I have bad news for you. You live in times where the Pope goes around preaching heresy and not even his Bishops (let alone the Cardinals) have the courage to do anything, bar a couple of courageous, isolated voices that remain unheeded.

I have more bad news for you. The impending (be realistic now: he is 92) death of Benedict, the Pontiff Emeritus and Eternal Celestine, will cure absolutely nothing in this, not does his being alive (with all his pomp and circumstances; the white habit and the vain title, “Emeritus”, the “silent” interviews and the private archbishop secretary) do anything to remedy the situation now.

You are, realistically and bar a Divine Intervention, facing a long, long time of this. Just consider that, when the Evil Clown finally croaks, the Conclave will be composed by Cardinals nominated, in the majority, by him. Yes, you can dream that the Cardinals will wake up and refuse to allow those nominated by Francis to take part in the next conclave; but at this point this is, also, a pious fantasy: those not appointed by Francis would not only be the minority, but they would have the Tagles and (until 2022) the Maradiagas of the world among them.

Face it: you are likely going to live and die in the Time of Madness.

How do you react to it?

By being Catholic, no matter what. By trying to be what all the generations before you have tried to be. Of course, you will also push, as far as you can, for the restoration of sanity. But as far as your private redde rationem with God is concerned, you just use the manual that has been in use for two thousand years. Some useful steps in this direction.

Pray the Rosary every day. Start today. Look for a Traditional Latin Mass. Try to attend there if this is reasonable. In both cases, go on Youtube and watch some recording. Imbibe yourself with the absolute superiority of the Tridentine Mass compared with the dumbed-down kindergarten spectacle you dutifully inflict on yourself every Sunday (I look at it as a penance now). Buy and read “Iota Unum”. It is not cheap, but it is worth every penny. This book will not only allow you to obtain, a contrario, a comprehensive picture of sound Catholicism. It will also allow you to give a historic perspective to the current madness, to see it as a satanic loaf that has been proofing for decades now. Read the SSPX publications (Angelus Press), and first of all “one hundred years of Modernism”. Again, this will give you a historic perspective of what is happening. It will allow you to see the current Pontificate as a point in time in the course of a long disease, not a sudden earthquake leaving you unable to understand how this could happen in the first place. Throw away your JP II Catechism. Do it now. No, I mean now. Read the rest of this post when it has gone in the rubbish bin. Buy one or more old Catechisms. The Penny Catechism is simple, but excellent. The four Baltimore Catechisms are also outstanding. There are several others (Council of Trent, Pius X), that you may find in English if you look around. Inform yourself, and follow as much as you can, old Catholic traditions and devotional practices: say, Friday abstinence, or the traditional prayer before the meals, or the days of fasting; or the Forty Hours, or the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Make an effort of memorisation, like in old times. Do you know the Commandments by heart? The works of mercy? The Gifts of the holy spirit? The deadly sins? It may seem a little thing, but you will see that it becomes useful both in your spiritual life and in your interactions with others. We live in times of great spiritual ignorance. A little can go a long way. Besides, and as Lucia in the Promessi Sposi says, “Dio perdona tante cose per un’opera di misericordia!”, “God forgives many things for one work of mercy!”.

One could go on along this line, but I think I have outlined the fundamentals.

The bottom line is this: as much as you reasonably can, expunge Vatican II from your life without waiting that the Church does the same. Do not do it to the point of it being counterproductive (say: do not stop attending Mass just because a Tridentine Mass is not reasonably available), but, within the realm of reason and common sense, give V II the booth.

When you die, you will go to your judgement knowing that you have, sinful as you certainly are, and with God’s Grace, actively tried to give to Christ more than the disfigured Church of the XXI Century wanted you to.

Not a bad hand of cards, I would say.

And nothing that an evil Pope like Francis can do against it.