It is much harder to be a Christian in good times as opposed to bad times. By Christian I mean someone who faithfully follows the 10 Commandments and whose life is based around prayer. The easy times are our ruin, and so we should welcome bad times that come upon us as a means for helping turn towards God those souls who would otherwise remain firmly in spiritual darkness.
In other words, those who seek our spiritual ruin are doing God’s work. I would say that Francis, the imposter who squats on St Peter’s chair like the misshapen toad that he is, has done more to bring Christians to the real and pure traditional pre-1958 Catholic faith than any of his predecessors since the time of Vatican II.
So I pray for the misbegotten moron like the good Christian that I am.
Our present decadence is gradually giving way to suffering, so we may as well make it suffering for Christ. And keep a light heart during the misery, like the martyrs of old who made sure to throw out humorous quips whilst being tortured in awful ways. God loves a sufferer for Christ who retains a sense of humor. That British stiff upper lip will serve us well; no moaning as we go to the gallows, rather inquire what’s for lunch after the spectacle.
Something that weighs on my spirit is the fact that the vast majority of my friends and family are firmly of this world. That’s why I look towards the coming bad times with some sense of relief; I want them to turn towards God and this will be another great opportunity, (we’ve had a bunch lately, Covid being a wonderful example). I make no secret that I am a hard core Catholic without grinding it down people’s throats. For example, tomorrow is Friday and I will go without meat. But I have a couple of social engagements tomorrow so I will discreetly make sure that I uphold this Christian requirement. Discreetly, but noticeably, if you get my drift.
A very close friend of mine has recently been diagnosed with the Big C. I am praying for him, but my prayers are not that he be cured of his physical sickness. Rather, that he may fully embrace God’s grace in his remaining allotted time. As I have said before, a sickness that will lead to death is a blessing; it enables the sufferer time to get his spiritual house in order. Satan is without a doubt a very big fan of died suddenly. Died suddenly leaves the unfortunate recipient with no opportunity to repent. Real deathbed confessions must upset Satan and his lowly minions a great deal. Imagine being a demon and doing all that work on a soul over his lifetime and then right at the death he embraces God’s grace. You’d be one pissed off demon in hell’s cafeteria that lunchtime.
As for myself I am very happy with the fact that I managed to find God’s grace during the general good times. That head start will no doubt serve me well. For we are all in a race to the top and it behooves us to offer a helping hand at every step for all those around us, in particular those who have done us wrong. I pray to God every day for the grace to truly forgive all those who have wronged me in my life, and I should because their slights all served to bring me to where I am today. The greater the wrong then the greater the good work.
Easier said than done, of course. But we need to get these bad times rolling; the suspense is killing me.
Originally published at Pushing Rubber Downhill. You can purchase Adam’s books here.
