Eleventh Award for ‘Return to Order’ Proves Book More Timely Than Ever

SPRING GROVE, Penn. (November 18, 2016) – How a deeply divided America can recover from a grueling election cycle is far from clear, but the book, Return to Order, contains valuable insights that can help. In fact, the book’s message is more timely than ever as can be seen by the fact that it has just won its eleventh award. The book, written by John Horvat II, vice president for The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP), earned the runner-up prize in the 2016 Shelf Unbound Best Indie Book Competition. It has also just passed the quarter million milestone of books in circulation.

Free Book: Return to Order: From a Frenzied Economy to an Organic Christian Society—Where We’ve Been, How We Got Here, and Where We Need to Go

“The news about the award was very welcome,” Horvat commented. “I think it shows how much people thirst for order in our chaotic times.”

Return to Order: From a Frenzied Economy to an Organic Christian Society—Where We’ve Been, How We Got Here, and Where We Need to Go is reaching readers and decision makers nationwide. Horvat is constantly speaking to groups, talk show hosts and leaders about making the necessary connection between the economy, faith and moral values. He points out how the frenetic intemperance of today’s secular culture is tearing the nation apart. More importantly, he proposes what he calls organic solutions.

The 2016 Shelf Unbound Best Indie Book Competition rewards those independent writers who stand out in their fields. The award is sponsored by the Shelf Media Group, publisher of Shelf Unbound indie book review magazine, which features the best of small press and self-published books. The magazine reaches 125,000 avid readers in more than 70 countries and is known for its in-depth interviews with authors ranging from unsung talents to Pulitzer Prize winners. The award attracts writers in fiction and non-fiction categories.



The award comes as over 265,000 copies of Return to Order are in circulation in print, e-book and audio formats. The over-quarter-million milestone is the product of an intense campaign to get the word out about the book. Horvat has given presentations in more than six dozen cities across the nation, including recent appearances in Las Vegas and Bismark, N.D. He has participated in more than 355 media interviews and is a frequent contributor to numerous national news outlets including American Thinker, Crisis Magazine, The Stream, Imaginative Conservative, TheBlaze and others.

“The solution to the present crisis must involve a return to an order that addresses the whole picture of what has gone wrong in America, not just pieces of the puzzle,” said Horvat in a recent commentary on the elections.

Return to Order has received dozens of endorsements from church, military and political leaders. It has ranked #1 on Amazon/Kindle in four countries.

“Return to Order sets forth valuable recommendations for restoring our society to its foundations of ordered liberty and traditional values,” says the Honorable Edwin Meese III, former Attorney General of the United States.

For more information about Return to Order, visit the web site at www.returntoorder.org. Schedule an interview, talk or book event with John Horvat, by calling 717-309-7147 or e-mailing him at jh1908@aol.com.

Eleventh Award for ‘Return to Order’ Proves Book More Timely Than Ever -: Eleventh Award for ‘Return to Order’ Proves Book More Timely Than Ever, as it passes the quarter million milestone of books in circulation

To Make America Great, Turn Back to God -

By The American TFP

More than a White House contest between two candidates, the 2016 election was the groundswell of growing discontent over America’s increasingly socialist tone.

Now, thanks be to God, the conservative vote won the White House, Senate and House, and a record number of governorships and statehouse majorities. This reality has brought relief and awakened great hopes. Above all, conservatives were buoyed by the promises of President-elect Donald Trump who assured them they would not be forgotten and that they would have a voice. Now is the time to fulfill these promises. American conservative voters must not be betrayed.

Free Book: Return to Order: From a Frenzied Economy to an Organic Christian Society—Where We’ve Been, How We Got Here, and Where We Need to Go


Joining with many organizations in the conservative movement, and acting as the voice for moral values of its 200,000 campaign members nationwide, the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property—TFP expresses its hopes here and lists its demands for what must be done to right the course of the American nation.

