The Leveling is Coming

"[T]he less idea there is an age, the more the age will vacillate between volatile enthusiasm (which creates heroes and geniuses of the moment) and indolence, and leveling becomes all the more a decadent urge, a sensate stimulation that excites momentarily and only makes matters worse, rescue more difficult, and the probability of destruction greater. ... Now everything is arranged so that rabble-barbarism can have its day. ... [T]he public keeps a dog for its amusement. This dog is the contemptible part of the literary world. If a superior person shows up, perhaps even a man of distinction, the dog is goaded to attack him and the witty fun begins. If it were really witty, really elevating, or even something noble conceived in dspair, it would be wrong and the public would cease to be base. But now everything is arranged. The nasty dog tears at his coattails, indulges in all sorts of rough tricks⁠—until the public is tired of it and says: That is enough now." Søren Kierkegaard, Pap. VII B 123 n.d., 1845-46

The cure is quickly becoming worse than the disease at the moment. It may already have been that for the moment. The latest plot by our leaders is to pay off those who have been crushed by the State with money from other people. This is the current leveling. Sure, it is income equality. We shall be secure financially, but what has been done is leading us to greater destruction. I won't say too much on this topic for Kierkegaard has put into writing what I have been unable to put into words. The State has taken no responsibility. Will the State accept responsibility? No, it will assert the cat did it. The responsibility therefore is on the cat to build up what the State has destroyed. This is flat-out evil, it is sinister. Whether it's in "combatting racism" or in providing stimulus checks, it seems the State has decided to manufacture this fictional entity of the public to promote their benefit for when they speak of "common good" it seems odd that those benefitting appear to only be members of the State and their allies in society. At any rate, to destroy livelihoods is inexcusable terrorism. That the State is at fault for that is clear for no virus or beast ever ordered the crushing of livelihoods. But the State's solution is to destroy the lives of more taxpayers just so it can promote the "welfare of the nation". It will print more money, pay more checks to its citizens, hike tax rates. The train we are on is veering to a wall that will destroy us. It must be rammed off the tracks somehow. For destruction, the State has embraced the idea that more destruction is necessary to repair the damages. We are not looking at a mere government here. We are looking at something far more comparable to that beast of the sea from Revelation. More dupes will generate the foolish propaganda that taxation continues to be necessary. More dupes will continue to inject the idea we need to promote more government welfare to care for our brothers. More dupes will continue to carry out this lie. What is happening right now is the State has been caught in the action of its wrongfulness. It can't hide it any more. So it will continue to lie and cheat to cover up its ass.

The Holy Innocents

In the East, for those who have made the switch to the New Calendar, it is the feast day of the Holy Innocents. The Holy Innocents who were slaughtered by Herod as he pursued the killing of Christ. Each of these innocents has the stamp of Christ directly upon them. Those who receive a child receive Christ (Matt. 18:5). Those who reject a child, reject Christ. Today, Rachel is weeping for her children (Jer. 31:15, Matt. 2:18). And all Old Testament Scripture is interpreted in light of the New Testament Scripture too. The infants slaughtered by Pharaoh have also become a typology for the infants slaughtered by Herod. They have become a prefigurement of this slaughter and join these ones in martyrdom. Even the infants slaughtered by King Arthur in Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur reflect back on this. Whether it is Pharaoh, Herod, or King Arthur, all the infants belong to Christ. Whether it is the genocide of abortion, all slaughtered infants receive the baptism of blood for the martyrdom in their own holy innocence.

Murder in the Cathedral, The State and the Church

Those unfamiliar with the story of St. Thomas Becket would be best given the background that in the political climate of 12th century England, King Henry II had delighted to have given St. Thomas Becket much honors and even offered him the Lord Chancellorship just underneath the King. When Becket was elevated to the Archbishop of Canterbury though, he refused this position stating that he must have a duty to serve the Church alone. This infuriated Henry II. He grew enraged at Becket. Becket fled to Rome, Henry III was excommunicated. Years later, Becket returned to his See in Canterbury where the King demanded to be reconciled to the Church without any act of penitence. Becket refused once again. The King ordered the assassination of Becket. Henry II was reconciled to the Church after finally allowing himself to be whipped by the monks of Canterbury over his role in the murder of the Archbishop.

In the dramatic first part, we see the proper relationship between Church and State under attack as the Four Tempters come upon Becket. They all say a variety of different things to swoon Becket over to pursuing the Lord Chancellorship or even into tempting himself with the prideful thoughts of the earthly glory that a Saint could possibly have. This leads to one of the most relevant themes in today's world regarding the role of Church and State.

First Tempter

Your Lordship won't despise an old friend out of favor?

Old Tom, gay Tom, Becket of London,

Your Lordship won't forget that evening on the river

When the King, and you and I were all friends together?

The first temptation is that of earthly goods and friends. We seek friendship with God alone. From God all our other friendships must flow from. When a friendship is ungodly, it must be ended for such friendships lead one away from God. The first temptation continues to persist in stating these venial glories are what we should seek. The glory of man is such of importance that we must cling to it above all other things. Do not scorn your fellow man. Especially when your friend is the King of England! The first temptation is the most venial and easily dismissed of all the temptations that pursue not only Becket but all of us.

