You clearly get it, Deacon. Which is why I pray you are actively building a local network of like minded people to support one another when collapse comes. Doctors, nurses, homeopathy, farmers, tradesmen, lawyers, accountants, teachers, intact faithful families...just like those that kept the Church alive in an underground and parallel existence under the communists rule when we were young...This is how we will Keep the Faith and Tradition and true history intact to pass on to our children and grandchildren
Sounds like you are ahead of the curve, PF. But I noticed in Geralyn's and my visit to Georgia, you are tied into a younger, wider, and apparently, more aware community. The northeast is an aging Church, apart from the Trads, and they aren't close by. I'm not making excuses, just stating reality. There is a small group of young families who are part of the Keener clan in my parish, but this family have a medical background and reflect a more typical mainstream attitude. Continue to follow the path you're on. God's grace will prevail.
ah, like a wise man once told me not that long ago...wait on the Lord, when the time is right He will send the people to you that He wants you to help
Conversely, one of my favorite prayers for years has been that the Lord will put the right people around me to help me. I think it works both ways. I think it’s right to stress waiting on the Lord. He’s in charge. “Unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build it.” “There is a time to every purpose under Heaven.”
Well, it looks like I have to pull back on the throttle a little. I went outside for the first time in about 1o days. Saved Our Lady who was up to her chin in snow, sang her some hymns, and transported about 30 pieces of firewood from the barn to the back porch; also scrapped ice off the car. Now I have to recover- my energy drained real quickly. But it felt good to be outside again, with the temperature back into single digits from the night's deep freeze. It's beautiful with the sun shimmering on about 18 inches of snow. Though I'm feeling better and am no danger to others, my voice is still very hoarse and will probably freak out the fearful at Holy Mass when I go. Hmmmm... O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!
It was fascinating, today. I went outside again to retrieve and stock up on firewood. My daughter, Therese, and her family will be visiting for three days (her oldest, Jack, is almost 2 and a half). Another babe due in June. About an eighth of a mile down the road is our neighbor's very alert dog; as soon as he hears our outside door bang shut, he begins a steady stream of barking. Well, after clearing the snow from her statue, I sang 3 stanzas of Immaculate Mary. The dog stopped barking when I began the hymn and did not resume until 10 seconds after it was over! And believe me, he wasn't mesmerized by my voice; but, creation does honor our Mother! Hail, Full of Grace!
There is always a yearning in our hearts for the Church to truly be responsive to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit, vibrant in Her witness, full of joy and peace. But we are on the earthly side of the veil and ultimately our desire is not for joy in this life, but to behold the Lord Himself! Rightly so, some of this angst originates in our holy desires for loved ones! Titus 2: 11 For the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men, 12 training us to renounce irreligion and worldly passions, and to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world, 13 awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and to purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.