How Should We Respond on the Precipice of War?

If you were enjoying a quiet Sunday without technology, you may have missed the most dangerous news headline of our generation: “Biden Authorizes the Ukraine to Use U.S. Long-Range Missiles in Russian Territory.” Quietly, on the 33^rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, when we as a Church contemplated Christ’s return, tribulation, and hardship, our sitting president put us on the brink of war with Russia. Our senile—much in need of prayers—president made the most dangerous military decision we have seen since the Cuban Missile Crisis. In fact, this goes well beyond the Cuban Missile Crisis by leaps and bounds.

On Tuesday morning, the Ukraine fired our ATACMS missiles into Russian territory. On Wednesday, they fired U.K. Storm Shadow missiles into Russian territory. NATO keeps edging closer and closer to all-out war with Russia, but very few people seem to even be aware that this is going on. There has been an abnormal level of silence while the world is edging closer and closer to war between nuclear superpowers.

The danger for us now is to dismiss it. It is difficult not to remain in disbelief or denial. What is even worse, is the media—conservative and liberal—seem to be burying the headlines underneath political articles. This is because there are very dangerous people in both political parties who have desired war with Russia for nearly three years. They prefer the American people remain largely oblivious that we are on the precipice of global war. Vladimir Putin made it very clear that this would be seen as an act of war back in September when the idea of letting Zelensky use our missiles in Russian territory was being floated by the U.S. and E.U.

It is reminiscent of the Lord’s reminder that we heard at Mass recently:

For as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. In [those] days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark. They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away. So will it be [also] at the coming of the Son of Man. (Matthew 24:37-39)

It is timely, not because the Second Coming is necessarily at hand—only the Father knows the hour—but because horrible things occur and catch us unaware repeatedly throughout history. No one expected COVID-19. No one expected the wars of the last century, except those who were planning world domination. No one expected the attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023. We are on a knife-edge, and most people seem blissfully unaware. We live in spiritually dangerous days.

Anyone who has been watching the situation in the Ukraine, as well as in the Middle East, knows that it could spark a regional or global conflict overnight. If there is one word to describe the leadership on all sides it would be arrogant. No one is willing to concede or seek peace. Everyone is itching for a fight, but this time, the risk of nuclear war is on the line. Lest we think no one would ever use nuclear weapons, we should remember that we unleashed them on the world first. They have already been used.

As Catholics, most of us have little power to stop geopolitical events through our own influence. Instead, we must reclaim our supernatural vision and start to fight with everything we have at the spiritual level. We should be participating in countless holy hours where we can implore Christ for peace by adoring His Real Presence. We should reclaim some real sense of asceticism in the West and commit to fasting or giving up meat until Christmas or even until Easter like many religious do through the St. Michael fast. We should be praying as families and parish communities for peace. We should be spiritually preparing for whatever may happen and repenting in a deeper way. What we cannot do is stay blinded by our comfort and denial.

What did the saints of previous generations do? They sought the Lord above all else. Blessed Franz Jaggerstatter prayed and discerned as he was forced to a line in the sand when it came to swearing allegiance to Hitler and fighting for the Nazis. He prayed constantly. He served and loved his family until his martyrdom. He said, “I can only act on my own conscience. I do not judge anyone. I can only judge myself.” He continued, “I have considered my family. I have prayed and put myself and my family in God’s hands. I know that, if I do what I think God wants me to do, He will take care of my family.”

Blessed Franz understood that to be a Christian is to surrender everything to the Lord. He was ready when the moment of his martyrdom came because he had been spiritually prepared. As he farmed with his family, he read the signs of the times and sought to be ready to stand before the Lord. He knew he could not make peace with the world. He reminds us, “There is an eternal and insurmountable gap between Christianity and the world. Whoever does not want to spoil his relationship with the world will spoil his relationship with Christ.”

Blessed Franz is a reminder to all of us in the vocation of marriage that now is the time to spiritually prepare our families for whatever may come. Whether global conflict breaks out now or in the future, one thing is certain, we live in evil days. We need to reorient our families to the things of heaven rather than an overemphasis on the things of this world. We should be praying, fasting, and spending time in front of the Tabernacle or Adoration. If we go to Him, He will hear our prayers.

When confronted with evil days in his beloved Poland, St. John Paul II entered the underground seminary. He put Christ first. Even as he lost loved ones and watched the horrors occurring around him, he sought to give his life to Christ for the salvation of souls. Whether war is averted now or not, we need heroic men who truly desire to be saints to lay down their lives with Christ Crucified for His Bride the Church as priests.

You do not have to be a saint, yet, but it should be your greatest desire. It is through the priesthood that you will be sanctified and purified. Do not wait until tomorrow or when it seems most convenient. We need you now. He will provide for all you need the same way he has provided for countless priest saints through the centuries.

The drums of war have been beating for some time; in fact, they never silence entirely. We need to see the fires of Mordor burning on the horizon and begin to ask the Lord what He needs from us at this time in history. We need to be spiritually united to Him above all else. We need to intercede on behalf of the world imploring the Lord for peace through the common priesthood we share through baptism in union with the ministerial priesthood offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and increased Eucharistic Adoration. We need to prepare our families and commit fully to the vocations He has in mind for us.

Don’t wait any longer. Flooding heaven with our prayers and sacrifices may stay the Lord’s hand and soften hearts. It will be the means by which the Lord removes any malaise and spiritual blindness in our hearts, so that we can return to Him with our whole being no matter what may come.

Yet even now—oracle of the LORD—
return to me with your whole heart,
with fasting, weeping, and mourning.
Rend your hearts, not your garments,
and return to the LORD, your God,
For he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love,
and relenting in punishment.
Perhaps he will again relent and leave behind a blessing,
Grain offering and libation
for the LORD, your God.
Blow the horn in Zion!
Proclaim a fast,
call an assembly!
Gather the people,
sanctify the congregation;
Assemble the elderly;
gather the children,
even infants nursing at the breast;
Let the bridegroom leave his room,
and the bride her bridal tent.
Between the porch and the altar
let the priests weep,
let the ministers of the LORD weep and say:
“Spare your people, LORD!
do not let your heritage become a disgrace,
a byword among the nations!
Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’” (Hosea 2:12-17)

Photo by Clark Gu on Unsplash