Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Catholic Virtual Wars: 06 - But I was scandalized...

Have you been offended and scandalized by things others in the Church have done? This post may offer a few helpful thoughts.

This Catholic Virtual War series is aimed at people who want to probe the teachings of the Church more deeply on the virtues - those things that guide our responses to that which we encounter; it is not for those looking for a quick read. If you don't have time now, bookmark it and come back later.

For the purpose of this post, I want to set aside discussion of the sex abuse scandal, which is in a league of it's own, and with another set of principles to be addressed.

This post has more to do with the scandal many are feeling from a failure by members of the Church to fully and properly pass on the faith since the 1960's, and hindering families who tried to keep the faith, and whose children were lost to nonsense being pedaled as Catholicism. It also has to do with persecution from within the Church. It is along this line that I want the discussion to proceed.

As with all posts in the Catholic Virtual War series, I will allow comments that do not name names or organizations, and that do not give away so much information as to make it virtually known. We can raise the bar by talking about positions, principles, and underlying philosophies, not people.

Introduction: Jesus, wounded by His Disciple

Saint Augustine, in his discussion, "On Patience," has had me reflecting over and again on this passage since I found it some years ago:

This patience the Lord taught, when, the servants being moved at the mixing in of the tares and wishing to gather them up, He said that the householder answered, Leave both to grow until the harvest. That, namely, must be patience put up with, which must not be in haste put away. Of this patience Himself afforded and showed an example, when, before the passion of His Body, He so bore with His disciple Judas, that ere He pointed him out as the traitor, He endured him as a thief; and before experience of bonds and cross and death, did, to those lips so full of guile, not deny the kiss of peace. All these, and whatever else there be, which it were tedious to rehearse, belong to that manner of patience, by which the mind does, not its own sins but any evils so ever from without, patiently endure in itself, while the body remains altogether unhurt.

Jesus endured that kiss, just as he does our own, so many times, not wanting to give the offender and his offense away.

Judas was a priest - a man with a vocation and chosen by Jesus. Like each of us, Judas also had a free will and he chose to exercise it in a way that caved to his own concupiscence in the form of greed. He then caved to the sin of despair; rather than entrust himself to the mercy of God and pick up his cross, he hung himself on a tree. One lesson we get from this is that, just as most Apostles were loyal while imperfect and sinful, a small number will be imperfect and act with great evil. Some will repent and some will not.

Priests and bishops have a free will and they do not always use it well. The most orthodox, holy, and tradition-minded priests I know have told me the most merciful thing to do is to pray for them (yes, mercy is needed for them, just as we hope God will have for us). I was counseled to never talk about them in a negative way without first spending much time before the Blessed Sacrament on their account, and entrusting them and their faults to Mary, and first exhausting all private ways of expressing my concern, even unto writing to the Vatican. This "time out" before Jesus always had a calming effect on me and, over time, took me from what was probably a form of anger-turned-to-hatred, into genuine love and concern for their souls. Dwelling in the faults of others is not Catholic because it is not Scriptural (Jn 8:1-11).

This doesn't mean we should not work for what is right in the Church when we think bishops and priests are in error, or not doing enough to protect the lambs from wolves. Often times, we see the damage more than they do because we are on the battlefield where casualties are piling up. This is why I believe there is a disconnect at times between the laity and the bishops. They need to put their ear to the ground more and listen to the stories from wounded Catholics, many of whom continue to have salt poured in those wounds. The anger spills out on to the internet. That said, we can't be a people who act on anger and wounded-ness. We have to apply the Gospel and virtues always, even when it is not convenient or fashionable to do so.

No way to cover it all in one post...

In this series, we will eventually probe the topics of anger, including righteous anger, using the Summa. But we will also explore hatred, which can happen when anger becomes sinful. We will also do a deep dive on fraternal correction of others, including prelates and superiors. All of these things require in-depth study. So, they are for another set of posts. I ask you to hold discussion of that for a later time.

Scandalized to the point of open wounds and anger

In a discussion elsewhere, a woman explains how she has been wounded by scandals in the Church. Here is my response to her. Her story is like the story of many, and with the vacuum of sound Catholic teaching over the years we were not simply left without knowledge of the more obvious truths of the faith, but we were left unequipped with knowledge of the virtues and how to be guided by them. As I said in another post: Trying to teach the faith without applying the virtues is like trying to drive a car with square wheels.

My answer, copied below, between the asterisks (with a few corrections, sub-headings, and additional thoughts), should not be construed as a response to any specific situation or type of situation. It is laying out some general, Catholic principles that can be used as a discernment guide in the future. Some issues are complex and require digging into other principles - things I hope to get into in this series as time goes on (you can always click the label at the bottom under the social media buttons to find other posts in the Catholic Virtual War series).

This information is intended for use by readers to look inward, not at all those other people.

A reminder from the beginning of my post, the context is not clerical sex abuse.

*******

Wounded

You, like I once was, are a wounded Catholic - wounded by scandals at the hands of others who should be leading us. Sometimes, I wish our bishops would ponder this a little deeper in their own discernment of how to proceed when people alert them of yet another scandal about to take place in their diocese, or at the hands of a Catholic politician, etc.

I too was scandalized for years. I was first led into scandal by Catholic priests, religious, and "youth ministers" that I trusted to pass on to me, Catholicism. I looked for bread but was given stones.

I was scandalized a second time by it all. That is, when the cloud of ignorance was lifted and I learned the truths of the faith. This led to a deep anger, one that made me bitter and hate-filled towards those who offended me, and at those who led so many others into scandal.

At the same time, I noticed joy on the faces of the very solid, orthodox priests at Assumption Grotto who would provide me with catechetical instruction, spiritual direction, and serve as my Confessors. I didn't understand how they could be so joyful with all the misery that was in the Church. It would take time for me to grasp that they knew far better than I just how grave the situation was, and that they lived through more persecutions and injustices than I could possibly know. They were not in a state of panic, anxiety, or outrage. They showed interior peace that intrigued me and caused me to want to understand how it could be so for them. In time I would learn from their example, and their counsel, that disquiet is not a fruit of the Holy Spirit, nor is a pre-occupation with the faults of others.

A priest teaches how we should respond to injustice

My pastor, in his Monday Night Catechism, which he teaches most years and is open to all (and may be coming soon again) told us a story from when he was a boy. He was talking about the virtues. He was wrongly accused of something at school and punished. He said something I paraphrase here that was unexpected to me and it stayed with me: "Even though I was innocent of that offense, I was guilty of other offenses." He then proceeded to teach us about that part of our Catholic faith that helps us to cope with injustices [and how to offer up these sufferings]. That some of those injustices could come at the hands of other Catholics, even from members of the hierarchy, should be no surprise. Jesus was persecuted from within the establishment of his day. These things will always be with us and it is not that they happen in our lives; it's how we respond to them. That is what God is looking for. [Nothing happens without his willing it or permitting it. This reminds me of the other point my good pastor made about his boyhood experience: He said these were opportunities to practice and sharpen our practice of the virtues. This is why God wills or permits these things, so we can strengthen what is weak in ourselves.]

We students asked the good pastor if this meant we should not speak out when justice seemed to demand it. He offered some distinctions, which I thought were helpful. One that I recall was that we could talk about the faults or offenses of another without falling into sin, but only with those who have a need to know. He helped us to further distinguish this by saying that this usually meant someone with the authority to do something about the thing we are concerned with. I don't recall the example he used, but I have used something like this: If you see the kid next door throwing a wild party with drinking, drugs, orgies on the front lawn, etc., while the parents are away, then you are justified to tell the parents when they return. You are justified to call the police and tell them. But one would not be justified to go on the internet and tell the world that this went on, with enough detail to know who did what. This is what we call detraction, and it is gravely wrong to reveal the sins or moral failings of another without a just cause, and to those who do not have a need to know. "Need to know" can be debated, certainly, but before revealing any moral wrong committed by another, one has to give it careful weight and not act with a doubtful conscience (look that expression up if you have not heard of it).

