In his First Letter to Timothy, St. Paul, when laying out the qualifications of a bishop, includes this telling remark: “He must not be a recent convert, or he may be puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil” (1 Tim. 3:6).
St. John Chrysostom, in a homily on 1 Timothy, adds this gloss on the text: “For, if even before he has proved himself as a disciple he is made a teacher, he will soon be lifted up into insolence.”
Both men spoke from experience: Paul, after his conversion on the road to Damascus, apparently disappeared into the Arabian desert for the better part of three years (Gal. 1:18), and Chrysostom, after his Baptism, fled to an Antiochene cave to pray and fast for two years. Neither was particularly eager to “confer with any human being” in the city (Gal. 1:16); both were especially eager to confer with God in solitude. And it’s safe to assume that Paul, like Chrysostom, did it by reading and meditating on God’s Word.
The Church today finds herself in a very interesting cultural moment—one in which these warnings about new converts from two of Christianity’s greatest preachers would be convenient to ignore. For decades now, Western Christians—and Catholics in particular—have been beleaguered by declining numbers, mounting scandals, and an alternating antagonism and mimeticism toward the secular culture. Violence and abuse have been the breaking religious news, and the new atheists the violent breakers of religion.
In the aughts, being a Christian meant being on the defensive.
It’s undeniable that, in large part, those same dynamics still remain in play today. But the ground is beginning to shift. Everywhere there are signs of what Justin Brierly has termed a “surprising rebirth of belief in God.” For the first time in years, the number of religious “nones” in America—on a steady rise since 2007—has seen a drop. And for the first time in modern American history, young men are becoming more religious than young women.
The Bible, the Church, and the whole patrimony of the Judeo-Christian tradition are more and more on the minds and lips of cultural movers and shakers.
Maybe the most conspicuous sign of a sea change has been the uptick in conversions among prominent public figures. A Vanity Fair piece bemoaning the “Catholic right’s celebrity-conversion industrial complex” offers a roll call of recent culture-war converts to Catholicism, including Candace Owens. But it’s not only figures from the right who are converting. Recently, the philosopher Philip Goff—an open-minded champion of panpsychism—announced his own conversion to Christianity (albeit “heretical,” according to Goff).
As every attentive reader of the Gospels knows, the proper response to such conversions is not the suspicion and resentment of the prodigal’s older brother, but the joy and celebration of the prodigal’s father. Rather than look askance at new converts—even celebrities with checkered pasts, questionable opinions, and a hankering for attention as plain as the noses on their faces—we ought to run out and meet them, slaughter the fatted calf for them, and dance and sing with them, “because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found” (Lk. 15:32). Anything less risks grieving of the Holy Spirit and underestimating the power of grace.
At the same time, Paul’s barring of new converts from prominent teaching positions—together with his warnings about false teachers, putting away the “old self,” and not twisting doctrine to suit your own desires—are a guide for both new converts and their listeners.
When an Owens draws a sharp line between the Latin Mass and “an insidious effort to modify Catholic traditions,” aligning the former with Christ’s Church and the latter with the “gates of hell,” or when a Goff describes himself as holding “very liberal views on divorce and LGBT issues” and an “unorthodox view” of as central a doctrine as the Resurrection, we see the wisdom of a Paul and Chrysostom in withdrawing for a time to be formed in the faith.
And other Christians—without ceasing to rejoice in the return of prodigal children or hope for their development—are right to exercise caution, and instead attune themselves to Scripture and Tradition.
After all, the “honeymoon phase” will pass, the initial enthusiasm of conversion will wear out—and the glories of observance and perseverance will either show forth or not. The recent sharp rise and fall of Kanye West—who went from proclaiming “Jesus is King” through his megaphone to millions, to succumbing to the world, the flesh, and the devil because Jesus didn’t “show up” for him in his trials—is an instructive case study for all who raise the banner of Christ in the culture.
Indeed, in Jesus’ parable of the sower (Mt. 13:1–23), he warns his listeners about good seed sown in three ill-fated places. The “path” is the one who “hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it”; there is no real receptivity to revelation. The “rocky ground” is “the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy … but endures only for a while”; the receptivity is there, but no longevity. And the “thorns” represent “the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing”; there’s both receptivity and longevity, but no humility.
