Hvis Kirken kun skal "træde ind i rigets herlighed gennem denne sidste påske" (CCC 677), dvs. Kirkens lidenskab, så vil hun også følge sin Herre gennem Graven...
The Hour of Powerlessness
After a public ministry capturing the hopes and dreams of a people longing for their Messiah — three years of revolutionary preaching, healing, and miracles — suddenly, the One who offered hope, restoration, and the fulfillment of all desires… was dead.
Now, faith itself was plunged into utter darkness. Now hope, too, had seemingly been crucified. Now, the love that crossed every threshold and shattered every definition… lay still and cold, confined in a tomb. All that remained was the echo of mockery and the fading aroma of frankincense and myrrh.
This was but the crowning of what began in Gethsemane when Jesus — who up till then always passed through the angry mob with ease — was led away in chains. It was the hour of afmagt when the seeming impotence of Christ shook the faith of the Apostles… and confidence and assuredness melted away. They fled in fear.
Now, after two millennia of preaching, healing, and miracles, the Catholic Church is entering the same hour of seeming powerlessness. Not because she is, in fact, powerless. No, she is the frelsens sakrament established to gather the nations into the Heart of Jesus.[1]‘As sacrament, the Church is Christ’s instrument. “She is taken up by him also as the instrument for the salvation of all,” “the universal sacrament of salvation,” by which Christ is “at once manifesting and actualizing the mystery of God’s love for men.’ (CCC, 776) She is the city set upon a mountain to be the “light of the world” (Matt 5:14); she is the vessel which has set sail in history, destined for an eternal harbour. And yet…
…this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light because their works were evil. (John 3: 19)
Even within the Church, her own sinful members have begun to disfigure the Body of Christ, stifle her truth, and persecute her members.
… I dag ser vi det i virkelig skræmmende form: Den største forfølgelse af Kirken kommer ikke fra eksterne fjender, men er født af synd i Kirken. —POPE BENEDICT XVI, interview on flight to Lisbon, Portugal, May 12th, 201
And thus, the Church is becoming more irrelevant to this generation by the hour….
The Hour of Irrelevance
As Jesus lay in the tomb, it was as though His teachings and promises were now irrelevant. Rome remained in power; the Jewish Law still bound believers; and the Apostles had scattered. Now, the greatest temptation assaulted hele verden. For if the God-man is crucified, what hope is there but for man to craft his own miserable existence into whatever utopia he could until he, too, took his last breath?
As the Church follows her Lord through its own Passion, we see this temptation arising again:
... A religiøs bedrag, der tilbyder mænd en åbenbar løsning på deres problemer til pris for frafald fra sandheden. Det højeste religiøse bedrag er Antikristens… —Katekisme af den katolske kirke, n. 675
This is precisely the transhumanist vision of the ruling elite: Agenda 2030 and…
…sammensmeltningen af vores fysiske, vores digitale og vores biologiske identiteter. —Formand prof. Klaus Schwab, World Economic Forum, Stigningen af Antichurch, 20:11 mark, rumble.com
I dette "Fjerde Industrielle Revolution” lies the exaltation of man over God, “incarnated” as it were in the Antichrist…
…the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. (2. Thess 2: 3-4)
Ved hjælp af nye teknologier vil Sapiens inden for få århundreder eller endda årtier opgradere sig selv til helt andre væsener, der nyder gudlignende egenskaber og evner. —Professor Yuval Noah Harari, top advisor to Klaus Schwab and the World Economic Forum; from Sapiens: En kort historie om menneskeheden (2015); jfr. lifesitenews.com
Hence came the last warning from the great papal prophet, Benedict XVI:
We see how the power of the Antichrist is expanding, and we can only pray that the Lord will give us strong shepherds who will defend His Church in this hour of need from the power of evil. —PAPE EMERITUS BENEDICT XVI, Den amerikanske konservative, Januar 10th, 2023
I am reminded again of the novel Verdensherre by Robert Hugh Benson in which he writes of the time of Antichrist when the Church will be as irrelevant as a corpse in a tomb, when there will come…
… Forsoning af verden på et andet grundlag end den guddommelige sandhed… der var ved at opstå en enhed i modsætning til noget, der er kendt i historien. Dette var jo mere dødbringende, fordi det indeholder så mange elementer af uendeligt godt. Krig var tilsyneladende nu uddød, og det var ikke kristendommen, der havde gjort det; Forening blev nu set for at være bedre end splittelse, og lektionen var blevet lært bortset fra Kirken ... Venlighed tog stedet for velgørenhed, tilfredshed håbets sted og viden troens sted. —Verdensherre, Robert Hugh Benson, 1907, s. 120
Do we not see this already in the doctrine of “tolerance"Og"involvering“? Is it not evident in the revolutionær ånd af ungdom who are readily embracing Marxist errors once again? Is not appearing even within the Church herself among those “Judaser” who are betraying the Gospel for a godless global agenda?
