Lesson from the first letter of St. Peter
1 Pet 3:8-15.
Beloved: Be all like-minded in prayer, compassionate, lovers of the brethren, merciful, reserved, humble; not rendering evil for evil, or abuse for abuse, but contrariwise, blessing; for unto this were you called that you might inherit a blessing. For, 'He who would love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good, let him seek after peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are upon the just, and His ears unto their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.' And who is there to harm you, if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you suffer anything for justice’ sake, blessed are you. So have no fear of their fear and do not be troubled. But hallow the Lord Christ in your hearts.
Continuation of the Holy Gospel according to Matthew
Matt 5:20-24.
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples: Unless your justice exceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. You have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘You shall not kill’; and that whoever shall kill shall be liable to judgment. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; and whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the Sanhedrin; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’, shall be liable to the fire of Gehenna. Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift before the altar and go first to be reconciled to your brother; and then come and offer your gift.
“See how those Christians love one another”
Doubtless you have heard this quote before – it comes from the early Church Father, Tertullian, who suggested that the pagans in general society would look at the example of the lives of their Christian neighbours and would be forced to respond: “See how those Christian love one another.”
Asking ourselves whether this truly is the case should provide sufficient food for thought for each one of us that I could simply stop my sermon now. (I won’t).
Compliance with the thought of the State
In today’s Epistle, St Peter is addressing the early Christians who were living in the middle of a non-Christian society where they were often viewed not simply as odd, or even suspicious, but even as a threat. These Christians refused to worship the false gods and idols of the pagan rulers, and in this way they threatened the actual social structure around them which included an intrinsic demand for religious cohesion based on the worship of the gods of the ruling powers. The people were told: These are the gods in which we will believe, and if you do not follow these beliefs and worship these gods then you are bad for our community and you will be punished.
Maybe this sounds familiar?
If you do not call a man a woman, or vice versa, you are bad and you will be punished.
If you do not say two people of the same gender can marry, you are bad and you will be punished.
Or how about this one:
If you do not say people have a right to worship false gods and demons, you are bad and you will be punished.
Maybe that one sounds a little unusual. But let me quote you some “legislation”:
“[the] right of the human person to religious freedom is to be recognized in the constitutional law whereby society is governed; thus it is to become a civil right.” “the right to religious freedom has its foundation in the very dignity of the human person...”[1]
If you do not recognise this quote, it likely sounds a fairly standard thing that one would expect to read nowadays in our multicultural, “liberal”, western societies. But you may be surprised to learn that it is actually a quote from the Second Vatican Council document, Dignitatis Humanae. This document says that human persons as individuals, or in groups, have a right to practise their religious beliefs – without distinction, no matter what gods someone might worship - even worshippers of satan himself – in freedom.
Religious freedom past and present
So, in practice – the apparent Church of Jesus Christ, represented by the successors of the Apostles gathered in Council with the Vicar of Christ, have said that Catholics have no right to try and stop pagans and devil worshippers preaching their beliefs to our children: through the media, handings out information in the streets, multifaith gatherings to learn about other religions: false information that may endanger your childrens’ souls. I have used the most severe examples just to show what the Vatican text permits in its worst scenario.
Just for comparison, only ten years earlier, Pope Pius XII had said, “That which does not correspond to truth or to the norm of morality has objectively no right to exist, to be spread or to be activated.” Or as Pope Leo XIII had said, “Whatever is opposed to virtue and truth may not rightly be brought temptingly before the eye of man, much less sanctioned by the favour and protection of the law.” And this makes clear sense if one thinks about the danger to souls which occurs when error and sin are treated as a human right, a protected freedom, and equal with the Gospel.
Lefebvre and Vigano
So, to return to our pagan society telling people that if you don’t say that people have a right to worship false gods and demons, you are bad and will be punished.