There’s a reason Jesus warns about these three scenarios: they’re ever-present dangers in the spread of the Gospel. The new convert can either hear the word of God, or hear his own words as God’s; he can either steel himself for trials—“for gold is tested in the fire, and those found acceptable, in the furnace of humiliation” (Sir. 2:5)—or long for the flesh pots of Egypt; and he can either humbly submit himself to the sword of the Spirit, or make of Christ and the Church his own axe to grind.
In short, he can either inhabit the new self or the same old self—either walk the way of humility and grace or the way of conceit and condemnation. These dangers, of course, remain active for all Christians, even the most seasoned spiritual master, but they’re especially turbulent for the neophyte.
The seed of the Gospel is spreading. The joy of the Church is ringing out. But the stakes are high—and time will tell where all the seed is landing.
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“But the ground is beginning to shift. Everywhere there are signs of what Justin Brierly has termed a “surprising rebirth of belief in God.”
Indeed. Catholics are fleeing to the periphery, to the TLM lifeboats, as post-catholic New Church reveals the full extent of its tŕuely ignorant ugliness. New Church, New Speak, assaulting and insulting the faithful with the same old heresies.
“THIS IS RUPTURE” Pope Francis.
https://angeluspress.org/collections/archbishop-marcel-lefebvre
Hope springeth New.
Dear Matthew Becklo, this is a well informed & salutary article, relevant to our current society and it’s ‘me first’ attitude towards everything, even faith.
“What am I getting out of being a Catholic?” motivates too many who join us. This is exacerbated by churches & ministries, both Catholic & Protestant, being run like commercial businesses.
Conversion, catechesis & discipleship are supposed to form Christians in the image of Jesus Christ, who said: “I am among you as a servant.” As we know, this is a lifelong journey full of amazing challenges and awesome transformations. It is far different to the fairly typical: “Turn up – obey – pray – pay!” churchish way of life that soon looses its appeal to many good new converts.
Right at the start, and all the way, a lively faith in The Living Christ needs to be exemplified by self-giving servanthood in the clergy & in mature lay people. Thus conversion & sanctification is fostered by a community of those who show how to be a Christian, deeply in love with GOD, with themselves, and with others; our eyes firmly set on an eternity with GOD who is Love.
In many parishes, people can barely share a warm greeting at The Sign of Peace!
One wonders if the synodalists have this gaping hiatus on their list of matters to urgently seek The Holy Spirit’s guidance. . ?
If new converts (both celebrities and nonentities, all) experience genuine personal love that persists & perseveres, they are more likely to grow into Christ and to eventually become able to joyfully serve others in our LORD’s own, beautiful way.
Always in the grace & mercy of The Lamb of GOD; love & blessings from marty
It is very difficult for me to relate to all that. I am from a tradition which has a very sober view of love. According to it, a true love is a fruit of a painful knowledge of self and of God. It is a very slow process. The sober conclusion then is that all of us are sick and crooked. This is a very liberating realization. Personally, I do not trust outward manifestations a la an “ever-cheerful Protestant group”. A parish is made with individuals, they are all different. Some had such dramas they can hardly function; some are more fortunate. Some experience an infused contemplation; some can barely focus while praying vocally. In the Eastern Orthodoxy we have this basic attitude formulated by a priest/elder Nicholai Guryanov:
“Go to any Orthodox church available… Do not look for something exceptional… There will be nothing exceptional. Confess often and with a holy fear to any available priest. For your sincere repentance the Lord will protect you from insincere people.”
As you can see, nothing exceptional indeed but it protects from pride. (The neophytes attempting to teach are simply proud, so as those priests etc. who encourage them.) To an Orthodox, a personal transformation in Christ affects the whole Church and that is basically it. There is no need for collectivism, slogans, and other stuff.
Dear Anna: “Personally, I do not trust outward manifestations a la an “ever-cheerful Protestant group”.
This seemed to me to be unlike many of your many previous insightful comments & valuable observations. Surely you must be regretting having typed that stigmatizing pericope . . ?
Surely we don’t want them (non-Orthodox, non-Catholic Christians) to follow the dour path of e.g. Russian Orthodox & Ukranian Orthodox slaughtering & maiming each other with genocidal intent? Made worse today by their dreadfully solemn mutual certainty of GOD’s approval of their homicides! Then there’s the ghastly memory of legions of French & German Catholics slaughtering each other in WW1 and WW2. Etc.
