The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.
The events over the last two weeks have left me for lack of a better word, depressed. In my free hours, I've let myself get sucked into countless videos, posts, and explanations grasping to make sense of three horrifically violent events that just don't add up: the slaughter of innocent children at Mass, the senseless murder of a Ukrainian refugee peacefully sitting on a bus, and the very public and horrific assassination of a man who was trying to dialogue about the root issues driving these very problems - Charlie Kirk.
These last few weeks, as I read the headlines and subsequent articles surrounding each of these events at work, I found myself stopping what I was doing, falling on my knees and crying out to God for their souls... for all of us. Save us Lord! Where do we go from here? How do I not let my heart grow angry?
Throughout the weekend, I found myself reflecting a lot on the quote from Tertullian, “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” And then the most hopeful and marvelous thing happened. My social media feeds started to transform - shifting from horror, confusion and outrage to a response that filled my eyes with tears - countless people returning to Church.
If you are looking to give a witness in this time against great evil or if you are struggling to know what to do with your anger or depression or grief, the greatest witness you can give is to go to Mass and invite your family and friends to join you.
It is the times that are most confusing (the devil is the great deceiver) that we need to unite our hearts to Christ’s heart in the most blessed sacrament. Christ is King and he has carved our names - living and dead - in the palms of his hands.
“Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands.” (Isaiah 49:16)
May God’s most perfect and holy will be done now and forever. He carries each of us with him, and he’s got this all under control.
God bless you,
Matt
Fulton Sheen's Prophetic Message For Americans Today
Did you know Venerable Fulton Sheen predicted this moment in American history? He foresaw the growing threats of socialism, communism, and atheism which would lead our country to a place of radical polarization and violence without God. The good news is, he also wrote about the cure. If you're trying to understand what is happening in the world through a Catholic lens, War and Peace is a wonderful new anthology of Fulton Sheen's prophetic writings that is more relevant today than ever.
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