*     *     *

What moved America’s forgotten voters on November 8 was a shattered order that has affected all aspects of life. As was repeated during the election cycle, the whole system is broken, its liberal and permissive vision for society has failed and voters are desperately looking for solutions.

Burdened by overregulation and social breakdown, the American model that worked for so long no longer functions. Indeed, the system even works against the interests of citizens. It no longer fuels dreams but rather sows uncertainties and nightmares, bringing stress, anxiety and depression.

Components of a Return to Order

That is why the solution to the present crisis must involve a return to order that addresses the whole picture of what has gone wrong in America, not just pieces of the puzzle. It must above all address the forgotten moral issues that are commonly left behind by politicians.

All too often, conservatives have fought tooth and nail against that which they do not want to see implemented in the country—abortion, socialism, transgenderism, social engineering in the military. This election victory provides the opportunity to outline the kind of order they do want for America.

Thus, any proposal for a return to order must include the following three points:

1. It must be a moral order in which leaders fearlessly do everything possible to advance the cause of life, the traditional family and Christian morals. If the nation is to prosper, it needs to return to that moral code based on the Ten Commandments and natural law that made America great. People must no longer be afraid to affirm this and stand up to a politically correct culture that claims there is no right and wrong by blurring all definitions. Without this essential component, America will not recover.

Indeed, any attempt to stimulate the economy without this return to morality will fail, since an economic system cannot thrive without the firm foundation of a work ethic, honesty and trust. A culture that knows no moral restraint and is obsessed by the frenetic intemperance of instant gratification will always be unbalanced and must ultimately fail. A nation that continues on the path of moral destruction can expect nothing but disaster.

2. It must be an anti-socialist order based on free enterprise. America must be freed from the burden of onerous regulations, massive one-size-fits-all government programs and high taxes. It is time to find organic solutions based on the ingenuity of the American people, their love of ordered liberty and their practical sense to get things done well. It is time for leaders at all levels of society to step up to the plate with creative solutions that eschew intrusive government. As long as America is suffocating under the yoke of socialist tyranny, there will be no return to order.

3. It must be an order that enthrones God once again. America has always been a nation that trusted in Divine Providence. However, that trust is now waning. But if we are not on God’s side, how can we expect Him to be on our side?

Enthroning God Once Again

The forgotten conservatives who worked so hard for this victory want a return to order that will make America great. More importantly, they want to build that moral America that God will bless.

It makes no sense that a nation built on Christian principles and one that defeated atheist Nazism and Communism, finds itself in a situation where Ten Commandment monuments, crosses, nativity scenes and Christmas carols are targeted by secular rage.

 

For too long, political correctness has held sway, banishing God from His rightful place in society, and now, in some instances, replacing Him with the public worship of Satan. Americans from all walks of life must have the courage to exercise their right to honor God in the public square. They must not be afraid to call upon God’s blessing and implore His aid in these difficult times. They must keep and respect His law by living lives of virtue and charity. If she is to prosper and be great, America must enthrone God again.

Wholesale Change

We must now adopt a program of wholesale change by immediate and urgent executive, legislative and judicial actions to right the nation’s course. The work to be done encompasses change not just in government, but at the very core of our culture. And more than just our elected officials keeping their promises, the task involves everyone in the conservative movement: clergy, individuals, families, grassroots organizations, think tanks and academia. To effect this needed change, the mindsets of many Americans must change. The labor is monumental and calls for a willingness to fight for America greater than the dogged opposition of those whose liberal agenda has brought the country to the verge of ruin.

Fighting for Life

Among America’s forgotten voters are those who fight for the most vulnerable—the  unborn—demanding for them the fundamental right to life.

Now is the time to bleach out the stain on America’s honor, its great sin against God: Roe v. Wade.

These forgotten voters expect President-elect Trump to nominate, and the Republican majority in the Senate to confirm, unquestionably pro-life judges for the U.S. Supreme Court and all federal courts. These judges must subscribe to our Common Law legal tradition of a higher law (divine and natural law) that should inform the laws of the land. They should interpret the Constitution to mean what was written and intended by our Founding Fathers, putting an end to the judicial activism of the past decades.