JOY is a fruit of The Holy Spirit of GOD and needs to be evidenced in any real Christian, if we are to have credability; clear at e.g. John 16:22-24.
A pertinent question for every Orthodox, Catholic, & Protestant Christian:
“Do I really have The Holy Spirit of GOD or not? How do I know – for logically it should be very obvious!”
Dour joylessness in one who claims to be Christian, no matter how religiously learned and assiduous, does not evidence to the Presence of THE LIVING GOD.
Apostle Paul frankly teaches us that we are counterfeits if we don’t recognize Jesus Christ in our hearts. 2 Corinthians 13:5
The beloved Apostle John assures us that GOD is Love and that this changes absolutely everything; especially clear at e.g. 1 John 4:16-21.
In directing the formation of the New Testament, the Holy Spirit of GOD, made sure that we would be able to comprehensively envisage the divine love we are all called to grow into; & ensured it is beautifully expressed in 1 Corinthians 13:1-13.
Maybe, dear Anna, try a wonderfully uplifting song that this octagenarian Catholic often rejoices with, learned decades ago from cheerful Protestants –
“JOY is the flag flown high from the castle of my heart, from the castle of my heart, from the castle of my heart, for the KING is in residence here!
Let it fly in the sky, let the whole world know, Jesus Christ is alive in me!
LOVE is the flag flown high from the castle of my heart, from the castle of my heart, from the castle of my heart, from the castle of my heart, for the KING is in residence here!
Let it fly in the sky, let it fly in the sky, for Jesus Christ is alive in me!”
I’d love to see an ikon honoring Christ alive in our ordinary believer’s heart, depicting the ambient evidence of divine self-giving love & heavenly irrepressible joy lighting up this deadly world. An ikon of: ‘the ordinary believer’.
The core Christian message is that Christ has mercifully cleansed us of sin, called us to obedience, and taken up residence in us. The Father and His Holy Spirit accompany Jesus’ salvific vistory. We are new, Trinitarian creatures, with Real Life in us; able to help others to find GOD’s salvation in Jesus Christ. Surely the most wonderfully miraculous qualification, dear Anna, any human being can be given!
The Christian Church – whether it be Orthodox, Catholic, or Protestant is a necessary organization given by GOD to help administer this unimaginably gracious personal miracle.
When a Church furthers GOD’s intention to incorporate us in obedient love it is faithfull; when it obstructs or distorts GOD’s intention it is unfaithfull.
The life and teachings of Jesus Christ and His Apostles make it clear that numbers, wealth, properties, social status, gorgeous garments, elaborate liturgies, & ponderous ‘holy’ hierarchies are no guarantee of obedience and loving servanthood.
Jesus Christ was, is and always will be about ‘power under’ not ‘power over’.
Facing King Jesus Christ as Judge, it’ll be our faithful servanthood that’ll count, not whatever church we claim affiliation to. Hence we need to be careful to participate in a church that fosters our personal growrh as good & faithful servants of Christ, who rules the heavens & the earth, & into whose nail-pierced hands ALL judgment has been given.
Let anyone who reads this pay attention.
Ever in the merciful grace of The Lamb of GOD; love & joy & blessings from marty
No, I do not regret what I wrote but I regret you interpreted it in a very strange way i.e. “that stigmatizing pericope” and similar stuff because it has nothing to do with what I wrote.
Thanks for replying, dear Anna.
To explain: I merely responded to what I read as your uncharacteristic prejudice, namely that in your opinion the witness of ‘ever-cheerful Protestants’ was not to be trusted {you wrote – ‘Personally, I do not trust outward manifestations a la an ‘ever-cheerful Protestant group’.}
To me the contradiction was stark: could a Christian, steeped in The New Testament, fail to note the outward manifestations of Christ, of His Apostles, and of so many other founding Christians?
Without wanting to labor the obvious, I again tender: “JOY is a fruit of The Holy Spirit of GOD and will be evidenced in any real Christian, if we are to have credibility; as made clear by Jesus at e.g. John 16:22-24.”
