Divine Appeal Reflection - 279
Today, consider in Divine Appeal 279: "The souls I entrusted souls are tranquil and worryless. They step all over Me and permit everything."
Entrusted souls—priests, bishops, and those who carry the responsibility of guarding Christ’s flock—are allowing many evils to take root in the Church. What once was defended with tears and martyrdom is now handled with indifference. The Eucharist is sometimes administered without holy fear, as if it were common food, and not the living God hidden under the appearance of bread. Confession, a sacrament of healing, is neglected while pulpit platforms scarcely address the refutation of sin. When reverence is lost, the faithful eventually lose sight of the Divine Presence, and their attitude toward sacredness grows mundane. This is not only a matter of external gestures, but of interior truth. As Uzzah was struck for irreverently touching the Ark (cf. 2 Sam 6:7), so today the Lord is deeply wounded by careless handling of His mysteries. The Catechism teaches that the liturgy is the summit of the Church’s life (cf. CCC 1074), yet many entrusted souls approach it like an obligation rather than an encounter with the Living God. To permit everything is not mercy but betrayal. Entrusted souls must guard the threshold of the sanctuary with humility, prayer, and vigilance, lest the world’s indifference enter and consume what is holy.
Catechesis has become in many places a lesson given once in childhood, then forgotten. Yet faith is not a school subject; it is a lifelong pilgrimage. Without ongoing formation, Christians live on fragments of truth and are left defenseless against the winds of modern error. Holy Scripture shows how God raised His people through continual instruction—Moses taught Israel daily, Daniel prayed faithfully even against opposition, and the Apostles lived years under the Lord’s teaching. The Catechism reminds us that instruction in faith must be permanent and renewing (cf. CCC 4–5). When this duty is abandoned, false teachers, media voices, and cultural ideologies form the young and old alike. This neglect explains why many Catholics treat their faith as a memory, not a living guide. Catechesis is not solely for initiation; it must nourish the soul throughout all phases of life, like manna given by God to the Israelites every day in the desert (cf. Ex 16:4). Priests, bishops, catechists and all entrusted souls must restore catechesis as a rhythm of conversion-teaching with clarity, accompanying with prayer, and fulfilling the formation of conscience so it can resist the temptations of the world. Otherwise, the faithful remain disoriented, and the voice of the Church is hardly perceptible amid the clamor of the world.
The culture of the world presses daily into the Church. In many places, indecent dressing is tolerated even in the sanctuary, sacred music is replaced by performance, and the solemn dance of prayer becomes entertainment. These wounds mirror Israel’s feast before the golden calf, where reverence was replaced by revelry (cf. Ex 32:6). The Catechism teaches that the liturgy unites heaven and earth (cf. CCC 1090), yet if it is trivialized, the faithful will no longer experience heaven but only human show. Entrusted souls are guardians of worship, charged with safeguarding its holiness. They must restore reverence—clothing that reflects humility, silence that welcomes God’s voice, and music that lifts hearts to heaven rather than earth. To preserve purity in worship is to keep the sanctuary a true dwelling of the Divine. Trembling reverence, not careless freedom, is required for sacred practices. In a society when self-expression is rampant, the sanctuary ought to be a place of submission. Priests must correct abuses, teach reverence, and form the faithful to adore rather than entertain. This is not rigidity but fidelity. To allow irreverence in worship is to betray the Bridegroom by tolerating distractions before His Face. When worship is purified, souls will recognize once more that they stand upon holy ground, where angels bow and heaven opens to earth.
Even deeper than these external wounds is the sin of complacency among entrusted souls. Like the disciples who slept in Gethsemane (cf. Mt 26:40), many entrusted to guard Christ’s mysteries rest while His Body suffers. Some allow false teachings to spread unchallenged, fearing the world’s judgment more than God’s. The other side silences the truth in the name of tolerance, thereby leaving the faithful unguided. The Catechism teaches how priests, configured to Christ the Shepherd, are called to watch, teach, and sanctify (cf. CCC 1548).. When they choose ease over vigilance, the sheep scatter, and souls are lost. To “permit everything” is to abandon the flock, for silence in the face of error is not mercy but surrender. Our Adorable Lord seeks shepherds who are awake, men of prayer, intercession, and sacrifice. Moses lifted his hands until Israel prevailed (cf. Ex 17:12), and priests today must lift their hearts in the same way, bearing the burden of souls before God. Their first duty is not administration but holiness—prayer before the tabernacle, fasting for the faithful, preaching the full truth of the Gospel. If they return to these roots, the Church will shine again; but if they remain tranquil, evil will multiply within the sanctuary itself.
The crisis is not only liturgical or doctrinal, but moral and spiritual. Scandals have weakened trust, secular values invade decision-making, and political ambitions sometimes overshadow the Cross. Many entrusted souls tolerate grave evils—corruption, impurity, and the watering down of the Gospel—to preserve human approval. The priestly call is stamped with God’s own command: “Be holy, for I am holy” (cf. Lev 19:2). To tolerate scandal is to dim His light and endanger souls (cf. CCC 2284–2287). Entrusted servants must walk in clarity—chaste in body, clean in hands, fearless in truth—so Christ remains visible. Holiness is their shield, credibility, and greatest act of love. They must not fear to correct error, even when unpopular. They must restore fasting, encourage penance, and live simplicity as witnesses to the poor. Governance of the Church is not management, but fatherhood exercised in truth and sacrifice (cf. CCC 894–896). Above all, they must become “small hosts”—hidden, obedient, offered—laying down their lives as Christ did for His Bride. If entrusted souls purify themselves in prayer and holiness, they will again be light in a world of shadows. But if they continue to permit everything, then the Church risks losing her salt, and the world, its only true light.
Prayer
Adorable Jesus, awaken Your entrusted souls. Purify Your Church from indifference, error, and scandal. Restore reverence in worship, strength in teaching, and holiness in shepherds. Make us small hosts—silent, obedient, burning with love. Do not allow us to permit everything, but to guard all that is holy with fidelity.
Sr. Anna Ali of the Most Holy Eucharist, intercede for us.
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