The Beginning of an End: Armageddon

"I summon Armageddon Knight. Do you wish to negate the summon?"
"Nope."

Armageddon Knight has the power to throw more darkness to the board. It is this power which enables the growth of a plague that can affect all things. Armageddon is also an end, but as the movie Armageddon teaches us, it's not an instantaneous end. Armageddon is also perspectival. What some people view as an end, some people see as a means to new life, or not an end at all. Armageddon usually refers to an end of all things, but in life there are moments where dramatic ends create a sense of Armageddon. There are also knights of Armageddon who fight to bring a particular end, or new beginning to others.

However, I want to be more real in what I'm referring to. A Catholic Armageddon has started for a lot of people with the implementation of the Third Edition of the Roman Missal on Sunday. Many people who were on the fence or on the borders of the Church will make their way out of the Church because of the egregious process and translation of the Missal text. After sex abuse, abuses of authority, and a hierarchy that consistently proves that it does not really care about the people it serves, many people have had it with their faith. The New Missal Translation is the straw that broke the camel's back so to say for many people. We are in danger of losing a majority of the young adult Church but also many people who are currently in the Church.

Some people see the New Missal translation as a revival of traditional values that promote more reverence. But at what cost, yes, we may promote more reverence through certain words and gestures. However, promoting reverence by telling people they are sinful, and that God is almighty over and over again is not the best way to go about this. Reverence through fear is not the same as reverence through love. And people know the difference. People know the difference between people imposing an image of God as a judge and being shown an image of God as a loving person with whom people are supposed to have a relationship. Since we are not being given an image of God as loving in the New Translation itself (or loving only inasmuch as we are repentent people who realize their place), many people will find other more fulfilling and life-giving spiritual outlets.

But this doesn't have to be an end for everyone. This doesn't have to be a straw that breaks the entire back of having a faith, even a Catholic faith. We know the values the Gospel promotes in social justice and concern. We know the love God has for people, even those with whom God disagrees. Our challenge in these times is to be that love, even in the midst of deep spiritual struggle, especially as our Mass becomes more distant and obscure from the belief in God which we have. But we can fight back, we fight back by the love we show and being knowledgeable about that love. Our experience of love and relationship is something that can never be taken away from us. Only by coming together can we fight the mentality of the Church authorities now. Also, only by coming together, can we really find the life God wants for us. The New Roman Missal is Armageddon for some, but not for us.

Armageddon Knight brings darkness to the field, but from that darkness comes new life. May our coming together bring new life, as it becomes more clear that our new missal will not. Please God may it be so.

Aristocrates