Hoping, dear Anna, that we can find unity in beloved Saint Paul’s words:
“REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAYS; AGAIN I WILL SAY REJOICE!” Phiippians 4:4
There’s no need for you to reply to this.
Always in the loving mercy of King Jesus Christ; joyful blessings from marty
Hello Martin,
I will answer you nevertheless. In fact, I answered you yesterday – not the one you can see but a lengthy response. Unfortunately, it did not get through due to a server problem “bad gateway” (it often happens here).
You appeared to take my personal (clearly stated as such) opinion as a rule. I am a flawed human being with my own peculiarities. You also took my statement out of a context, of different people, different psyches (which I clearly stated). My point was that joy being put into the hearts of people cannot be uniform – it is very different in its extent, colour, expression because it is affected by each person’s psyche which is unique. Hence, when there is a group of people who behave in an extremely uniform way is most likely a learnt behavior “. This is my experience.
I admit my reference to Protestants was not thoughtful. For a start, the majority of Protestants do not appear ever-happy (and no, I do not have “prejudice” against Protestants, I even read their websites, ‘Desiring God’ being one of favorite). I meant sects, especially Charismatics who, as I have observed, use “emotional fluff” to elate themselves. I do not recognize the fruits of those techniques as a gift of the Holy Spirit and after attending a few gatherings of a Roman Catholic charismatic group I chose to withdraw.
Hence, it is fair to say that I feel an allergy for an attempt to impose emotions upon me, a duty to feel something, without connecting with me personally first. This is why I very much dislike general statements like “we should have joyous parishes”. My response is very impolite “Really? Then perhaps you (whoever) should sit with each person, enquire about their spiritual life and see what you can do to help them with becoming joyous?” Because while joy in Christ is universal, it becomes highly personal being put in an individual heart, overshadowed by things in the soul. You quoted “Rejoice!” but I believe that, to be effective, we should be put together with “weep with those who weep, rejoice with those who rejoice”. My conviction is while God gives the gift of joy to all Christians, it is still affected by the psyche of an individual and, if a person feels alone, abandoned, depressed etc. he must be helped first so he could experience that joy fully. And there is nothing worse for such an unhappy person than a group of uniformly cheerful people who tell him “Cheer up! Ah you cannot? – Then you are a fake.”
Perhaps the subject of joy in the life of a Christian deserves some discourse.
“Joy” is defined as “a feeling of great pleasure and happiness” (Oxford dictionary).
Realistically speaking, a person can have that emotion non-stop only if he is on drugs or fakes it. Another kind of joy which we, Orthodox, call “a joy about the Lord” runs very deep and often does not manifest outwardly. It is like a quiet light within.
As I said in my initial comment, people are different. Some have a continually elevated mood, some continually slightly depressed. This is not thanks to the state of their souls but thanks to their brain’s chemistry. Hence, a perpetually elated, because of his brain chemistry, is not necessarily holy and experiences “a joy about the Lord”.
There are also people (not so rare) who went to horrendous experiences which are beyond average. Naturally, they are not bursting with optimism. There are also those people whose parents killed in them the sense of trust via abuse. Again, they do not look joyous at all; worse even, they are often very depressed, anxious and sometimes suicidal. They may even be some among those who, as you put it, “can barely share a warm greeting at The Sign of Peace”.
What I wrote is about a psyche which can be shattered, hammered down by abuse, twisted by various losses and so on. And I can tell you – the majority of people are ill one way or another.
There is also a spirit of a person (an Orthodox definition: spirit – soul (psyche) – body). That spirit can be in a temporary union with God and during that time the psyche is captive, being still. Even if it is abused and unable to trust, at that time it is overtaken by the spirit which is with God and does not feel pain. This is by the way a joy, a pure spiritual joy. But when the union is over a psyche pops up with all its pain and imperfections (I am giving the teaching of St John of the Cross here, using the terms of human psychology) and a person is plagued by anxiety and pain again. Joy has gone. That dichotomy, of the joy of a prayer of union and “falling out of it” and experiencing all the pain of one’s own psyche broken by traumas can go for decades. I suspect this is “the dark night of the soul” of St John of the Cross.
