Hold Fast: 4 Ways to Survive the Cultural Storm

The world has gone mad. Unchecked by the free world, ISIS is spreading rapidly throughout the Middle East, and they have already made their presence known in Europe and here in the U.S. They have their sights set on the Vatican and the destruction of what remains of Christendom.
Meanwhile, Ireland, one of the most traditionally Catholic countries in the world, just voted to approve gay marriage, in what was really more of a referendum on the Church than it was anything else. And the Church was soundly rejected. Our own U.S. Supreme court is poised to decide legally the same issue of marriage very soon.
Inside the walls of the Church, things are no less calm. German bishops are promoting heresy and threatening schism. The enemies of Catholic truth are coming out of the shadows and are enjoying a new popularity and even promotion. The upcoming Synod on the Family looks to be an all out brawl between those who would accommodate the world and those who would be faithful to Christ.
I could go on. But if you aren’t unsettled by current events, there’s something wrong.
Hold Fast
So how are we to respond as Catholics who strive to remain faithful to Christ and his Church? Do we allow fear to blossom into panic? Do we allow despair to take root, surrendering to heresy, schism, or outright agnosticism?  No. We must not.
As we face the swelling waves of darkness and evil threatening to overwhelm all that is good and true, there is only one solution: We must hold fast.
Centuries ago, sailors who braved the high seas would tattoo the words “hold fast” to their knuckles. In sailor speak, for a thing to be “fast” means it is securely anchored, positively secured. Mariners believed that tattooing these words would help them “hold fast” to the rigging in the midst of