Part 3 of 14 – This series of columns is based on the work of Fr. Chad Ripperger that analyzes the spirits of the past six generations and how those spirits have affected the Church.  We only ask that you consider whether his descriptions are true in a general sense, even if they do not describe you or people you know.

In analyzing the root of the decline in the Church today, Fr. Ripperger has suggested that the roots of this decline go back several generations, with each generation being afflicted by troubling demons that seek to divert the attention of that generation away from God’s intention.

. . .[E]ach generation is called by God to accomplish certain tasks, fight off certain evils, achieve certain perfections, etc. God assigns an angel to protect that generation and sometimes the angel is one who is given to help the generation overcome the problems it faces. But demons, by the permissive will of God, also afflict a generation.

He reminds us that there are no “quick-fixes” to what ails the Church today.  Even with an awareness of the demonic aspect at the bottom of the issue, there are many other aspects that must be recognized as well.

A great deal of solid scholarly work has shown how the connection of ideas and the flow of history got us to this point, but rarely does any of this scholarship touch on the preternatural side of the equation. The answer to how we got here is complex, involving many different agents, causes, and effects, so to simplify an explanation of the bad state of affairs as merely a “preternatural problem” would be far too facile and narrow in scope. The spiritual forces driving history are real and they are real because they affect real people who in a limited way direct the flow of history. Obviously, God is the “Lord of History” and the flow of history is ultimately up to Him, but God does use secondary causes (human beings) to determine history to some degree. (all quotes taken from Latin Mass magazine, summer 2012)

In every generation, there are those who resist the influence of the evil spirit of that generation, enough to preserve it from destruction. Remember that ten righteous people would have saved Sodom from destruction. (see Genesis 18:32)  The real heroes of each generation may be completely unknown in the history books and encyclopedias of the day.  We need to ask ourselves “Do I want to be one of those heroes of this generation?”

 Justice exalts a nation, but sin is a people’s disgrace. (Proverbs 14:34)