If God did wink-wink, nod-nod, hint-hint, it would look like this.
From all accounts the Maui wildfire can only be described in hellish terms. Nearly every news story can’t help but use the word apocalyptic.
Testimony of the enormity, ferocity, suddenness, and extent of the inferno cannot be exaggerated. Warning sirens never sounded; there was not time. Cars queuing up to leave the island were incinerated where they sat. Multi-million dollar ocean front homes, historic landmarks, art galleries . . . turned to ashes. Residents raced for the safety of the ocean to escape the raging heat. Many of those describe that even “the waves were on fire“, as oil and fuel from destroyed boats and marinas covered the water. A very Old Testamentish vibe.
Nearly everything was obliterated. Nearly.
Maria Lanakila Catholic Church (translation: Mary Victorious), right smack dab in the middle of it all still stands. To quote John Calvin, “What a coincidence!”
@hawaiibrunoldsquad Lahaina Church was saved . Jax was babtized here #mauifire #lahainahawaii #hawaiibrunoldsquad ♬ original sound – HawaiiBrunoldSquad
Yet, on the mainland other hellish fires rage. In a saner time, men who dressed up as garish women and sexualizing young children would meet a first-class, old-fashioned butt-whipping. And that’s if they got off easy. Downtown areas of every major American city resemble bombed-out, run-down, open sewers. Experts opine that lopping off healthy body parts changes the unchangeable. Our social media obsessed world lives and dies by “likes” and can’t even remember a time when “friend” was a noun, not a verb. The justice system is rife with injustice; perversion is the currency of our education system; and, the welfare state delivers neither wellness nor fairness. And, of course, we baptize all this in the blood of the unborn as children continue to “pass through the fire“. The progeny of Molech know no shame.
In case you haven’t noticed, “even the waves are on fire.”
Can we, just for a moment, contemplate that these things just might be connected?
Can we consider that the cup of Divine wrath is just a teensy-weensy bit away from being full? Consider just a drop from that cup spilling out: #MauiFire.
Maui fire bad. Very bad. Fires of Hell – eternal, unquenchable, inescapable – exponentially worse.
So what to do?
Oh my Jesus, forgive me of my sins.
Save us from the fires of Hell.
Lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in need of your mercy.
If you’re Catholic, go to Confession. In fact, going to Confession should be treated like voting in Chicago: Do it early and often.
If you’re not Catholic, well, it’s time to acknowledge that the Great Ecclesiastical Experiment was a dud. Get thee into the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. Might want to get that done before the whole cup of wrath tips all the way out thingy happens. Just sayin’. And if you want to argue about this, well, I’m your huckleberry.
And learn some Chinese. Might come in handy when you want to ask your captors for a cup of water.
As we say here in the South: extra Ecclesiam nulla salus, y’all.