The battle is still raging, Men of God, Rise up!

"Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you stand firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear omen to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict which you saw and now hear to be mine. " Phil 1:27-30

Men of God,

What we read here is a call to arms. We are called to unite, to stand side by side for the Gospel in faith, fearing nothing that the adversary throws our way.

Unity. Our Lord prayed so fervently "that we may be one" as He and the Father are One. This unity of body, heart and spirit is found amongst us in the catholic faith; united in the Flesh and Blood we receive in the Eucharist as we pray from our hearts, through the Holy Spirit. Every Mass we attend we, in a very real way enter into this unity. This unity is the best defense against the attacks of the enemy because as the old saying goes, "united we stand, divided we fall." If satan can get us to retreat to out secret rooms to pray by ourselves and seek religious instruction and unity with God apart from the Holy Church and her members then he has divided us and will pick us off like fish in a barrel, one at a time. Fellowship, unity, brotherhood, being of one mind and spirit are situations that satan cannot stand to see because as his name suggests he seeks to divide. This unity is a sign of our salvation in as much as we are united to Christ, Who is our salvation. Through unity with His Body, the Church, we stand together as One Body in defense of truth and justice, with impenetrable armor and deadly weapons. An "omen of destruction" stands before the armies of darkness, We shall not fear their attack, we shall stand strong and bid them to come to their doom at the hands of the all powerful God, our Lord Jesus Christ!We are the Church, the army of the Lord of Hosts! We shall stand, we shall suffer, we shall taste death but not defeat!

For we too as the Pioneer of our faith did shall travel the road from death to life and rise again in the ultimate defeat of darkness. Let us together as Men of Christ, stand united in defense of truth and hold the line, no even more, advance the line for those who shall follow in the footsteps of Christ, Who is Lord forever and ever. Amen.