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There is a famous saying, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing!” There is some debate about who first said these words. But there is no debate about their accuracy! As I write this bulletin message, the unjust assault of the Russians upon the Ukrainians is fiercely underway. As of this moment, the Ukrainians, in their bravery and courage, have been able to hold off the assault on their capital city of Kyiv. (The pronunciation and spelling of the name of the capital city depend on the source of the spelling and pronunciation we use. Kyiv derives from Ukraine’s language and Kiev derives from Russia’s language.) This awful battle reminds me of the biblical story of David and Goliath. Goliath had the power and
military equipment, but David had God and that was all he needed!
Do you recall, a number of years ago, Our Lady of Fatima instructed the world to pray the rosary for the conversion of Russia? Through the grace of God and under the leadership of Pope John Paul II and Ronald Reagan, communism fell both in Russia and Poland! So, what happened? Why are we faced today with the resurgence of communism in Russia and throughout the world? In fact, even in our own country there are, as there have always been, communist sympathizers and promoters. We see today the very dangerous unification of the Chinese and the Russians. These world events remind me of the Gospel passage where Our Lord tells of the expelling of evil from a person. The demon expelled leaves the person but then gathers up more devils worse than himself and returns to find his dwelling swept and cleaned. But the final state of the
person ends up being worse than the first. Why does this happen? Because after being liberated from the demon, the person failed to be vigilant in persevering in prayer and in union with God.
Perhaps we have also neglected perseverance and prayer. We, all too often, dismiss the power of prayer! Yet, this is the most powerful weapon every human being in the world has. It is the power of prayer and personal union with God and our collective union with God that conquers every evil and sin.
As we begin this holy season of Lent, let us all recommit ourselves to our own personal conversion. Let us abstain from those sins and acts which separate us from God and one another. By the grace of God, we can triumph over evil, personal and worldly.
In the face of all the evil of the world, we can do something! We can pray, fast, spend time before our Eucharistic Lord, make a good confession and receive the grace of the sacrament, together with the nourishment of the body, blood, soul, and divinity of our Savior in Holy Eucharist.
The quote above speaks of good people doing nothing. Let us first become those good people by our own personal conversion and then let us do what we can. The power of prayer and union with God is greater than any nuclear bomb or conventional weapon. Our savior, Jesus Christ, has already won the war. He looks to you and me to join him in the battle against the evil one. Our families, our country, our church, and our world depend on what each of us does. In some cosmic way, we can all be responsible for the shedding of innocent blood and the loss of eternal salvation or we can be responsible in some small way to furthering the kingdom of Jesus Christ! Now is the time to act!
God love you,