They expect federal and state governments to defund Planned Parenthood.

The forgotten pro-life voter not only expects life for the unborn, but protection against euthanasia and assisted suicide that ravage the moral landscape and threaten society’s most vulnerable.

Fighting for the American Family

America’s forgotten voters also include those who defend the sacred institutions of marriage and the family.

Now is the time to overturn that second immense sin against God: Obergefell v. Hodges.

Together with getting marriage right again, America’s forgotten pro-family voters expect a Trump Administration to overturn Obama’s tyranny that forced homosexual and transgender policies on federal workers and contractors, the military and, above all, the nation’s schools.

America’s forgotten pro-family voters expect the prompt burial of Common Core, No Child Left Behind, Every Child Succeeds and a whole slew of other socialist chokeholds on the wholesome and solid education of America’s children.

All these things are tearing America and its families apart. Now is the time to set them right. Without strong families, America can never be great.

Fighting for an Anti-Socialist America

The nation’s forgotten voters reject and demand the immediate repeal of a massive tide of socialist regulation, legislation and entitlements that inhibit the nation’s economic development and suffocate their efforts to prosper.

They have two sets of demands from the nation’s political leadership.

First, they demand the quick repeal of Obamacare, Dodd-Frank, the Death Tax and the thousands of socialist regulations and executive orders that are crippling and stifling America’s economy. This will liberate the nation’s potential, create jobs and help stabilize the economy.

Second, they demand the downsizing of government to its legitimate and constitutional limits. Not just the federal, but bloated and top-heavy state, county and municipal government as well.

Between killing the socialist regulatory behemoth and downsizing government, the economy will be stimulated, while government spending and debt will be reduced to manageable levels.

Fighting for America’s military and law enforcement

America’s forgotten voters demand the repeal of the sequester in our defense budget, and the homosexual, transgender and women-in-combat policies Obama imposed on our Armed Forces.

They demand a strong military and an Administration that backs it up in its role of defending the nation from all threats. These include a resurgent Russia and China, and Islamists who are pledged to destroy America and Western Christian civilization.

They are alarmed by the murder of our police officers and the anarchy now surfacing all over the country. They long for a return to the rule of law and a culture in which law and order are cherished and enforced.

Fighting for Sovereignty and a Pro-America Foreign Policy

Respect for borders is for a nation what respect for ownership and private property is to a family.

America’s forgotten voters demand this respect for borders and an end to sanctuary cities’ anarchical mocking of our immigration laws. They demand an end to the travesty of elections in which non-US citizens vote.

They demand a full reversal of Obama’s disastrous foreign policy including his Iran deal; the normalization of relations with Castro’s Marxist Cuba (the island prison); and the Paris Agreement on climate change.

They demand that America immediately reassure its traditional allies that the nation will always be true to its pledged word of honor and stands ready to defend them in the event of hostilities.

They warn against a misguided and baseless trust in and cooperation with a resurgent nationalist Russia and a faithless communist China. And they urge cautious and prudent measures to forestall the danger from a rising authoritarianism, as seen recently in Islamist Turkey.

*     *     *

These are the demands of millions of forgotten American voters on the cusp of the new Trump Administration and the TFP joins its voice to theirs.

May God grant wisdom, prudence, temperance, justice and fortitude to President-elect Trump and all our elected leaders.

And may the Blessed Mother protect and favor all Ten Commandment Americans who toil in the gigantic rebuilding that must be carried out, the rewarding labor of making America “one nation under God.”

November 15, 2016
The American TFP

The Passing of a King

Written by John Horvat II

 

I would see him from time to time at events and meetings in Washington D.C. He was a seven-foot-tall African gentleman who was always very courteous and soft-spoken. He had a stately bearing that was at the same time dignified and disarming. I am told he was very pious and could often be seen at Mass or with a rosary in his hand.  He commanded respect, but it was not difficult to walk up and converse with him. A couple of times, I had the honor of speaking with the king.

