This is what everyone is concerned about, Coronavirus Protection, and rightly so. It would be rash and imprudent not to follow the guidlelines of nature. However, there is another means of protection which the world is unaware of, and does not take into consideration. It is the protection of God himself to those who cling to His commandments, “because he clings to Me,” God says. So, this protection is really not extended to everyone because many are not keeping His commandments, but living in sin. Living in sin actually brings down God’s chastisements in many and varied ways. Plagues, war, the sword, accidents, diseases and so on. We read in the Book of Judith how Achior gives Holofernes an account of the people of Israel. Achior explains how God would fight for His people when they obeyed him, and he would chastise them when they sinned. “Wheresoever they went in without bow and arrow, and without shield and sword, their God fought for them and overcame. [17] And there was no one that triumphed over this people, but when they departed from the worship of the Lord their God. [18] But as often as beside their own God, they worshipped any other, they were given to spoil, and to the sword, and to reproach. [19] And as often as they were penitent for having revolted from the worship of their God, the God of heaven gave them power to resist.” He went on to explain that if there was any iniquity in them, God would deliver them over: “Now therefore, my lord, search if there be any iniquity of theirs in the sight of their God: let us go up to them, because their God will surely deliver them to thee, and they shall be brought under the yoke of thy power.” This is all contained in the fifth chapter of Judith, and the lesson is, if we do God’s will, He will protect us; if not, then He will chastise. Just as a good father only chastises his children when they do wrong, so likewise does God deal with us. Therefore, we would be wise to repent of our sins and start keeping his commandments. or, we will be punished in this life, and eternal fire in the next, if we die at enmity with God.
Hell is real, but St. Faustina said it was revealed to her that most people in hell didn’t really believe there was a hell! Isn’t that true? If sinners saw every night on TV the police taking some new offender of the day to a boiling red hot boiler like they have in factories, and on live tv they saw him thrown into the fire, and started screaming and dying, and they were warned that if they went out and slept with someone, committing fornication, the same would happen to them, would they continue to sin? And each night on tv they saw new people apprehended and thrown into the red hot boiler, screaming and dying in despair, do you think they would commit that sin? Mockers will scoff at these things, but there is a true story of Russians doing earth research in Siberia in the early 90’s, and they drilled down 9 miles and believed they discovered hell. They put a heat tester down the hole and it tested over 2,000 degrees. They put a recorder down the hole and it sounded like thousands of people screaming in pain..You can type in Screams from hell on Google and it will come up. One man heard it on the radio and thought it was all false, but he said when he got back to Norway, it was all over the papers in Norway. Back to my story, and Achior’s warning.
| [1] And it was told Holofernes the general of the army of the Assyrians, that the children of Israel prepared themselves to resist, and had shut up the ways of the mountains. [2] And he was transported with exceeding great fury and indignation, and he called all the princes of Moab and the leaders of Amman. [3] And he said to them: Tell me what is this people that besetteth the mountains: or what are their cities, and of what sort, and how great: also what is their power, or what is their multitude: or who is the king over their warfare: [4] And why they above all that dwell in the east, have despised us, and have not come out to meet us, that they might receive us with peace? [5] Then Achior captain of all the children of Ammon answering, said: If thou vouch safe, my lord, to hear, I will tell the truth in thy sight concerning this people, that dwelleth in the mountains, and there shall not a false word come out of my mouth.[6] This people is of the offspring of the Chaldeans. [7] They dwelt first in Mesopotamia, because they would not follow the gods of their fathers, who were in the land of the Chaldeans. [8] Wherefore forsaking the ceremonies of their fathers, which consisted in the worship of many gods, [9] They worshipped one God of heaven, who also commanded them to depart from thence, and to dwell in Charan. And when there was a famine over all the land, they went down into Egypt, and there for four hundred years were so multiplied, that the army of them could not be numbered. [10] And when the king of Egypt oppressed them, and made slaves of them to labour in clay and brick, in the building of his cities, they cried to their Lord, and he struck the whole land of Egypt with divers plagues.