Blasphemies and Lies Against the Church

Divine Appeal Reflection - 265

Today, consider in Divine Appeal 265: "Mankind hurls torrents of blasphemies and lies against the Church! Many souls who have denied My name will believe in these malicious works."

From the courtyard of Caiaphas to the digital plazas, legislative halls, and cultural arenas of our age, the Name of Our Adorable Jesus remains both cornerstone and scandal, the stone over which many stumble and the rock against which hardened hearts shatter (cf. 1 Pt 2:6-8). Like Peter in the chill of the high priest’s courtyard, many deny Him when the cost of fidelity threatens comfort or reputation (cf. Mt 26:69-75). Yet our time bears a more insidious denial: not merely the silence of fear, but the roar of deliberate rejection. Torrents of blasphemy and distortion rage against His Church, as in the days when the prophets were reviled and truth was twisted into falsehood (cf. Is 5:20; Jer 20:7-10). The mockery that once spat upon the face of the Lamb now manifests in baptised voices applauding what crucifies Him, in theologians who reshape His Gospel to fit the appetites of the age (cf. Gal 1:6-9), and in leaders who, for the sake of cultural acceptance, trade the confession of His Name for the fleeting favor of men (cf. Jn 12:42-43). Here the prophecy is fulfilled: the world loves its own, but it hates Him and those truly His (cf. Jn 15:18-21). The cry “We will not have this man to reign over us” (cf. Lk 19:14) still echoes, now amplified by the machinery of media, politics, and even pulpits that have forgotten the cost of Calvary.

The Scriptures forewarned that in the latter days, many would not endure sound teaching, but would seek voices to soothe their cravings, turning away from truth toward fables (cf. 2 Tm 4:3-4). This unfolds before our eyes as movements wrapped in sentimental rhetoric dismiss the scandal of the Cross (cf. 1 Cor 1:18), as campaigns proclaim justice while rejecting the Just One (cf. Acts 3:14), and as pulpits exchange the living Word for a shadow of moral platitudes. Like the fickle multitudes who welcomed Him with palms yet cried for His death days later (cf. Mt 21:9; Mt 27:22), so too do many acclaim Him when His words inspire, but reject Him when they demand conversion (cf. Jn 6:66). Yet the Heart once pierced on Golgotha still waits at the threshold, yearning to gather the scattered, as a shepherd calling his lost sheep (cf. Mt 23:37; Jn 10:11-16). Even their blasphemy cannot quench His longing — for His mercy is deeper than their rebellion, though it will not leave them unchanged (cf. Ez 33:11).

The divine appeal reveals a paradox as old as salvation history: those who pierce His Heart today may yet adore it tomorrow (cf. Lk 15:17-20; Ez 36:26). Like Saul on the road to Damascus, the fiercest persecutors may be struck down by the sudden brilliance of truth at the shattering of their illusions (cf. Acts 9:3-6), discovering in the very One they opposed the only Light that can dispel their night (cf. Jn 8:12). Yet such conversions seldom arise from argument alone; they are labored into being through the hidden travail of intercession — by “small hosts” who consent to be crushed like wheat in the millstone of love, that others might taste the Bread of Life (cf. Jn 6:51). These souls, invisible to the world, stand in the breach like Moses on Sinai, pleading for a people drunk on idols (cf. Ex 32:11-14; Ps 106:23). They share in the agony of Gethsemane, remaining awake with Him in the hour when friends sleep (cf. Mt 26:40), offering their tears, silences, and wounds as ransom for those who curse the Name. Such is the hidden priesthood of the baptized — not conferred by mitre or stole, but by the imprint of the Crucified upon the soul (cf. 1 Pt 2:5,9).

But denial is not only the sin of the distant rebel — it can take root in the timid disciple, in the hour we choose self-preservation over confession (cf. Lk 9:26), or trade truth for the comfort of approval (cf. Gal 1:10). It slips in when we dilute the Gospel so that no one feels the sting of the Cross (cf. 1 Cor 1:18), when our silence becomes complicity in the world’s darkness (cf. Eph 5:11). To repair this, we must live as confessors not only with our lips but with our wounds, carrying in our bodies the dying of Jesus so that His life may be revealed (cf. 2 Cor 4:10). The Church will welcome home the prodigals of unbelief only if she herself remains unflinching, her garments unspotted by the world (cf. Jas 1:27), her lampstand burning through the midnight watch until the Bridegroom comes (cf. Rev 2:4-5; Mt 25:6). This is the triumph of fidelity — to stand with the Lamb on Mount Zion when the crowd has scattered (cf. Rev 14:1-4).

Prayer

Our Adorable Jesus, we grieve the denial of Your Holy Name. Pour mercy upon those deceived by lies. Give us courage to defend You without fear, and tenderness to call the lost home. May our lives repair blasphemy and draw all hearts to adore You forever. Amen.

Sr. Anna Ali of the Most Holy Eucharist, intercede for us.