And my people, upon whom my name is called, being converted, shall
make supplication to me, and seek out my face, and do penance for their
most wicked ways: then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their
sins and will heal their land.
(2 Paralipomenon: 7:14)
In times pasted many radical thinkers started preaching the new
doctrine of “God is Dead.” In saying this they flouted the idea that
religion was a thing of the past. In saying “God is Dead” they were
denying the most fundamental teaching in the Church; God is alive and
dwell among us in the Holy Eucharist. Mankind since the. has been moved
further and further away from God at an alarming rate. It seems all of
humanity is forgetting the true teaching, as well as the Reality of the
Eucharist, even those in the Church. This rise of atheism and the
secularization of society, is huge problem that still is having
ramifications to the present day, although, in our own time we are
seeing quite the opposite occur. Instead of a society, once Catholic,
turning to atheism, we are seeing something else more insidious coming
about. “The skeptic Michael Shermer wrote: "At the beginning of the twentieth century social scientists predicted that belief in God
would decrease by the end of the century because of the secularization
of society. In fact… the opposite has occurred…”1 In a Pew Research
article entitled “Why people with no religion are projected to decline
as a share of the world’s population,” it projected “that people with no
religion will make up about 13% of the world’s population in 2060, down
from roughly 16% as of 2015”attributing this to “the fact that
religious ‘nones’ are, on average, older and have fewer children than
people who are affiliated with a religion.”2 Therefore, Instead of a
atheistic revolutions, what we are seeing, and heading head first into,
is a rejection of Christendom and therefore a repaganization of the
world; a mass rejection of the Catholic Faith, in which the Source and
Summit is The Eucharist.
After Rome converted to the One True Faith, the Catholic Missionary’s
risked there lives, and extended the the Kingdom of God throughout the
whole Earth as Christ predicted. The alters and groves of the demons
where smashed, many nations converted to the One True God, and
Christendom expanded all over Europe. Although today, we find ourselves
in a post-Christian era, and without the light of Christ illuminating
society, societal chaos has erupted, and the nations that where once
God’s have rejected Him. These people, without the nourishment of the
Sacrement, especially The Eucharist, are reverting back to how they once
where. Pope Leo Xlll saw this paginization of society on the horizons
back in the 1800’s. He said Secret Society’s out to destroy the Church,
would give rise to paganism in the future. He said they “wish to destroy
the religion and the Church which God Himself has established, and
whose perpetuity He insures by His protection, and to bring back after a
lapse of eighteen centuries the manners and customs of the pagans, is
signal folly and audacious impiety.”3 Today, “[i]n Rome, the officials
to the Holy See had gathered together, and two thing’s were alarming
them. One was the fact of the Paganization of the European West; the
entire Western Culture. And also the fact that lots of teaching out
there, even by some Catholic Priests, is not solid preaching; is not
grounded in the Catholic tradition.”4
Therefore, it is evident, without the Sacrements, instead of turning
to atheism, people are turning to other spiritualities. We are now
entering period of Paganization, with such a radical change in
demographic, that our Society as we know it is about to witness a
dramatic shift in cultural norms, traditional values, not to mention,
the political landscape as well.
We call this movement Neo, as in new, or Modern Paganism. According
to the Encyclopedia Britannica Neo-Paganism is “several spiritual movements that attempt to revive the ancient polytheistic religions of Europe and the Middle East. These movements have a close relationship to ritual magic and modern witchcraft. Neo-Paganism differs from them, however, in striving to revive authentic pantheons and rituals of ancient cultures, though often in deliberately eclectic and reconstructionist ways, and by a particularly contemplative and celebrative attitude.“5
We hear “I am spiritual, but not religious.” What does this mean, but
as was stated above, a melting-pot of old world spiritual pagan
practices. Again, according to Pew, found “Americans who consider
themselves to be spiritual but not religious also tend to accept at
least one New Age belief. Roughly three-quarters of U.S. adults in this
category hold one or more New Age beliefs, including six-in-ten who
believe spiritual energy can be located in physical things and 54% who
believe in psychics. And among those who say they are religious and
spiritual, 65% espouse at least one New Age belief.” “roughly six-in-ten
American adults accept at least one of these New Age beliefs.”
“reincarnation, astrology, psychics and the presence of spiritual energy
in physical objects like mountains or trees. Many Americans who are
religiously unaffiliated also have these beliefs.” “Specifically,
four-in-ten believe in psychics and that spiritual energy can be found
in physical objects, while somewhat smaller shares express belief in
reincarnation (33%) and astrology (29%).””Moreover, religiously
unaffiliated Americans (those who say their religion is atheist,
agnostic or “nothing in particular”) are about as likely as Christians
to hold New Age beliefs.”6
Well, I am sorry to say, but it is worse then some people having a
variety of opposing opinions on an afterlife, or if ghosts exist.
Instead, its more sinister. For example, “Nordic paganism is now
Iceland’s fastest-growing religion. From 570 members in 2002, the
“association of the faith of the Æsir” — Ásatrúarfélagið — now numbers
4,126 Icelanders. This makes it the largest non-Christian religion in
the country. In contrast, as of 2017, there are only 12,901 Catholics in
Iceland, a country with a population totaling 348,580…. Even without a
temple, such ceremonies are already taking place. For example, among
other pagan rituals, every year the priests of Ásatrúarfélagið have
officiated at dozens of same-sex “marriages.’”7 The reimergance can
trace its roots back to the early 1900. 8 What people fail to realize is
that this neopaganism is only neo, because originally Christianity
dominated central Europe, and spread throughout the entire globe, Christ
became ruler, and the people were converted from their weights. But
now, although these countries once put away their practices of old, they
are reemerging, and ultimately, this is an attack on Christianity
itself. What less people want to admit is this all stems from the
Protestant Deformation, yet this is a whole article in and of itself.
