Brothers and sisters, when we hear the word “Antichrist,” many imagine a future figure—a distant tyrant, a visible enemy who will one day openly confront God.

But today, I must tell you with the gravity the gospel demands: the greatest deception of the Antichrist is not in coming, but in convincing the world that he is not present.

The Antichrist does not begin as a monster.

He begins as an idea.

He does not first appear as persecution but as spiritual autonomy.

 

 

He does not shout, “I hate Christ,” but whispers, “You don’t need His Church.

” And there, precisely there, the real danger begins.

The readings we hear are never random.

God’s word is proclaimed not to soothe but to awaken consciences.

Today, I direct your attention to the first reading from St.

John’s first letter, where the unsettling word “Antichrist” appears.

St. John wrote to a wounded, confused community shaken by internal divisions.

He said, “You have heard that the Antichrist is coming.

Indeed, many Antichrists have already appeared.”

 

 

These words are not meant to fuel fear but to illuminate discernment.

The Church teaches—and we must remember—that the Antichrist will be fully human.

He is not Satan incarnate; only God can assume flesh.

Yet, tradition holds that this man will be possessed by evil, manipulated to confuse, seduce, and lead many astray.

The Church Fathers described him as persuasive and powerful, capable of drawing crowds—even emerging from familiar religious contexts, making him all the more compelling.

 

 

But we must sharpen our spiritual perspective: the term “Antichrist” appears in both singular and plural forms in Scripture.

Revelation speaks of an Antichrist yet to be revealed, but also of many antichrists already active in history—Nero, Hitler, Stalin—men opposing God and human dignity.

Yet St. John offers a more unsettling perspective: “They came from among us, but they were not of us.

” These are apostates—those once within who left.

The Antichrist’s most widespread form is not one who denies Jesus openly, but one who denies Him by separating from His Church.

 

 

He says, “I believe in Christ, but not in the Church.

” “I am spiritual but not religious.

” “I don’t need sacraments, apostolic authority, or community.

” To deny the Church is to deny Christ—not because the Church is perfect, but because Christ founded it as His body.

St.

Paul teaches the Church is the body of Christ, with Christ as its head.

There is no Christ without the body, nor the body without Christ.

 

 

To separate them is spiritual mutilation.

Thus, St.

John affirms these antichrists came out from among us—they preferred their own judgment over revealed truth.

Today, this phenomenon multiplies.

Many baptized no longer bring children to baptism.

Many Catholics stop receiving the Eucharist or confessing, yet seek answers elsewhere—in ideologies, spiritualities without the cross, promises of well-being without conversion.

The Catechism, paragraph 675, warns: before Christ’s return, the Church will undergo a final trial shaking many believers’ faith—a false solution offered at the price of apostasy.

 

 

This is the spirit of the Antichrist: a religion without God, salvation without the cross, morality without truth.

St.

Paul calls this figure the “son of perdition,” one who exalts himself as God.

His power is deception, not truth.

He seduces rather than forces.

We must be clear: the spirit of the Antichrist manifests whenever man places himself in God’s place, declaring, “I decide good and evil.

” Rejecting Christ’s authority, becoming the absolute judge of truth.

St.

John fought Gnostics who claimed no need for Church, intermediaries, or sacraments—claiming superior knowledge.

 

 

Today, the same discourse appears in new words.

When someone claims, “The Church is wrong, I am right,” we ask: by what authority?

The Church is not a human invention or political structure.

It is a divine institution with human nature—able to err in human matters but not in what Christ entrusted to it.

Christ called her the pillar and foundation of truth, established the Petrine ministry, gave authority to apostles and successors, and promised the gates of hell would not prevail.

To abandon the Church because of its members’ sins is like abandoning Christ because of Judas’s betrayal.

The betrayal happened, but it did not negate the truth.

 

 

The Church is like Noah’s Ark—not perfect, but the place God provided for salvation.

Inside, noise and filth; outside, only the flood.

Do not be deceived.

The Antichrist does not triumph by persecution alone, but by division.

Not by destroying the Church from outside, but by emptying it from within.

But our faith is clear: the Antichrist will not win.

Christ has already won.

Evil still makes noise, but it is defeated.

Our mission is not to predict dates or fuel fear, but to reduce losses and save lives.

 

 

Like a war already decided, our task is to prevent more from falling.

How? By educating, bearing witness, living consistently, and remaining in the Church even when it hurts.

Because the Church is imperfect humanly, but holy in its divine origin.

Whoever remains in it remains in Christ.

Let us not abandon Jesus because of Judas’s mistakes.

Let us not abandon the Ark in the storm.

Let us pray.

Let us live the Gospel.

Let us be light.

God bless you.