The Tribulation of Those Cities

This responsory seems to be oft-repeated during the Office of Matins these days:

We have heard of the tribulation of those cities, which they have suffered, and we have fainted. Fear and confusion of mind are fallen upon us. Even the mountains will not give us a refuge.
* Lord, have mercy.
V. We have sinned like our forefathers, we have done unjustly, and wrought iniquity.
R. Lord, have mercy.

Every time I read and sing it, I think of how fitting a description it is for the world today.

“Even the mountains will not give us a refuge,” it says. I can’t read that without thinking of those poor people in Iraq who fled to the mountains. Where are they now? How many have died? What is going on over there? I don’t know, and there isn’t much news, it seems. I suspect there is just as much suffering going on now as there was a few weeks ago, but it’s time to move on in the news world… and in people’s minds, too, perhaps. We live in a fast-food world, and the general mentality of society seems to suffer from attention deficit disorder.

“The tribulation of those cities” now includes this ebola outbreak, and it’s going to be affecting all of us sooner rather than later, it appears. There’s plenty of “fear and confusion” about that – certainly in my mind! (Personally, though, I am not much of a fan of the mainstream practice of medicine, and tend to rely on the Great Physician to take care of my physical needs. Still, it is concerning.)

And people have been beheaded in this country now. Wow. One “successful” attempt, and one threat, I guess, would be more a more accurate description. Of course this was in Oklahoma…not long after that Satanic black Mass took place in Oklahoma City. Yes, the evil one is finding openings in the most unexpected places.

 “We have sinned…”

 
Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.