The priest explained that when others may be harmed by the thing in question, it is reasonable to warn others, and in many cases, a duty. This too has ground rules, and reading Aquinas can give us those boundaries. We can't just throw things out to the wolves that will lower someone's reputation in the eyes of others, if they have no need to know. And, that is where serious discernment must take place - not about generalities, but about specifics and details.

The proper metric

Because we see a manner of handling a problem on the nightly news or a leading magazine, it does not make that manner right. The standard for Catholics is our Catholic faith, not what is popular in any given age, to do. TV and news is full of scandal about the lives of the celebrities. These things are not in harmony with Scripture. This is why I say that even certain, popular journalism styles are not necessarily the best way to present the faith. If those styles violate virtues or or involve vices, then they are out of harmony.

This gets in to a kind of consequentialism, where the ends justifies the means. We believe we have a right to put something out there because our aim is to restore a good where evil has come about. Every single thing we do to try to root out that evil, must be devoid of evil. Evil cannot be used to right a wrong. The more virtuous the approach, the more pure it is, and the more pure it is the more God-pleasing it is.

Not leading the little ones into scandal

There are lots of ways to lead others into scandal, some not so obvious.

One reason we don't advertise the faults of others is because that exposure could needlessly scandalize souls who are not equipped to handle the information. One way to illustrate the point is this way: What if a neighbor tells his friend, the man next door, that his wife had a drunken orgie in the yard, while he was away on business, and it is told to him in front of his 5 and 12 year old children? No one in their right mind would do that, right? A person exercising prudence would wait to speak to the man alone, if he felt it was necessary to reveal this to his friend. Why? To not scandalize the little ones.

Likewise, there are people - teens and adults - often standing nearby, but not visible in cyberspace - whose faith is very fragile and weak. When a scandal is thrown out without thought about who might be watching or listening, and their capacity to handle that information -- people whose faith is weak -- they could throw in the towel. I've been contacted by a person recently who told me that talk of all these scandals in the Church has really scandalized her to the point of wanting to leave the Church. It's not the first time I've heard from such people. Most of the time, they won't tell you. I continue to talk to her, and others like her, whose delicate faith is challenged by these things. In our quest to get the road paved, we seem not to think about who we might run over in the process. If we lead someone to leave the Church because of things we said, that they didn't need to hear or need to know, who do you think will be accountable on Judgment Day? These you cannot count when you just put something out there on the web.

I want to offer something from St. Dorotheus, Abbot, which I noted from the June 4, 2013 Office of Readings, 2nd reading. This is precisely what my pastor was talking about the lesson I shared earlier. This is a partial quote (with my comments in brackets):

ON SPIRITUAL PEACE

"The man who finds fault with himself accepts all things cheerfully - misfortune, loss, disgrace, dishonor, and any other kind of adversity. He believes that he is deserving of all these things and nothing can disturb him. No one could be more at peace than this man.But perhaps you will offer me this objection: 'Suppose my brother injures me, and on examining myself, I find that I have not given him any cause. Why should I blame myself?'

Certainly if someone examines himself carefully and with fear of God, he will never find himself completely innocent. He will see that he has given some provocation by an action, a word, or by his manner [and sometimes, despite an examine, a provocation can still be hidden to us]. If he does find that he is not guilty in any of these ways, certainly he must have injured that brother some how at some other time. Or perhaps he has been a source of annoyance to some other brother. For this reason, he deserves to endure the injury because of many other sins that he has committed on other occasions."

*******

The Cross

Salvador Dali, Christ of Saint John of the Cross, 1951

Just remember who did this to Him. I'm not talking about the one who betrayed Him, those who handed Him over; those who put the nails into His hands and His feet or divided his garments, or thrust the spear into His side. I'm talking about me and you. We made these wounds. Who was more innocent than Jesus and undeserving of such persecution and punishment? Can we possibly say that the pain we feel on account of the injustices we have received at the hands of others, including at the hands of other Catholics, even priests and bishops, is greater than that for which we are responsible? (reminder from earlier, the context is not clerical sexual abuse).

I suppose when I have exhausted an extensive search for lies and falsehoods in my own life, I can then turn my attention to all those other people. For now, I need to get my own house in order so I can stop wounding and scandalizing others by my less than Catholic behavior.

Please pray for me, and pray for those who cause you pain.

*post edited at 12:30 with clarifications and corrections.

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Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church;
it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!
- Diane M. Korzeniewski

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Sunday, September 8, 2013

Catholic Virtual Wars 05: Students of Prudence

In everything a prudent man acts with knowledge,

but a fool flaunts his folly (Prov 13:16)

Prudence.

I don't know why, but that term has always gotten under my skin. Maybe it reminded me of prunes or something, I don't know.

That word annoyed me until I began to question what it meant, interiorly, back in 2005. It seems to me I was engaged in various Catholic forums at the time, sometimes defending the faith vigorously, with stridence; or, before I came to really comprehend that there are many ways to disagree with others, but some ways are more productive than others; and during a time when I dwelled in the pain of my new found knowledge of why so many Catholics were no longer seriously practicing; and, before I realized that publicly exposing scandal (or giving it broader exposure than it already has) and talking about the faults of others in the name of defending the faith, was nothing more than making the wrong kind of mess.

Perhaps my annoyance comes from something else. I know that some have withheld the truths of the faith -- priests and bishops from their flocks, parents from their children, and friends from one another -- all under the comfortable and all-encompassing umbrella of "prudence." That's called false-prudence and it is much like false-charity. It doesn't mean the word is bad; rather, it is how people use the word that is bad, just as some hide behind charity for the wrong reasons. Of course, no one else can read the soul of another, so we should never judge motive (Mt 7:1-3).

For those who want to pursue holiness, prudence is for them what the playbook is to a ball player on the football field. Many rules need not be written, for those who know the game. Who would try to throw a pass down the field from their own 10 yard line on 4th down in the first quarter?

There are times when prudence tells us not to speak, even when another is in need of the truths of the faith. You might have been acting on prudence when you sensed that someone was approaching information-overload and decided to stop for the day and pick it up another time. To continue might push them away or cause them to lose interest. Even God does not reveal to us the depth of our own ignorance all at once, lest we fall to despair. Prudence might also tell you that, having exhausted all other approaches first, it's time for "tough love." Only an imprudent fool would "go nuclear" on the first attempt to help someone along in understanding something. So, as you see, it involves discernment and that discernment, or judgment, takes many things into account before acting.

God, who seems to either have a sense of humor or a desire to make us work to learn, decided to make prudential judgment a vague thing to most of us. Understanding it requires humility and patience. It can also mean taking a less exciting path in dealing with something. In our communication it could mean holding our tongues when we would rather speak, or speaking when we would rather be silent.

I recall asking the priests at Assumption Grotto often about prudence because I did not understand it. When a situation would "blow up," I began to wonder if my handling of the matter was imprudent. Not having a grasp on it, I would ask my confessor. Even today, imprudence often leads the way to the Confessional for me.

We must always be students of prudence to be good imitators of Christ. We should pray for the grace to obtain this virtue and to study it more deeply so we can be guided by it We need to think about how we apply this virtue in our activities online. And, just because we choose an anonymous handle does it let us off the hook in God's eyes.

There is so much more to learn about prudence, but we will take it up in another post. Below are some good definitions to start with

Prudence in the CCC

You can find discussion of prudence under the virtues in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC):

1805 Four virtues play a pivotal role and accordingly are called "cardinal"; all the others are grouped around them. They are: prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. "If anyone loves righteousness, [Wisdom's] labors are virtues; for she teaches temperance and prudence, justice, and courage."⁶⁴ These virtues are praised under other names in many passages of Scripture.

