‘Discretion’ has led us to recognise the present crisis in the Church as a danger to the faithful, to perceive how her witness to the world has been obscured, and to see, beyond the human realm, the “principalities and powers” who plot evil against “the Lord and His anointed”, and who often pull the strings of all that usurps glory from God and harms men.
To get a more comprehensive picture in the sense of discernment of spirits, it is also worthwhile to take a look at the present situation in the world. It is not difficult to see that whole nations are under the dominion of darkness. Even formerly Christian countries have opened the door to great evils by introducing abstruse policies such as abortion, gender ideology and others. As a result, the powers of evil have made these states, with a few exceptions, part of the kingdoms over which Satan rules. If we add to this the wars and the injustices associated with them, we are faced with a sea of horror, full of corruption and impurity.
From a human point of view, there is little hope of change for the better. If the Catholic Church, because of its present leadership, loses its prophetic voice of correction in the face of an increasingly anti-Christian world, if it even collaborates with corrupt political powers, then the danger increases that an anti-Christian government will be established which will begin to persecute those who hold to the commandments of God and the witness of Jesus. This anti-Christian government may materialise in the ‘son of perdition’ (2 Thess 2:3): in an Antichrist or even in the last Antichrist who is to manifest himself at the End Times and exercise a kind of satanic world government for a time.
The tragedy for us Catholics is that we cannot count on the present ecclesiastical authorities to identify and warn the flock, but may even be promoters of this ‘false king’ who will bring great suffering to all humanity and, in the worst case, be worshipped as a kind of Messiah.
Undoubtedly, the result that the ‘discretio’ has led us to is serious. But our response to this global threat to the faith and to humanity in general must be to put all our trust in our heavenly Father. However much the enemy may present himself as omnipotent and appear to have seized all the exits, he is still the self-deceiving deceiver.
Let us recall our meditations on the Gospel of John: the Lord was hindered in every way to continue His mission of bringing His word to people and making them experience the goodness of the heavenly Father. Even His signs and miracles were viewed with suspicion, and in the end, after Judas’ betrayal, He was seized and brought before Pilate. A no-win situation?
If we look closely, we see something else: Jesus was not simply at the mercy of the power of His enemies, especially the religious authorities of the time, but was willingly fulfilling the will of the heavenly Father.
He, in turn, accepted the atrocities His Son had to endure as atonement for the sins of mankind. In the end, it was God who had the last word. He used everything for the salvation of mankind. We will return to this theme on Good Friday
This is the starting point of our spiritual combat. Discretion’, i.e. discernment of the spirits about the present situation in the Church and in the world, is necessary, even if it is not necessary to know all the details, lest we run as if at random and fight as if we were beating the air (cf. 1 Cor 9:26).
We must know where the deceptions are, where the enemy has found the cracks to infiltrate the castle of the Church and how he tries to use every opportunity to destroy it. We must avoid any kind of collaboration with the enemy and instead resist him with the power of the true King.
This is where our spiritual life comes into play, which is of enormous importance in the battle. In fact, this is the armour with which we clothe ourselves: our life with God and in God. The more we are united with the Lord, the more He will be able to fight through us and we will take our place in the army of the Lamb.
Paul has equipped us for spiritual warfare with the weapons he describes in chapter 6 of Ephesians. Returning to the beginning of these Lenten meditations, over the next few days we want to dwell on the different proposals made by the desert fathers. We will do so with the virtue of discretion, suggested to us by St Anthony Abbot.
Clad in this armour, we will be able to enter the inescapable battle with confidence in the Lord. Many saints have faced it, and countless angels will accompany those who, even in tribulation, hold fast to the testimony of Jesus. If we remain with the Lord, nothing can happen to us. Whatever happens, we will be able to face all challenges in His strength because we belong to the Lord.
