Salve Regina, Mater Misericordiae.
Our Lord, in today's Gospel begins by telling us that in the temple not one stone will be left upon one stone,
and yet we see very clearly that the foundations of the temple are still present in some other aspects of the temple.
What our Lord is doing here is using that human device of hyperbole to describe the utter destruction
that will come to the chosen people for their rejection of his teaching.
And so our Lord is here neither lying nor trying to deceive.
He is speaking by hyperbole, and most especially he is emphasizing that absolute and utter destruction
that would go on in Jerusalem, especially in the depravities that would be practiced by the cities in the day of their affliction.
For they had rejected the Messiah, and each and every time we reject the Messiah, there is a price to pay.
And so our Lord then begins to warn all of us that we must always be on guard, not seeking to be deceived.
And this deception that has come into our modern world is very rampant and very prominent in the life of the church.
And indeed, it touches the life of the church in ways we don't often reflect,
because we are often deceived by the way error is presented.
And so in today's life of the church, we see even widely accepted teachings,
accepted as the authentic teaching of Jesus Christ,
particularly what comes to mind are some of the proponents of what is called the theology of the body.
And yet, if we understood our catechism,
and that's what our Lord is doing here,
and that's what our Lord is telling us,
what is our solace and what is our hope to have the faith he taught?
And so, if we know the basic principles of the catechism,
then we know that the theology of the body is for the most part being presented in an immodest way.
It is colored up, it is presented attractively,
but nonetheless, it still violates the virtue of purity,
and most especially of modesty, according to the teachings of Jesus Christ.
And so, that is a false teacher.
What is referring to all false teaching as a premonition of the Antichrist.
And indeed, the first members of the mystical body of Christ would also suffer under many Antichrists.
Simon Manus particularly comes to mind.
Arius would follow him, and so there would be a chain, an almost unbroken chain,
just as there is an unbroken chain in the successes of St. Peter,
of those who would postulate error and heresy.
The great heresiarch Luther.
Certainly among them, for his teaching was contrary to the teaching of Christ.
And so, in our day and age, there are many who are going about setting themselves up
as authentic teachers of Jesus Christ, and they are deceiving many.
And if we listen to the man that Jesus Christ has established as the vanguard of our faith,
as the defender of our faith, that is, the vicar of Christ,
then we understand this deception is a willful deception,
for when Leo XIII was asked about priests who are deceiving the faithful
in regards to practices, most particularly within the context of marriage,
he said, if they don't repent, they certainly will go to hell.
And so then he was asked, but certainly the faithful who listen to such teachings,
Holy Father, they will suffer nothing, to which he replied,
oh no, they too will be consigned to hell, because they are going where they are having their ears tickled.
They are looking at the Lord, and they are looking at the Lord, and they are looking at the Lord,
and they are looking at the Lord, and they are looking at the Lord, and they are looking at the Lord, and they are looking at the Lord, and they are looking at the Lord.
And so we must always remember that it is the faith that was revealed to the apostles that is our faith.
And so we must constantly study that faith, for it is our solace.
It is our solace in good times, it is our solace in bad times.
It is our solace when there are no wars, and it is our solace when there are rumors of wars.
And indeed, in our day and age, there are many rumors of wars, and there are also many wars going about.
There is much insurrection.
There is much famine.
There is much calamities in the world.
And so, are we to think that the Antichrist is amongst us, and just around the corner?
He may be, he may not be.
Our Lord tells us very clearly, we are not to worry about such things.
For often, many times, even in the mystical body of Christ,
souls become frightened, thinking that they will be deceived and led astray by the Antichrist.
And yet, that is not what our Lord means here.
For our Lord...
Our Lord tells us very clearly in the Gospel,
if we hold on to the Catholic faith, that is, the faith that He revealed,
then in that time, if we were to live while the Antichrist was walking on this earth,
we would not be deceived, we would recognize Him for what He is, the Antichrist.
And so, we would glorify God most likely according to the tradition of the doctors and fathers of the Church.
We would glorify God by a most horrendous death, for all of them are unanimous,
that in that time of the Antichrist, the persecution of the mystical body of Christ
will be much worse than it was during the times of the Nero's and of the Caesars of old.
And so, we have that one hope, our faith, and it will strengthen us even in these times.
