A Crisis of Faith/The Battle for Western Civilization

"IT'S FALL, THE LEAVES ARE COMING DOWN,and I have fallen into myself. I'm flat on my back, under the cottonwood,yellow leaves falling, brilliant blue above, abandoned rake beside. My two children sit at my side, feeding sticks to the dog, who understands that every time he gently takes a twig from their hands and crushes it in his teeth he is causing great delight, and so he keeps doing it stick after stick. Somtimes they leave him long enough to tackle me and I have just enough time to clench my stomach muscles so the air isn't knocked out of me, and we laugh and wrestle. When they grow tired of all this, I play an injured character so that I can stay a bit longer, an injured knight, injured princess,...all in need of medical attention. I tell stories, and while we play I watch the leaves come down...Finally, finally, finally, I have fallen."

This is from a piece in "5280" magazine, September 2008 edition, by Laura Pritchett, entitled, Falling Into Myself.

In my opinion, Laura Pritchett exemplifies, "man," discovering his mystic core. Man, is, by nature, a mystic.

But, back to that in a minute, to change the subject slightly...

This is a pivotal time in American history, in world history; since people make history, it's a pivotal time for each one of us as well.

Everyone has heard of the culture war, proximally effecting the upcoming federal election, but also apparent in everything from media to education to economics. We are in the midst of a fierce existential struggle; everything, even our own salvation, depends on it. The entirety of Western civilization is at stake... no more procrastinating; we are literally on the brink. So, if you never thought of yourself as a soldier before, start thinking in those terms now, because you are on the front lines of a raging battle, whether you like it or not.

How does mysticism apply? Before we can rescue Western civilization from the forces arrayed against it, we must recover ourselves, our heritage, so to speak.

Listen to what a wise catholic convert, now gone on to the church triumphant, Malcolm Muggeridge says:

"...the real crisis which confronts us is about faith rather than power, about the question 'Why' rather than the question "How"--about man's relationship with his Creator rather than about his energy supplies, his currency, his balance of trade and Gross National Product, his sexual fantasies, and his other passing preoccupations with which the media interminably concern themselves. ...whereas the God we serve, the salvation we hope for, the light we live by in this world, and when we come to leave it, the vista reaching before us into eternity--these concern the very fundamentals of our moral existence."



And, now, another prophetic voice, William McNamara, a Discalced Carmelite monk:



"What is at stake is not the means to survive, not even the will to survive, but the faith to survive. Was not our Western civilization born of the great drama enacted in Palestine two thousand years ago, the drama of the Incarnation, the Passion and the Resurrection and all the ramifications of that latter world-changing event? It was this divine drama that inspired the great art, music, literature and architecture that have and will be the glory of our civilization."(Christian Mysticism.)

What is the battle over...it is "the very fundamentals of our moral existence." Western civilization, going as far back as the long spiritual history of our Jewish forebears, has given us the American principles of liberty, justice, the rule of law, and, the moral principles and ideals of virtue expressed in our Declaration of Independence.

If we hope to win this war, we will need the kind of faith born of man's natural mysticism. And, this is precisely what we are losing in our headlong rush toward human self-sufficiency, obsession with busyness and "enlightened" social engineering. In the process of degrading the language, the culture, by "political correctness," our values are giving way to the meaninglessness of post-modern relativism. If this descent continues, we will lose. The enemy, both within and without, seeks to destroy the very fundamentals of Western civilization.

Laura Pritchett also quotes from the great philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard:

"The biggest danger, that of losing oneself, can pass off in the world as quietly as if it were nothing; every other loss, an arm, a leg, 5 dollars, a wife, etc, is bound to be noticed."

How do we recover ourselves, our common mystical faith? By doing what is the most natural thing in the world for us.


The mysticism of which I speak is not the "pie in the sky" New Age spirituality of modern charlatans, like Deepak Chopra, whose true character was exposed recently in his tirade against a perfectly normal, well-meaning American mother, Sarah Palin; nor does it have anything to do with trendy politically correct fashions within the church, which simply try to accommodate secular tastes. Nor is the answer to be found in the myriad of "self-help" tomes on bookstore shelves, nor is it in ivy league liberal arts departments, long ago surrendered to the idols of modernism.

No, Pritchett's final relvelation, "buying substantially less stuff, being outside, being present and playful with my children," is closer to an answer than any of the foregoing.

Go with your gut. There is more truth to be found in a game of "kick the can," or in collapsing on a pile of Fall leaves and letting your puppy and your toddler crawl all over you, than can be had in any other activity.

Trust your gut...your common sense; does it seem just "crazy" that the neighborhood elementary school can't have a Christmas Program, that a high school senior can't attribute her valedictorian achievement to Our Lord in a graduation speech, for fear of having her microphone turned off, that a baby in the womb can't be kept safe, that creeping social banalities continue to challenge traditional marriage, legitimize internet pornography, and mock Judeo-Christian values? Your common sense is right. It is crazy!

Let us remember what brought us to the highest pinnacle of human civilization. It is inherent in us, it is easy, don't doubt it, live by its wisdom and fight for every square inch of it, whether in the public square or in a pile of leaves in your front yard!

And, keep yourself "little," grateful, or, in the words of the poet, Francis Thompson, a Catholic convert, in his "Essay on Shelley."

"Know ye what it is to be a child?

