Hatred of the brethren makes room next for Antichrist; for the devil prepares beforehand the divisions among the people, that he who is to come may be acceptable to them. – St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Church Doctor, (c. 315-386) Catechetical Lectures, Lecture XV, n.9
Dear children, The poison of selfishness and hatred rules human hearts and that is why you do not have peace. I am calling you, little children: be love and my extended hands to all those whom you meet. In humility, pray for peace and work on reconciliation among people, so that it may be good for every person on earth. Thank you for having responded to my call. (With ecclesiastical approval)
The State of the World address was delivered prior to the current war (this is no mere “conflict”) between the U.S. and Israel and Iran. The full text of the address can be found here.
… A diplomacy that promotes dialogue and seeks consensus among all parties is being replaced by a diplomacy based on force by either individuals or groups of allies. War is back in vogue and a zeal for war is spreading…
… Peace is no longer sought as a gift and a desirable good in itself…Instead, peace is sought through weapons as a condition for asserting one’s own dominion. This gravely threatens the rule of law, which is the foundation of all peaceful coexistence…
… We cannot ignore that the destruction of hospitals, energy infrastructure, homes and places essential to daily life constitutes a serious violation of international humanitarian law. The Holy See firmly reiterates it’s condemnation of any form of involvement of civilians in any military operations…the protection of the principle of the inviability of human dignity and the sanctity of life always counts for more than any mere national interest…
… Pride obscures both reality itself and our empathy towards others. It is no coincidence that pride is always at the root of every conflict. Consequently, as I recalled in my Message for the World Day of Peace, “we lose our sense of realism and surrender to a partial and distorted view of the world, disfigured by darkness and fear,” thus paving the way for the mentality of confrontation, which is the precursor to every war.
Faced with the possibility of a tragedy of immense proportions, I make a heartfelt appeal to all the parties involved to assume the moral responsibility of halting the spiral of violence before it becomes an unbridgeable chasm. May diplomacy regain its proper role, and may the well-being of peoples, who yearn for peaceful existence founded on justice, be upheld. And let us continue to pray for peace. – Pope Leo XIV, Sunday Angelus, March 1, 2026
See The Catechism of the Catholic Church (2307-2309 and 2312-2314) for a complete outline and a clear understanding of the Church’s stance towards war.
The fifth commandment forbids the intentional destruction of human life. Because of the evils and injustices that accompany all war, the Church insistently urges everyone to prayer and to action so that the divine Goodness may free us from the ancient bondage of war (CCC 2307).
The use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated. The power of modern means of destruction weighs very heavily in evaluating this condition (CCC 2309).
Also reported in Vatican News, following his Sunday Angelus on March 15, Pope Leo XIV, specifically and directly appealed to those responsible for the ongoing war between the United States and Israel and Iran:
… the peoples of the Middle East have been suffering the atrocious violence of war for two weeks… Thousands of innocent people have been killed, and many others have been forced to abandon their homes. I renew my prayerful closeness to all those who have lost their loved ones in the attacks that have struck schools, hospitals, and residential areas. – Pope Leo XIV, March 15, 2026, (Appeal following the Sunday Angelus)
We must pray for right discernment and ask God for the gift of wisdom that we would distinguish truth from deception.
We must firmly resist the Father of Lies in the echo of religious rhetoric as the justification of war. In the words of Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem:
as believers … we need to say that no, there are no new crusades. If God is present in this war, He is among those who are dying, who are suffering, who are in pain, who are oppressed in various ways, throughout the Middle East.
… It is up to you to show the sufferings that war always brings to the people; to show the face of war and to relate it through the eyes of the victims, so as not to transform it into a video game. – Address of Pope Leo XIV to members of the editorial staff of the Italian state-owned television (TG2) March 16, 2026
I am a devoted, albeit work-in-progress, Catholic. I’m a son, a brother, a husband, a father, and, most recently, a loving grandfather walking in life beside the dearest love-gushing grandmother, my dear wife of thirty-four years.