As we’ve said, this statement does not actually come from an ancient pagan or from a modern, western, secular government, but from the Vatican: we have seen it actually played out with the suspension and then excommunication of Archbishop Lefebvre, and now we are seeing it with Archbishop Viganò who is being brought to trial for his criticism of Francis, but also for his refusal to accept the Second Vatican Council.
Let’s not be fooled into thinking this is an issue of bringing a bishop into line for straying from the Faith, we have only to look at all those bishops and cardinals who openly question or deny Church teaching on a number of issues and who are not just left peacefully alone but are even promoted. “If you do not say that people have a right to worship false gods and demons, you are bad and will be punished.”
How can we respond to persecution?
So, how do we react to all this: whether it is to the issues in the Church, or issues in society, or issues amongs our neighbours and friends?
Our Blessed Lord sets the standards high regarding what he expects from us: what He specifically doesn’t want is that we be people who only perform outward religious duties but are not internally converted: “Unless your justice exceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.” And remember, the Scribes and Pharisees weren’t “bad” people – they did everything that God’s Law demanded of them – and that was a lot! Our Lord asks from his disciples more than simply fulfilling the letter of the law: we cannot consider ourselves perfect followers of Christ simply because we haven’t killed anyone since our last Confession. We can emotionally murder someone with our angry words or with our unkind comments. The Lord does not want us to live double lives, coming dutifully before the Altar to worship but at the same time causing a lack of peace in our relationships or treating others with a lack of love.
Unconditional love
The love that Our Lord asks us to show is not permitted to stop even if it is rejected: do not give evil for evil, or abuse for abuse, but on the contrary, give a blessing. Sounds beautiful, but what did you do the last time someone cut in front of you when you were driving; or how did you respond the last time someone was rude to you...or said something you disagreed with on social media?
St Therese of Lisieux advised that if we are angry with someone we should pray for them and, more specifically, pray for God to bless them – and that he may bless them because of the opportunity they have provided us of growing in holiness.
We see the example of how we are to love nowhere more clearly than on the Cross. Abandoned and rejected and treated with cruelty we cannot even imagine, Our Lord did not insult or seek revenge but instead prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Do we still harbour past hurts, still hold feelings of anger towards those who have not treated us with respect in the past? If we do, perhaps we might do well to try and make that prayer our own: Father, forgive them” and maybe we might add, “and help me to truly forgive.
Forgiving ourselves
As a related side note: what about the question of forgiving ourselves? All of us can experience sometimes - when we do something of which we are particularly ashamed or even just something that we seem to have been continually trying to overcome and yet we keep falling – feelings which are more than just the guilt of having sinned. Sometimes we can experience anger towards ourselves, or a disappointment with ourselves that stays with us and lowers our spirits, making us feel useless or hopeless. The clearest thing I can say about these feelings are that they are not a sign of holiness but come from the Devil. St Alphonsus Liguori said that “Getting at ourselves aftter doing something wrong is not humility but a subtle form of pride...To be angry at ourselves after committing a fault is a greater fault than the one just committed, and it will lead to many others. When we sin, we must ask forgiveness and work on putting things right, not wallow at the realisation that we are not as perfect as we would like to think we are.
Be loving, merciful and humble
So, to return to our dealings with the world. Our efforts to stay faithful to Our Lord, and to His teachings will bring persecution, insults, and misunderstanding both from the world, and sadly also from those who think they are on the side of right.
The first line of the Epistle might be good for us to continually refer to as a guide, and sometimes as an examination of conscience. Do we respond to the challenges we face by being: people of prayer, compassionate, loving, merciful, reserved, and humble? If you suffer anything for the sake of what is right, blessed are you. Do not fear and do not be troubled.
We ask our Blessed Lady, whose Immaculate Heart is the most perfect reflection of the Heart of God, to help us to be people of love and forgiveness. That our hearts may always give praise and glory to God and a place where Christ may reign that through us He may once again reign in the world.
[1] (Dignitatis humanae, n.2)