1806 Prudence is the virtue that disposes practical reason to discern our true good in every circumstance and to choose the right means of achieving it; "the prudent man looks where he is going."⁶⁵ "Keep sane and sober for your prayers."⁶⁶ Prudence is "right reason in action," writes St. Thomas Aquinas, following Aristotle.⁶⁷ It is not to be confused with timidity or fear, nor with duplicity or dissimulation. It is called auriga virtutum (the charioteer of the virtues); it guides the other virtues by setting rule and measure. It is prudence that immediately guides the judgment of conscience. The prudent man determines and directs his conduct in accordance with this judgment. With the help of this virtue we apply moral principles to particular cases without error and overcome doubts about the good to achieve and the evil to avoid.

Fr. Hardon on Prudence

There are two definitions we should look at in Fr. Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary: Prudence and Imprudence. The latter helped me to understand it a bit better.

Prudence:

Correct knowledge about things to be done or, more broadly, the knowledge of things that ought to be done and of things that ought to be avoided. It is the intellectual virtue whereby a human being recognizes in any matter at hand what is good and what is evil. In this sense, it is the moral virtue that enables a person to devise, choose, and prepare suitable means for the attainment of any purpose or the avoidance of any evil. Prudence resides in the practical intellect and is both acquire by one's own acts and infused at the same time as sanctifying grace. It may be said to be natural as developed by us, and supernatural because conferred by God. As an act of virtue, prudence involves three stages of mental operation: to take counsel carefully with oneself and from others; to judge correctly on the basis of the evidence at hand; and to direct the rest of one's activity according to the norms determined after a prudent judgment has been made. (Etym. Latin prudentia, foresight in the practical order; from providentia, foresight, directive care, providence.)

Imprudence (part of this is in a picture in my sidebar)

Sins against prudence that are either by defect or by excess. Sins by defect against prudence are: rashness, which acts before due consideration has been given; thoughtlessness, which neglects to take the necessary circumstances into account; and negligence, which does not give the mind sufficient time for mature deliberation. Sins by excess against the virtue of prudence are: imprudence of the flesh, which eagerly seeks means that gratify self without regard for the means that are required by God; astuteness, which looks for devious means for attaining one's goal; and undue solicitude about the temporal future with resulting neglect to provide for eternity and the needs of the soul. (Etym. Latin improvidentia, want of foresight; imprudentia, lack of foreseeing in the practical order.)

For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church;
it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!
- Diane M. Korzeniewski

Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.

Saturday, September 7, 2013

A Muslim responds to Pope Francis in Twitter on his call to pray for peace

i'm am #Muslim and i believe you are better than all our Muslims leaders RT @Pontifex Pray for Peace! https://t.co/d67HiLFC7K #prayforpeace
— Omran ... عمران (@Omran_os) September 7, 2013

For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church;
it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!
- Diane M. Korzeniewski

Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.

Praying for Syria: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament at Assumption Grotto Today

In response to the Holy Father's request for prayers and fasting today for peace in Syria, Fr. Perrone is holding Adoration in the main parish church (it is offered most weekdays and Saturdays in the small convent chapel).

Adoration begins following the special, First Saturday, 8:30 AM Mass for the Carmelite community at Assumption Grotto* and concludes about 15 minutes before the 4:00 PM Mass.

Noteworthy is that Saturday is a typical Catholic Sacramental Confession day. Assumption Grotto priests are available from 2:30 to 3:30, and sometimes until the 4:00 Mass, but it is never good to count on this. That half hour between 3:30 and 4:00 is a good time for prayer. But, when there is Adoration, it could end any time after 3:30, so if you want to be there for Exposition, get there earlier.

While we typically think to fast with food, which is a good thing for those who are not able due to reasons of age or infirmity, there are lots of ways to make God-pleasing sacrifices on a day like today, or any day. Even if you are fasting from food, you can participate, for example, in "fasting" from things like social media or television and spend the time reading Scripture and wholesome material. There is an indulgence for 30 minutes of Scripture reading.

More on the Secular Carmelite Community at Assumption Grotto

*The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Secular Carmelite Community meets at the parish on the First Saturday of every month beginning with 8:30 AM Mass and concluding around Noon with the singing of the Salve Regina. We are a commuter community so Fr. Perrone felt it best not to force everyone to be there at 7:30 AM - the normal daily Mass time, Monday through Saturday.
That 8:30 AM Mass is open to anyone, and visitors are welcome to stay with the Carmelites in praying the Rosary, chanting the Divine Office, and the formation meeting which takes place in the old parish school. Those who want to discern a call to be a secular Carmelite should come to the meeting. They usually ask if their are visitors at some point during the business meeting, which follows the brief coffee and snack social. Formation in Carmelite spirituality begins following that until Noon.

A good book to read that explains quite well what a secular Carmelite is and isn't, would be the book by Aloysius Deeney, OCD - the Order of Discalced Carmelite Delegate to the secular branch of the order. "Secular" is usually associated with "lay," but even a diocesan priest can become a secular Carmelite (this is true of other orders like the Franciscans, Benedictines, and Dominicans, among others). Fr. Perrone is a diocesan priest and a secular Carmelite. He is chaplain to the community and speaks a several times yearly as his schedule allows.

Note: There is an exception for October due to a meeting involving all council members in the region, and I believe it is shifted to the second week in October, with the 8:30 AM Mass.

For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church;
it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!
- Diane M. Korzeniewski

Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Catholic Virtual Wars 04: Clericalism, Blogger Infallibility, and Tools for Arguments

I need to tie up some loose ends with this post after reading comments, emails, and other material out there.

Un-virtuous is as the un-virtuous do, starting with me.

One thing I would like to point out about the Catholic Virtual War series is that I don't pretend to be infallible. One person, in my post on Strident Catholics, pointed out in the comments that she felt I had been strident in the past on this blog. I know I have. Now some have accused me of this simply for bringing up a controversial issue where good Catholics can disagree (and it gets ugly when one side feels there is no such room). Stridency has to do with the "how" we discuss any controversy. I can disagree with someone who takes a different position on a number of hot button issues without being so angry as to border on hating someone. That's when our words take a more hostile turn, and that is entirely unproductive.

I neglected to explain well enough in my previous posts that my ability to speak on any of the three subjects thus far comes from real experience, not from others, but from myself and my own imperfections in this regard. Anyone who knows me personally, has probably seen my choleric temperament at work. I can be downright abrasive at times, though it is nothing like what it was when I first got a clue that there were better ways to handle things. I still fall, but as Jesus taught me, I pick my cross back up, and keep moving. Yes - we are our own crosses because looking inward can be very painful and it can cause us to lose focus.

Back in the 90's I witnessed skilled negotiators work through a very difficult situation. These negotiators had with much training in anger resolution. I was in awe at how they could calm and defuse an angry participant and get them to move forward into something more productive than simply complaining about problems and leaving their colleagues in a state of hopelessness and despair. They did it in a way that allowed the person to keep their dignity - the same way a good coach would tell a player to shake off a bad play - perhaps with some firm instruction followed by a pat on the helmet. A good coach knows of the potential for a player to go out on the field dwelling in the schooling they just got. Yes, I know, sometimes a coach has to lay into a player, but that's not what good coaches do day-in, and day-out. Any coach who has to do that is a lousy coach.

These negotiators were not just skilled in defusing anger, they were skilled in bringing out the best in various personalities, from the most over involved to the most least involved; from the loudest, to the quietest; from the sniper to the one who was passive aggressive, and the list goes on. They were good at something else: Tempering the bad qualities in the various kinds of personalities you would see in any crowd trying to solve problems.

