If you don’t understand the reality and importance of spiritual warfare, you have absolutely zero chance of getting to heaven. Listen up.
I wrote a post about the Church Militant that I will excerpt here, because it already explains the seriousness of the situation and (partly) what got us here. You can read that whole post HERE, but the core is as follows:

The duties of the Church Militant can be broken down into a threefold engagement in spiritual and temporal warfare, to which we are all called:

1. The internal spiritual battle against personal sin, which subsists in all the faithful as the result of Original Sin and its ensuing Concupiscence, which is closely related to #2,
2. The external spiritual battle against demons, Powers and Principalities; those evil spirits prowling about the world seeking the ruin of souls
3. The external temporal battle against human institutions, laws, inequities and iniquities, imposed by men, which are contrary to Divine Law

The Catechism of Trent, Article IX, puts it very succinctly:
“It is called militant, because it wages eternal war with those implacable enemies, the world, the flesh and the devil.”
Does any of this language sound familiar?  Have you ever heard a sermon preached on spiritual warfare?  Have you ever heard a sermon on rooting out personal sin? Have you ever heard a sermon on your duty to fight unjust laws and unjust men?  You haven’t? Welcome to the post-conciliar Church.
Just as the wrecking ball takes multiple swings to bring down an edifice, omission of this precise formula was but one blow in the brick by brick demolition of the faith orchestrated by the modernist marxist infiltrators who hijacked the council and the faith.

So this is the reality of what is going on around us 24/7/365. It’s warfare for sure, but the stakes are way higher than any earthly battle, because the outcomes affect the eternal destiny of souls. Did you notice that the first two duties are purely supernatural, and only the third is natural? That’s because our physical actions (i.e. ‘Just War’, proselytising, protests, petitions, voting, BLOGS) are merely small arms fire, or at most, artillery.  But the WMDs of this war are prayers.  It’s easy to forget, or even to doubt whether that’s true, because you’ve been conditioned for 50 years to kneel at the altar of Active Participation. Let’s face it; we suck at this.  We have the awesome power to participate in battle at the supernatural level, and we choose to spend our time focused more on the natural.

We must speak forcefully about the reality of the supernatural.  Those demons are real, and their first tactic is always to hide from the light.  We must proclaim this reality and call out the grim destiny of those who refuse to believe it.  Recall again we are speaking here of a moral duty, and the task is not for the faint-hearted.  This is about doing battle with fallen angels, created beings possessing intellects orders of magnitude greater than our own.  They have been thrown out of heaven for their refusal to serve, and their only goal is to drag more souls to Hell by convincing said souls to refuse to serve.  Our hope rests only in God, who does not send his servants into battle unarmed.  For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty to God, unto the pulling down of fortifications, destroying counsels.

Thankfully, we have the contemplatives, or at least what is left of them.
Contemplative orders were all but wiped out after Vatican II. Of the few that remain, most have been infiltrated with nuChurch to a greater or lesser extent. Even the “conservative” houses are severely handicapped, because their primary weapon – the Liturgy – is suboptimal. This includes not only the new Mass with all its defects, but also and importantly the new breviary, with its intentional suppression of the “offensive” psalms. Those suppressed verses were some of the most powerful spiritual weapons available, and they are no longer being prayed (literally hundreds of verses are omitted in the new office, but you can start with Psalms 57/58, 82/83, and especially 108/109 HERE.
Two notable exceptions in the USA, where Tradition is practiced, are Clear Creek Abbey in Arkansas HERE  and the Benedictines of Mary in Missouri HERE.
Regardless of their level of orthodoxy, it’s the contemplative orders that wage constant spiritual battle on your behalf. That is why all of this most certainly affects YOU. We laymen absolutely have the duty to wage war as part of the Church Militant. But we are the regular military.
The contemplatives are SOCOM.  They are DEVGRU.  They are MARSOC. The wars are unwinnable without them, and the enemy knows it. So now a new assault is being launched, from within the walls and from the top. Isn’t it interesting that even though these orders have nearly gone totally extinct since the council, and most that survive are severely wounded, that’s still not good enough. No, because even though they are few, and wounded, they are still the most badass warfighters.  They must be completely exterminated.
In the Apostolic Constitution VULTUM DEI QUAERERE, Francis lays out exactly how it will go down.
First up, this crushing mandate:

15. In today’s social, cultural and religious context, monasteries need to pay great attention to vocational and spiritual discernment…they should ensure that candidates receive personalized guidance and adequate programmes of formation, always keeping in mind that for initial formation and that following temporary profession, to the extent possible, “ample time must be reserved”, no less than nine years and not more than twelve.38

No less than nine years following temporary profession?  And maybe as long as twelve?  Well that sounds inviting, doesn’t it? It should really help boost numbers by telling 20 year olds “just 15 years, missy, and we’ll have you ready.” Oh and the footnote 38 refers to Canon 648, which only addresses the novitiate (not less than 12 months, not more than two years). It is actually Canon 655 that refers to temporary profession (not less than three years and not more than six). But don’t worry, Francis had the foresight to proclaim his document is above canon law. I’ll get to that at the end.
So now that we’ve ensured there won’t be any incoming threat, let’s just go ahead and make sure we nuke the entire site from orbit.

