The Death of a Great Man by Michael Hichborn

Antonin Scalia will be greatly missed and Michael Hichborn shows us just how much wisdom he left behind for those of us who struggle on in the morass of our current disintegrating culture. Hichborn's two concluding paragraphs give us food for thought:

While it is right, good and just to work toward defending Truth and the integrity of souls, it must be remembered that salvation cannot be found in the movement itself. A pro-life leader may do many great things to save the lives of children, but if he or she is engaged in an illicit sexual affair, their pro-life work will not save them. A priest may write and speak in defense of the most beautiful teachings of the Church, but if he is embezzling from the diocese, he will have to account for every penny before the Court of the Heavenly Father. Just remember that Henry VIII was once given the title “Fidei defensor,” Defender of the Faith. 

Justice Scalia could not save our country, nor could he save himself. Neither can we. Salvation is found in the Sacrifice of Our Lord upon the Cross and the Ark of His Bride, the Church. We mourn the death of a great man. We fear for the future we and our children face. The sting of these emotions are wasted if we wallow in them and forget to pray for his soul. More importantly, this shock should remind us to seek and follow Our Blessed Lord at all times, trusting in His Providence. As King David in his 146th Psalm, “Put no trust in princes, in children of Adam powerless to save.” [source]

The only thing that matters in the end is our eternal salvation. As the psalmist says, "we need not fear the terrors of the night nor the arrows that fly by day." (Psalm 91) We belong to the Lord and as long as we love Him, which means following His commandments, we have nothing to fear no matter how bad things get. Remember, God wins; in fact He already has. All this chaos around is, as Shakespeare said, "sound and fury signifying nothing." That doesn't mean we should stop fighting evil and promoting good, but we should do it without discouragement. Pray for Antonin Scalia and let God's peace reign in your soul.