[Pearls Episode 145: Answering atheism Tuesday.]
As we’ve noted repeatedly, the readings from the past few weeks are apocalyptic – they point to the End Times.
And the End Times aren’t for the faint of heart:
“Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place; and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.” (Luke 21:10,11)
The bottom line, while humanity may enjoy brief periods of peace and prosperity from time to time and in certain parts of the globe, overall the world is careening toward an epic battle of good and evil.
And politics won’t save us. And in a certain sense, that should be comforting – since politics and politicians are reliably unreliable.
Politics is downstream of the Church. If the Church is floundering, the political world will flounder. And the Church is floundering like a beached whale. Which means we shouldn’t be surprised by the political mess.
Reasonable minds can differ about some aspects of the midterms, but this is certain – the numerous pro-abortion initiatives that were all voted into law, are abject evil. A couple of them even included piggybacked provisions that override parental consent for adolescent “gender transitioning” therapies.
These are sins that cry out to heaven.
And these are choices and behaviors that collapse nations. Look at the debauchery of Rome before the barbarian invasions. A similar pattern emerged in Weimar Germany, paving the way for the Third Reich.
Bottom line – the (dis)United States will become ever more hostile to Christians. Authentic Christianity simply cannot coexist with such inhuman practices.
And this brings us back to the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. There’s never a wrong time to be filled with the Gifts, but they matter most when the chips are down. Our limited human capabilities are simply no match for the tidal wave of evil of the prevailing culture.
But for the Holy Spirit, that tidal wave is nothing – not even a ripple.
And if the Holy Spirit is operating in us through the Gifts, the waves just break around us. That is one of the main messages from Sunday.
So, if you feel like you’re being tossed about in the heavy seas of the cultural madness, pray for the grace to grow in the seven Gifts. Will it happen overnight? Probably not. But it will happen, and sooner than we tend to think.
Veni Creator Spiritus – Come, Holy Spirit.
Steve and Karen Smith
Interior Life
Postscript: More about the Gifts of the Holy Spirit
Gifts of the Spirit 1: Intellectual gifts of Knowledge, Understanding and Wisdom. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ctN1PEcXXU&t=63s
Gifts of the Spirit 2: Gifts that strengthen the will: Fear of the Lord, Piety, Fortitude and Counsel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkXcLtiyW-A&t=183s
Gifts and corresponding virtues:
Wisdom – Charity
Understanding – Faith
Knowledge – Hope
Counsel – Prudence
Piety – Justice
Fortitude – Fortitude
Fear of the Lord – Temperance