FROM THE SERVANT GENERAL
NEW YEAR MESSAGE
TRUSTING THE ETERNAL GOD
January 1, 2024
New Year’s Day
We ended last year with a bang. No, not just the usual fireworks, but with existential explosions in the world and in the Church.
In the world, there is the war in Gaza, in Israel, which threatens to engulf the region in a larger war, which then would threaten to engulf the world in an even larger devastating war, perhaps including nuclear weapons. There is genocide happening in Gaza, with Palestinians being massacred, their homes destroyed, their lands taken from them, and they face a dire and very uncertain future. Are we truly in the end times?
Then, in the Church, Pope Francis issued Fiducia Supplicans, which allows priests to bless those in irregular unions, including same-sex couples. This has divided our Church, with papal apologists on the one hand, and those who see the dangers on the other hand. I for one see the continued advance of modernists in our Church, pushing for acceptance of LGBT and threatening to overthrow age-old teachings of Christ and of the Church. The barque of Peter is capsizing.
So we start the new year with these existential threats hanging over our heads. It is enough to be in total despair.
But then, how can we despair when we can trust in Jesus our Lord? The reality is that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. He has the whole world in his hands. As God loved the world so that He sent His own Son Jesus to redeem us, so will God love us, all the way to eternity. Jesus is always with us, bringing us to righteousness and holiness. The Holy Spirit will continue to guide us all the way to heaven.
Let us pray for Israel, with whom God still has His covenant promises. Let us pray for all oppressed people in the world, especially for Palestine. And let us pray for our Church, which according to prophecy and Marian apparitions, are now in the times of infiltration by the enemy, at the highest levels.
Let us pray for ourselves, our families and our community, for God’s mercy and strength. In Jesus is our hope and our salvation. This truth has always been, certainly is now, and will be through the end of time.
Happy New Year to all.
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