Do things get done by doing nothing? Or "Pick up a broom."

“Things get done by doing nothing,” it is sometimes said. And it is true that the course of history, always in the Hand of God, does not need our micromanaging, and that things will go on without our intervention. Time and culture and the movements of the planets have ways of being and doing that are beyond the dictates of even the best-intentioned activists.There are many times that do not need our action. But this is not one of those times.The Church, our beloved Mother Church, the Bride of Christ, is suffering. In the face of suffering, we cannot do nothing. In the face of evil, to be complacent is to be complicit. In the face of confusion, we must continually hold up Truth to the Lie.I am not advocating for pitchforks and torches in the public square, or some kind of witch hunt. Those actions - and most actions that make a lot of noise - don't get the things done that need doing here. As I've said before, we are in a spiritual battle and so we must engage spiritual armaments: prayer, fasting, sacrifice, truth. And sometimes, we must pick up the phone or the pen.The crisis of the Church right now has been a long time coming, and has sprung from several different sources, like a Perfect Storm that could only have been stirred together by an Intelligence beyond even the machinations of the Deep State. If anything has brought into sharp clarity the Lord's words that the "gates of hell will not prevail" against the Church, it is historical moments like this when everything seems to hang in the balance: the moral authority of the Church, the functioning and trustworthiness of the hierarchy, the stability of the Church amidst serious allegations and investigations of the civil authority, the confidence of the people in the pews and their resolve to remain firmly and fully in the Church whose regalia is tattered and whose bedrock seems to be dissolving. The Enemy has invaded everything. At any given moment, this is how things can seem.But the Church is not the sum total of dogmatic statements and certainly not an Instrumentum Laboris; the Church is not the hierarchy or the regalia or the impeccability of Cardinals or whatever else.The Church is the whole Body of Christ, Head and members, each of us washed in the saving waters of Baptism and united in the Eucharistic sacrifice. The Church is Christ, and Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Persevering in Him, we are secure. Those who persevere to the end will be saved.Now, as this Church is beaten and bruised (from the inside and out), continuing through the long Calvary of history, we have a part to play, and we cannot be content to do nothing and wait it out. Certainly, we must pray and fast. We must speak the truth and not shy away from the difficult discussions about the current crisis. We must support our priests and bishops, or call them to task where needed. Most of all, we must resolve to grow in holiness, to help those around us grow in holiness, so that what we are and what we must do are clear in the light of the Spirit. This is important, because all our own ideas will not bear eternal fruit, even if they are very good ideas. God can use our good actions, but He is present in those actions He wills and we obey!There is no longer any doubt that this is a pivotal moment. Perhaps this is one of those moments that Mary came to warn us about over and over again in so many apparitions. In any case, this will change the Church as we have come to know it. Let's see this as a privileged moment to offer ourselves fully in service to the Church, to give generously of ourselves and our means, and to keep our eyes on the truth as on a lamp in a dark place, giving thanks that we have been created to be a part of the Church right here, right now.When history describes this moment 100 years from now, what do you want to have done?As writer Jaymie Stuart Wolfe said in the Boston Pilot: "One thing is clear: God is cleaning his house. Anyone who doesn't want to end up in the dustpan must pick up a broom."