Indeed, he was a king, a Catholic king who was, in fact, the last anointed African king living. It was with great sadness that I heard the news of the death of King Kigeli V of Rwanda, 80, who passed away recently at a Washington-area hospital.

The news set the stage for some reflections.

I reflected upon how his life was one of turmoil and suffering, which he bore well. He became king in the turbulent times of African independence when revolutionary liberation movements were wreaking havoc on the continent. Rwanda was not exempt from the unrest. Soon after independence, ethnic rivalry led to the forced exiling of many Tutsi tribal people. The departing Belgian administrators added to the confusion by arranging King Kigeli’s exile in 1961. This was followed by the typical succession of “democratic” African governments that culminated in the 1994 wave of anarchy and mass killings in which as many as a half million civilians, mostly Tutsi, were slaughtered.

In exile, the king did not lead an ordinary life. He respected the Rwandan tradition that an exiled king does not marry and thus remained single. Most of his time in exile was spent helping Rwandan refugees. Foremost in his mind was working toward the unity of his suffering people.

What impressed me about the king was that you sensed he was sincere and authentic. He was not a politician who was looking to build a career. Deprived of his considerable wealth in Rwanda, he lived humbly and had nothing to gain by advocating the cause of his people. 

He was what sociologists call a “representative character.” Noted philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre wrote that such characters “are, so to speak, the moral representatives of their culture and they are so because of the way in which moral and metaphysical ideas and theories assume through them an embodied existence in the social world.”

These figures exist in every society including our own. No one elects them. They are natural leaders who can take the principles, moral qualities, and virtues desired and needed by their communities and translate them into concrete programs of life and culture.

There is no doubt in my mind that the king was one of these unassuming representative characters. He was truly a moral representative of his culture. This was recognized by many Rwandans who asked that he be allowed to return and even serve as a unifying figure in the fragmented central African nation.

The history of his life is very important, but it was not these details that struck me upon hearing the news of his death. The passing of King Kigeli V was a tragic reminder of how far we as a nation have descended.

I remember seeing the king with his calm demeanor and dignity sitting in an armchair. Reflecting upon this scene, I cannot help but think about how I, as an American, somehow feel much more represented by this foreign figure than American counterparts. King Kigeli personified so many of the qualities missing in today’s political discourse: honor, dignity, longsuffering, piety and self-sacrifice. The contrast between this tall African gentleman and thepresent political contenders could not be more striking.

Everyone senses this difference when comparing our past and current standards of political behavior. No one is happy with the situation. Looking at the current election cycle, so many Americans are experiencing frustration, exasperation and anxiety at what is happening. They wish the whole thing was over.

It used to be that honorable presidential candidates presented themselves for election. They used to address each other politely. Courtesy and civility were considered political virtues, not weaknesses to be exploited. Candidates did not engage in dishonorable lying or promiscuous personal conduct. People used to feel they could be represented by the figures presented to them.

But today all that has changed. The change is part of the political culture of both parties varying only in degree.  Everything has become so brutal and frenzied. There is no longer thoughtfuldebate but rather programmed sound bytes and tailored tweets to attract the attention of the distracted masses. We have turned the election into a political wrestling match, no holds barred.

Instead of the representative characters, we now have unrepresentative characters who do not represent what we want to be. The race has become another one of those lesser-of-two-evils slugfests of voting against the most unrepresentative candidate.

Of course, it is not only the candidates’ fault. We brought ourselves to this point by embracing a culture of frenetic intemperance in which everyone wants everything instantly and effortlessly. Lifestyles of gratification and self-centeredness bring out the worst in us. All this is tearing our society and economy apart. It is eroding the faith of millions. We see it affecting the political process.

