Welcome to the new world of Sodom and Gomorrah. Never before have the sins of abortion and ssm been made into laws. Even the Greeks and Romans, known for pederasty and using boys in the army as substitutes for prostitutes, as women were thought to weaken men's ability to fight, even those nations did not make homosexual sin law.
At this time in history, we are
witnessing the worst evils ever committed by governments. Those of us
who know the history of Western and Eastern Civilization, know that
the four sins which cry out to God for vengeance were never enshrined
in law. Never. So, how does the Catholic react? Become holy, very holy and prepare for martyrdom, as you most likely will face it in one way or another, having to face the arrogance of evil.
Now, we see the arrogance of humans
living and making laws outside of both natural law and revealed law.
The only thing which can counteract
these growing legal evils is prayer from the humble. One reason why I
am emphasizing humility is that this virtue must be learned now in
order to combat this legal arrogance, and in order to follow God in
horribly difficult times.
Today, on the feast of St. Catherine of
Siena, I shall quote Fr. Rodriquez on her struggle for the balance
between trusting in Providence and the sin of presumption. Here is a
section from his text, in Volume II:
“For when, to discourage her, he
(the devil) endeavored to make her believe that all her life had been
only a deception, she too courage at the consideration of the mercy
of God, and expressed herself thus: 'I confess, O my Creator, that a
my life has been nothing but darkness, but I will hide myself in the
wounds of Jesus crucified; and I will bathed myself in his blood,
which will wash off all my sins; and I will rejoice in my Creator and
my God'” “Thou shalt wash me , O Lord, and I shall become whiter
than snow.” (Ps.i.9) On the other hand, if the devil by a contrary
temptation tried to puff her up with pride, by representing to her
that she was already perfect, and that she had no further need to
bewail her sins, or to be afflicted; she most profoundly humbled
herself, and thus reasoned with herself:'What! Unhappy creature that
I am!--St. John the Baptist never sinned, he nevertheless failed not
to do severe penance; what must I do, who have committed so many sins
and never acknowledged and bewailed them as I ought?
The devil,
continues Rodriguez, would end up leaving her, as he could not make
her sin either in despair or in pride. Once the devil knows he cannot
win this game of under-confidence or over-confidence, he must stop
these types of attacks.
Now, why am I
writing so much on humility now? Martyrs, either green or red, are
not made in a day. The rode to martyrdom follows a plan created by
God, one which involves the acceptance of suffering without
complaint.
Americans and the
English have become masters of complaint. Americans have high
expectation, or just expectations, and the English seem to like to
complain. I once heard four people in England at coffee after Mass
sharing tales of their holidays in Teneriffe, the Canary Islands and
other exotic places, but the entire conversation involved constant
complaining. I had to get up and leave the table because the
negativity was so embedded in their characters that I could not
change the subject or interject some positive comments. The habit of
complaining reflects a serious lack of humility. Even little
exasperation during the days, which cause one to say something small
or just sigh reveal a lack of humility. With humility comes patience.
And patience brings courage.
One recalls St.
Thomas More's comment on seeing the great Carthusian martyrs from the
Charterhouse going off to their horrible deaths of being dragged on
wooden sledges through the dirty streets of London, to being drawn
and quartered, singing like men on their way to a wedding. St. Thomas
noted that if he had been on his knees more, praying and doing
mortification, instead of enjoying the comforts of Court, he would
have been more ready for martyrdom.
Do you, dear
Readers, think that you will all of the sudden become holy enough to
withstand pain and not fall into despair or pride when facing
ridicule, the loss of all income, complete marginalization in our
societies, and then imprisonment with humility and equanimity when
you are not preparing yourselves now?
Rarely are there,
but there are a few, “last minute martyrs”, such as the one
centurion who made up the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, when one left the
ice and perished in a warm bath, leaving God for a short comfort. We
are not called to be that fortieth martyr, but one of the
thirty-nine, who stripped and laid on the ice in pain until they
died. Because God chastens me, I eat less meat than most people and
eat only two meals a day because of poverty. I own practically
nothing, and God decides my mortification, mostly. So, I am blessed
by Him Who knows how weak I am.
What are you
willing to give up now, in the name of Christ, for mortification and
for the saving of souls? I have given up desserts, wine, beer and
cordials of all kinds. I have given up careers and status. I have
given up chocolate, and eating snacks between meals.
This is all
preparation for dying, as dying to self allow one to grow in freedom.
Many Catholics will be lost in the coming weeks, months and years.
Ask God to show you the least imperfections in your souls, minds,
imaginations, wills. Fr. Rodriguez, like Garrigou-Lagrange is aware
of that predominant fault which keeps us from perfection.
What will happen
when your bishop and the majority of priests in your diocese
apostatize, either over ssm or giving Communion to those in adultery?
