and instinctively turn towards God. In the world of intellectual and moral putrefaction in which we live, we lose the sense of God and, consequently, of sin. We relativize everything and fall into a tepidity infinitely more formidable than the attacks of insane terrorists who tear the body to pieces, while tepidity tears the soul to pieces.

Must we give way to an uncontrolled fear in the face of such events? Certainly not. If we hear talk of wars or rumors of wars, we should lift up our heads because our deliverance is at hand. Our duty of state is the best answer that we can give to these strange clamors, so alien to the gospels, which invite us to garner reserves of all kinds while the birds of the air neither sow nor reap. Let us not lose our heads and let us live peacefully under the direction of the virtue of prudence. We are in the hands of Divine Providence, who exerts over us His benevolent paternity. Our goal is heaven and not to remain on earth shielded from all trouble. Life is a combat until death in which we must resolutely engage ourselves, and heaven will be the reward for doing so.

Our guidelines for behavior are all outlined in the light of the gospels. Holy Mother Church, in confirming the truthfulness of the apparitions of Fatima, has given us a powerful and simple summary of the contents of the demands of Our Lady: do penance by fulfilling your duty of state, and pray the family rosary, especially for the leaders of nations and for sinners. Have confidence, because if we are called to live tragic events (as we may conclude, when we see how the demands of the Blessed Virgin are treated), during which nations are destined to disappear, in just chastisement for their crimes, we know that the Immaculate Heart of Mary will triumph and that God will establish His reign not only in spite of His most implacable enemies, but even thanks to their schemes! Be completely confident, Christ has conquered the world and we have learned that our victory over the world is our faith.