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Mons Vigano replies to
question "What do we do now?"
June 17, 2020
Dear Readers of Stilum Curiae, as you will recall, a few days ago “Pezzo Grosso” [“Big Shot”] sent us an open letter to Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, asking him: In these difficult times for the Church and the Faith, what should we do? Here is His Excellency’s answer. Happy reading.
15 June 2020
Dear Tosatti,
I read with interest the Appeal that “Big Shot” addressed to me on the pages of Stilum Curiae. Since it addresses a very serious question that is rightly in the hearts of many of your readers and of great concern to them, I hasten to give an answer.
The response which immediately comes to my soul is the one we find in the Gospel: “Estote parati, quia nescitis diem, neque horam” [Keep watch, because you do know the day or the hour] (Mt 24:44). We must be prepared, not only for the coming of the Son of Man, but also for the trials that will precede it and which will oblige us to choose which side we are on: either with Christ or against Him.
If it is true that “Whoever watches the wind never sows, and whoever looks at the clouds will not reap” (Eccl 11:4), it is equally true that the time available to us does not permit us to wait for the wind to die down or for the clouds that darken the Church to be dispelled.
If we want to sow a little good and reap its fruit, with the grace of God, we can act like the prudent virgins: waiting with lighted lamps for the coming of the Bridegroom – holding the lamps of Faith and the Holy Mass, the Sacraments and prayer. The foolish virgins, who did not take care to keep their lamps filled with the oil of the life of grace and virtue, will too late discover that they are unable to go and meet the Lord who comes.
Another important thing is to know how to decipher what is happening in this historical moment. We must learn to know and evaluate the facts, not only taken in themselves as individual tesserae, but also in their placement in the overall mosaic, which, permits us to discover the entire design in the light of Faith.
For decades now, we have heard inflated words that have emphasized only a generic eschatological dimension of existence, neglecting preaching about the Last Things. This has certainly not prepared us to face the final trial and has left us unprepared to defend ourselves from the enemy, even completely unable to recognize him and his underhanded deceptions.
With firm determination, we must oppose the empty phrases of those who seek to surround us with the eternal words of the Word of God, which the politically correct discourses of the foolish virgins crash against. According to some, the vision of the Gospel is a simplistic vision that horrifies those who, loving the world and its false and hypocritical mentality, cannot love the Lord, the blazing Truth who admits of no exceptions: divisive, just as light compared to darkness and as good compared to evil.
- Let us learn to call things by their name, with simplicity and calmness;
- let us stop following, for the sake of living quietly, the illusions of those who speak to us of tolerance and acceptance only when it comes to making room for error and vice;
- let us stop using their magic words like “dialogue,” “solidarity,” and “freedom” which conceal the adversary’s deception and veil the exploitation, tyranny, and persecution of dissenters.
We are Christians, so let’s speak the language of Christ! “Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the Evil One” (Mt 5:37).
- We are at war with an enemy who even wants to decide the weapons with which we are able to resist him.
- We have allowed him to penetrate to the point of profaning our altars, our sacraments, and the Most Holy Eucharist!
- The rules have been imposed on us in order to shamelessly favor the opposing side.
- The time has come for us to refuse to accept this obscene invasion and the way in which the enemy makes impossible any efficacious action on our part to drive him out!
The first thing to do is to be aware that we are at war with the world, the flesh, and the devil. In this war we cannot remain neutral, we cannot ignore it, and even less can we take sides with the Enemy.
- We find ourselves in the absurd situation in which our own commander himself appears to refuse to guide us.
- It even seems that he flirts with our adversary, pointing a finger at us as enemies of concord and fomenters of schism, while our generals ally themselves with the opponent and order their troops to lay down their weapons.
- It is apparent that, without the help of God, all hope fails. And yet we must fight, we must be ready, we must keep our lamps alight and our loins girt, certain that together with Christ we have already conquered.
All that we can do – prayer, especially the Holy Rosary, faithfulness to the duties of our state in life, responsibility towards the people entrusted to our care, the witness of Faith and Charity, social commitment – all of this must be carried out as is possible for each one of us, in accordance with what Providence has disposed for each of us.
- Let us allow ourselves to be guided by the Lord with total trust, and we will understand what is required of us, day by day, moment by moment.
Along with “Big Shot” I again take up the beautiful Oratio Universalis [Universal Prayer] of Clement IX: Redde me prudentem in consiliis, constantem in periculis, patientem in adversis, humilem in prosperis. Make me prudent in planning, courageous in danger, patient in adversity, humble in prosperity. Discam a Te quam tenue quod terrenum, quam grande quod divinum, quam breve quod temporaneum, quam durabile quod aeternum. May I learn from you how fragile are the things of earth, how great are the things of heaven, how brief what happens here on earth is, and how enduring is that which is in eternity.
+ Carlo Maria Viganò
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