There is a hard rationalist
edge to politics in the United States owing to the multiple generations that
have been consciously and unconsciously shaped by the religious skepticism of
the (secular and false) Enlightenment of the 17th and 18th
centuries. Though this worldview is
beginning to crumble, it still makes more than a few people in government roll
their eyes when political analysts like Jeff LeJeune make remarks like
these, believing such things to be irrelevant to statecraft:
‘KNOWING THAT EVIL is
more than just a twentieth century psychological or societal “condition” is one
enormous step toward exposing it, driving us far away from it, and as a result
leading us right into the arms of God.
‘Remember, he can do anything
with a hot or even a cold soul, but he vomits out a lukewarm one. Some of us
need the shock of crazy possibilities to rattle us awake to the true nature and
real presence of evil in play in the world right now.
‘…a darkness that will, or
should, jettison us with the quickness toward the light. Understanding this
concept–understanding our place in relation to a Creator who loves us and who
will do anything to win our hearts back to him–is crucial at this juncture of
our lives.
‘Read that one more time: He
is willing to do ANYTHING to win our souls to him for eternity. And yes, as we
see in the Bible and in life experiences, that often means he allows suffering.
It is why Christ warned against riches and luxury. We become lazy. We become
complacent. We become blind.
‘We traipse right into the
Evil One’s lap.’
Yet he is exactly right: The spiritual battle between Good and evil,
God and satan, are at the center of all the conflict and tension and problems
in the world today. That includes
political problems.
We have the unfortunate
tendency in the US to view the government as some kind of spiritually neutral
territory, but that is not true. As the
Lord Jesus Christ says Himself, ‘He who is not with Me is against Me’ (St
Matthew’s Gospel 12:30); and ‘He is not against us is for us’ (St Mark’s Gospel
9:40).
There has been a notable
testimony of the truth of the Lord’s statements from Nayib Bukele, the
President of El Salvador, who has openly spoken about the demonic presence in
the gangs that have ravaged his country:
‘In a candid and deeply
unsettling interview with Tucker Carlson, President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador
revealed horrifying details about the notorious MS-13 gang, exposing their
involvement in satanic child sacrifice rituals.
‘This stark revelation comes
on the heels of Bukele’s determined campaign to free his country from the
gang’s deadly grip, casting a sobering light on the spiritual warfare against
such malevolent forces.
‘“There is a spiritual war
and there is a physical war,” Bukele told Carlson. “If you win the spiritual
war, it will reflect in the physical war,” he said. “Our impressive victory is
because we won the spiritual war.” Under his leadership, MS-13 has largely been
defeated and the homicide rate in the country rivals Canada’s.
‘ . . . He credited his
administration’s success in improving El Salvador’s security to winning this
spiritual war’ (Mark Ellis, ‘El Salvador’s President: MS-13 gang involved in
satanic child sacrifice’, godreports.com).
President Bukele is also wise
enough to apply those insights to other areas of government: ‘He also told
Carlson that the first priority of his plan for reviving the economy was
“seeking God’s wisdom”’ (Ibid.).
On the negative side of that
coin is Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, who made a blasphemous video
mocking the reception of Holy Communion by feeding a Dorito chip to a kneeling
woman (Caroline Vakil, ‘Catholic League blasts Whitmer for mocking Eucharist’,
thehill.com), an act that without a doubt strengthened the powers of the demons
in Michigan.
The States may also take a
very important lesson from the pre-Communist Revolution era of Russian history. When people become lazy and complacent about
religion, to use some of Jeff’s words, when they fall into the trap of
religious relativism and universalism (‘all roads lead to god’), then they are
opening the door for evil to infiltrate the government and other bodies and to
overthrow whatever is good. That is precisely
what is related to us in the life of a good and zealous priest in 19th-century
Russia, Father Photius Spassky:
‘In the first quarter of the
nineteenth century, due to the spread of Freemasonry in Russia, Freemasons were
threatening to seize power in the country. Russia had never been so close to
the brink of destruction as in 1817–1822. At that time, in the long-suffering
lands from Warsaw to Irkutsk there were over 100 masonic lodges, which had over
5,500 members, almost the entire cream of Russian aristocracy. Up to twenty
Masonic lodges were active in St. Petersburg, whose activities, according to
Spassky, were aimed against “the faith of Christ, against Christian piety,
against any Government and civil order.” All this was encouraged by Emperor
Alexander I, who at that time was inclined towards mysticism. Freemasons
influenced the State machinery and took over the media. These were people
devoid of national consciousness, and were often openly anti-Russian. It is no
wonder that this period is called the “golden age of Freemasonry.”