However, this culture is imploding. It is unsustainable and weighs heavily upon the land. Itschaotic discourse tires us out and awakens in us longings for a return to order. When the disorder reaches its climax, and things come crashing down, it is important that there be figures like the king who will remind us of what we have left behind. Then we will look for those representative characters that represent that which is still good in America. The qualities found in good King Kigeli V (and needed by so many of our elected officials) will again be appreciated and valued.

And in the meantime, let all who read this say a prayer for the repose of the soul of the pious Catholic king. May God grant him eternal rest. Even in death, he showed magnanimity. Those wishing to donate for his funeral expenses are advised by the King’s website  to consider applying them first to "educational institutions that support Rwandan students in His Majesty's name."

Tradition, Family, and Property - The Passing of a King

Portland says NO to After School Satan Club

By William Seibenmorgen

At noon on the October 19, concerned parents and local residents took a public stand in the form of a rosary rally against the opening of an After School Satan Club at the Sacramento Elementary School in Portland Oregon.

On the sidewalk in front of the school, over 120 people prayed and asked God and the Blessed Mother to stop Satanism from entering our schools and from tarnishing the innocence of our children.

The demonstration and prayer vigil was organized by rosary rally captains and members of America Needs Fatima.  There was also a strong presence of the Catholic Vietnamese Community.  The local chapter of the Knights of Columbus and three Roman Catholic priests were present.

A few days before October 19, the date set for an open house for the elementary school to introduce the After School Satan Club to children and parents, we learned that the Satanic Temple had decided to postpone the event due to a change in the school schedule.  As a result, the open house for the After School Satan Club at the Sacramento Elementary School was rescheduled for November, but no date was given.

The already mentioned school is one of the nine schools nationwide at which the Satanic Temple is trying to open Satan clubs.

Thankfully, there is a growing wave of opposition to these clubs.  There is strong push back.  The rally and prayer vigil in front of the Sacramento Elementary School is a good example of this push back.

As the Psalms exclaim:

“ You that love the Lord, hate evil..” Psalm 96:10.

To love God is to hate Satan.

All God fearing people are kindly asked to sign the petition to keep Satanism away from our children.  We must not allow Satan an entrance into our schools.

Please sign the petition  here: http://www.returntoorder.org/petition/keep-satan-out-of-schools/?PKG=RTOE0231

1 After School Satan Club pushes back start date at Portland elementary school

http://www.oregonlive.com/trending/2016/10/after_school_satan_club_pushes.html

Portland says NO to After School Satan Club -: Portland says NO to After School Satan Club

Four Infallible Ways to Navigate the Winds of Crisis -

by James Bascom

If there is one dominating characteristic that backlights American politics – on the right as well as the left – it is a growing sense of desperation. After nearly eight years of President Obama’s disastrous policies, the prospect of another Democratic president is simply unthinkable to most conservatives. For them, especially those activists in the trenches of the Culture War, the 2016 election is increasingly seen as one of the most important in our lifetimes, if not the history of the American Republic. They are desperate to avoid what might be the most liberal president in our history.

This desperation extends to the left as well. Liberal politicians, activists, and professional agitators, thwarted by a conservative Congress and a defiant American public that have blocked a significant part of President Obama’s agenda, are resorting to every legal and illegal tactic in the book to impose their agenda on America with unprecedented speed and ferocity. If anyone doubts the very real desperation and frustration on the left, then one doesn’t have to look any farther than the screeching followers of Bernie Sanders.

Free Book: Return to Order: From a Frenzied Economy to an Organic Christian Society—Where We’ve Been, How We Got Here, and Where We Need to Go

Leftists are doing everything they can to exacerbate tensions and foment fear and uncertainty. By supporting the immigration of thousands of Muslim “refugees,” liberals are essentially facilitating the slipping through of Islamic terrorism into America. The so-called “Black Lives Matter” movement that has helped create a climate, in which police are being killed, has made Americans more fearful than ever.

