real fighters wanted
Catholic Fighting Men Call YOU to Lenten Boot Camp[1]
Matthew Reid
As we, the
heirs of the great jewel that is our traditional Catholic faith, handed down to
us through the martyrdom and struggle of untold numbers of faithful, navigate
the vast spiritual wasteland of these United States, we must again realize the
absolute necessity of arming ourselves in the timeless ascetical practices of
our forefathers. These rigorous and sacrificial practices helped prepare prior
generations of heroic Catholics for both physical and spiritual battle; a
battle they won, earning their heavenly reward.
Mindful of the
ever-present distractions and temptations to live a life of ease that sucks the
vibrancy and urgency out of our Christian lives, there must be a realization,
and therefore determination to be set apart to a healthy degree from a culture
that celebrates debauchery, profanity, immodestly, idleness and effeminacy.
These are not the way that a Catholic man must exist. As our late Holy Father,
Pope Benedict XVI once opined, “the world offers you comfort, but you were not
made for comfort, you were made for greatness.”
I ask you, dear faithful Catholics, is there anything
more de-motivating and less inspiring than the contemporary Church’s Lenten
regulations, not to mention the virtually non-existent Eucharistic fast?
As
a retired NYC Police Sergeant who worked in Intelligence and supervised a good
number of practicing Muslim investigators along the way, I can tell you without
hesitation that my least favorite time of year in this capacity was Lent. It
was at times, to be blunt, a wholly embarrassing situation; please let me
explain. Whereas during the Muslim cops’ observation of their holy month of
Ramadan, they would go, many times in the long summer months, from sunup to
sundown without a drop of water, never mind food each day for a month. This
contrasted with the rest of the personnel in my workplace, made up very likely
of a majority of K-12 Catholic school products, who would often be heard
complaining about not being able to have a cheeseburger six Fridays out of the
year. This lamentation would usually be followed by a gluttonous feast on pizza
from one of the premier pizzerias in the city; so much for denying oneself and
sacrificing.
This was also
contrasted throughout the year by the prayer lives of the Muslim cops, most of
whom faithfully observed their prayer times in a secluded place, while the
majority of Catholics observed exactly what the culture observes; absolutely
nothing.
Is it any wonder that we see happening in western
civilization what we do?
It
shouldn’t be a mystery to anyone. While the Mohammedans have kept their
discipline and ascetism, we have been given the green light to live lives of
ease and indulgence, often resulting in outright rebellion even at the thought
of no meat six Fridays out of the year.
I point this
out to say that, while I find Islam to be, as St. John Bosco observed, a
“monstrous mixture of Judaism, Paganism and Christianity” etc, therefore
leading innumerable souls to perdition, I also have respect for these men, as
at least they were sincere and faithful to what they believed in and would
sacrifice for it. They also understood the reverence and obedience due to God,
however different their concept of God is, which is another discussion.
How, I ask, does this compare to the average
contemporary Catholic?
The
sad fact of the matter is that we have been allowed to grow soft, weak, and
effeminate, like a fighter who goes into a match in which he is completely
physically and mentally unprepared, where he is summarily quite easily disposed
of by a better trained and more serious adversary. While there is no doubt that
we have been let down by a Church hierarchy – who many themselves are also
soft, weak, and effeminate – we cannot allow this to deter us. It has always
been the laity that resists corrupt, sycophantic, and worldly prelates; now
should not be any different.
We must prepare
ourselves for battle.
For sake of our
souls and those of our friends and family, enough already with this
emasculating, insultingly weak and failed version of Catholicism, which sends
any red-blooded man running for the border. It’s time to take off the damned
training wheels and let’s get serious. I’m not sure about you, but I’ve had
enough.
I do not mince
words on purpose. There is a great upheaval all around us. Our families and
children’s innocence are under assault. As it is said, “where sin abounds,
grace abounds all the more.” We will be given strength if we just cooperate and
avail ourselves to the grace of the good Lord, observing the ascetical
practices that shaped our forefathers into vessels that could truly be called
“Soldiers of Christ.” Furthermore, as I write this, a recently leaked memo from
the FBI, Richmond Field Office revealed that traditional Catholics are being
labeled as holding “anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant, anti-LGBT and white
supremac(ists)” ideology, while also preferring the “traditional Latin mass.”
Having worked in Intelligence for the last decade of my police career, I can
say without hesitation that based upon many things that I observed along the
way, this does not surprise me in the least. I will most likely further
elaborate in a future article.
The point I am driving home here is, the long knives
are out, and we are encircled by the enemy; so, what are we to do?
What
follows is a Lenten prayer and ascetical regimen that I have done with several
cops and others over the last few years. We kicked it up a few notches last
year and to a man, it resulted in a much deeper, more sacrificial, and
charitable faith. I pray that many of you join us, the Patrolman’s Fraternity of St. Michael, and be the men that our Lord
created us to be.
I would also
like to humbly ask that if any readers know of any Catholics in law enforcement
that would be interested in our apostolate, to please alert them to our Lenten
Regimen and website, where they can inquire further about our mission, or email
us at patrolmansfraternitySM@gmail.com. In short, we are a Catholic lay
apostolate for active and retired law enforcements professionals, formed for
the sanctification of our members, and therefore our families and society at
large.
Here is the
routine, which will commence on Ash Wednesday and conclude on Holy Saturday at
dusk.
Morning Offering,
Angelus (Morning, Noon and Evening)
Daily Mass
Daily Rosary
15 minutes daily mental prayer
Daily Fast (except Sunday) (1) full meal
along with (2) small snacks in morning and evening to maintain strength. Meat
only at the principal meal. No meat on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Ember
Days.
Daily Cold Shower
Stations of the Cross on Wednesday and
Fridays
Fast from alcohol and dessert
15 minutes of daily spiritual reading
Complete social media fast
Corporal and Spiritual Works of
Mercy-Choose one (1) to focus on each week.
We at the
Patrolman’s Fraternity of St. Michael look forward to uniting with many of you
in prayer on the great triumph of Our Blessed Lord’s Resurrection on Easter.
Please join us and get holy!
In the immortal
words of the hymn written to commemorate the English Martyrs who refused to
give up their faith in the face of the Protestant revolt, “Faith of our
Fathers! Holy Faith! We will be true to thee till death.”
Viva Christo
Rey!
Matthew Reid
Police Officer,
retired.
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