28. Autonomy favours the stability of life and internal unity of each community, ensuring the best conditions for contemplation. But autonomy ought not to mean independence or isolation, especially from the other monasteries of the same Order or the same charismatic family.
29. “No one contributes to the future in isolation, by his or her efforts alone, but by seeing himself or herself as part of a true communion which is constantly open to encounter, dialogue, attentive listening and mutual assistance”. For this reason, take care to avoid “the disease of self-absorption” and to preserve the value of communion between different monasteries as a path of openness towards the future…

Because it goes without saying that the aforementioned Benedictines of Mary in Missouri could CERTAINLY benefit from communion with the Benedictines of ERIE am I right? I bet Sister Joan can’t wait to alleviate their isolation.

30. Federation is an important structure of communion between monasteries sharing the same charism, lest they remain isolated. The principal aim of a Federation is to promote the contemplative life in the member monasteries, in accordance with the demands of their proper charism, and to ensure assistance in initial and continuous formation as well as in practical needs, through the exchange of nuns…

No, the principle aim of a federation is NOT to promote the exchange of nuns, and Canon 684 (referred to in the footnote for this paragraph) explicitly lays out the rules by which a transfer can take place. But again, this document overrules canon law.

31. …The variety of ways in which the cloister is observed within the same Order should be seen as an enrichment and not an obstacle to communion; it is a matter of reconciling different approaches in a higher unity. This communion can take concrete shape in various forms of encounter…

Pure Francis right there. Achieving higher unity through encounter. Will there be hand holding and bongos?  Speaking of which, have I mentioned how all this comes in the wake of Francis terminating the intervention into the arch heretical, new-age worshipping LCWR? You go, girlz.  Carry on.
And now, in case you were holding out hope that there really is nothing sinister here, that I shouldn’t be reading Francis through Satan, think again.  The moment you’ve all been waiting for….CONCLUSION AND REGULATIONS:

Art. 1. With reference to canon 20 of the Code of Canon Law…the following are derogated: 1. Those canons of the Code of Canon Law that, in part, directly contradict any article of the present Constitution; 2. and, more specifically, the articles containing norms and dispositions found in: – the Apostolic Constitution Sponsa Christi of Pius XII (21 November 1950): Statuta Generalia Monialium; – the Instruction Inter Praeclara of the Sacred Congregation for Religious (23 November 1950); – the Instruction Verbi Sponsa of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (13 May 1999) on the contemplative life and enclosure of nuns.

Moving on…

Art. 5 § 2. Since sharing the transforming experience of God’s word with priests, deacons, other consecrated persons and the laity is an expression of genuine ecclesial communion, each monastery is to determine how this spiritual outreach can be accomplished.

Does this mean Canon 674 is derogated?

Can. 674 Institutes which are entirely ordered to contemplation always hold a distinguished place in the mystical Body of Christ: for they offer an extraordinary sacrifice of praise to God, illumine the people of God with the richest fruits of holiness, move it by their example, and extend it with hidden apostolic fruitfulness. For this reason, members of these institutes cannot be summoned to furnish assistance in the various pastoral ministries however much the need of the active apostolate urges it.

Moving on…

Art. 8 § 2. Whenever the requirements for a monastery’s genuine autonomy are lacking, the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life will study the possibility of establishing an ad hoc commission made up of the ordinary, the president of the federation, a representative of the federation and the abbess or prioress of the monastery. In every case, the purpose of this intervention is to initiate a process of guidance for the revitalization of the monastery, or to effect its closure.

Let me translate: “If you intend to hold fast to the True Faith, we will shut you bitches down.”
And finally,

Art. 9 § 1. Initially, all monasteries are to be part of a federation. If, for some special reason, a monastery cannot join a federation, after the vote of the chapter, permission to allow the monastery to remain outside a federation is to be sought from the Holy See, which is competent to study and decide the question.
Art. 10 § 1. Each monastery…is to ask the Holy See what form of cloister it wishes to embrace, whenever a different form of cloister from the present one is called for.
Art. 11 § 2. In communities devoted to contemplation, the income received from labour should not be used exclusively to ensure a decent sustenance, but also, if possible, to assist the poor and monasteries in need.
Art. 14 § 2. Once they have been adapted to the new regulations, the articles of the constitutions or rules of individual institutes are to be submitted for approval by the Holy See.

I just don’t see how any of this could go wrong, do you?