It is to have a spirit yet streaming with the waters of baptism,
It is to believe in love, to believe in loveliness, to believe in belief,
It is to be so little that the elves can reach to whisper in your ear,
It is to turn pumpkins into coaches and mice into horses, lowness into loftiness, and nothing into everything, for each child has its fairy godmother in its own soul, it is to live in a nutshell, and to count yourself the king of infinite space, it is,

'To see the world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wildflower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.'”

(Essay on Shelley, Francis Thompson)

Catholic Bishops, where are you on Immigration?

Catholic Bishops, where are you...again?

Ok, so finally, you are, more or less collectively, speaking out in the pulpit and in the media against voting for politicians who support abortion, ie., (we're talking about OBAMA here,) and some of you are even asking priests not to offer the eucharist to politicians who scandalously vote for abortion legislation or who deny the Church's teaching regarding when life begins...think Pelosi.

I say, good, and it's about time. I wish you had been so pro-active in the pulpit 15 years ago. However, better late than never.

But, you still have a big problem, ethically. Its name is "immigration." And, your misguided efforts to encourage illegal immigration has a collateral effect on the "life" issue. I don't know why you can't figure that out...or, if you have, then, I'm even more disturbed as to your motives.

I went to a Roman Catholic Mass last week. The priest announced that they now have a Spanish Mass every week to accommodate their parishioners. Why does the Church need a Spanish mass, all of a sudden? Could it be that there are so many illegals in the community who, of course, don't speak English?

What did the priest NOT say? He didn't say this..."As your spiritual father, I want to address this to any illegal immigrants in the congregation today, it is a sin to cross a sovereign border, illegally. By doing so, you have put at risk thousands of innocent people. You have compromised their property, their healthcare, their jobs, their very lives and you must take responsibility. The Church does not justify your actions and admonishes you to come out of hiding and report yourselves to the authorities..you need to do the right thing. You are welcome in our country but only when you come legally and do not expose current American citizens to the inevitable and undeserved repercussions. The Church will support you sacramentally and with humane assistance, but we do not condone the initial sin that brought you here in the first place."

We will never hear that sermon! Now, I understand why priests love to swell their congregations, but, by justifying what is actually a sinful act, you are also encouraging sympathetic Mexican Americans to vote for Obama because of the imimigration issue.

Worse, I have even read on some catholic forums that many in the hierarchy of the Catholic Church rationalize voting for a pro-choice democrat by saying, "we really can't do anything about the abortion issue at this point, so, we should vote on the immigration issue."

This is a blasphemy, especially when it occurs in the religious community.

Selective morality on the part of the Church will reap what it sows....

The bishops and priests need to be consistent morally; then, and only then, will their compassion be genuine. Right now, by encouraging illegals they are showing NO compassion for the 900 Americans a month, who suffer from violence at the hands of illegals!

Authenticity wins/"A contrite and humble heart, O Lord"

I'm watching the live streaming video of the Colorado Springs rally today. Wow, thousands are showing up, I 25 was really backed up for miles!

The American flags that the Democrats trashed after their convention at Invesco were rescued by a good soul, the Boy Scouts collected trash bags full of these flags; they are now being distributed to people in the crowd to be taken home and flown with pride! A telling meaphor.

I am convinced that the wrenching authenticity of John McCain and Sarah Palin will propel them over the finish line in November.

There was one stunning moment in John McCain's speech on Thursday night.

"They broke me, I felt ashamed."

As a Catholic, I could not help recall the 51st Psalm, "a wounded heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise."


Such candor is rare, especially in a politician! However, McCain is older and in terms of death bed reflection he's got nothing to lose, but he's also been to hell and back, he realizes the gravity of what he's asking of the American people. He owes them the truth.

Showing no insecurity, he was brutally honest. He conceded that he had been broken, he was no longer his own man. What saved him? The "Other." In a prison cell in Viet Nam the "other" came in the grit of a fellow prisoner who gave him the energy to get up and try again. This is the ultimate existential moment of every man, that is why it struck home to every American like a white hot ember melting through the dross.

It is at this moment, when man’s spirit is freed from the depths of his soul, and man, becomes who he is. He faces reality directly, honestly. A mere creature, part of the organic matter upon which he rests, and yet, within this mystery, there is a paradox, for, it is at this very moment when the lion within groans, rises out of the ashes of despair and roars majestically, all the way into infinity, spirit seeking Spirit.

Yes, man is mere creature, but at this moment he “knows,” (in the existential sense of that word, “gnosis,” translated from the ancient Greek,) that he is a creature…with a Father.

Here we have utter authenticity. One is now teachable, capable of wisdom.


Now to Sarah.

She strikes the same resounding chord of authenticity. How? Did you notice Piper licking her hand and patting down her little brother's hair while Mom was speaking?

Sarah said "yes" to God's will for her soul in giving birth to Trigg, her beautiful little boy. She's " walked the walk," or, to put it another way, she's given her own "fiat."

Inspite of what the pseudo-feminists say, like NOW, Goria Steinem, Oprah, etc., Sarah Palin is authentically feminine. Pseudo femininists are not advocates of women, they are advocates of one thing and one thing only...abortion. True feminism cradles, nourishes and protects new life...this takes true courage, true strength of character.

Both of these individuals have faced their own trials, both have come out on the side of sacrificial love, a refining fire.


Sarah and John can be trusted. Pray for them.