In
these days we see continuing evidence of the existence and growth of evil in
our culture, in the media, in crime and now apparently in terrorism within this
great country’s borders. We desperately need to stay grounded in our faith,
something we can be
encouraged in by the examples of those who have gone before us. Consider the Siege of Jasna Gora in 1655 when
the Swedes were threatening to totally overtake Poland. Anthony Esolen, in a piece for Magnificat,
tells us the dramatic story of the battle that turned everything around, thanks
to Our Lady of Częstochowa:
It is a bitter December, 1655. Twelve thousand Swedes have encamped before
Jasna Gora, [Polish for “Bright Hill”], which
is both monastery and fortress. They
have all the vanity and power lust of the never-defeated. They look upon Jasna Gora as the last
fortress to fall [in their invasion and over running of Poland and suppression
of the Catholic faith]. If it falls,
every Pole will know the war is over.
Jan Casimir [the Polish king] will abdicate, for the sake of his people
and that will be that. The Swedes have
cannons, too. Inside the monastery are
300 men, most of them monks inexperienced in war.
An emissary from the Swedes
approaches the monastery…he says, “Every city from here to the Baltic Sea has
surrendered. You are 300. What can you do...give in.” The Swedes add a threat. If the monks do not surrender, they will put
the village nearby to the torch. It will
not be the last emissary or the last offer and threat…Some of the defenders
have died, the walls are being shelled very day. Food is running low. Ammunition is low…Why hold out?
The Poles continue to fight…They also
continue to pray, and the Swedes from their tents in the snow will often hear
to their surprise and dismay, the sounds of joyous celebration, especially on
the feasts of Our Lady and on Christmas Eve…the monastery is the scene of many
inexplicable occurrences. One of the
Swedish soldiers blasphemes against Mary and is struck down by a cannonball
from the monastery, but the cannon was not aimed at him. The fatal shot ricocheted from the snow. Dense fog descends upon the monastery just
when the Swedes are advancing to the walls, and then suddenly dissipates, in
apparent answer to [the monks’] prayers, leaving the Swedes unprepared and
exposed to attack from above. Swedish
cannonballs often rebound from the walls to their own, and that is how their chief
cannon is destroyed.
In that same fog, it seems
sometimes that Jasna Gora is bathed in a strange light and poised high in the
air, so that Swedish shots fall short; sometimes it appears low and close, and
the shots sail harmlessly over the monastery…What is most fascinating is the
testimony of many of the Swedish soldiers recorded after the siege. They saw a woman dressed in blue up on the
ramparts, pointing the Polish cannons and bringing ammunition. Some of the Swedes would then drop their
weapons in fear. Sometimes they saw a
maiden in white, pointing a sword their way.
One time one of the attackers aimed a cannon at the maiden and its
breech exploded, driving the iron back into his face. Her bearing struck terror into their
hearts. “Who is that witch,” they would
say, “who walks upon your walls?”
…Always we will have the world
against us. The lesson of Bright Hill is to keep the faith even when all around
us have surrendered. When we meet that
woman in blue, let us be able to say, “Lady, be gracious to me! I’m a sinner and a fool, but I never laid
down my sword for comfort or the approval of the world.”
Indeed, it seems we always will have the world against
us. Just read the headlines of the news
on any day in this age of secular relativism and political correctness, where
what was right is now wrong and vice-versa, where acts of terrorism are called
workplace violence, and where God has been pushed out of the public square and
religious liberty is on the ropes.
Now, more than ever, we need to heed the words of Our Lady
of Fatima, (repeated with increasing urgency and emphasis in the 20th
century at Kibeho and Akita:
“As I told you, if men do not repent and
better themselves, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all
humanity. It will be a punishment greater than the deluge, such as one will
never have seen before. Fire will fall from the sky and will wipe out a great
part of humanity, the good as well as the bad, sparing neither priests nor
faithful. The survivors will find themselves so desolate that they will envy
the dead.
The only arms which will remain for you will
be the Rosary and the Sign left by my Son. Each day, recite the prayers of the
Rosary. With the Rosary, pray for the Pope, the bishops and the priests. The
work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one
will see cardinals opposing cardinals, and bishops against other bishops. The
priests who venerate me will be scorned and opposed by their Confreres. The
Church and altars will be vandalized. The Church will be full of those who
accept compromises and the demon will press many priests and consecrated souls
to leave the service of the Lord.
So how about it? Are
we praying our Rosary daily? Are we
calling upon Our Lady for her intercession in these difficult times, and for
the grace we need to be prepared for what lies ahead? No time like now to start if one hasn’t been
doing this.
And a special word to the guys who read this: as author David
Calvillo says, “Real Men Pray the Rosary.”
His book with that title provides some background on the Rosary and
spiritual food for thought for men who might be interested. BUT—you don’t need a book—just start or begin
again to pray the Rosary, ASAP. The Rosary
is not just a devotion for kids and women, guys.
It is a Christ-centered prayer available to, and commended to, us
ALL.
Our Lady helped the faithful at Jasna Gora. She’ll help us as well if we only do what she asks of
us. Can we do it? Can we encourage others to do so by our
example? Will we do it?
At some time in the not too distant future, many believe, we’ll
wish we had taken Our Lady's exhortations more seriously. There’s still time. Start now.
