The Mystery and Majesty of Christ

A good, Lenten reminder. Excerpts:

...The HHS Mandate threatens the religious freedom of all people, not just Catholics. Abortion is rampant. Gay marriage was just approved in Maryland (the eighth state to approve it so far). And through it all, the Church is attacked.

And yet, somehow, for some reason, people are flocking to the faith.



...The world certainly does not understand. And we, too, sometimes do not understand.

Such is the mystery and majesty of Christ. At a time when the Church is being assailed from all sides, and even from within, here come thousands of souls—one by one, and in hoards—joyfully joining this Church, so battered and bruised. From the outside it must look ridiculous: a swarm of young recruits scampering to the ravaged and bloody frontlines.

And from the inside, too. We, the grizzled vets, so long in the battle, tire at times. We have committed the motions of the clash to muscle memory, so we continue to hack away, dutifully. But we do so dispassionately, lips pursed, our eyes fixed on the enemy, never breaking our stare to gaze up toward our goal.

But we must keep our focus on Christ; on the cross; on that Constantine standard, being lifted now with such vigor by Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop Chaput, and our other generals.

We are in a battle, to be sure. The Church is being attacked by the government, by the secular world, by Satan, and even from within. But we should be careful not to dwell on the individual thrusts and blows of battle. Rather, we should continue to brush them aside, parry, counterattack, and move on, focused on the prize...