Abbey-Roads2

Where your treasure is - there is your heart. 

St. Teresa of Avila used to pray to be delivered from that false peace the world offers, that contentment those who turn from God often times experience.  Such as the happiness of having breakfast in bed on a Sunday morning with your lover, feeling no need or desire to follow the teaching of the Church as regards morals, much less to make the effort to attend Mass.  Cuddling together, reading the New York Times, blissfully happy - no need for religion or God.

“As so many modern psychologists and psychiatrists tell their clients and these are the exact words of a professional psychiatrist published in a book, “Don’t be a slave of your conscience. Satisfy your desires. You are in charge of your own life. You determine what is good and you choose what you want.” If these sinners still have some faith in God, the devil will tell them not to worry. God is merciful. In all these cases, the demonic strategy is clear. Keep sinners in their sinful state of mind, and keep them from ever repenting of their sinful state of soul.”  - Deception of the Devil 

Habitual sin as lifestyle. 

I was reminded of this while reading Friday’s Gospel, where Our Lord says; “if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.”  When false peace is based upon unsound teaching, the entire intellect is darkened.

“Every sin we commit weakens our powers of reason and intelligent perception. The more serious the sin and the more often committed, the greater is this induced darkening of man’s most precious possession, which makes him most like God, his ability to think. Sinners do not think, they emote, and then write learned volumes defending their irrationality.” - The Devil as Seducer.   

From Fr. Hardon:

What do we mean by martyrdom of witness and how does it differ from the other two? It differs from them in that, even in the absence of active opposition–the imitation of Christ must always face passive opposition. From whom? From those who lack a clear vision of the Savior or who, having had it, lost their former commitment to Christ. All that we have seen about the martyrdom by violence applies here too, but the method of opposition is different. Here the firm believer in the Church’s teaching authority; the devoted servant of the papacy; the convinced pastor who insists on sound doctrine to his flock; the dedicated religious who want to remain faithful to their vows of authentic poverty, honest chastity, and sincere obedience; the firm parents who are concerned about the religious and moral training of their children and are willing to sacrifice generously to build and care for a Christian family–natural or adopted–such persons will not be spared also active criticism and open opposition. But they must especially be ready to live in an atmosphere of coldness to their deepest beliefs.

Sometimes they would almost wish the opposition were more overt and even persecution would be a welcome change. It is the studied indifference of people whom they know and love, of persons in their own natural or religious family, of men and women whose intelligence they respect and whose respect they cherish.

This kind of apathy can be demoralizing and, unless it finds relief, can be devastating.

To continue living a Christ-like life in this kind of environment is to practice the martyrdom of witness. Why witness? Because it means giving testimony to our deep religious convictions although all around us others are giving their own example to the contrary. - Fr. Hardon on Martyrdom

 Thought I had my degree.

I was re-reading Harietas Aquas - the encyclical of Pius XII on devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  The Holy Father saw this devotion as an antidote to the errors of modern times, not only of those outside the Church, but amongst Catholics as well.  Witnessing the disparity amongst people in the blogosphere, I think it opportune to print a paragraph from the encyclical, followed by a comment from Fr. Hardon, with a short concluding comment from myself.

What school did you attend?

123. Finally, moved by an earnest desire to set strong bulwarks against the wicked designs of those who hate God and the Church and, at the same time, to lead men back again, in their private and public life, to a love of God and their neighbor, We do not hesitate to declare that devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the most effective school of the love of God; the love of God, We say, which must be the foundation on which to build the kingdom of God in the hearts of individuals, families, and nations, as that same predecessor of pious memory wisely reminds us: “The reign of Jesus Christ takes its strength and form from divine love: to love with holiness and order is its foundation and its perfection. From it these must flow: to perform duties without blame; to take away nothing of another’s right; to guide the lower human affairs by heavenly principles; to give the love of God precedence over all other creatures.”(124) - Pius XII

Who do you say that I am?

There is no doubt that Devotion to the Heart of Christ has a promising future in the Catholic Church, and from the Church to the whole family of the human race. But on one condition: that we who promote this devotion are alert, in our day, to the erroneous ideas widely prevalent in nominally Catholic circles; that we recognize and are able to distinguish true Christological development from its spurious counterpart; and that we follow the teachings of the Church’s magisterium, specifically of the Bishop’s of Rome in answering for our contemporaries what Christ asked His contemporaries, “Who do you say that I am.” On the correct answer to Christ’s question depends all the good, the marvelous good that in God’s providence we can do in our world by advancing the knowledge and love and service of the Heart of Jesus, who is our God become man for our salvation. - Fr. Hardon

Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and tomorrow.

My reason for directing attention to devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus emanated from a sense of sadness after I had skimmed a disturbing couple of posts on another blog which portrays Christ in a very un-Catholic manner.  The moral difficulties of our day continue to be promoted and defended by novel interpretations of Scripture, as well as contriving a new understanding of Christ.  These errors are presented  with impressive scholarship that is ’subtle and complex in the extreme’ - appealing to the ‘better’ educated amongst us.  It seems to me it is decidedly protestant, with a marxist foundation, and a new age spirit. 

So if someone tells you he is here or he is there, or they offer you a new and improved Jesus, who really didn’t mean what he said at all - do not believe them!  And turn with confidence to the Sacred Heart of Jesus (in the Heart of His Body the Church) who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.