Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Happy New Year!

Some of you may be wondering how I can speak of a happy new year when there is plenty to be unhappy about. And indeed, there is.

But as Christians, we know that Jesus has already triumphed over all evil. Even though things may get worse—since Scripture discusses the great apostasy and the removal of all restraint on evil (2 Thes 2:6-7) and the Catechism of the Catholic Church discusses the appearance of the anti-Christ and the final trial of the Church (675-677)—eventually all evil will be removed from the universe and those of us who by the grace of God are faithful to the end will experience the unending joy of the new heavens and the new earth and the glory of risen bodies.

“Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb” (Rv 19:9). This is proclaimed at every Mass, and our participation in the Eucharist is a foreshadowing of the eternal wedding feast that will never end. So, it begins now!

That being said, it does look like things will get worse before they get better. The darkness is growing in power and extent. The culture is now in the hands of those who are determined to implement a “new world order,” which as Archbishop Gomez has said, has no room for Christ or the Church. Persecution has begun and will get worse.

Those of us who live in Michigan have recently experienced a shocking manifestation of this. Despite truly heroic efforts on the part of the Michigan bishops and the generous work of many priests and lay people, Proposal 3—which enshrines in the Michigan constitution the unlimited right to abortion and cancels all existing laws that had been painstakingly passed over many years to ensure parental rights—was decisively passed. Additionally, for the first time in forty years, all the levers of governmental powers in Michigan are now in the hands of those who absolutely oppose any restrictions on abortion—the Senate, House, governor’s office, and Supreme Court! It’s beginning to look a lot like California and New York.

Dark days indeed. How many babies will now be killed? How many women will be lied to and pressured? And worse, how many people have had to deaden their consciences in order to approve such evil things?

I haven’t seen reports yet on what percentage of Catholics in Michigan voted in favor of unrestricted abortion, but the preliminary national figures as posted by the Associated Press indicate that, once again, anywhere from forty to sixty percent of Catholics in various states voted in favor of pro-abortion candidates or for the legalization of unrestricted abortion.

Unfortunately, decades of silence on the key truths concerning marriage, sexuality, and the life of the unborn in most pulpits have led to this humiliating outcome.

Committing ourselves to care for pregnant women and their babies—as many are now emphasizing—is very, very, good. But isn’t deep repentance led by our leaders also necessary—for their decades of silence on what it means to truly be a disciple of Christ that has led to perhaps the majority of Catholics going over to the world?

The Eucharistic Revival now being implemented must be more than a re-emphasis of the doctrine of the Real Presence. It must include a profound call ro repentance and conversion. A true revival needs a strong outpouring of the Holy Spirit that instills a deep fear of God rooted in a perception of his great holiness that leads to heartfelt repentance.

May the Holy Spirit honor our feeble efforts to turn in his direction; have mercy on our weakness, infidelity, cowardice, and fear of what people will think; and send us true revival!

Thank you for your support that enables us to—as I often write in books when I sign them—keep on! Let’s all keep on, for those who persevere to the end will be saved.

Ralph Martin

Footnote

1. David Crary, Peter Smith, and Nuha Dolby, “Midterms reinforce Christian voter trends on abortion, GOP,” AP, Nov. 11, 2022, https://apnews.com/article/christian-voter-trends-2022-midterm-elections-0377eed4eed23d5356c29b10af9f6f69.

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