Ultimately, this is nothing new, we have seen this before, it is the
age of the story that has been told in the gospel, and reiterated by
Saint Augustine and his great work, the city of God. Truly is the city
of God versus the city of man. The world witnessed this in the deluge,
and some time soon by fire. We have seen the attacks on the Church ever
since her conception, in different ways, with different heresies. These
facts are indisputable, but the real question is, how are we to overcome
this…again?
The answer is devotion to the Eucharist! What converted the Pagans
before? The Eucharist. What will convert them again? The Eucharist. “St.
Peter Julian Eymard, known as the Apostle of eucharistic adoration of
the Blessed Sacrament, said "The less Jesus is adored in the Blessed
Sacrament, the more present and powerful Satan becomes." Dr. Bernard
Nathanson, renowned New York abortionist before his conversion to the
Catholic faith, lamented that if Catholics were truly Catholic, our
abortion society would not exist. From 2008–2010, Ciudad Juárez in
northern Mexico was listed as one of the most dangerous cities in the
world. Drugs, gang violence and murder rates were sky high, and the
police could do little about it.
Then came Eucharistic adoration. In 2013, missionaries opened the
city's first perpetual adoration chapel, and crime rates began to plunge
shortly thereafter. Now, the city is considered safer than many
American cities. Father Patrico Hileman believes the drastic change is
due to eucharistic adoration. "When a parish adores God day and night,
the city is transformed," said Fr. Hileman, not to be confused with Fr.
Richard Heilman of United States Grace Force from the diocese of
Madison.” 9
Therefore, we MUST revert back to God in the Blessed Sacrament or our
societies will clasps. We must once again, seek His Face, and do
Penance! We need to go to Him in the Eucharist. “This is why the
responses to the clergy sex abuse scandals, lack of faith of the people,
and even COVID-19 have been so poor. Faith withers if it is not
nurtured through a deep prayer life that is centered on Christ’s Real
Presence.”10
A specific model of what we need to do could be taken from the book
of 4th Kings. It tells of a story of King Josiah. The High Priest
Helcias discovers the book of the law in the temple. He gives the book
to the scribe Saphan, who reads it to King. Hearing the words of the
law, the king is deeply moved and tears his garments.
King Josiah proceeds to gather all the people of Judah and Jerusalem
and reads the book of the covenant to them. They makes a solemn
commitment to follow the Lord and keep His commandments. The king then
takes action to cleanse the temple and the land from the worship of the
false gods, the idols, and all the horrible sacrilege’s. He removes the
vessels used for the worship of Baal and other false deities and burns
them outside the city. He also destroys the soothsayers and those who
offer sacrifices to false gods.
(See 4th Kings 23: 8,10,11; 24: 2-5)
Comparing this Scriptural Account to the current crisis, we can see
the contrast between embracing authentic Traditional practices that lead
back to God, verses embracing Paganism and rebelling agent God.
While our Church has been beaten around from every side, we have our
Lords promise:“the gates of hell shall not prevail against [the
Church].” It is essential to reflect on this truth. In times of
declining attendance of Mass, a crisis of faith, doubt in belief in the
Real Presence among Catholics, we cannot forget that promise of Our
Lord. “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it,” does not mean
the Church will never be attacked, but only that it will never be
overcome by evil.
So do we let Our Lord take care of it. Step back and let Him take
over? In a way, yes. But does this mean we do nothing? Far from it. He
wants us on our knees. This is why the number one thing we can do as a
Church to change the world, is increate devotion and spread devotion to
The Eucharist. “For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but
against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of
this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places.
Therefore take unto you the armour of God, that you may be able to
resist in the evil day, and to stand in all things perfect.” (Ephesians
6:12-14)
“Jesus told the Apostles, “Could you not spend one hour with me?” in
the garden of Gethsemane during His passion. Jesus tells us
today, “Could you not spend one hour with me”, in this hour of the
Church’s passion, this hour of scandal, dissensions, divisions,
abortion, international terrorism, apostasy, etc., etc.” “When we become
Eucharistic Adorers, we form an army, a Eucharistic army armed with the
power of the Eucharist, the Body and Blood, soul and divinity, the
real, true and substantial presence of Jesus Christ that transformed the
world in the Resurrection and continues to do so today through the Holy
Eucharist. When we become Eucharistic adorers, we form an army, a
Eucharistic army armed with the power of the Eucharist, the Body and
Blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ Himself. When we become
Eucharistic adorers, Jesus unleashes through us His very real grace and
presence outward to the entire world, so that the world itself can
become a holy tabernacle of the Lord.”11
This is exactly why my beloved Friend, Steve Lovison, and I founded
Adoration Crusader’s. With a devotion to St. Michael the Archangel and
our commitment to spreading Eucharistic Adoration, this is the most
important way to take concrete actions. It is not enough to simply
profess our faith; we must live it out in our daily in a prayerful way.
Therefore, going forward, first and foremost, we must commit
ourselves to regular participation in Eucharistic Adoration. This will
change society and the world more than any protest could! We should seek
out Adoration Chapels in our parishes and dioceses and make it a
priority to spend time with the Lord. Setting aside dedicated time each
day to be with our Lord in prayer and contemplation will help us grow
in holiness and strengthen our devotion to the Eucharist.
Furthermore, we must encourage others to join us in this crusade for
the growth of Eucharistic Adoration or else our societies will claps.
Let us spread the word about the importance and benefits of spending
time with Jesus by inviting our parishioners, friends, and family to
join us in Adoration. The Eucharist has changed whole nations, He has
change the world by converting it from paganism to Catholicism and He
will do it again!
Nicholas Bezzina
Feast of Saint Boniface 2024