DELIVER US FROM EVIL: The Achilles Heel of Vatican II

Fr. Collins always cuts to the chase and his observations on the flawed attitudes that accompanied Vatican II certainly have been born out in its implementation whether intended or not by the council fathers. Despite efforts to reform the reform, the faithful continue to see serious desecrations of the holy sacrifice of the Mass, for example the recent "vampire Mass" in Germany. Even more scandalous, in February, at the installation of the Archbishop of Chapecó in Brazil, a female Anglican minister "concelebrated" and received Holy Communion. [Source] She wears the blue stole in the above photo. How can one fathom the faithlessness of all the Catholic priests who participated in that grievous sin against Christ?

Meditation for Sunday: Deliver Us from Evil

by Fr. Tom Collins

The Temptation of Christ: 12th century mosaic at St. Mark's basilica

In Mark's Gospel, we read of Jesus encounter with the devil in the desert immediately after His baptism in the Jordan. Jesus went into the desert to confront Satan, the Father of Evil. It is important to note that evil is not merely a danger, a defect or a shortcoming. Rather, it is a virulently aggressive threat to our character, lives and eternal destiny. Thus it is that Satan and his minions seek to seduce us, so that we adopt attitudes, perspectives and actions, which are seriously detrimental to our lives and relationships. They desecrate ourselves and others. At the same time, they blind us by excuses and resentments to the redemptive graciousness of divine mercy.

In our own age, this has become shockingly evident in the attitudes, perspectives and actions of
Islamic jihadist groups, such as ISIS, Al Q'ueda, Hammas, Boko Haram, and Al Shabab. Yet more
importantly, the vivid portrayal of evil given to us by these groups is merely a reflection of the evils Americans have chosen to embrace over the last half century. While we condemn ISIS for brutally butchering and beheading Christian infants, Catholic politicians and jurists have little or no compunction about promoting and subsidizing the dismemberment and beheading of pre-born children in the womb.