We ended yesterday’s meditation with the firm conviction that St Joan of Arc, together with the whole Church of Heaven, will hasten to assemble a spiritual army to fight consciously against the immanent and already existing anti-Christian threats. I like to call it ‘the army of the Lamb’.
The term alone makes it clear that this is the ‘Bride of Christ’. It is the army of the King of heaven and earth, and its warriors are those who “follow the Lamb wherever he goes” (Rev 14:4).
As for Joan of Arc, she considered the army placed at her disposal by the legitimate King of France to be the army of God. She therefore saw to it that the soldiers went to confession, that the prostitutes who followed the army were chased away, that the hymn ‘Veni Creator Spiritus’ was sung frequently, that Holy Mass was celebrated and that processions were held. In other words, the whole army was to be in a state of grace, aware that the battle they were about to fight was a work of God.
Here we find aspects that are also indispensable for the “Army of the Lamb”, especially since the present battle is primarily against the powers of darkness.
Joan had asked the true king of France for an army. The Army of the Lamb is also at the service of the true King. It is therefore indispensable to recognise and firmly believe that Jesus Christ is the Lord of heaven and earth, instituted by our Heavenly Father:
God has exalted Him above all things and “bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil 2:9-11).
If the French army led by Joan was to live in a state of grace, this requirement obviously also applies to the “army of the Lamb” on earth, so that its soldiers are truly those “in their mouth no lie was found, for they are spotless” (Rev 14:5).
In the history of recent centuries, we know of several cases of Catholic resistance to “political invasions”: the Vendée uprising against the abuses of the French Revolution, and the Cristero movement in Mexico to defend itself against an anti-clerical policy influenced by Freemasonry. In both cases, the resistance was armed and the fighters were prepared to give their lives to defend the faith and the Church.
Today’s “Army of the Lamb”, on the other hand, will not use physical weapons, although its soldiers will have to show the same commitment. Since this is above all a spiritual battle against the spirits of evil who want to create chaos in the world and take advantage of confused people, the greatest vigilance and readiness to fight are required.
There are many concrete ways to resist the influence of these powers. But in all of them it is indispensable to be based on the spiritual foundation that enables us to consciously fight in the army of the Lamb: firm faith in the Lord and the effort to walk in His ways in a state of grace.
For several years, even decades, I have been aware of the anti-Christian tendencies in the world and have been convinced of the need for spiritual resistance. It is with great sadness that I have realised that, at the latest with the present pontificate, this anti-Christian spirit is also spreading massively in the Church, weakening it from within.
Even if the Church still has the weapons of resistance at its disposal, fewer and fewer of the faithful are resisting the growing worldliness, even in religious communities and in the Church hierarchy. Even fewer offer concrete resistance. Yet this is absolutely necessary if we do not want to be blinded or even swallowed up by the anti-Christian spirit.
That is why a few years ago I founded a spiritual resistance movement called Balta-Lelija, which means ‘white lily’ in Lithuanian.
The patron saint is St Joan of Arc. For those who are part of this movement, I have described in detail the 4 indispensable pillars of spiritual battle. Those who would like to receive these writings and join Balta-Lelija can send an e-mail to the following address: balta-lelija@jemael.net
Also in the ‘3 Minutes for Abba’ (https://t.me/threeminutesforAbba), in the daily meditations and in my talks, I often deal with the theme of spiritual warfare, because it will accompany us throughout our lives.
I would like to see Marian groups, for example, keep the awareness of spiritual warfare alive, because the Holy Rosary and an intimate relationship with the Virgin Mary are among the most powerful spiritual weapons to resist the power of darkness.
For the rest, I trust that our Lord will form those who are ready to join the Army of the Lamb to defend the Faith and the Holy Church and to proclaim to the people of the world their true King and Lord who wants to save them from the abyss of demonic errors. I also have great confidence in Saint Joan of Arc, in the certainty that she will unwaveringly stand by the side of the Army of the Lamb and will never turn away.