I am not going to speculate if a person between the periods of joy has that joy deep inside. I think he does but he is unable to feel it and he does not look joyous. Eastern Orthodoxy teaches that a true spiritual joy is the gift of God and I absolutely agree; furthermore, Roman Catholic mystics say the same. It also teaches not to judge by appearances.
Now back to “ever-cheerful Protestant group” which seems to scandalize you so much that you even brought into the discussion the subject (very painful for me since I was born in the USSR) of a war of Russia with Ukraine. Yes, I do not believe that such uniform joy is genuine. It is typical not of all Protestants of course and even not of the majority (Lutherans for instance are very sober people) but of some Charismatics. What I observed in their practices seems to stir emotions, “fluff feelings”, elations etc. To me those practices looked like group self-hypnosis.
I believe that the deepest joy is given to a human being by a reciprocal relationship, with Christ or/and with a human person. But every person has a different ability to enter into such a relationship. As I wrote above, many have a shattered psyche so they are unable to experience joy at all, at least initially. This is a norm for them and this is why I am sick of hearing “cheer up” and “we ought to be joyful”. We ought not to abuse others = love others. There is no need to make those who have an impaired ability to rejoice (many do) to feel bad and fake it. What we need is to simply establish normal relationships with persons, without telling them what emotions they “ought” to experience because it is a lie that kills a true exchange. Address what makes a person miserable first, share it with them. This is why I perceive an Eastern Orthodoxy to be very merciful in that respect. It does not force anyone to be joyous but leaves a person to receive the grace of joy in their own time.
“Eastern Orthodoxy teaches that a true spiritual joy is the gift of God and I absolutely agree; furthermore, Roman Catholic mystics say the same…”
Well, of course, as joy is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22) and is mentioned dozens of times in the NT. It’s not just a matter for mystics; it’s simply basic spirituality.
Thanks, dear Anna for the two thoughtful responses; and to beloved Carl.
You opened your thoughts in a generous & interactionary way, Anna. A model for interpersonal dialogue among all who follow Christ. It genuinely IS the common pursuit of Truth that sets us free.
I’m much edified by your meditations but still remain uneasy with the idea that all Eastern Orthodox members are merciful and superior in possessing a true spiritual joy, whilst Charismatics all have a false, “fluffed up” joy.
By the way, there are full-on Charismatics in the Luthern Church, too.
Maybe there’s a place in the Body of King Jesus Christ for those who cherish a quieter, dignified, cerebral worship, in companionship with those who worship with all their heart & soul & strength. Perhaps GOD wants us to relish this diversity & to feel completed by each other; & not to feel challenged?
Personally, I’m blessed in my worship with times of profound, solitary, instructive Encounter; and other times of loud, exultant Praise that scares the demons away from me and, I think, the whole neighbourhood!
You are absolutely right that in either case there’s NO place for coercion.
Thanks again, dear Anna, for a meaningful & productive interchange.
Doing my best to hear & obey King Jesus Christ; love & blessings from marty
“Well, of course, as joy is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22) and is mentioned dozens of times in the NT. It’s not just a matter for mystics; it’s simply basic spirituality.”
Correct but this fact does not cancel another one, that the Orthodox Church and Catholics mystics teach it.
PS It is a pity that my yesterday’s response was not published after it was written but somehow appeared now, after I wrote today’s one. If I knew it would happen I would not write today.
St. John of the Cross begins (but never completes) a treatise on joy in Book III of Ascent. He defines joy as an emotion of the will, a passion of the soul—it is a “satisfaction of the will with esteem for an object it considers fitting.” It is therefore, or should be, under the control of the will and harnessed by prudence to serve God’s will and God’s glory.
Objects giving rise to joy, according to St. John of the Cross, may be purely temporal, natural, sensory, or they may be moral, supernatural, or spiritual goods.
The entire premise of John’s theology is that man’s union with God can only be achieved by purgation–cleansing, purifying, or sanctifying of passions, will, memory, intellect. Any passion, even if it be joy in a supernatural good, which is not ultimately ordered to God is purged (by man and by God) if union with God is sought for God’s sake and for His glory.
“If one orders these passions so toward God that the soul finds joy only in whatever serves the honor and glory of God our Lord, that her hope has no other goal, that nothing causes her sorrow but that which concerns God, and she fears nothing but God, then clearly, all the soul’s strength and faculties have been kept for God.” (St. John of the Cross, Ascent of Mt. Carmel).