‘ . . . Monk Photius
fearlessly set about struggling against Freemasonry, whose representatives were
the most influential figures of the Empire. Physically weak, in chains and a
hairshirt, with festering wounds on his body, Fr. Photius had a “willing spirit”
(cf. Mt. 26:41), ardent faith, and an iron will. His Guardian Angel
strengthened him in his service to the Church and the Fatherland. . . . Fr.
Photius saw Freemasons as servants of satan who were undermining the monarchy
and the Church in Russia. The Emperor’s friend Prince A.N. Golitsyn, who
promoted the ideas of Christian universalism, was surrounded by Freemasons. He
saw nothing bad in spiritualistic seances and participated in them for most of
his life. He was also engaged in the demonic business of animal magnetism’
(Maria Tobolova, ‘Archimandrite Photius (1792–1838), Fearless Fighter Against
Freemasons, Part 1’, orthochristian.com).
But there is no fatalism
here; mankind can choose to turn away from evil. That is what happened in Russia at the time
thanks to Fr Photius:
‘While entering the palace,
Fr. Photius made the sign of the cross in front of all the entrances and exits,
“supposing that a whole host of evil spirits dwelled and were active there.” At
the entrance to the hall where Alexander I was waiting for him, and without
approaching the Tsar, he hoped to see an icon in order to make the sign of the
cross before greeting him. Seeing a small icon of the Savior in an
inconspicuous corner, the archimandrite crossed himself, fell on his knees in
front of the icon, prayed, and only then approached the Emperor. His
conversation with the monarch about the dangers of secret societies and their
preparation for a coup d’etat lasted three hours, and the sovereign realized
the abyss to which their subversive activities were leading the country.
Archimandrite Photius reported to the Tsar about “the danger hanging over the
Church from its enemies, both visible and secret.” The monarch bowed at Fr.
Photius’ feet and subsequently called him an angel sent from Heaven. After that
conversation, on August 1/14, 1822, the Emperor issued a “Decree on the closure
of Masonic lodges and all secret societies on the territory of the Russian
Empire,” and dismissed high-ranking Masons. It was the first victory of the
Russian Opposition. On the day the decree was issued, Fr. Photius received a
pectoral cross and a jeweled panagia from His Majesty’s office’ (Maria
Tobolova, ‘Archimandrite Photius (1792–1838), Fearless Fighter Against
Freemasons, Part 2’, orthochristian.com).
Because of the fervent labors
of one man, catastrophe was averted:
‘ . . . thanks to his
efforts, a royal decree was issued banning Masonic lodges, and thus the events
of 1825 did not incite all of society to revolution and violence. (Let us
recall that 120 Decembrists were Freemasons.) However, the conspirators’
provocation on Senate Square caused the deaths of 1,270 people in the capital,
mostly from among deceived common folk. Archimandrite Photius, together with
his followers, saved Russia from destruction— December 1825 could have become
February 1917’ (Ibid.).
The sad tragedy is that the
spiritual correction and healing initiated by Fr Photius didn’t last. Like the Israelites in the Old Testament, the
Russians again fell away from God and experienced all the evils and cruelties
of the atheistic communists from 1917 until 1991.
The experience of Russia is
of intense relevance to the United States.
Many will probably be asking why that is so. A holy Russian elder, Ignatius of Harbin
(+1958), who lived through the mass murder of Christians by the Soviet
communists, made a stunning prophecy about the States: ‘What started in Russia will end in America’
(Fr Alexander Shargunov, ‘Now is the Time for Preparation, Part 2’
orthochristian.com). A North American
saint, Seraphim Rose of California (+1982), made a similar prophecy in the opening
of his book Russia’s Catacomb Saints:
‘Today in Russia, tomorrow in America.’
. . .
The rest is at https://thehayride.com/2024/10/garlington-spiritual-warfare-in-the-corridors-of-government/.
--
Holy
Ælfred the Great, King of England, South Patron, pray for us sinners at the Souð, unworthy though we are!
Anathema
to the Union!
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