by Br. Alexis Bugnolo

A group of lawyers, who are not believers, asked me for counsel yesterday, here in Italy. They are terrified of dying from the Wuhan virus and do not know what to do.

Wherever I go, I find more fear among what we call, in the USA, liberals, that is, those of a left leaning or fallen political affiliation.

But among believers, not so much.

However, since we are all humans, and we are prone to following a herd when it sets off in a stampede, we need to draw, now more than ever, upon the riches of our Holy Faith to be counter cultural and counter-panic. This is part of our witness to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and if we fail in it, God and history will judge us.

A great scandal is being given the world, and it is not the Wuhan virus. It is Bishops closing the doors of Churches and/or abolishing the public offering of the Sacraments of our Holy Faith.

Let us be clear. The Bishops have no right to do this. Their duty is to minister the sacraments, in season and out of season, as the great Saint Paul the Apostle teaches.

We must show our divine faith that Christ Jesus is the God of Life, the Author of Creation and as Author of the Sacraments has chosen sacramental forms which are in NO way dangerous to the health of anyone, body or soul.

To entertain doubts on this is a mortal sin against the Faith.

For since Christ can rise from the dead, He has power over not only all the living, or the dead, but over all life, and indeed, not only has He power over life, but

HE IS LIFE!  HE IS HEALING!  HE IS THE CURE OF CURES!

And as such He must be our HOPE!

Now is the time to bear witness to this to your local clergy. Tell them they will merit eternal hell fire if they fail in faith in this crisis. You should resist them if they want to close your churches and end the celebration of the sacraments. And you should threatened them with civil lawsuits, if possible. You should make it clear that they will never again merit from you any financial support. And if you can organize the men of our parish, you should use even force if necessary to keep YOUR church open. Because, after all, it is YOUR MONEY which built that Church.

If they clergy will not serve the faithful in times of need and grave crisis, what good are they. They might as well leave the priesthood and attempt to huskster their fake sentimental vocation to another religion.

And, as for those laymen, who are urging the Bishops and Clergy to shut Churches and stop services, they can be assured of thrones in Hell Fire alongside Judas Iscariot.

What can I do in addition?

Obviously, go to confession. And if the priest refuses you confession, remind him that he only needs to hear your confession, you can shout it from the sidewalk as he sits in the window on the second or third floor of the Rectory.

Second, resolve to sin nor more.

Third, resolve to live for God and pledge yourself first to the care of your own family and relatives, especially those who are apt to be at risk right now.

If you have extra time or if you are free of these obligations because you have no one who needs your help, consider helping those around you, your neighbors, whether they be believers or not, Christians or not, who have need.  It is precisely in crises such as this, that our works of charity and mercy will convert the hardest of sinners to the Faith, for they will see in our faces and hands and feet, anxious to serve others, the truth that indeed, Christ has risen from the dead!

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CREDITS:  The Featured Image is a photo by Br. Bugnolo of a painting here at Rome, featuring the Consolation of Saint Joseph, to die accompanied by Our Lord and Our Lady. Our Lord points to Heaven to reassured Saint Joseph of his imminent Resurrection.

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