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A world wanting less and less of God constantly wears down Catholics. Here is another reader’s cry:—

I ask myself, how is it possible to keep the Faith in the general situation of the Church today with its absolute lack of shepherds? For a few months we were with the Society of St Pius X, months which taught us the value of Tradition. We looked into the story of Archbishop Lefebvre’s struggle, and we saw how he is being betrayed. We followed the “Resistance” through the website of Non Possumus. For a few months we were deceived by Fr. C., who calls it “Desistence.” We were undeceived and left his group. Now we can no longer go to the Society because they insist that we join in certain activities, meetings of altar-boys and so on. They require information about us, and to find it out send our way married couples heavily committed to the Society. Much of the time we spend trying not to say things that would prevent us from receiving Holy Communion, as happens to some people because they are against Pope Francis, or for the “Resistance.” Right now we are going to the Catholic Maronite Church where at least the Consecration is valid. But we are disappointed to observe that they accept Vatican II in general, and they asked me to allow my girls to serve on the altar. When I refused, they said “We are all children of God,” and so on, to prevent discrimination against females serving on the altar.

I have nobody I can go to Confession to. I have a continual struggle at work where I never stop speaking of God and of current events, despite the school being secular and secularist, so that the personnel are all employees of the State. Following your advice to withdraw into the shadows to prepare for the descent into the catacombs I am wary of social contacts, but it is difficult to fight on your own. We are now in contact with prople of T.F.P. (Tradition, Family, Property). I am not sure what their doctrine is. But what can we do? The struggle is weighing down heavily upon me. In one school where I work one professor is to my knowledge a Freemason. Despite its being a State school, its whole orientation is religious, but in a deistic way, i.e. without Christ. What can I do? In this country there is nothing left, and we are at our wits’ end.

Amongst other things I wrote back to him that when the Church is being taken along the Way of the Cross to be crucified, as is happening today, then the only way not to have to carry a splinter of that Cross is not to be a Catholic. Obviously this reader wants to remain Catholic in order to get himself and his family to Heaven. So he should not be surprised to find himself suffering from splinters of Our Lord’s Cross. When he should be really worrying is when he would find himself at ease in this world around him.

As for his workplace, there is not much he can do about it. Social contacts should be maintained with prayer, charity and example, because we human beings are social animals, but let our limited energy and resources not be exhausted in throwing pearls before swine. Our Lord tells us not to condemn if we do not want to be condemned, but he also tells us to discern between wolves and true shepherds (Mt.VII, 15). So a Catholic is bound to exercise his best judgment on the variety of priests and layfolk that he meets with in the chaos of today’s Church. And in any case a family father must today lead his own family in the five-Mystery family Rosary every night (or better, morning). That will ensure that Our Lady will protect his family as only she can do through whatever grave events lie ahead of us.

Kyrie eleison.