It was then that I began to get a clue that my desire to throw in a good zinger in the midst of a heated discussion was only self-serving for me, and entertaining for others. I'm not infallible so I still fall to that, and have, at times, even on this blog. It is from years of working at my own flaws that I write about these things on this blog, so it is no secret to me that I am just as guilty as anyone else of committing sins against good and effective communication. I have the benefit of training, so it is even more disappointing to me when I realize I crossed a particular line. Sacramental Confession is helpful and my own blogging has been the subject of my trips to the box more times than I can count. We should all make use of the sacrament for this kind of thing, even if only to build virtue (even in the absence of grave matter). It's humbling.

We can all have the greatest of intentions and the best possible argument, but we can derail it all with just one expression that then causes everyone else to take their eye off the ball. It's kind of like the football player who gets hit for penalty after penalty. He would argue he is playing good football and he probably has a lot of sacks or a lot of yardage and touchdowns. But his inability to control his actions can lose the game. The tail wags the dog in such cases. His teammates know there is nothing helpful about going from "First and Goal" to "4th and Long" no matter how well the opponents kneecap got re-arranged.

In a like manner, well-intentioned Catholics can have a lot of truth yet cross a line in how they convey it.

A Question about Pope Francis on Clericalism

A question was asked at the beginning of a comment that I could not post because, while it didn't name names, it may as well have given them. The conversation would undoubtedly had turned to talking about those persons and their particular works rather than principles. Critics jump on a bandwagon to criticize the persons and supporters come to their defense. That's when a lot of humble people, there to discuss a deeper underlying issue just disappear.

Below I quote the opening two lines of the comment. I thought was a valid question, given that it was in the quote I used from the address of Pope Francis in my post on "Messy Catholics." That post was made because I sometimes see people exploiting the Holy Father's edict to "go make a mess." I thought it would be helpful to look at his words in the context of his full address, and to see what we might get from his words, and not get.

Amid all this indignation about the way certain prelates have not received the high respect that's their due, has the word "clericalism" come up yet? Yes, Pope Francis clearly states he wants it eliminated.

I wanted to share that because I had also seen that in many com-boxes and other places online. I have a simple answer to this.

Who was the Holy Father addressing, if not clerics and seminarians? Let the clerics and seminarians do an examination of conscience on clericalism and let the lay people concern themselves with what pertains to them.

Does this mean lay people should not discuss clericalism, what it means, what it looks like, and how it can be reduced and eliminated? Absolutely not. But what good is it to simply poke a finger in the eye of clerics with a hit-and-run criticism using the Holy Father's words? And, I'm not referring to the question that was asked. If you have some thoughts that might help clerics see and understand clericalism then offer something in a productive way, with examples, and without sarcasm and stridency.

Tools for Good Communication and Discussion

There are many sources out there that show how to advance dialogue and de-escalate anger in a discussion. By reading those things you learn what kinds of things act as fuel. What might Catholics online learn from some of these sources?

I still say that many an orthodox Catholic, with very good intentions, has gotten themselves alienated by the way they point out problems. There is a Catholic radio station I listen to which does not neglect to talk about things like the Church's position on contraception - on a regular basis I might add. I've even heard them talk about the need for bishops and priests to speak out more on this and other things; about the awful statistics showing the state of the Church; and about the failures that have led to all of this. They may not focus on the scandalous aspects, but a heavy focus on that has potential to shatter the faith of those whose faith is weak.

How I have heard them present that material is matter-of-factly, without sarcasm, without stridency, without leaving listeners feeling there is no hope left in the Church because the subject was neglected for so many decades. They simply put the catechesis out there and they keep putting it out there for the humble to hear, and hopefully heed. As I said, everyone has a free will and if you don't try to force something on someone through stridency, far more will choose to accept it, or at least think about what is said. Stridency, while attractive to some souls, is to a delicate soul who is confused by all of the conflicting things they hear, noise that can push them right back out into a disinterest in their faith. This is where we have to be careful in what we say that is pleasing to the choir because we may push other potential choir members off the risers. The face we put on the faith that I keep talking about, is one that can bring others to Christ for it's beauty or push them away for it's ugliness.

We all know there is a time for tough love and it isn't every day of the week. It's used as a last resort and it is used after all other attempts have failed. Dwelling in a hopeless, fearful, anxious way about the problems we all know have led to a decline in Catholic stats is like the ball team that begins to bicker among themselves when they are losing. A good team knows that finger pointing at the one who dropped the ball, who struck out, who got picked off stealing a base - accomplishes absolutely nothing. The best team is the one that wants to forge ahead with each player remaining calm and focused on getting hits and catching fly balls. If you have ever played sports and have witnessed a player having an off day, you will know what I mean about the uselessness of dwelling in what hasn't gone right.

Here are some useful sources for your online interactions, your household and work place. Please note that because I link to these secular sources it is not an endorsement about everything you find there. If there is something contradicting the faith in any one of these, please let me know as I had only time to do a quick scan. Also, don't use these just for learning how to deal with others; use them to look inward, at your own communication skills.

There are many more. In another post, I want to get in to some topics related to root cause analysis. There are things there that can be helpful when discerning any situation.

For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church;
it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!
- Diane M. Korzeniewski

Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Catholic Virtual Wars: 03 Messy Catholics

This is my third blogpost in the series, Catholic Virtual Wars. There is also a label under the social media share buttons at the bottom (click and scroll to find them all). In this post, we will look at the words of Pope Francis, St. Thomas Aquinas, and St. Francis of Assisi.

Knowledge of the faith without virtue in practice is like driving a car with square tires.

A Pope and His Marching Orders

“I want to tell you something. What is it that I expect as a consequence of World Youth Day? I want a mess. We knew that in Rio there would be great disorder, but I want trouble in the dioceses!” he said, speaking off the cuff in his native Spanish. “I want to see the church get closer to the people. I want to get rid of clericalism, the mundane, this closing ourselves off within ourselves, in our parishes, schools or structures. Because these need to get out!”

Those were the words of Pope Francis as widely reported in the press when it happened, including the Catholic press.

Some say the translation was more like the Holy Father wanted people to, "shake things up." I saw others saying the words were "make some noise." I decided to see if the Holy See offered this "off the cuff" remark in the final, online version. That which they show for the July 25, 2013 address sufficiently captures his intent, regardless. So, let's just set aside the translation issue for now.

Let me tell you what I hope will be the outcome of World Youth Day: I hope there will be noise. Here there will be noise, I’m quite sure. Here in Rio there will be plenty of noise, no doubt about that. But I want you to make yourselves heard in your dioceses, I want the noise to go out, I want the Church to go out onto the streets, I want us to resist everything worldly, everything static, everything comfortable, everything to do with clericalism, everything that might make us closed in on ourselves. The parishes, the schools, the institutions are made for going out ... if they don’t, they become an NGO, and the Church cannot be an NGO. May the bishops and priests forgive me if some of you create a bit of confusion afterwards. That’s my advice. Thanks for whatever you can do.

Looking at some points from his full address, which I encourage you to read in full, he then expands. In fact, what I quote in my third bullet is probably far more important than what everyone is quoting him on from that day.

He talks about how the world has gone beyond it's limits by making money a god and how those have led to a practice and philosophy that exclude the elderly and our youth. He says:

As for the young, they must emerge, they must assert themselves, the young must go out to fight for values, to fight for these values; and the elderly must open their mouths, the elderly must open their mouths and teach us! Pass on to us the wisdom of the peoples!

He tells these groups not to allow themselves to be excluded, to take the faith seriously, and not dilute it:

We dilute fruit drinks – orange, apple, or banana juice, but please do not drink a diluted form of faith. Faith is whole and entire, not something that you water down. It is faith in Jesus. It is faith in the Son of God made man, who loved me and who died for me. So then: make yourselves heard; take care of the two ends of the population: the elderly and the young; do not allow yourselves to be excluded and do not allow the elderly to be excluded.