“The more the soul rejoices over something other [than God], the less intense will be her joy in God.” Only when one purges one’s will of its desires, the human and coarse will become divine, that is, one with the will of God.
St. John of the Cross explains this as the meaning of 1 Corinthians 7:29-31:
“This, therefore, that I say to you brothers is certain, the time is short; what remains is that those who have wives be as those who have them not; and those who weep as those who do not weep; and those who have joy as those who do not rejoice; and those who are buyers as those who do not possess; and those who are users of this world as those who use it not.”
Joy which a man does not return to God is vain and useless to the man who seeks union with God.
To Anna: The Church has proclaimed St. John of the Cross both a saint as well as a doctor of the Church. Why do you suggest that the Roman Catholic Church does not teach spiritual theology? Parts III and IV of St. JPII’s Catechism of the Catholic Church focus on prayer and “the Christian life.” Part II addresses the sacraments which the Church teaches are grace-filled helps to achieve mystical Union.
Are you not a Catholic?
I may be wrong, but my understanding is that Anna is Eastern Orthodox.
From my chapter, “Deificaton in the ‘Catechism of the Catholic Church”, in Called To Be the Children of God: The Catholic Theology of Human Deification (Ignatius, 2016):
Carl, Thank you for sharing the selection from your book.
I too believe that Anna is Orthodox. I asked somewhat rhetorically, hoping she would think about what she thinks about Catholic teaching.
I was half hoping you would protest my focus on St. John’s definition of joy as a human passion; I failed to account for the Joy attendant to the Holy Spirit. I was trying to get at Anna’s seeming to understand and/or describe joy as a human emotion which lends itself to psychological analysis. I sidelined joy from the Godly point of view. There is, as your selection attests, joy infused by/with God, the joy which He alone can give and which most of us sinners can barely imagine or can only hope to someday know.
My response was half to Anna and half to you. I trust you know how confusing this can be.
I am convinced now that the unorthodox progressives in the Catholic Church are trying to purge the Church of: Catholics who subscribe to all the Church teachings, adherents of the Latin Mass and the Extraordinary Form, and outspokenly orthodox priests and bishops. They want them to feel so marginalized and alienated that they will join the SSPX, the Orthodox Church or just plain stop believing altogether – they do not care.
These progressives in the Church want the Church to themselves so they can continue with their homosexual baccanalia unimpeded. Their agenda is becoming despairingly clearer day by day.
Well put. I’ve seen some good people ruined because they were pushed forward too early by well intentioned people. This is a general weakness in Protestantism which I pray will not become a general practice in our Church. It is not good for the newly ordained to be put in charge of congregation. Let them mellow for a few years as a junior under a seasoned older priest. The current shortage of priests is causing much pressure and burnout on our young priests. This is a major problem which needs more attention. Perhaps we could better use the deaconate would help. Perhaps congratulations could utilize lay managers to run the physical needs of the parishes and leave the spirtual and sacramental needs to the priests. We must come up with new models as the old ones no longer work here. It may not be the same in other places. One shoe does not fit all feet.
The average Catholic (cradle or convert) who honours the Sabbath has one foot in a life of sin and vice—turning towards God but finding himself in a Church that will not clearly denounce those things which hinder a life of grace. This confuses the faithful at an existential level, and allows those with disordered lives to continue with no clear instruction on how to pursue health and virtue. Moreover, they cannot help one another without the tools to recognise corrosive habits, nor do they have the authority to name those sinful actions that weaken and degrade the Body of Christ, and towards which most pastors (and bishops) turn a blind eye.
Virtue and vice cannot coexist, and when the “old man” is welcome, and allowed to remain “the old man,” he fidgets and fumbles through the motions, wondering why religion is distasteful and prayer a burden. He may want God and heaven, but without a plan, a path, a clear direction he remains in the dark—or at best an oppressive twilight that neither comforts nor consoles.
It’s a trope to disparage the Latin Mass contingent, but it is consistently there that the man in the pew hears, “Repent.” It is there that a life of serious virtue is explained and the corrosive elements in society consistently highlighted and renounced. It’s difficult to remain “the old man” in that setting—at least comfortably, and while the Trads are disparaged as divisive, the comfort with which “the old man” is indulged elsewhere doesn’t seem to prime him for the fierce struggle that lies before us.