What will you do? Will you conform with the majority, or stand firm
in the knowledge of God's Will as found in natural and revealed laws?
The truth is that
self-knowledge, states Father Rodriguez, brings courage. Many sins
come from the pit of fear, which too many people carry around. A
small example: I set up this chapel after all the people who were
supposed to come through the house for repairs, surveys, and such had
done their jobs. Except for the termite inspector, I thought I was
free of visitors for a month until I leave, now three weeks.
Today, I was told
that two more repairmen are coming in. I know one is a low-church
protestant, as low-church as one can get and still be Christian, and
he will be offended by the icons. I thought for a minute about taking
these and the two remaining statues out of the room, but I heard a
strong voice say, “This is a test. If you are ashamed of Me here, what
will you do when a real trial comes to you? ” Obviously, Christ
does not care about offending others who have left the path of truth.
We have the one, true religion and can be strong in our defense of
even icons and statues. The Church teaches the truth in wholeness,
not in parts, and we cannot choose what to dispose of and what not
to. God ordains dulia.
A small test, when
most people would be concerned about being offensive, God is telling
me clearly not to worry about that, but to be strong in the Truth of
the beauty of Catholic worship, of dulia as well as latria.
The chapel stays put until I leave in three weeks.
Where does this
courage come from in my heart? From being no one, nothing, for being
a weak vessel, a frail person of Faith. As Father Rodriguez writes,
to look at our weakness is actually inverted pride, as one must keep
one's eyes on Christ.
If we look at
Christ, we have courage in His grace, not our own strength. Rodriguez
quotes Psalms 22, 26 and 27, among others, for the proper
perspective.
Because of the
intensity of pain I am experiencing, plus the other difficulties, I
trust that God will have compassion on me in my weaknesses. Indeed,
Fr. Rodriguez stresses that the more we admit our frailties, the more
God has mercy on us.
He notes that if we
are saying, “Why have I not such and such a thing? Why am I treated
so ill?” that these questions reveal that one is lacking in
self-knowledge. Years ago, a spiritual director told me to stop
asking “why” questions, that these were a complete waste of time.
I did stop. Now, I say, “God show me my sins, even the hidden sins,
so that I can love you more and more.”
And, here is the
key to courage, which comes from self-knowledge. Let me use
Rodriguez' own words.
“For if you had
but humility, and knew well the deceitfulness of your own heart,you
would not be uneasy or lose courage. But, on the contrary, you would
wonder that there happens no worse to you, and that you fall not
oftener.; and you would not cease praising and blessing God who
upholds you with his hand, and saves you from the disorders you would
infallibly fall into without him.”
St. Francis Borgia,
a favorite of Fr. Rodriguez, noted to a wealthy friend who knew him
when he was wealthy and comfortable, that he needed to take more care
of himself. Francis answered that he had a harbinger who went before
him to take care of all his needs. His friend asked him who this was.
The saints answered that it was the knowledge of himself, and the
thought of the pains of hell, so that whatever place he found himself
in, including bad lodgings, he knew he was being treated better than
he deserved.
This is not poetry
or merely edifying stories from the life of a saint, but a reality
for all of us.
One more story from
Fr. Rodriguez for today—a holy Dominican told St. Margaret that he
had begged the ancient Desert Fathers to show him how they became so
holy. One night, in a dream, he saw a book with golden letters and a
voice told him to “arise, and read”. He rose immediately and
read these words. “The perfection of the ancient fathers
consisted in loving God, in despising themselves and in neither
judging or contemning any body”. Then, the vision disappeared.
It is hard not to
judge, but when one sees one's own horrid sins, one stops judging
others. It is hard to despise one's self, but when one sees one's
sins and the enormity of the insult these give to God, one can hate
one's self. It is hard to love God, but ask Him for this love, and He
will give it to you.
Recently, God told
me I would be punished for a sin which was hidden, but came to light.
I did not want to look at this sin, nor consider punishment. But,
today, when I could hardly walk or dress, and when I could not bend
over to pick something which had fallen on the floor, or I could not
finish ironing because of pain, I knew that God had chosen a
punishment which would mean I cannot function daily as I would wish
to do. I am grateful for this punishment, as it is better than
purgatory. I can actually thank God for the pain in
three-quarters of my back and for the inconvenience of not being able
to bend over. I am weak, but He is strong. Two big prayers were
answered today, concerning some things, and a small one. This
answering of prayers on a day when I could hardly function is not an
accident. God is showing me that He is in control, not me, that
He is taking care of me in the way that He decides. My will no longer
belongs to me, but to Him.
We are all in boot
camp, but the war is about the start. Cooperate with suffering. Beg
for those graces so that you can learn to be humble. Learn to rely
completely on God, on Divine Providence, even to death. That is our
call in this generation.