Before closing, he then gave everyone a homework assignment: The Beatitudes and Matthew 25.

Do not “water down” your faith in Jesus Christ. The Beatitudes: What must we do, Father? Look, read the Beatitudes: that will do you good. If you want to know what you actually have to do, read Matthew Chapter 25, which is the standard by which we will be judged. With these two things you have the action plan: the Beatitudes and Matthew 25. You do not need to read anything else. I ask you this with all my heart.

Okay, how many of us have done this homework assignment?

What do the Church Fathers say about Matthew 25? Wouldn't this be a good way to augment your understanding and wouldn't it be a good investment of your time? I'm not going to do your supplemental homework for you. New Advent, a site I like to visit daily for their front page portal, is a vast resource (look in the upper, right hand corner at the tabs). I just did a search on Matthew 25. Scan the titles in the link and read some of what is written by the Fathers. This is a good way to learn more about what you are reading in Scripture and a very productive use of your time.

Let's look at the Beatitudes also found in Matthew, but in chapter 5:3-10.

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land.

Blessed are they who mourn: for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill.

Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

The Mess Pope Francis Wants

So, everything that Pope Francis had to say about making a mess, or making noise, or shaking things up, seems to have to do with first shaking us up to go out of ourselves, as he so often says, and being active - active in learning, and active in applying what we learn, and active in engaging others - especially among those who may be vulnerable and isolated, or excluded. He wants us to go out and apply the Gospel with those around us. He wants us to put on the face of Christ and mirror his love so that others can be attracted to the pure beauty of the faith. He especially wants us to be active with the inactive. He gives us all that we need in the Beatitudes and Matthew 25 to get kick-started. The greatest mess he wants us to create is to shake ourselves up, to get out of our narcissistic ways, which focuses on the self, and to become selfless in thinking about others. He wants us to spend time with others serving them and sharing the faith.

The "Mess" Pope Francis Did Not Request

Looking at the full context of the address that day in which Pope Francis said to go out and create a mess, or make a noise, or shake things up, I'd like to point out what was missing:

He never said anything that could even be loosely construed as going out and digging up scandals, or perceived scandals, and using them in the name of "defending the faith."
He never said anything about going out of ourselves by complaining about others, or discussing their faults, or perceived faults, especially in a public way.
He never said to go out and create discord and infighting, and getting others to take their eye off of Christ in order focus on their neighbor in a negative way.
He never even hinted that we should go out and publicly castigate bishops, even if we don't like something they do (I'll get to Aquinas in a minute, as he has something to say about this).

This kind of thing does not put beauty on the face of the Catholic faith!

What would Pope Francis say if he encountered people exploiting his message in this way?

Matthew 25 warns us to feed the hungry and to give drink to the thirsty. We neglect it at our own peril. Who gives the hungry a stone for a meal and sand for drink? The people are starving for knowledge of the faith, not for discord (unless they have formed the habit of following their lower nature). They want to wash that knowledge of the faith down with a refreshing drink, that is the virtues - to learn how to grow in holiness. In this way, Christ will be more visible in them, ultimately attracting others to him through us.

If anyone leads you to act on the kinds of things in that list -- sowing discord rather than peace using the words of Pope Francis on July 25, 2013, then they are engaging in a perversion of those words. I'm not sure what spirit would lead someone to do something like that, if you encounter it, but it would not be originating from the Holy Spirit. A room cannot be both light and dark at the same time.

Discern this, carefully, yourself, in prayer and Adoration: What do you want when you spend time online perusing Catholic material? To grow in the faith and virtue - or to become obsessed with everyone else?

St. Thomas Aquinas on Fraternal Correction of Superiors

On that last bullet, St. Thomas Aquinas says that a subject may, in charity, apply fraternal correction even to a superior at times. But lets read his main response:

I answer that, A subject is not competent to administer to his prelate the correction which is an act of justice through the coercive nature of punishment: but the fraternal correction which is an act of charity is within the competency of everyone in respect of any person towards whom he is bound by charity, provided there be something in that person which requires correction.

Now an act which proceeds from a habit or power extends to whatever is contained under the object of that power or habit: thus vision extends to all things comprised in the object of sight. Since, however, a virtuous act needs to be moderated by due circumstances, it follows that when a subject corrects his prelate, he ought to do so in a becoming manner, not with impudence and harshness, but with gentleness and respect. Hence the Apostle says (1 Timothy 5:1): "An ancient man rebuke not, but entreat him as a father." Wherefore Dionysius finds fault with the monk Demophilus (Ep. viii), for rebuking a priest with insolence, by striking and turning him out of the church.

Have you ever stumbled on sites or material which are critical of bishops? Is it done in the spirit of fraternal correction St. Thomas describes? Or is it done in a spirit of harshness and impudence?

Inform yourself about these things before engaging in them. If you spend a lot of time at websites that are critical of bishops on a regular basis, you might want to re-examine whether you should cut that eye out lest it lead you into sin (Mt 5:29).

So, what to do about the problems we see with bishops? St. Francis has a suggestion for you below.

Read the whole series on fraternal correction from the Summa at New Advent to balance out all those cherry-picked quotes floating around in comboxes where bishops are bashed. For those who have not read Aquinas, he first states several possible positions, but then he states his own position. Following that, he explains the problem with each of the "objections." Once you've read several of his pages, you will get the hang of it.

Saint Francis and Respect for Clerics

Also on that last bullet it's worthy to mention, that the saint, after whom Pope Francis took his name, had a great respect for clerics. I have some quotes from the book of Celano, Second Life from the St. Francis of Assisi Omnibus of Sources. While it is aimed at religious brothers and how they should treat clerics, we can also learn from this wisdom. This is authentic humlity. It's a gold standard and one we should use as a measure.

Chapter CVII: How and why Francis wanted the brothers to be subject to the clergy

146. But, though Francis wanted his sons to be at peace with all men(1) and to conduct themselves as little ones among all, he taught by his words and showed by his example that they were to be especially humble towards clerics. For he used to say: "We have been sent to help the clergy(2) toward the salvation of souls so that what might be found insufficient in them might be supplied by us. Everyone will receive his reward, not according to the authority he exercises, but according to the labor he does. Know brothers," he said, "the fruit of souls is most pleasing to God, and it can be better obtained by peace with clerics than by disagreements with them. If they hinder the salvation of people, the revenge pertains to God and he will repay them in due time (3). Therefore, be subject to prelates, so that, in so far as you can help it, no jealousy will spring up. If you will be sons of peace, you will win the clergy and the people for the Lord, and the Lord judges this more acceptable than to win the people but scandalize the clergy. Hide their lapses, supply for their many defects; and when you have done this, be even more humble.

Saint Francis created a different kind "mess" with that one. He messed with the inner workings of the soul that wants to follow the "order" of human fallen nature. He offers a road map using the Beatitudes, speaking about peacemaking and meekness.

Don't take my word for any of this. Take it into Adoration and ask God what He thinks.

*Perhaps, at some point, we will explore what St. Pio of Pietrelcina thought about those who would go after bishops in a public way for what they thought was a good cause. It's called engaging in a form of consequentialism (see Veritatis Splendor 75) whereby the ends of "defending the Church" justifies - in the minds of those doing it - the means of using calumny and detraction, which they don't often realize they are doing.

Here's a picture worth sharing with a partial quote from above. Feel free to click on it, save it, upload it to social media, blogs, whatever.

*Think about that the next time someone refers to others, who don't publicly complain about others, especially about the bishops, as, "cowards." Pay no attention to them. You risk nothing by not engaging in this behavior because others are accountable for what they say or don't say, not you. You risk offending God through lack of virtue at best, and involving yourself in objectively grave matter at worst. In fact, even suggesting others are cowards is a judgment of their hearts as cowardice is a motive. It takes far more fortitude to hold one's tongue than to just say whatever you feel like. If you don't believe me, we'll look at what Scripture and the saints have to say about that too.

