Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation

In a recent interview by Aleteia , Cardinal Robert Sarah was asked a number of questions, including the following: Can evangelism be intensified in France, which is confronting a robust Islam? (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) We would be wise to take note of this well-respected prelate’s response which is descriptive of the tragic reality in, or aspirations of, many other nations today, including our own: “France has in any case renounced its Christian roots; the Gospel is no longer its reference. God no longer has a place in its society. The only place where it is tolerated is the private domain, and even then, it is confined to house arrest. Man has taken the place of God. It enacts laws in total opposition to the laws of God and those of nature. You believe that men, or women, can marry between themselves…While everyone is fighting for the abolition of the death penalty, the murder of unborn children is legal, as is divorce. While we are fighting genital mutilati...

"We are now standing in the face of the greatest historical confrontation humanity has gone through. I do not think that wide circles of American society or wide circles of the Christian community realize this fully. We are now facing the final confrontation between the Church and the anti-Church, of the Gospel versus the anti-Gospel. (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) “We must be prepared to undergo great trials in the not-too-distant future; trials that will require us to be ready to give up even our lives, and a total gift of self to Christ and for Christ. Through your prayers and mine, it is possible to alleviate this tribulation, but it is no longer possible to avert it. . . .How many times has the renewal of the Church been brought about in blood! It will not be different this time."  ( Cardinal Karol Wojtyla (St. John Paul II) from Bicentennial talk given in the United States as quoted by Father C. John McClosk...