We are in the midst of a great apostasy in the human element of the Catholic Church. Our Lady of Fatima warned of it and commanded that the pope together with all the bishops must consecrate Russia to her Immaculate Heart. If this was not done promptly, she warned there would be great sufferings and widespread apostasy. Our Lady did promise us that the consecration would be done, but it would be late. This consecration would result in a period of peace and great good.

Vatican II caused a dramatic apostasy in the human element¹ of the Church. Throughout the world, the pope, bishops, and priests led the people astray. Archbishop Lefebvre founded the SSPX, a Catholic Resistance which grew and spread around the world. After his death, this Resistance became infected by the same worldliness and liberalism² afflicting the human element of the Church generally.

In 2012, when the SSPX leaders manifested their betrayal of their founder (and of the truth), a traditional remnant met this open betrayal with its own open Resistance, continuing to maintain the line of Archbishop Lefebvre. But this Resistance’s only bishop himself soon became unfaithful and began to lead his followers into conciliar liberalism.³

Most men (including clergy) are followers, not leaders. Thus:

1. After Vatican II, almost all priests, bishops and laymen betrayed Our Lord by following their leaders into conciliar liberalism.
2. Starting in 2012, almost all SSPX priests, bishops and laymen betrayed Our Lord by following their leaders into conciliar liberalism.
3. Most recently, almost all Resistance priests and laymen betrayed Our Lord, by following Bishop Williamson into conciliar liberalism.

In all three of these betrayals, those priests and laymen were often not happy with their leaders’ liberalism; but because they remained silent and followed, they were gradually blinded into accepting the liberalism.

Currently, the true, uncompromising Resistance has no bishops, very few priests and few laymen. Things seem very bleak! Here are three considerations (discussed afterwards) which give us comfort, confidence, and hope:

1. The result of our current battle is already determined; Our Lord has already won;
2. These very struggles are for our good; and
3. Our situation seems bleakest right as we approach the time when God will intervene and manifest His triumph.

1. The Result of our Current Battles is Already Determined; God has Already Won the Decisive Victory.

God has already won! As long as we are on His side, we have won! In one respect, our situation is like the Battle of New Orleans, in the American War of 1812.⁴ At the time of that battle, the war was already officially ended, with the parties’ peace treaty (signed in Belgium) already in effect. But this news did not reach New Orleans in time to avoid the large battle there.

We are like American soldiers whose side had already won, nonetheless forced to fight off attacks which can in no way affect the fact that the Americans had already won the war.

In our current Catholic battles, we know Our Lord Jesus Christ has already won complete victory. We are forced to continue fighting because the devil⁵ keeps attacking. But the result is already known: Our Lord has completely won! He assures us: “have confidence; I have overcome the world.”⁶

All Soldiers of Christ must remain faithful to Christ the King and must not compromise with liberalism and the world. All Soldiers of Christ will infallibly share in their Divine King’s victory, if they continually fight on His side and do not commit treason by going over to our enemy’s side.

2. Our Current Struggles are for our Good.

As St. Paul assures us: “All things work together unto the good for those who love God.” Romans, 8:28.

Thus, if we love God, these present struggles are for our good and it is good that we have them. In rearing children, it is important that they have some hardship, struggles, and are made to work hard. It is bad for children to have things “too easy”.

We are children of God. It is important for us to have hardship, struggles, and hard work. It would be bad for us to have things too easy. Consider the trials of the Holy Family, which were far greater than our trials. Our Lord loved them more than He loves us and He treated them that way!

Our Lord explained to us that:

I am the true vine; and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me,... that beareth fruit, He will purge... that it may bring forth more fruit.

St. John, ch.15, vv.1-2.

These thoughts should give us a joyful heart. God loves us and wants to do us good, by purging us, i.e., by giving us the merit of our small share of trials, which are a faint echo of the Holy Family’s trials. We need these trials! These trials are precious and work for our good, if we love God!

3. God’s Manifestation of Victory is Closer, as Shown by Things Getting Worse.

Knowing that our trial will soon end and that we will soon lose the chance to merit more from this trial, Our Lord generously increases the trial as it nears the end, to “squeeze” a little additional meritorious value from it.

The great Doctor of the Church, St. John Chrysostom, points to two examples showing this truth:

1. The apostles labored all night in great danger because of a storm at sea. When Our Lord was about to deliver them, He first allowed their trials to become worse by adding to their great danger the additional terror of the belief that they saw a phantasm, when they saw Him walking across the water towards them. St. Matthew, Ch. 14.
2. God promised to Abraham that Christ would come from his lineage and that he would be the father of many nations. God made Abraham wait a very long time for this son through whom the promise would be fulfilled. When God sent this son, Abraham’s trial was made worse at the end, by God’s command that he sacrifice his son. Genesis, chs. 17-22.

St. John Chrysostom teaches us that these two examples show the general principle that God increases the severity of our trial near its end, to increase our merit before our precious trial is ended. Explaining the first of these examples (above), this great Doctor teaches:

[Our Lord was] teaching the apostles not to seek a speedy riddance of coming evil, but to bear manfully such things as befall them. But when they thought that they were delivered, then was their fear increased, whence it follows, “And seeing him walking upon the sea, they were troubled, saying, ‘It is a vision!’, and through fear they cried out.”

For this the Lord ever does; when He is to rescue us from any evil, He introduces trials terrible and difficult. For since it is impossible that our temptation should continue a long time, when the warfare of the righteous is to be finished, then He increases their conflicts, desiring to make greater gain of them; which He did also in Abraham, increasing the severity of his trial through the sacrifice of the life of his son.

Catena Aurea on St. Matthew’s Gospel, ch.14, St. Thomas Aquinas (editor), quoting St. John Chrysostom.

Conclusion

Let us be of good heart! God has already won the final, decisive battle! We must fight on God’s side and if we do, we have already won also. We are in this fight because God is giving us the opportunity to merit by this fight. As our trial increases in severity, fight harder because this shows the end of our trial is drawing nearer! Soon we will no longer have this great opportunity to gain additional precious merit.