Taking a page from totalitarian regimes around the world, liberals have begun to use fear to intimidate conservative Americans into silence. With a fanaticism that borders on religious fervor, the left has moved far beyond civilized debate and instead has initiated a type of great purge to root out everyone from academia, government, the military, and the corporate world who dares to oppose political correctness. This can be seen in the violent response from every liberal lever of power to North Carolina’s HB2 (the so-called “Bathroom Law”), Indiana’s failed Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), or the vicious attacks on Kentucky clerk Kim Davis, who conscientiously refused to issue homosexual “marriage” licenses.

With fear comes another dangerous element: anxiety about the future. We Americans are a practical people who place great importance on planning for the future. Unlike other countries with a more indifferent attitude, American culture traditionally values overcoming future difficulties with planning and foresight. We apply this outlook to everything. In war, we ensure victory with utterly overwhelming technology and firepower. In finance, we hedge our bets to minimize exposure and risk. In our personal lives, we insure our property and even our lives against possible loss.

But this national trait can become a liability when we encounter situations with no apparent solution. When we are no longer able to foresee the future, when we feel that we are no longer in control of our destiny, we can easily succumb to discouragement and despair.

This combination of desperation, anxiety, and fear is deadlier even than the physical threats we face. This time-tested mix is used by revolutionaries to manipulate people into accepting ideas and policies they normally would not consider. Fear of a new World War led Western nations to appease Adolf Hitler in the thirties. Fear of a nuclear holocaust during the Cold War was used to intimidate Western nations into conceding to Soviet demands. Fear of civil unrest in the sixties and seventies allowed liberals to implement their radical social experiments and government programs on American society.

Likewise, the fear of riots, Islamic terrorism, and a third World War with Russia or China is influencing Americans to do today what was almost unthinkable a generation ago: to question and even doubt the foundational principles of our country and the Christian West and to retreat from the indispensable role that our country plays in the world today. Tragically, many Americans have already lost hope and are simply waiting for the inevitable crash. They have grown indifferent to the consequences of such a calamity and have abandoned the fight to save America. Some, taking an imbalanced view of our national faults, have even cheered on our enemies’ efforts to destroy America.

 
How can a concerned American navigate these pitfalls and discern the correct response to the crisis? The burning problems facing our country today do not have easy, obvious solutions. One thing we can do, however, is to adopt the right disposition so that we may not find ourselves deceived by the many false solutions that will lead our country to ruin. There are four specific things we must ask of God if we wish to successfully navigate the winds of crisis.

First, we must pray for calm. In times of crisis, those people who dominate themselves and maintain a cool head successfully emerge unscathed. In fact, it is precisely in times of deepest crisis when we need calm the most.

And for those with Faith, we have the sublime example of Our Lord Jesus Christ when He slept on the boat of His Apostles on the Sea of Galilee during a storm. When Saint Peter woke up the Master with the despairing words, “Master, we perish!”, with a divine tranquility, He commanded the winds and the waves to cease. To His astonished Apostles, He asked, “Where is your faith?”A sign of personal greatness is the ability to stay cool while under fire, whether it be on the battlefield, during a debate, or in times of social unrest or confusion like our own. Some of the most memorable stories of heroism, for example, are on the battlefield when officers calmly and valiantly expose themselves to gunfire in order to calm their men and lead a successful counterattack. In times of crisis – in life no less than war – those who allow themselves to be overcome by fear or panic will always perish.

Second, we must ask to be guided by reason, not emotions. Fear and desperation are strong emotions that can lead people to forget or even deny what their reason tells them is true. When we see institutions crumble and our way of life under threat, we may easily allow ourselves to be deceived by slick propaganda and charismatic leaders who more often than not lead nations to ruin.

Our reason must also be firmly rooted in principles, namely, true philosophy, natural law, and the traditional Magisterium of the Catholic Church. Empires come and go, great leaders rise and fall, but the perennial principles taught by the Church must be our true refuge, especially in times of chaos and confusion such as ours. It is more important than ever to scrutinize proposed solutions in accordance with Faith and morals, to study the burning issues of the day with seriousness, and to resist the tendency to solve very complex problems with over-simplified “solutions.”

