by Guest Writer
“Man is a rope,” Zarathustra cries out to the crowd, “fastened between animal and Superman – a rope over an abyss.” — Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra
“If you stare too long into the abyss, then it stares back at you.” — Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil
I read a lot of Nietzsche in college. While it has been years since I last picked up one of his works, I’ve been reflecting on his image of the abyss lately, following several “red pill” moments in the world and the Church that left me questioning whether there is any institution left worth trusting, if there is any firm ground left to stand upon. Can it be that every governmental, health, corporate, and mainstream media institution around the world is conspiring to withhold inexpensive life saving treatments, falsify injury and death statistics, push gravely dishonest narratives, and even forcibly quarantine, vaccinate, or kill people in order to support the radical population control agenda of a secular Freemasonic world order? Check. Can it be that we have a hierarchy whose values and priorities are more aligned with those of this same Freemasonic order than those of Christ? Possibly. Probably. Yes, unfortunately.
It’s one thing to red pill. It’s another to black pill. Black pill is both a type of red pill as well as one’s response to it: A red pill gone hopelessly bleak, leading one to despair. To use Nietzsche’s image, the black pilled are staring face-first into the abyss, and they don’t see any way out.
For those of us who have been taking our red pills in stride, I think the black pill is the sudden realization that persecution is here — not just for the tallest blade of grass, but for all blades that refuse to kowtow to this evil agenda. The COVID shot is the global litmus test for compliance, and friends, family, co-workers, and even Church leaders have been weaponized against one another. Do you want to keep your social status, your job, and the ability to travel, attend school, worship at church, purchase food, and more? If so, just get a little jab. If not, you will have to suffer. Perhaps horribly. It is a sobering realization — and one that has caused many to capitulate, even – sadly – within traditional Catholic circles.
How can we steel ourselves against the depths of this abyss? How can we cross over in faith, hope, and charity, without succumbing to depression and resignation?
The answer (no surprise) is to cling even more tightly to Jesus Christ. Do not be like the tight-rope walker in Zarathustra who attempts to cross over the abyss on his own, loses balance, and falls. This sounds like obvious advice, but crisis has a way of kicking our sense of self-sufficiency into high gear against our better judgement. Replace the rope with the Cross of Christ, and you will find yourself on a firm, unshakeable bridge — a meditation developed in beautiful detail by St. Catherine of Siena in her Dialogue. As we “ascend” Christ’s Body on the Cross — from His feet, to His side, to His head — our attitude towards suffering likewise changes, from one of fear to one of willing embrace. We no longer fear, for we trust in the Lord completely. We boldly embrace suffering with Christ out of love for Him and for the salvation of souls.
To those whose attachment to social opinions and other worldly things is hindering you from taking the first step onto the bridge of Christ Crucified, consider this: You will gain even more esteem from the endurance of suffering than from capitulation to peer pressure. As Tertullian reminds the persecutors of the early Christians, “[Y]ou frustrate your purpose. Because those who see us die, wonder why we do, for we die like the men you revere, not like slaves or criminals. And when they find out, they join us.”
To those who feel helpless and are anxious about the course of action to take against this global cabal, don’t let fear of the future detract you from progress in holiness in the present. Our Good Lord gives us moments every day to grow in virtue as training for the bigger trials — if, when, and as they come. Don’t squander them. As St. Francis de Sales says, “In fancy we fight against African monsters, whilst practically, for lack of thought, we allow the worms on our daily path to destroy us.”
Finally, to those who have already ventured out along the bridge, take heart. If you are suffering at the hands of those closest to you, seek solace in the pierced Immaculate Heart of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows. If anyone knows how it feels to be martyred from within, it is Our Blessed Mother Mary. In the end, her Immaculate Heart will triumph. Unite your heart with hers and that of Christ Crucified as you continue your journey. Let them be your refuge against all persecutions from within and from without.