By Father Scott Archer
“I
beg you not to faint at my tribulations for you” (Ephesians 3:13).
In
this Epistle, St. Paul prayed that the Ephesians would not be troubled but would
take comfort in his afflictions. He was afraid that his persecution and
possible martyrdom would result in their thinking he had failed. He told them
that just because he had to undergo persecution it did not mean Christ had
abandoned him. Christ had not abandoned Paul but was the comfort toward which
Paul turned during his persecution.
I
have been thinking about an effect the present crisis in the Church may have in
the future. We know that secularists and the devil hate priests because we lead
souls to Christ and provide what is needed for salvation, especially the Mass
and absolution. When priests are led astray through sin or denial of the faith,
this eliminates them from the equation; however, the world and the devil wish
to eradicate the faithful ones. When there are no priests the faithful are
easily led astray. St. John Vianney said, “After God, the priest is everything. Leave a parish twenty years without
priests; they will worship beasts… When people wish to destroy religion, they
begin by attacking the priest, because where there is no longer any priest
there is no sacrifice, and where there is no longer any sacrifice there is no
religion.”
In
the Protestant Revolt of the sixteenth century, King Henry VIII declared
himself the head of the Church in England. Most of the country accepted this
without question because of the abuses in the Catholic Church, and the
Renaissance papacy had taken its toll on the people’s trust in the pope. Reform
was needed, but the circumstances were used to sever the Church in England from
the Mystical Body of Christ. When clerics, like St. John Fisher, stood against the
king, they were put to death, with many priests following him in martyrdom.
People
see corruption and sin in the Church; however, many, instead of using it as an
occasion to pray, sacrifice, and live their states in life even more fervently,
give in to hatred of priests in general. Many, spurred on by bloggers and
social media, declare that priests, bishops, and cardinals can no longer be
trusted and, therefore, they must usurp the authority Christ gave to the clergy
when He founded the Church. Many seem to feel helpless when confronted with
such evil. But do not fall into despair! Pray for strength, and pray for those
who are grasping at actions that seem reasonable on the surface but would, like
in the time of King Henry, sever the Church from its Head.
The
secularists would then be able to take advantage of this fervor among the laity
as a middle step toward persecution and eliminating priests. We see lay groups
cutting off money, individuals disrupting Mass to shout out in protest as they
leave, writings promoting extreme actions – all this by those claiming to be
faithful Catholics.
Persecutions
do not transpire overnight, and the enemies of the Faith
will gladly use the failings of priests or corruption in the Church to bring
about the destruction of those who are faithful. Countless numbers will go
along with the idea of lay control over bishops and priests, again, as they did
when King Henry declared himself head of the Church in England.
In
this respect, you must have no part in the hatred that leads to persecution.
Your part is to remain faithful to Christ and the Church He founded, pray and
sacrifice, and live your state in life more fervently. Paul, encouraging the
faithful, pleaded, “I pray you not to faint at my tribulations for you, which
is for your glory.” Similarly, I pray you not faint at the tribulations
currently endured by the Church which God will ultimately use for His glory.