[11] And when the Egyptians had cast them out from them, and the plague had ceased from them, and they had a mind to take them again, and bring them back to their service, [12] The God of heaven opened the sea to them in their flight, so that the waters were made to stand firm as a wall on either side, and they walked through the bottom of the sea and passed it dry foot. [13] And when an innumerable army of the Egyptians pursued after them in that place, they were so overwhelmed with the waters, that there was not one left, to tell what had happened to posterity. [14] And after they came out of the Red Sea, they abode in the deserts of mount Sina, in which never man could dwell, or son of man rested. [15] There bitter fountains were made sweet for them to drink, and for forty years they received food from heaven.[16] Wheresoever they went in without bow and arrow, and without shield and sword, their God fought for them and overcame. [17] And there was no one that triumphed over this people, but when they departed from the worship of the Lord their God. [18] But as often as beside their own God, they worshipped any other, they were given to spoil, and to the sword, and to reproach. [19] And as often as they were penitent for having revolted from the worship of their God, the God of heaven gave them power to resist. [20] So they overthrew the king of the Chanaanites, and of the Jebusites, and of the Pherezites, and of the Hethites, and of the Hevites, and of the Amorrhites, and all the mighty ones in Hesebon, and they possessed their lands, and their cities:[21] And as long as they sinned not in the sight of their God, it was well with them: for their God hateth iniquity. [22] And even some years ago when they had revolted from the way which God had given them to walk therein, they were destroyed in battles by many nations, and very many of them were led away captive into a strange land. [23] But of late returning to the Lord their God, from the different places wherein they were scattered, they are come together and are gone up into all these mountains, and possess Jerusalem again, where their holies are. [24] Now therefore, my lord, search if there be any iniquity of theirs in the sight of their God: let us go up to them, because their God will surely deliver them to thee, and they shall be brought under the yoke of thy power: [25] But if there be no offense of this people in the sight of their God, we can not resist them, because their God will defend them: and we shall be a reproach to the whole earth.[26] And it came to pass, when Achior had ceased to speak these words, all the great men of Holofernes were angry, and they had a mind to kill him, saying to each other: [27] Who is this, that saith the children of Israel can resist king Nabuchodonosor, and his armies, men unarmed, and without force, and without skill in the art of war? [28] That Achior therefore may know that he deceiveth us, let us go up into the mountains: and when the bravest of them shall be taken, then shall he with them be stabbed with the sword: [29] That every nation may know that Nabuchodonosor is god of the earth, and besides him there is no other. |
With all the mass hysteria that has been created by the media, you would think this is the only virus in the world. Mind you, I am not downplaying the danger, but when the swine flu was here in Obama’s term, thousands of people died, but the media were relatively silent about that. But let us listen to what God’s Word says in the Book of Psalms about plague and pestilence, and how he protects those, night and night, because they cling to him. This is taken from the TRACT in the traditional Missal for the first Sunday in Lent, Psalm 90, 1-7 and 11-16:
“You who dwell in the shelter of the Most High, shall abide in the shadow of the Almighty. Say to the Lord, My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” For he will rescue you from the snare of the fowler, from the destroying pestilence. With his pinions he will cover you, and under his wings you shall take refuge. His faithfulness is a buckler and a shield; you shall not fear the terror of the night. Nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that roams in darkness; nor the devastating plague at noon. Though a thousand fall at your side, ten thousand at your right side, near you it shall not come. For to his angels he has given command about you, that they may guard you in all your ways. Upon their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. You shall tread upon the asp and the viper; you shall trample down the lion and the dragon. Because he clings to me, I will deliver him, I will set him on high because he acknowledges My Name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in distress. I will deliver him and glorify him; with length of days I will gratify him and will show him my salvation.”