Monday, September 2, 2013

Catholic Virtual Wars 02: Strident Catholics

This is my second post in an indefinite number within a series I am labeling, "Catholic Virtual Wars." If you like this post, you might also like my first post: Catholic Virtual Wars - Time for a Cease Fire (not to be confused with a "cease discussion").

A priest cancels a magazine subscription

A very good priest I know who has a broad reputation for his orthodoxy and devoutness, used a curious word some years ago in reference to a Catholic magazine that I knew to be popular in orthodox Catholic circles. He said he had dropped the subscription because they were, "strident." When I visited again some months later, curiously absent from the stack of reading material in that rectory waiting area were a few other periodicals of similar bent. It was the first time I got a hint that dissenting material is not the only kind harmful to the soul.

Some weeks later, forgetting about that label of "strident" on that Catholic magazine, I put in for an e-subscription after seeing an article really resonate with me at the time. It was refreshing to see someone call things out as they were. Back then, I thought it was bold and brave - heroic even. I pulled out my credit card, paid for the subscription, then logged in. To my astonishment, freshly posted was a scathing editorial attacking Pope Benedict XVI who hadn't been in his position 6 months. They who had set themselves up as arbiters of all things Catholic, didn't feel he was moving fast enough on matters of importance to them. I went into the contact page, told them I had just subscribed and that I wanted to cancel, but not before giving way to my own fallen nature and calling them a bunch of arm chair popes! I never looked back. Over time, I have let go of other sources I once followed for the same reason, and they never attacked the pope. They were just more noise or, better put, clanging cymbals (1 Cor 13:1).

Right after that, I had a flash back to what the good priest had said about this magazine: Strident. I realized then, that I had no idea what that word really meant, so I looked it up. Here is the Merriam-Webster definition:

characterized by harsh, insistent, and discordant sound strident voice>; also : commanding attention by a loud or obtrusive quality <strident slogans>

Yep. Now I knew what the good priest was referring to, but it was one of those things that I just had to experience myself. That was just my introduction to it in the Catholic culture.

Where the strident are found

You have met strident people from all walks of life. They often have some specific cause and when it mixes with their temperament it's like hydrogen peroxide and yeast. For those who want a science class refresher, be sure to watch the 30% mixture just for the fun.

Outside of the Catholic sphere, you can find the strident on the right and on the left. People always think it's just political and social conservatives who are strident and polemical, but I've seen many a strident political and social liberal. Anarchists are in a league of their own.

Inside the Catholic sphere, you will find the strident among every group. I've run into strident people who were anti-Marian and very Marian; anti-Eucharistic (yes, they exist in the Catholic Church) and those who spend hours in Adoration; those who follow approved and unapproved apparitions, as well as those who critique the unapproved; people who devote hours and hours to serving the poor, sick and neglected, and those who don't lift a finger because they might miss something in the big Catholic debate online; those who like the traditional latin Mass, and those who want nothing to do with it; those who like folk music at Mass and those who like Gregorian chant; those who go to just Sunday Mass, and among those who go to daily Mass, and among cradle Catholics and converts. The strident know no age bounds so they are young and they are old. Some are strident because they are wounded while others are strident because it just feels good. The list can go on, and on, and on.

Behavior of the strident

You know a strident person when you meet them because they aren't happy unless there is something to be unhappy about or someone to criticize. For the strident Catholic, others aren't Catholic enough if they aren't strident too. Usually, the meek and the humble will make a bee line for the exit when they see the strident person coming for the debate of the day.

The strident are annoyed with anyone who tries to take the high road and discuss controversy in a way that is mindful of the dignity of others. The best response is a snotty response, but they don't see it as snotty. In fact, they will mock the non-strident as being "nice" and "sweet." The word "charitable" takes on negative overtones. Worse, the strident will accuse the non-strident of not understanding the issues or not caring enough because if they did, they too would use the same full-metal-jacket-approach to discussion. Or, in an act of mental gymnastics, they will flip things and accuse a non-strident person of being uncharitable merely for speaking about a topic they don't think is worthy of discussion.

Trying to reason with a strident person is like trying to reason with a tasmanian devil. They are interested in one thing: Bite! We all make errors when analyzing something and speaking about it. But, the strident person's specialty involves inventing dots where there are none to be found just to make the line they are drawing go in the direction they want -- proof and facts be damned. For the strident person, the urgency to speak about the thing takes precedence over thoughtful discernment, inquiry and looking for alternative explanations that would exonerate the target of their scorn.

At the root of the strident person's behavior is a desire to force their position rather try to win other people. God gives to all a free will so if he doesn't force us, we ought not try to force others. The approach the strident take to things in life comes right from the Moe Howard school of reason.

The real reason people often get banned in Catholic forums

I think soon after I learned my lesson from that magazine experience some years ago, I began to get involved in a number of Catholic forums. There were only a handful of blogs back then and forums where the place to be for discussion. What I found rather humorous during my days at those Catholic forums is how a strident person would derail a good discussion with [wait for it] stridency, then complain because they were suspended following numerous admonitions. When they persisted, they were banned, then complained they were kicked out for their orthodoxy. I watched this happen to a lot of people - people with good knowledge of the faith who were just awful at putting forth a tempered response. I could see it coming. I even sent private messages to some friends suggesting they needed to temper the way they were trying to make their point - not for fear of being banned, but for effectiveness - but they just didn't get it.

Sometimes, bishops cut off ties with people not because of their orthodoxy but because their mode of communication is so caustic that it can scatter the lambs. There is always an element of truth in what the strident person is saying. Even a bass can find a bug in the water.

Strident people attract other strident people

Just like misery finds good company in the miserable, strident people are attracted to one another . I saw early on that strident bloggers were attracting large followings of people who liked the bombastic approach to talking about the faith. That's when I spent time in Adoration thinking about whether I wanted to breed stridency in followers or virtue and knowledge. The stridency is just baggage.

I knew that I could never have a large following unless I attacked other people. So, I chose to forgo the traffic and keep my conscience clear, even if it meant low volume. I really didn't want traffic if it was going to be strident traffic. It's noise - noise that can be detrimental to authentic spiritual growth. Only concupiscence could lead people to enjoy watching stridency towards fellow Catholics the way others once enjoyed watching the gladiators kill one another. They lose sense of reason and give way to childish insults and sarcastic put downs (you really see this in the comment boxes). Sometimes I think they take score for who has the best put downs.

I spent much time in Adoration when I began blogging wondering if stridency had a place in Catholic evangelization online. I think it was all of 5 minutes. It was a resounding, "no" and this would later be confirmed in my discussions with several other devout and orthodox priests who are also known for their great virtue.

A strident seminarian reformed

Strident Catholics do convert to be non-strident. It happens with grace. For some, it's a gradual process that walks them away. For others, a light-bulb goes on. I'll share this last story from my forum days that has always stuck with me.

A young man who was discerning a vocation was very active in one particular place with forums. He was sharp with all that he knew about the faith, and very orthodox. His problem was that he approached ignorance of others with stridency. Sometimes that ignorance manifests itself in a subtle way. He had no mercy whatsoever. I tried talking to him privately several times - nicely and throwing his own stridency right back at him. Nothing worked. He went off to pursue his dream in the priesthood and was sent by his diocese to one of the most orthodox seminaries known in the US. Some months later, when he was home for Christmas or something, I found a sobering message from him in my in box. It seems someone got through his thick skull at that seminary and, by exercising humility in listening to his spiritual director, the light bulb went on. I was very sad for him because of the pain he was going through. He recognized the damage he had done through his stridency. He was beyond crushed at how he treated people. He deleted as much online content as he had, including his screen name and email which itself was strident in nature. I told him the worse thing he can do is to dwell in it, and to turn it into something good by teaching others. I also told him he was going to make a very fine priest - the kind we need: One who balances knowledge of the faith, with a passion for truth, and who conveys it with charity led by virtue.