I still find it hard to believe it’s been more than ten years since I was received into the Catholic Church. It still feels like only yesterday.
I remember being a new convert and trying to teach NFP. I got absolutely crushed by it.
Many (perhaps most) Church Fathers sought solitude or communal cenobitic practices for some period of time, often years, before ordination but after adult baptism.
John of the Cross was not a convert, but he endured exile from his monastery and his
‘brothers’ in Christ. He suffered much, silently, without resentment, anger, displacement of blame, disparagement, accusation, or stone-throwing to anyone who justly could have been charged with those. John’s suffering and joy began in childhood. He understood and experienced life-long redemptive suffering just as he manifested its consequent and fruitful joy. https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/saints/john-of-the-cross-649
Dear Deacon Edward, please don’t despair or think of leaving The Church!
As dear Meiron exhorts us: take the example of the sufferings of St John of the Cross.
As another (of many) salutary witnesses we recall the perseverance over hundreds of years of our Japanese Catholic sisters & brothers –
“When high profile executions proved ineffective against believers, authorities tried more individual approaches, especially once Christianity was banned outright in 1614. Bounties were offered for information on Christians; a higher price was put on the head of a priest (as reflected in Martin Scorsese’s film ‘Silence’ based on Shūsaku Endō’s historical novel.)
Households were required to register with Buddhist temples.
To test whether someone was secretly devout, individuals were required to step on images of Jesus or Mary. In Nagasaki, this was an annual test implemented for about 227 years! from 1629 to 1856.
When Catholics were ferreted out, often by their own devotion, torture was extreme:
They were boiled alive in hot springs; drowned slowly while tied to stakes; wrapped in mats and burned over fire; lowered upside down into vats of excrement. Execution for Christianity was only canceled in 1805.
These ‘Kakure Kirishitan’ – Hidden Christians – had no sacrements but their Baptisms of each other into Christ Jesus, passed down from one generation to the next without priests.”
Today, Japanese Catholicism is flourishing. So let us not throw in the towel today just because so many priests & other ‘leaders’ are betraying the Apostolic Witness to Christ. Actually, they are only accessories to The Faith, a Catholic Faith that has amply shown it can survive without them, when necessary, without despair.
Let’s focus on The Lamb of GOD in all His Glory; love & blessings from marty
Good article and use of scripture
Expanding on dear Joe Rankin’s concise: “Good article & use of scripture” . . .
Matthew Becklo’s article – concerning conversion from subjection to this world, to allegiance to Jesus Christ, & the progression or the regression of that allegiance – bears on the central purpose of the Catholic Church & of other Christian churches.
Souls that receive Christ as LORD & persevere in hearing & obeying Him through their earthly life are THE eternal harvest of the ministry of Christ & His Church. In fact, from the perspective of Ethical Encounter Theology, these saved souls are the harvest of our world & the whole universe of space-time/energy-matter.
God-loving souls graced with eternity infinitely outweigh the whole universe which is fading away – lovers of scientism please note!
In my Holy Missal, the readings for Saturday in the 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, powerfully support this view.
From the first reading (Galatians 3:22-29):
“Scripture makes no exception when it says that sin is master everywhere.
In this way the promise can only be given through faith in Jesus Christ
And can only be given to those who have this faith.”
“You are, all of you, children of GOD through faith in Jesus Christ.
All baptised in Christ, you have all clothed yourself in Christ,
And there are no more distinctions between Jew & non-Jew,
Laborers & owners, men & women, but all of you are one in Christ.
Merely by belonging to Christ you are the posterity of Abraham;
You are the heirs Abraham was promised by GOD.”
From the responsorial psalm (Psalm 104/105):
“O sing to the LORD, sing His praise; tell all His wonderful works!
Be proud of His Holy Name, let the hearts that seek The LORD rejoice.”
From the Holy Gospel reading (Luke 11:28):
“Blessed are those who hear The Word of GOD and obey it.”
Could anything be clearer or more coherently & rationally expressed?
GOD, in Christ, puts an unambivalent choice before us.
Let our clergy and us lay – all, all – pay close attention . . .