I’m a veteran of the United States Air Force. I proudly served my country, stateside and abroad, as a Security Police Specialist with a secondary specialty in Air Base Ground Defense. I was an Air Force ground combat soldier trained by Army Rangers at Camp Bullis in the heart of Texas.
For the record, I volunteered for immediate deployment following the May 17, 1987 Iraqi Exocet missile strike on the USS Stark resulting in the death of 37 United States Navy personnel in the Persian Gulf. I deployed to Riyadh Air Base, Saudi Arabia, in mission support of Elf One, the 552d Airborne Warning and Control Wing, and the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) fighter units.
For the privilege of this service, I received the Navy and Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal awarded for members who engaged in combat operations or other qualifying expeditions on foreign territory. This is not to boast. Surely, many are my brothers and sisters who served before and after me and returned limbless, with debilitating and invisible post-traumatic injuries, or whose mortal remains were returned to be buried.
No, I do not boast but simply state my record of service, with “receipts”, as a preemptive response to those who might dismiss this clarion call to spiritual arms in an epic spiritual war as just coming from an old, washed-up, watered-down, has-been-patriot turned pacifist.
I am a patriot. What’s more, I am a Catholic patriot. I love God, my Church, my Family, and my Country. As a Catholic patriot, I hold firm my duty of defending and “protecting the principle of the inviability of human dignity and the sanctity of life”, which, as Pope Leo XIV stated, “always counts for more than any mere national interest.”
As a Catholic patriot, I cannot condone, as acceptable collateral damage, the unconscionable annihilation of an entire nation, it’s innocents and it’s vital infrastructure as a means to defeat an enemy that dwells within.
Every act of war directed to the indiscriminate destruction of whole cities or vast areas with their inhabitants is a crime against God and man, which merits firm and unequivocal condemnation (CCC 2314).
As a Catholic patriot, I choose to put my conventional sword back in its place (Matthew 26:52) and charge the battlefield with the ultimate spiritual weapon.
The Rosary is the weapon for these times. – St. Padre Pio
For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)
We must advance the Hill of Calvary and hold our ground at the foot of the Cross of Christ beside Mary, our Mother, the Queen of Peace.
Holding the higher ground in war enables control over the battlefield and the enemy.
As a Catholic patriot, I choose to take the higher ground of prayer-fueled battle against the Spirits of Fear, Pride, Hatred, Indifference, Murder, and Division that weaken us, harden our hearts, and blind us to the horrors of war as their minions revel in the obliteration of nations and peoples in the pursuit of worldly dominion – a wide and corrupted road soaked with the blood of the innocent, most vulnerable and defenseless victims and paved with violent disregard for humanitarian law and the sanctity of life.
I choose to stand with Christ, the Prince of Peace, in union with His appointed Vicar, His Church, and Mary, our Queen, as I kneel in prayer for disarmament and peace that surpasses all understanding in the fulfillment of Our Father’s will and His heavenly dominion of this world.
© 2026 Brian Kravec
4 Responses
St. Joseph, Terror of Demons, Pray for Us!
Thank you Brian for taking the “time” to write this blog. Thank you, too, for volunteering and “proudly” serving our Country. Surely, your words need to be read over and over again….and not just read once. Especially at this time! And no coincidence that we are on our 4th day of the Divine Mercy Novena. We are in the middle of a mighty prayer. Let us use your words each day with this novena and the days ahead to implore God for help to end this war and have PEACE.
Our Mother tells us as you included in your blog….”that with prayer and fasting you can ward off wars and suspend natural laws.” Let it be so!!!!
Thank you, Anita! In the words of our Holy Father, Pope Leo XVI:
We turn our gaze to Jesus, who reveals himself as King of Peace, even as war looms abounds him. He remains steadfast in meekness, while others are stirring up violence. He offers himself to embrace humanity, even as others raise swords and clubs. (Pope Leo XIV @Pontifex, March 29)
St. Sharbel, pray for your beloved Lebanon!