To Whom Shall We Go?
It is admittedly distressing to watch the sammenbrud of Western civilization in real-time, and with it, the influence and presence of the Church. While our brothers and sisters in the Middle East know all too well the violent suppression of Christianity, it is no less disturbing to see the censorship of truth and the exchange of freedom for an “apparent solution to our problems” (which we are told are “klima forandring, ""pandemier"Og"overpopulation”). The “promise” is an airtight world where everything will be centralized, controlled, distributed and monitored by a wealthy few.
Hvis ingen magter kan håndhæve orden, vil vores verden lide under et "globalt ordreunderskud." -Professor Klaus Schwab, grundlægger af World Economic Forum, Covid-19: Den store nulstilling, s. 104
It’s like watching a ballerina in slow motion pirouette into a busy freeway. We Græde ud; vi advare; vi profeti… but the world shouts back, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”
And so the temptation is to despair.
What then should we do? The answer is to follow Jesus til slutningen.
…he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. (Fil 2: 8)
That’s it in a nutshell: remain faithful to God’s Word, even unto death. Persevere in prayer, even when it is dry. Continue to hope, even when evil 
seems to triumph. And never worry that God will fail to help us:
Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived when each of you will be scattered to his own home and you will leave me alone. But I am not alone, because the Father is with me. I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world. (John 16: 32-33)
This past month, the closer we have come to this Holy Saturday, the more oppressive and difficult I have found it to persevere in prayer. But I find myself repeating the words of Peter, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." [2]John 6: 68
LORD, the God of my salvation, I call out by day; at night I cry aloud in your presence. Let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry. For my soul is filled with troubles; my life draws near to Sheol. I am reckoned with those who go down to the pit; I am like a warrior without strength. (Salme 88: 1-5)
To which the Lord replies in the very next Psalm:
My mercy is established forever; my faithfulness will stand as long as the heavens. I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have sworn to David my servant: I will make your dynasty stand forever and establish your throne through all ages. (Salme 89: 3-5)
Indeed, after the Tomb, the Church will arise again…
GRÆDE, O mænds børn!
Græd over alt, hvad der er godt, sandt og smukt.
Græd over alt, hvad der skal ned til graven
Dine ikoner og chants, dine vægge og tårne.
Græd, mænds børn!
For alt det, der er godt, sandt og smukt.
Græd over alt, hvad der skal ned til graven
Din lære og sandhed, dit salt og dit lys.
Græd, mænds børn!
For alt det, der er godt, sandt og smukt.
Græd over alle, der skal ind om natten
Dine præster og biskopper, dine paver og fyrster.
Græd, mænds børn!
For alt det, der er godt, sandt og smukt.
Græd over alle, der skal ind i retssagen
Troens prøve, raffinaderiets ild.
... men græder ikke for evigt!
For daggry kommer, lys vil sejre, en ny sol vil stige op.
Og alt det, der var godt, sandt og smukt
Vil trække vejret og blive givet til sønner igen.
- skrevet Marts 29, 2013
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