What is the Silent Army?
In J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel The Lord of the Rings, there comes a time when it appears that the age of men will fail and that evil will win. It was at that moment that Aragorn called on the Army of the Dead, and fulfilled the prophecy of Malbeth the Seer: “a day would come when need and haste would drive one of Isildur’s heirs to take The Road under the Mountain, and that the dead would answer to his call.”
This army was originally comprised of mountain men who worshipped the evil one, Sauron, in the Dark Years, but by the Second Age, they swore their allegiance to Isildur, the King of Gondor. However, when the time came to fight the forces of evil, they broke their oath and hid in the mountains, at which point Isildur cursed them to remain in the mountains without rest until they could finally fulfill their oath.
When Aragorn, the heir of Isildur, took the Road under the Mountain, he summoned this Army of the Dead and commanded them to fulfill their oath. They traveled with Aragorn for several days, and invaded the fleets of Sauron’s allies at the Great River Anduin. From there, they traveled to Minas Tirith, where they joined the battle and helped defeat the army of Sauron. It was said that while Army of the Dead could not physically harm anyone, their enemies were overthrown through fear and despair. After that battle, Aragorn kept his promise and released the Army from their curse.
Our mission is to create this hidden Silent Army anywhere people are suffering. Like the mountain men in Lord of the Rings, we have all sinned and find ourselves distant from God. But Jesus Christ came to bring us out of spiritual death and lead us in our battle against evil. He has shown us that the Cross is the key to Heaven, and that through our sufferings united to the Cross, we are able tap into the endless mercy and grace of God. Like the Army of the Dead, we do not fight physically but rather spiritually.
However, the Silent Army doesn’t end here on earth. Every day, Fr. Starzynski is at the bedside of 1-3 people who are actively dying. As they are dying, he asks them to pray for him and the Church when they first get to heaven, in thanksgiving for receiving the Sacraments of the Church. In this way, he is helping to add to the hidden army of the dead who pray for the Church in her hour of need.
The book of Revelation states that the martyrs under the altar in Heaven are praying for the Church in all her needs on earth. This is the hidden army of little souls we are gathering up, and Cardinal Newman writes often in his sermons of this hidden army. He states that at the time of greatest need, the saints in heaven pray all the more earnestly and that God will answer their prayers in a more dramatic way when the Church is most in need.
This is the Silent Army that we are creating in much the same way that was prophesied in the book The Lord of the Rings. The devil doesn’t have this hidden army, but we do! Gathering this army is part of our mission in the hospital ministry. Praise God and all His saints!!!