Let our synods (such as they are) meditate on GOD’s Word above all else.
Among the many helpful comments & responses evoked by Matthew Becklo’s article, there’s been mention of Catholic & Protestant Charismatics.
An octogenarian Catholic, I’ve experienced much around the world in regard to the Charismatic movement.
First the good:
Many will be aware of theology professor, Ralph Martin and his fruitful Catholic Charismatic ministry.
Some will know of Fr Rich Thomas SJ & Sr Maria Virginia DC and the Charismatic El Paso prayer group they led.
Truly wonderfully fruitful miracles attended the ministry of those Charismatics. See –
Give to Jesus and he gives to us: the miracle in the dump at Juarez (frtommylane.com)
Every single Christian – Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant – would benefit from reading these three little books, that reveal the authentic miracle working power of Christ’s Holy Spirit in our own times:
‘The Cross & the Switchblade’ by David Wilkerson
‘Chasing the Dragon’ by Jackie Pullinger
‘The Hiding Place’ by Corrie ten Boom
Now, the bad:
Being unable to stop the power of Holy Spirit Renewal, the devil has chosen to join & corrupt it from within.
Many megachurch money-making businesses have sprouted forth, under the false flag of Charismatic renewal.
Sadly, much of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal has also been infested.
For example: I was delighted to find a CCR church just down the road from my home.
It only took me three meetings to discern that the leaders & many members were spiritists {not Holy Spirit-filled}.
The spirits of witchcraft and freemasonry ruled this little group, under the guise of Charismatic gifting.
‘Control’ was their game, with malicious disparagement of authentic Holy Spirit gifting. Not nice!
Lesson: LET THE SEEKER BEWARE.
Dwell in The Word of GOD; be close to our King Jesus Christ, constantly asking: “Is this of You, dear LORD?”
Always striving to hear & lovingly obey King Jesus Christ; joyful blessings from marty
Useful:
‘Pentecostalism: Evaluating a Phenomenon’ by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J.
https://www.therealpresence.org/archives/Protestantism/Protestantism_002.htm
I wish Russell Brand would take it down a notch or two with some of the weirdness.
I wish Candace Owens would shut her piehole and let the Association of Hebrew Catholics preach to Jews.
I wish Francis was John Paul II.
I sometimes wish I wasn’t Catholic but then I
remind myself if I do so I might as well wish
not to go to Heaven.
Ah well. God will win in the end..
The devil can have his hour because God will have His Day.
If wishes were horses…
😁
“Ah well. God will win in the end..The devil can have his hour because God will have His Day.” Alternatively, dear Ben, a New Testament view:
GOD in Christ has won, is winning, & will win.
The mess we see around us is what ‘Ethical Encounter Theology’ defines as the ongoing human Ethical Encounter with victorious God, which is needed to enable Binary Ethical Apocalypsis (the worldwide self-characterization of ‘sheep’ & ‘goats’, ‘wheat’ & ‘weeds’, etc.), which is logically required to precede an Ethical Dialysis (permanent separation of souls that love GOD, from those who don’t).
Hebrews 9:27 – “Humans die once & are then judged”.
In ‘Ethical Encounter Theology’, the Apocalypse is always right now, every moment, for every human being, all the time. It is composed of our moment-by-moment freely-made ethical choices, summed up when we die.
As Moses instructed the people: “Therefore, choose Life & not death!”
For Christians that means hearing The Word of Christ & lovingly obeying Him.
The heretical view – that there’s a battle going on between GOD & the devil – is sadly held by far too many clergy & lay, both Catholic, Protestant, & Jewish.
This misunderstanding has terrible consequences for people around the world.
Jesus Christ offered Himself on the Cross of Calvary, resurrected, and then ascended to reign with The Father on the one eternal Throne having authority over both heaven & earth. All, all . . . NO exceptions.
Amazingly, the ancient Israelite author of ‘The Book of Job’ well understood this – see Job 42:2-3. Basically, everything we are experiencing is part of Holy GOD’s perfect plan. We’ll get it, if our eyes stay fixed on Holy GOD’s Trinitarian perfection and not on whatever is happening to us, be it good or bad.
If only this essential of Judeo-Christian faith were properly preached . . .
Take care, dear Ben. Love & blessings in Christ Jesus from marty