Third, we must pray to God, through the intervention of His Holy Mother Mary, for courage. Our generation is being forced to reckon with a crisis that has been brewing for generations. Seeds sewn centuries ago are only now coming to fruition. The left has expended enormous amounts of time, money, and effort to infiltrate every institution of power and influence to subvert what remains of the Christian social order.

In the face of such a daunting threat, it is easy to despair and simply retreat from the field of battle to await the inevitable collapse of society. It seems that the forces of the left are simply too strong to resist. This position, sometimes called the “Benedict Option,” is being promoted by some Catholic commentators. Although attractive to many, the “Benedict Option” can easily lead to an unconditional surrender to evil. And as any good spiritual director would say, surrender to the devil is not the path to Heaven.

And lest we forget, it is we and not evil who have the certainty of victory. Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself promised that the gates of Hell will not prevail against the Church, and Our Lady of Fatima declared before the whole world that “Finally, my Immaculate Heart would triumph.” The Church has survived 2,000 years and can confidently say to the world, “I have seen other winds, I have weathered other storms.”[1] We must imitate the confidence and Faith of Saint Joan of Arc, who declared, “In God’s name, the soldiers will fight, and He will grant victory.”Nor is it rooted in reality. Evil has never simply allowed the good to live in peace.  Rather, evil men actively hunt down the good to pervert and destroy them. The ancient Romans sought out Christians and killed them wherever they were found. Islam has spent its entire existence invading Christian lands. Socialists have sought ever more sinister ways to conquer souls through propaganda, education, and culture. The only effective response to evil is and always has been to fight back with redoubled vigor.

Fourth, we must show openness and docility to the winds of the Holy Spirit. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts: nor your ways my ways,” the Scriptures say.[2]  Although we often don’t understand why they come and for what purpose, the trials and tribulations of life that God sends us are always for our greater good. He may send us a grace to perform a particular mission, or He may ask us to make a unique sacrifice that is completely beyond our limited understanding.

The saints and heroes of history were asked to perform unimaginable deeds in the face of seemingly impossible situations. The Apostles as they began the conversion of the world to Christianity, Don Pelayo at Covadonga in Spain, Godfrey of Bouillon during the First Crusade, Saint Joan of Arc when called by her voices, or Christopher Columbus sailing for the New World, are just a few examples of heroes who heard the voice of grace and corresponded to it. Although they could never have foreseen the consequences of their obedience to God’s grace, it always resulted in some of the most glorious chapters in the history of the Church.

Like Our Lord in the Garden of Olives, we must respond to these moments of trial, confusion, and suffering with docility, obedience, and humility. “Not as I wilt, but as Thou will” should be our lifelong response to them. Rather than consult our own will, we must discern what God’s will is in a given situation.

In Return to Order, John Horvat writes about the dangers we now face as a nation and the ease with which we may fall into false solutions:

“…at a time when the situation calls for firm principles, decisive action, and unity, we could find ourselves scattered in a confusing jumble. A psychological climate could reign where there is a doubting of all certainties, a supremacy of the emotions, and a rule of relativism. What characterizes these false solutions is a general loss of faith in political solutions and a corresponding tendency not to believe in anything at all. We run the risk of a reaction driven, not by convictions, but only by frustration, whim, and rage.”[3]

Let us pray to God, through the intervention of His Blessed Mother, to have the courage to face our present crisis with true Christian heroism and the wisdom to discern and avoid the traps laid by Satan, the father of lies.

[1] “Alios ego vidi ventos; alias prospexi animo procellas,” Cicero, Familiares, 12,
25, 5.

[2] Isaias, 55:8

[3] Horvat, John, Return to Order, p. 110

Four Infallible Ways to Navigate the Winds of Crisis -: Four Infallible Ways to Navigate the Winds of Crisis