Helpful Learning: The Four Temperaments

I provided this link earlier in my post, but I want to isolate it here. It's a good idea to learn about the four temperaments. Each of them have good and bad sides to them. Some of us are a mixture of them with predominate traits. The point is to learn to moderate the bad parts and work on magnifying the good. There is a version of it online at the Angelicum Homeschool Academy site.

For those who like audio, I recommend the CD on the Four Temperaments by Fr. Basil Nortz, ORC.

For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church;
it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!
- Diane M. Korzeniewski

Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.

Saturday, August 31, 2013

Catholic virtual wars 01 - Time for a Cease Fire

This kind of help, Holy Mother Church does not need

Someone hit the pause button...

Its with great sadness and disappointment that I see Catholics using social media to berate other Catholics in a recent string of discussions. To be clear, I'm not talking about Catholics who discuss the positions of other Catholics in a calm and rational way, but Catholics who are going after others in a very personal way and sometimes over mere splinters in the eye (of course, it seems like a log to them, but it is probably just the log in their own eye giving them this impression).

I won't point to any part of the discussion because A) I'm disgusted by what I have seen and, B) the lines of virtue, and perhaps even morality, have been crossed in some of those discussions - most especially by some com-boxers (hiding behind anonymity, of course).

Just like I see no need to name names to discuss a position, I see no need to label or identify groups or factions involved, or to analyze these things because it would only throw fuel on a raging fire. This distracts from a larger discussion on Catholic virtue in social media and new media. So, that's just another lightening rod and it always gets people in trouble.

As for the present controversy, I have seen some good points raised in certain posts and some thoughtful comments, as well. I wanted to link to them, but those discussions give names and that is what I am trying to avoid. Naming names rather than discussing positions in general can be a lightening rod. This means, it goes from personal, to very personal.

I began blogging in 2006 after about a year of involvement in several Catholic forums and I don't recall seeing back then the kind of division, and even factionalism, I see today. It's troubling. In fact, criticizing other Catholics online has become a sport for some individuals and their followers, charity and virtue be damned.

Some think they have a license to defend the Church in ways that are lacking in charity and virtue because they have been hurt and are angry. In fact, the very word "charity" drives them nuts and in the process of mocking false charity, the baby gets thrown out with the bath water. This kind of behavior isn't done for love of others; it's done to scratch an unbearable itch called, "venting." Venting is not a virtue. In fact, everything we read from the saints tells us venting (or complaining) is faulty. Any confessor worth his salt, if you confess stewing in the sins and faults of others, will tell you to knock it off and go spend the time on something more productive. The spiritual dangers the pharisees were in come to mind.

It would be good if we could all get back to talking about positions rather than people and groups. I can understand why some would want to respond directly once another shoots from the hip in an apparent trip down rash-judgment-lane in a public way. In fact, part of the problem is Catholics policing of other Catholics - dangerous for the policed who may feel a need to respond (and in an intemperate way if they are not careful), dangerous for friends of the policed (who may derail a good defense with an inflammatory expression or two), and those doing the policing for obvious reasons (who seem not to realize they are giving evidence of judging the motives or hearts of their targets).

At times the world of Catholic social media - especially where anonymity reigns, such as in comment boxes, resembles a virtual Catholic gang war where mouth and keyboard serve as powerful weapons used to hurt others in rival faction(s). What is getting lost in all of this is that every one of us are on display for the world to see. Someone else is watching too, and He misses nothing. All motives, whether we recognize them yet in ourselves or not, do not escape God's notice.

Concupiscence - Human Fallen Nature and Gravitation to Critics

We who engage in any kind of media or new media, be it simply sharing things on Facebook or running a blog to making audio and video for TV, radio, or internet, need to do a collective examination of conscience. If a member of the online Catholic community persists in spending an inordinate amount of time focused on what they believe are the faults of other Catholics, then we need to recall the free will given to all by God and leave it in his hands. We could do a Holy Hour for the person instead of trying to reason with the unreasonable.

This is also true regarding those who use their free will to feed at watering holes which get more hits for their criticism of bishops and other Catholics than it does for anything catechetical or instructive they may offer. Concupiscence will lead people into talking about the faults of others, and it will lead people to follow others who talk about it, then talk about it themselves. Truly, that kind of "evangelization" the Church does not need. While we can count the number of people commiserating with such critics; we cannot count the number of people who were turned away from the faith by the caustic behavior they witnessed. Followers need to reflect on whether they are really growing spiritually through such things, or are they satisfying their itching ears to hear things they probably have no need to hear, but for the sheer pleasure of hearing the thing. If it doesn't move you to love others, including those with whom you disagree, you probably don't need to hear it. Pope Benedict XVI disagreed with others, but was always mindful of their dignity.

People who are learning the painful realities about why we have lost so many Catholics the last 50 years become outraged and don't understand why everyone else around them is not outraged. But this presumes that disquiet and visible anger are some kind of "virtues." That's something you may experience when you first learn about something disturbing - and that's okay for a brief period. But, if you are experiencing this on a daily basis, you need to get off the web and go read the Way of Perfection by St. Teresa of Avila or the Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis De Sales. First, see a good confessor and tell him how much time you were spending on line and what you were watching and viewing that left you in such state of anger, outrage and disquiet. You might want to ask how you know when you've crossed the line from anger into hatred to get enlightened. If the words from a fellow Catholic is causing hatred to stir in you, then cut off that relationship (Mt 5:29,30). Find sources that will help you to not just grow in your knowledge about the faith, but in virtue, as well.

I've been through my outrage and disquiet phase years ago. Every day there was some scandal being discussed in Catholic circles that got me all bent out of shape. I can tell you from experience, there is nothing virtuous about remaining there and feeding on sources that fuel it. It doesn't mean you give up discussing the problems, but outrage has to give way to prayer, trust in God, and learning how to win others over in a way that is most likely for them to use their God-given free will in a God-pleasing way. If you put your time in to reading Sacred Scripture, the CCC, Church Documents, the Church Fathers, the Doctors, and other saints; and serious time in Adoration and prayer, you will find that disquiet and anger abating. You will also find the kind of tools needed for evangelizing others - something hindered when you are in a chronic state of disquiet and anger. We need to purify our work online and mirror the love of Christ. That's grace and when we make room for that by pushing out the anger and outrage, it has room to work. I find this quality in some of the greatest pro-life workers like Msgr. Philip Reilly who founded the Helpers of God's Precious Infants. You can't be effective unless you reach a point where love for the sinner is greater than the anger you may have for the sins they commit. We don't win others for Christ; Jesus wins them through us if we give grace a place in our hearts, but it cannot co-exist with chronic outrage, disquiet, and anger turned into hatred.

The apparent addiction of some faithful to online Catholic equivalents to scandal or gossip rags can only be tempered by learning about virtues and making an effort to practice them. Learning about virtues, seeing them in practice in the saints, offsets the effects of human fallen nature, or concupiscence. In fact, every effort to evangelize others must include this or things get out of whack. That's what I believe we are witnessing with all this infighting between Catholics online. There is a rapid growth of understanding the Church, and what it teaches, but a lack of understanding in what really made saints - white martyrdom brought on by practicing virtues.

