TIME TO RAISE UP THE CROSS AS U.S. AND HOPEFULLY THE WORLD APPROACH 'DAY OF RECONCILIATION'

@Spirit Daily

On Tuesday, December 4, the nation will recognize a "day of reconciliation." The House and Senate passed a joint resolution by Rep. Tom DeLay and Sen. Sam Brownback that paved the way for the nation’s leaders to join in a time of prayer and repentance beneath the Capitol dome. We all need to participate in this -- to lift up our own sins, the sins of our families, the sins of our communities as well as those of this nation and for that matter the world. 

This can stop further diabolic attacks -- whether here or in a place like Israel. DeLay himself knows this. It was the congressman who in startlingly blunt terms -- before the Congress -- quoted Ephesians about the devil. "The events of September 11 were darkness visible to every American," said the House Majority Whip in urging passage of the reconciliation bill last October. "They framed the struggle for survival in stark terms.  This battle between good and evil has swept aside the fog of false imperatives, shallow causes, and empty pursuits. It was a message from Hell reminding everyone that we still wrestle with the most profound and troubling questions of human existence."  

It is not just the evil of terrorism. September 11, said DeLay, "illuminated the dangerous ravines and cultural cliffs that we had been straying blindly toward for far too many years.  Many people were worried.  Many spoke out about the drift in our culture but not enough people listened to arrest the decline.

"Now we acknowledge the true state of things and our need for divine guidance," DeLay continued. "Once again, America sees the world and our place in it with the clarity that only clear and present danger can bring.  It was clear to our forefathers during the Revolution.  They embraced the Lord.  

"It was clear when brother fought brother and a great wound divided America for years.  We suffered countless hardships to atone for the sin of slavery, but Abraham Lincoln rallied the country to seek forgiveness. It was clear when Americans first sailed across the Atlantic to save Europe. It was clear when we sailed across every ocean two decades later to confront the Axis and rid the world of a relentlessly aggressive tyranny.

“Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.  For your struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  

“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.  

“Stand firm then with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  

In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”  (Ephesians 6: 11-17)      

They were stunning words -- right there in Congress! -- but these are stunning times. They came at a time when a new survey indicates that we lead the world in immoral sexual behavior, when the first publicly announced human embryo has been cloned here, when polls show that church attendance has fallen back to pre-September 11 levels (with one survey showing that Americans are now even less likely to believe in the spiritual sway of good and evil!). 

If this continues it will get us into much deeper trouble. In her last monthly message, the Virgin of Medjugorje -- in equally surprising language -- mentioned this "faithless world." It is at Medjugorje that the sun spins, and while that's a supernatural manifestation, we can also look for signs in the sun in the physical realm. Unusual solar activity is creating spectacular displays of the northern lights and temperatures that are swerving in extreme ways across the nation. Look at what is going on by way of the aurora in Alaska,  Quebec City, and all the way south to Ohio and Arkansas! 

These may well be signs. They were signs back in 1938. It was in the secrets of Fatima that the Virgin mentioned an unusual light in the sky as the "great sign." 

The aurora borealis is not quite at that level, but it seems to be heading in such a direction. 

Will we come back to God? Will we reconcile Tuesday? 

Or will we face further consequences?

"Terrorists want to paralyze society by poisoning our minds with fear," concluded DeLay. "Terrorism is warfare of the mind.  Faith is the antidote to this poison. When men and women are right with God they can do their work boldly and without hesitation.  When we pursue God’s will and carry the shield of faith, we leave fear behind forever."