There you have it, God’s protection even from the devastating plague of the coronavirus if, we are clinging to him and keeping his commandments. If you are living in sin, my suggestion would be to get to confession as soon as possible, start praying the rosary every day, and wear the brown scapular of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, which has a promise of salvation to those who die wearing it, and also special protection. One man who was not a Catholic started wearing the scapular, and saying a Hail Mary every day. Later on, several months later he suffered a heart attack and was rushed to the hospital. He told his friend he said a Hail Mary on the way to the hospital. When the doctor examined him, he said, “You should have died on the way to the hospital!”
But how do we keep his commandments? First, we should begin by making a true and sincere Act of Contrition, telling God we are sorry for having offended him so many times, with a firm resolution to turn away from sin. If your neighbor offended you as many times as you’ve offended God, would you be angry?
Secondly, we have to learn to pray. Talk to God, praise him, thank him, adore him, and petition him for the many graces you need to do his will.
My God, I believe, I adore, I hope, and I love Thee; and I beg pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope , and do not love Thee. – Prayer of the Angel taught to the children of Fatima, 1916.
But we have to pray much. The more we pray, the more grace God gives us, just as for an example, the more shots a basketball player takes, the more points he makes. Jesus himself prayed repetitiously in the Garden, St. Matt. 26:44. Especially the holy rosary, which was given to us from heaven to St. Dominic. You can find the promises of the rosary on the internet. The second promise Mary promises her special protection to all those who pray the rosary, and she also said it would decrease sin. We must quit sinning if we want God’s blessing, and not his chastisement. Mary said at Fatima, to the 3 little children, whom she showed a vision of hell in July, she said, “Man must stop offending God , who is already too much offended.” I have said enough. I think it should be clear to those who read these lines, what they must do if they want God’s special protection in these perilous and trying times.
If you have found this article helpful, please consider sharing it with others, members of your family and friends. I would also suggest to the clergy, the bishops and priests to promote the rosary far and wide, in every nook and cranny, to encourage every single Catholic to pray that rosary everyday. St. Alphonsus said Mary is the channel of grace, and if the channel is closed up, the devil easily overcomes souls. Did Jesus, the author of grace, not come into the world through her? The reason the world is in such a mess today is because so very few Catholics are praying the rosary, and the channel of grace is barely open, kind of like a faucet barely dripping. . As a matter of fact, who was it that saved the people from Holofernes when he closed up the aqueducts to the city? It wasn’t the army, it wasn’t the men, it was a woman, Judith. God used a very holy, beautiful, and virtuous woman to save the people from destruction. Judith was a figure of the Blessed Virgin Mother, and God is going to use the Blessed Virgin Mary to bring the people back to God. In a 700 year old prophecy, Mary predicted, “One day through the rosary and scapular, I will save the world.” At Fatima, Portugal, she came with the rosary and the scapular. Sr. Lucy said she wants everyone to pray the rosary every day, and wear the Brown Scapular. When we are devoted to the Mother, she draws us closer to her Son. As the scripture says, “Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in array?” Canticles (Solomon) 6:9. This woman that is feared by the devils, and is terrible as an army in battle array, is the Blessed Virgin Mary. She has been given great power by her Son Jesus to overcome the demons, and help us overcome them too, but, we have to pray her rosary every day and wear her scapular, if we want her to help us.
Lastly, I would encourage all fallen away Catholics to come back to the Church, and others who are outside the Church to do their research, and embrace the true Church as well, for the Scriptures said of those who would be saved that they were added to the church: “The Lord added daily to the Church such as should be saved.” Acts 2:47. And the most terrible scripture of all concerning Christ’s Church, the threat of damnation if we refuse to hear his Church, that is, if we leave it and follow it no more, or refuse to come into it: “And if he will not hear the Church, let him be to thee as the heathen, and the publican.” St. Matt. 18:17. The heathen and the publican cannot be saved unless they repent, and Jesus puts us in a class with them if we do not hear his Church. This is a threat of damnation, theologians tell us.