Once, when a very holy priest I knew at Grotto some years ago, who was serving as spiritual adviser to me as I worked through an article I was writing for Homiletic and Pastoral Review called, "Unconditional Worship in the God-Centered Mass" (April 2006), taught me an important lesson without saying a word. In my draft were some expressions about the kinds of Masses I had been to and I got "snarky" about some of those experiences trying to be "cute." Father, who has a doctorate in theology and in philosophy, shook his head in disapproval without looking up, then scratched out that text. Seeing apparent disappointment on the face of that virtuous priest was pretty effective. The pursuit of white martyrdom will often mean depriving ourselves of saying what we really feel like saying. It's easier to let the words fly, especially if we think others will be entertained by them (or if we think they will bring more traffic). As it turns out, my article was better without those things. He kept me on the high road while teaching me a humbling lesson I have never forgotten. It was instrumental in giving up that bad practice in this blog (not that I don't slip now and then).

There are certainly problems caused by members in the Church who fall to the effects of their own concupiscence. Anyone leading you to believe this is something new and exclusive to their point of view is looking for higher traffic and all that comes with it. Go read the Fathers of the Church. Go read the Omnibus of Sources on St. Francis of Assisi. See what scandals they dealt with in their day. They were with us since the Fall and will remain with us until the Second Coming.

How does Scripture tell us to deal with these things? Here is the first part of Psalm 37 (Catholic RSV).

Fret not yourself because of the wicked, be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass, and wither like the green herb. Trust in the LORD, and do good; so you will dwell in the land, and enjoy security. Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act. 6 He will bring forth your vindication as the light, and your right as the noonday. Be still before the LORD, and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over him who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.

A word about defending the faith

The sword is a symbol for defending the Church. St. Michael the Archangel is often depicted as a warrior holding it for his defeat of the dragon (Apoc. Ch. 12) In our quest to slay evil in our lives, we have to take care not to slay others or cut off their ears lest we perish by the sword of our own mouth or hand (Lk 22:50-51).

Something worth pondering are some words from St. Gregory Nazianzem (Oration 33)

Was He betrayed with a kiss? He reproves with a kiss, but smites not. Is he suddenly arrested? He reproaches indeed, but follows; and if through zeal you cut off the ear of Malchus with the sword, He will be angry, and will restore it. And if one flee in a linen sheet, Mark 14:51 he will defend him. And if you ask for the fire of Sodom upon his captors, he will not pour it forth; and if he take a thief hanging upon the cross for his crime he will bring him into Paradise through His Goodness. Let all the acts of one that loves men be loving, as were all the sufferings of Christ, to which we could add nothing greater than, when God even died for us, to refuse on our part to forgive even the smallest wrongs of our fellowmen.

Jesus did not want to be defended that way in Gethsemane and He doesn't want to be defended that way today or in any age.

Don't dwell in anger and pain; move past it by giving it to God.

So many Catholics are wounded and hurt over things members in the Church have done over the past 50 years from the destruction of churches and loss of reverence in liturgy - falsely in the name of Vatican II - to the priest sex abuse scandal and cover-up. Righteous anger is a topic I plan to get into, but it is deep and one that should be studied through the lens of Scripture in all it's fullness, and through the eyes of the Church Fathers and Doctors. People will point to Christ turning over tables in the temple and it is not that simple as I will prove when I get time to share what I have found.

Don't take it out on other Catholics or even other Christians. I see painful things said about Protestants, and even those who have become Catholic. Those of you who vent about Protestants-turned-Catholic who earn a living running a Catholic apostolate grieve me by what is said sometimes. Here again, if you disagree with something someone says, talk about their position, and try contacting them to see if you can get a dialogue going. But, leave the boat anchor in the bay. People should be mindful of the parable of the workers in the vineyard (Mt 20:1-16). This does not put an inviting face on our faith.

It's easy to lob condescending remarks about those who don't have the full Catholic understanding - be they Catholic or not; it takes work and virtue to learn how to engage people in thoughtful discussion; and, it takes fortitude and wisdom to know when to remain silent lest more harm than good be done. Scripture tells us to bear with the others whose faith is weak (Romans 15:1). That weakness can manifest itself in a question someone asks, but I think it most often manifests itself with attitudes and behavior that are not in harmony with the teachings of the Church. You have to give people room to be human and let God do the judging (we can and should judge actions for what they are - i.e., we can judge a theft is happening when we see it - but motives and hearts can only be judged by God*). When these people - others showing apparent weaknesses or faults - become the butt of jokes online, for all to see, how does that square with what St. Paul is teaching? Don't waste your God-given talents this way.

When you respect the fact that God gave to all a free will, you then understand the need to use reason and to be a good witness in every respect. Mocking, having fun at the expense of others weakness' in faith, or their sinfulness (grave or venial), "scoring points" on the best put downs or expressions that will get the highest traffic - none of these things are God-pleasing. In fact, it's corrosive to authentic evangelization. Think of someone you really love who has strayed from the faith and picture them witnessing some of the "edgy," and "in your face" stuff going around in Catholic circles online, complete with sophomoric name-calling and labels. This is the stuff of gutters, not the high road Catholics should be taking to be good witnesses. Just because the latest fad in reporting involves this kind of behavior does not mean it has a place in Catholic media or social media used by Catholics. A popular approach to writing, speaking, or reporting in any given age does not mean it's the virtuous approach.

A caution about subtle forms of vengeance

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God; for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." No, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:19-21)

Some get satisfaction when another is called out in a very public way . This can be, for some, a subtle form of interior vengeance, in my humble opinion. Imagine all of those men waiting to throw stones at Mary Magdalene and how their own self-righteous anger brought them a fleeting satisfaction. One could imagine them laughing at her as they were about to move in for the kill until Jesus stepped in and humbled them all. ** In addition, there is no regard for whether every element of the thing called out is true, and just as importantly - whether any attempt was made to get validation from appropriate sources, including the targeted person.

Before we accept and run with a public criticism of another we should stop and ask ourselves whether the critic made any attempt to have a rational discussion over his concern with the parties in question, or did he just repeat something to a broader audience found elsewhere. A truly virtuous person, who has a concern over something someone else has done, will look first for alternative explanations, rather than attribute, even if only in his heart, immoral, unethical, or simply un-virtuous motives. Fr. John A. Hardon says imprudence is usually involved in rash judgment. It helps to know his definition of imprudence. I've used underling for added emphasis.

Sins against prudence that are either by defect or by excess. Sins by defect against prudence are: rashness, which acts before due consideration has been given; thoughtlessness, which neglects to take the necessary circumstances into account; and negligence, which does not give the mind sufficient time for mature deliberation.

Everyone should reflect on that before typing another key or producing any other media. Please pray for me, as I pray for all of you.

NOTE: The Catholic Virtual War Series continues with many more posts made. Click that label link, then scroll to see the many titles.

Updates and notes:

*Added for clarification.
** Added to help make the point
- Quote in St. Francis picture changed since it does not appear in his writings.

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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church;
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Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Introduction: Jesus, wounded by His Disciple

No way to cover it all in one post...

Scandalized to the point of open wounds and anger

Wounded

A priest teaches how we should respond to injustice

The proper metric

Not leading the little ones into scandal

The Cross

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Prudence in the CCC

Fr. Hardon on Prudence

Saturday, September 7, 2013

More on the Secular Carmelite Community at Assumption Grotto

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Un-virtuous is as the un-virtuous do, starting with me.

A Question about Pope Francis on Clericalism

Tools for Good Communication and Discussion

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

A Pope and His Marching Orders

The Mess Pope Francis Wants

The "Mess" Pope Francis Did Not Request

St. Thomas Aquinas on Fraternal Correction of Superiors

Saint Francis and Respect for Clerics

Further Reading

Monday, September 2, 2013

A priest cancels a magazine subscription

Where the strident are found

Behavior of the strident

The real reason people often get banned in Catholic forums

Strident people attract other strident people

A strident seminarian reformed

Helpful Learning: The Four Temperaments

Saturday, August 31, 2013

Concupiscence - Human Fallen Nature and Gravitation to Critics

A word about defending the faith

Don't dwell in anger and pain; move past it by giving it to God.

A caution about subtle forms of vengeance