For, if the persecution, as it were, is worse in the time of the Antichrist,
then the grace God gives us to bear it are greater.
And so, we have nothing to fear, for the Lord is telling us today,
that He will always stand behind us, if we hold on to the faith.
If we do not hold on to the faith, then we have no right to His protection,
and in that sense, we are abandoned.
Not because God, strictly speaking, wishes to abandon us, but that we wish to abandon Him.
And so, He must pull back His graces and His aids to us, because we simply do not want them.
So, let us always strive to seek the authentic faith, that faith that is taught to us by the successor
of St. Peter and all those bishops who are united with Him.
And let us not accept any of the modern gurus, even if they purport to be within the mystical body of Christ.
If they are teaching teachings contrary to what Jesus Christ deposited with the Apostles,
then it is not the Catholic faith, and we should have no regard for it.
Indeed, we should combat it in every way that the Lord has put at our disposal,
for such teaching always and everywhere.
And so, let us not cooperate in the deception of souls, but let us cooperate in the edification of souls,
by holding on to that one true faith, by the constant reflection upon that faith,
and the study of a good catechism.
It is a great pious practice within the mystical body of Christ,
for its members to have an approved catechism of the Catholic Church.
And I mean approved, not simply, as it were, recommended, but one that has stood the test of time.
The catechism of St. Peter.
The catechism of St. Charles Borromeo.
The catechism of Pope St. Pius X.
The Baltimore catechisms and other such series that have stood the test of time
and have truly been shown to put forth the authentic Catholic faith.
Indeed, this was a pious practice of Pope St. Pius X himself and St. Pio.
They constantly would study what is called the Penny Catechism.
And so, let us always be found with that true faith,
so that we can maintain it in our own lives,
and so that we can be used by the Mother of God to give it to other souls,
so many souls being led astray, so many souls who are fearing the time of the Antichrist.
And yet, it is not anything that the members of the mystical body need to fear.
For the Lord will defend us when He is here, and He will defend us when He is not here.
He will defend us at all times, and that is what we are to reflect upon.
That is what we are to be concerned with.
Whether we have the protection of the good Christ, the good King, our Lord and Savior.
And so, let us always strive to have His protection,
knowing that that primarily is preserved by having His faith,
that faith that He taught, and that faith that He will teach through the Vicar of Christ
and all bishops united with Him until the end of time.
And we are only united with Christ if we hold on to that faith.
And so, let us be thankful for the warnings our Lord has given us,
let us be thankful for the graces He has given us,
let us be thankful for all that He has done for us,
and let us strive to show that thankfulness by not worrying about the times we live in,
but let us strive to transform those times into, as it were, another Christendom,
another time when Christ truly reigns over the hearts and minds of all men,
and there is no deceptive doctrine about that is on a widespread level.
For there will always be a time,
there will always be deception,
there will always be error in the Church,
there will always be heresiarchs,
there will always be apostates,
there will always be all those who practice sins contrary to the faith.
Indeed, we know full well that we ourselves often fall into some type of sinful activity.
We only pray and hope that we never offend God by a mortal sin
and that we are always repentant, sorrowful for our venial sins,
whether they be deliberate or indeliberate.
And if we do this,
then we will preserve the faith,
we will have the protection of Jesus Christ,
and we will not fear,
because we will be part of those armies of the Lord
that bring about the destruction ultimately of the Antichrist
and ultimately of Satan himself,
so that the reign of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
and the Sacred Heart of Jesus
may be extended again over society,
so that Christendom may again reign,
and then after a period,
it too will disappear probably,
and then rise again.
We only know that someday,
that time our Lord speaks of will come,
that time of the Antichrist.
We should pray to be delivered from that time,
but we should not worry even if we were to live in that time,
for the Lord will defend us whether He is here or whether He is not here,
and that is our solace and that is our hope.
And so, let us in all things strive to please the Lord first,
knowing that in pleasing Him,
we necessarily edify our neighbor,
and so we necessarily cooperate in their salvation.
And so, let us strive to seek
what the Lord wishes to have all of us experience,
that kingdom that cannot be taken away,
that is the heavenly kingdom,
where we will praise Him for all eternity together
as the true mystical body of Christ,
united by charity,
united by love,
because of the wonderful things the Lord has done for us.
Amen.
Let us pray.