The gates of hell by Auguste Rodin

“And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:18-20

Recently I read an article about how the Vatican was asking the Catholic Chinese Bishops to step down so some state appointed Chinese Catholic Bishops could take their place.  I took this to prayer and asked God about it.  I often hesitate to say what I feel God say to me in prayer because sometimes he speaks a word and phrases and it is often subject to my own interpretation of what’s being said.  If there is one thing I know, it is that I do not know the mind of God and that his plans are greater than anything I can imagine.  So keeping that in mind, I ask you all to pray over what I am about to say because more than anything that is actually what I feel God telling me… TO PRAY.

When I asked about the deal with China, the response I heard in my head was, “you cannot drive out Satan with Beelzebub.”

Upon further reflection I remembered that God had told me the church was the center of everything.  It isn’t governments, though in our worldly view they often seem more powerful.  But we must remember the words of Jesus to Pilate;

“You have no power over me if it had not been given to you from above.” John 19:11

The church is the authority on earth of the Kingdom of God.   The Sacraments are what put us in, and keep us renewed in Covenant with God.  This means that the decisions that the church makes are of utmost importance.  Once we are in covenant through Baptism, we are indelibly marked with sacramental grace, the covenant cannot be broken.  But it can be violated.  Violation of covenant actually invites curses upon you.  We see this time and again throughout the bible.  It is our free will asking to be handed over to demons.

And now, priests, this commandment is for you: If you do not listen, And if you do not take to heart giving honor to my name, says the LORD of hosts, I will send a curse upon you and your blessing I will curse. In fact, I have already cursed it, because you do not take it to heart. Malachi 2:1-2

So back to China.  It appears Russia, as predicted in Fatima,  did help spread the error of her ways by helping communism in China, which took hold there after World War II.  The Catholic Church in the past always fought communism, even as other governments had gotten in bed with them.  In China there have essentially been two Churches, one Catholic that is underground and loyal to Rome and one that is approved by the Chinese Government.  The Government had their own Bishops.  These state appointed Bishops were not validly ordained from my understanding.  I believe it was Pope Pius XII who wrote Ad Apostolorum Principis, which ex-communicated them.**(see update below)  If this is incorrect, I am sure someone out there can correct me, and I welcome that because I actually would like nothing more than to be wrong about this.  If the Vatican backs non validly ordained Bishops to shepherd the people, they are actually participating in a violation of covenant.  This is because there is no Apostolic succession and therefore, further violating covenant, any act of Consecration of the Eucharist would also be in violation of covenant.  The Eucharist and Confession are where we receive the sanctifying grace to keep us in the will of God and perfect us.  It is how we are perfected.  If the Vatican backs this illegitimacy of Sacraments, they are in grave violation of covenant that brings us sanctifying grace.  What happens when the church herself violates covenant?  All hell breaks lose.

“Then another sign appeared in the sky; it was a huge red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadems. Its tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky and hurled them down to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman about to give birth, to devour her child when she gave birth.” Revelation 12:3-4

So what are we to do?  Well first of all, as I stated earlier, PRAY!!!  God has shown me that prayer changes things.

But remember, also, the gates of hell shall not prevail.  Remember that the church is the BODY of Christ, and Jesus Himself is the HEAD.  Jesus said he established an everlasting covenant.  This means that, though there can be violation, it cannot be broken.  God will fight for us. 

We are adopted sons and daughters of God through Christ’s sanctifying grace.  The church is both institution and people.  We the people of the church must be living sanctuaries.  We must hold the truth of the new covenant of Jesus Christ written in our hearts.  The devil can reek havoc on the institution but he cannot break the bonds of Christ with his faithful.  He cannot come near the light of Christ in our hearts, if he does he will be destroyed.

If the church institution herself violates the covenant and invites curses upon the institution,  it is through Mary and the Eucharist that the battered church will rise again and be rebuilt.

“When the dragon saw that it had been thrown down to the earth, it pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.  But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle, so that she could fly to her place in the desert, where, far from the serpent, she was taken care of for a year, two years, and a half-year. The serpent, however, spewed a torrent of water out of his mouth after the woman to sweep her away with the current. But the earth helped the woman and opened its mouth and swallowed the flood that the dragon spewed out of its mouth.” Revelation 12:13-17

The devil may try to wage war against us, even doing so through the rise of a communist nation, and through the scandal of the church.  But we are to keep our eyes on Christ, remain close to the Sacraments, and to remember that Christ has won the Victory already.  This is not a call to anxiety, or even to shoot poison arrows at any particular person in the Vatican we disagree with, this is a call to prayer.  As Saint Padre Pio said, “pray, hope, don’t worry.”

Pray for the Pope.

Pray for the Vatican.

Pray for our Priests and Bishops.

Pray for the peace that surpasses all understanding.

**Here is an article by George Weigel about the situation.

**Here is what Cardinal Zen had to say.

**Here is an article from EWTN library describing the complicated situation in China.