Despite violations against the first three Commandments being more grievous than the latter seven, it is admirable to pursue that silver bullet. And in the designs of Providence there exists a solution which is suitable for combatting violations of all ten Commandments. The Church has promulgated it from the very beginning with Our Lady being given the special task of making it known: God’s ‘silver bullet’ is penance.

That short prelude forms the background to a scene which took place some weeks ago here in Australia. Readers are no doubt aware of the shocking knife-attack perpetrated against an Assyrian Orthodox bishop in Sydney. Footage of the incident rapidly spread worldwide: there was universal outrage at a clergyman being brazenly stabbed as he preached at his lectern.

Bishop Emmanuel's counter-cultural stance goes even further, though: he is not afraid to condemn other grave offenses against the Creator such as evolution, Freemasonry and globalism. His criticism of scientism in the form of lockdowns and experimental mRNA serum even led to his attack being used as a pawn in the globalists’ quest for total control over what we see and hear in the media.

While much of the theology of Bishop Emmanuel is at odds with Catholicism, he is a vocal opponent of the errors of Islam. The Bishop does not hesitate to call out the appropriation of the rights of the True God by a false one. For this he was made a target by a radicalized young man, a minor who as such may never be proportionately held to account for his crime.

Bishop Emmanuel's counter-cultural stance goes even further, though: he is not afraid to condemn other grave offenses against the Creator such as evolution, Freemasonry and globalism. His criticism of scientism in the form of lockdowns and experimental mRNA serum even led to his attack being used as a pawn in the globalists’ quest for total control over what we see and hear in the media.

Two days prior to Bishop Emmanual’s stabbing was another more serious knife attack, also in Sydney, which resulted in the deaths of six people. The assailant, a mentally-ill man, went on a frenzy at a busy shopping center. Among the injured was a nine-month-old baby whose mother was killed just moments after handing the bleeding child into a stranger’s arms. Despite its disturbing theme, footage of that attack remains online, in marked contrast to the embargo on video of the Bishop’s stabbing. Clearly, this far more serious act of violence poses no threat to the media’s man-centered narrative.

While Australians were still reeling from those senseless murders, a relatively obscure event took place, one which exemplifies the counter-revolutionary spirit of penance. It exposes the culture of death for what it is: the destabilization of a society built on abortion to the point where no-one is safe from violence. This event was the silver bullet in action: a model for Catholics who are provoked by injustice, violence and sin. It was the annual Day of the Unborn Child, which draws thousands to make reparation for the sin of abortion.

It is equally true, although not very popular, to say that being pro-life is more about saving souls than it is about saving babies. That is the reality of a struggle which is not against flesh and blood, but against powers and principalities.

Beginning with Mass at Sydney's St. Mary’s Cathedral, the crowd walked through the city streets, praying and singing hymns. There was a pause outside the New South Wales parliament building then the crowd returned to the Cathedral, with the streets echoing to strains of “Ave Maria” and “Help of Christians”. It was a day of unity for all Catholics who know that prayer and sacrifice are the only solutions to the scourge of abortion and other evils of the world.

More than that, however, they are Catholics who understand that abortion presents a grave offense to God for which mankind needs to make reparation.  Although the destruction of tiny children is heinous, abortion’s most serious aspect is its violation of the rights of God. It is equally true, although not very popular, to say that being pro-life is more about saving souls than it is about saving babies. That is the reality of a struggle which is not against flesh and blood, but against powers and principalities.

This does not mean that Catholic pro-lifers are oblivious to dangers in the natural realm. They were among the first to sound warnings, many years ago, against authoritarian controls being implemented by the governments in Australia and elsewhere. Indeed, nation-wide bubble zones ensure that only in Sydney can any kind of pro-life witness be held within a stone’s throw of an abortion mill. The footpath outside New South Wales’ Parliament House is unique in that it is exempt from bubble-zone laws—the building happens to be situated right across the road from two abortion mills. During business hours, that tiny spot is the nearest to an abortion facility any pro-lifer can stand in the entire nation without risking arrest.

Those who defend the sanctity of human life understand that nations which allow the legal execution of their most valuable asset will reap the consequences of their actions. When blood is being spilled in our streets, it is a sign that the blood being spilt in the hidden confines of ‘‘women’s health’ clinics is overflowing. That sea of blood is joined by rivers of crimson flowing from countless family homes that have become the scenes of ‘backyard’ abortions thanks to child-killing drugs.

That is the reality of a struggle which is not against flesh and blood, but against powers and principalities.

These are somber thoughts as we contemplate that it is now thirty days since the solar eclipse passed over the United States. Its slow pilgrimage over so many Ninevahs seemed to call from the heavens the need for repentance and also reparation for the world’s sins. It was not lost on many that the little city of Carbondale, Illinois, lay in the path of totality, or that it also experienced total darkness during the previous solar eclipse of 2017.

That city has become an abortion hub for seven states currently or likely restricting abortion in the wake of Roe’s demise. Local residents pride themselves on the town’s long history of pacifism, seemingly oblivious to abortion’s outrageous violence against the unborn. And if Carbondale looks to some like an abortion oasis in the midst of pro-life desert, to others, it symbolizes a new Sodom, calling to heaven for vengeance.

God would be perfectly justified should He wish to chastise the earth and it seems reasonable that He would use a natural phenomenon like an eclipse to gain our attention. When it became known that the eclipse’s path would cross American towns by the name of Nineveh and that its entry point on the continental US was a town named Jonah, social media ensured that practically everyone on earth heard about it. From there, the significance of Nineveh would have been only a Google search away.

As  Fr. Garrigou-LaGrange wrote, the mystery of iniquity is at work in all of us, “presupposing the Divine permission to allow evil to exist in view of some higher good purpose.” So it is that even the sin which inspires our acts of reparation can be turned to good.  No matter how small or seemingly insignificant, penance serves to increase our own sanctity in addition to placating the justice of God. Let us all commit to spending our remaining time well, finding every opportunity to fire towards heaven the silver bullet of reparation.

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