Guardians Mark Hall, of Cocoa Beach, Florida, below and next to Our Lady on the left was present at the Capitol Building with the assistance of best selling Catholic author, Ted Flynn (not in the photo).
Shortly before the violence began at the Capitol building, one of the prayer warriors texted my daughter from the ground, “I met so many wonderful people from all over America. Patriots who were all law-abiding. We stood for hours in the cold with no places to eat and the city provided one bathroom for the million that were there. There was no littering-the place was clean!
“We all said how safe we felt with that many people - so thoughtful and considerate. They were wonderful people-very kind and thoughtful!”
It appears from the media that the protest was pre-planned and not spontaneous and that the protest began even before President Trump finished his speech.
The chief federal prosecutor in Washington declared that he is pursuing conspiracy charges, apparently on the basis that the attacks on the Capitol involved multiple acts and multiple conspirators working in concert with each other.
Steven D’Antuono, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, said,
“In the weeks leading up to the January 6 rally, the FBI was aware that some people were planning to travel to the D.C. area “to cause violence.” Read more here: https://wtop.com/dc/2021/01/federal-prosecutor-looking-into-sedition-conspiracy-cases-linked-to-capitol-attack/.
And the official timeline of events constructed by the New York Times through videos shows that protesters began breaching the perimeter of the Capitol a full 20 minutes before President Trump even finished his speech.
As President Trump’s speech near the White House came to an end, he called on audience to “walk down Pennsylvania Avenue” toward the Capitol. He did not promote any violence. Rioters at the Capitol were already continuing their violent clash with police officers.
So, it appears that President Trump could not have incited an attack on the Capitol that had already been pre-planned by others and was in motion before his speech ended. Read and see more here: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/01/12/us/capitol-mob-timeline.html.
It is obvious that in addition to a few hundred protesters, there were tens of thousands of people of goodwill peacefully and prayerfully present at the United States Capitol building.
Both light and darkness were there. Satan is the prince of darkness.
Jesus said, “I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12-19).
So, what are we to do to stay in the light?
We can stay in the light and avoid and conquer the darkness of violence through personal holiness, St. John Paul II’s Plan for the Third Millennium. We should strive for personal holiness in and through personal relationships with one another and with Jesus Christ through prayer, penance and the sacraments. We should begin our penance through fasting from undue use of social media with its argumentation and unreliable assertions of facts and news that can lead to anxiety, anger and ultimately violence.
St. John Paul II inaugurated the third millennium with his Apostolic Letter, At the Beginning of the New Millennium. He wrote, “We are certainly not seduced by the naive expectation that, faced with the great challenges of our time, we shall find some magic formula. No, we shall not be saved by a formula but by a Person, and the assurance which he gives us: I am with you! This program for all times is our program for the third millennium. “
He reminded us of the universal call to holiness. Holiness is the perfection of charity. “All Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of charity.” All are called to holiness: “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 2013).
The way to holiness is through conversion to Jesus Christ, reconciliation with Jesus Christ and one another, relation with Jesus Christ with prayer and the sacraments, meditation on Jesus Christ, consecration to Jesus Christ, reparation to Jesus Christ, imitation of Jesus Christ and action for Jesus Christ.
St. John Paul II reminded us that we are not saved by a plan, but by a Person, Jesus Christ, whom we encounter in Scripture and Tradition, prayer, sacraments (especially Confession and Eucharist) and each other.
He recommended that we meditate on chapter 5 of the gospel of Luke and that we study The Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Learn more about St. John Paul II’s plan here.
If we become holy and good, we will have holy families, the foundation of a good country, and the happiness of many. The government is not our Savior. As St. John Paul II reminded us, he is a Person, Jesus Christ.
Let us pray the United States Bishops’ Novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe for peace, love and unity in our country. You may find it here.
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