Second Tempter

To set down the great, protect the poor,

Beneath the throne of God can man do more?

Disarm the ruffian, strengthen the laws,

Rule for the good of the better cause,

Dispensing justice make all even,

Is thrive on earth, and perhaps in heaven.

The second temptation tries to deceive us into pursuing the thought that the more material good we do, the better we are. This is more applicable to the State but also to each of us individually. The State is under the constant impression that in leveling the playing field, pursuing equity, it will be able to eliminate poverty. Instead, the State seems to create poverty under this foolish delusion because Christ is either never a part of its goals or the goal is too materialistic. It's justice is never God's. The second tempter has brought us the heresy of liberation theology and the prosperity Gospel. We are tricked into thinking the more we are after Heaven, the richer we will become materially. That is a lie. Liberation theology and prosperity Gospel are fundamentally the same doctrines but worded differently. Note that the second temptation has stated of the dispensing of justice that it is "thrive on earth, and perhaps in heaven". It is not even guaranteed to thrive in heaven! How then can it actually thrive on earth? If we are not genuinely focused on the justice of Christ, we create the worship of material justice.

Third Tempter

Which has turned its eyes in your direction -

To gain from you, your Lordship asks.

For us, the Church favour would be an advantage,

Blessing of Pope powerful protection

In the fight for liberty. You, my Lord,

In being with us, would fight a good stroke

At once for England, and for Rome,

Ending tyrannous jurisdiction

Of king's court over bishop's court,

Of king's court over baron's court.

Revenge is the third temptation. Whatever wrong had occurred between the King and the Archbishop, St. Thomas Becket recognizes that the barons are exerting an effort to lead him into treason and revenge against his King. He recognizes these people are liars to begin with and should not be trusted but these revenge-seekers come to us in daily form. The State has done immense damage to many people in pursuing its false goals of equity but nevertheless, it receives prayer, the acknowledgment that its institution comes from God, and the respect that it is our ruling class. In areas that have been hostile to our faith, it is not that the State is to be obeyed when it orders us not to celebrate our faith but rather that its punishments must be fully taken on the cheek when we continue to do so any way. Revenge is God's. It is not our political goal to achieve this.

The Fourth Tempter

Saint and Martyr rule from the tomb.

Think, Thomas, think of enemies dismayed,

Creeping in penance, frightened of a shade;

Think of pilgrims standing in line

Before the glittering jewelled shrine,

Frome generation to generation

Bending the knee in supplication,

Think of the miracles, by God's grace,

And think of your enemies, in another place.

The fourth temptation is the most crafty. It denigrates saintly martyrdom to yet another earthly political goal. It tries to lead Becket to seek martyrdom actively for the purpose of ruling over the King's conscience from the tomb. It seeks to abuse the final telos of man and distort the reality of God we must ultimately pursue. Becket couldn't put it in any better terms about the fourth temptation speaking of it as the greatest treason. It is an act of treason indeed against God for it says to God that as a martyr, I shall crush my enemies. But that is no martyrdom. That is a Satanic distortion of dying for a cause. Martyrs are those who die while praying for the redemption of their enemies.

Becket's Response

The last temptation is the greatest treason.

To do the right deed for the wrong reason.

And indeed, when pursuing any goal, when done for the wrong reason, it always results in chaos. Whether it is the State pursuing its own justice programs or a man seeking glory from his own man, or a man seeking revenge to be justified and save his life, or even a man seeking martyrdom to be glorified. If it is divorced from Heaven it leads to chaos, it leads to brokenness, it leads to torment. We have seen the State this past year doing this to many businesses. We have seen how this occurs among the Marxists affiliated with the Black Lives Matter orgnization. T.S. Eliot no doubt saw it occur in his own time with the Nazi, Fascist, and Communist movements of 20th century Europe. When we pursue things for the wrong reasons, we ultimately create unnecessary strife between ourselves and our friends and our family. The battle runs deep through the heart. It is Becket at an individual level who experiences this battle. But we all face it. We have the ability to say yes to grace or no to grace. We have the ability to take the Devil's temptation, the Tempters' temptations, to pursue our own ends, or to say no, that we will put it in God's hands. The means don't justify the ends and the means are never justified by the ends.

The Church's Response

Unbar the doors! Throw open the doors!

I will not have the house of prayer, the church of Christ,

The sanctuary, turned into a fortress.

The Church shall protect her own, in her own way, not

An oak and stone; stone and oak decay,

Give no stay, but the Church shall endure.

The Church shall be open, even to our enemies. Open the door!

This statement of Becket's made near the end is a reflection on what the Church should be doing to continue to be a beacon of light. We must open the doors for all to come and enter. The Church will protect its own in her own way. For Becket, the threat was four knights after him. For us, it is a tiny virus that might be indiscriminate. But nevertheless, the Church protects its own in her own way. The Church is no mere earthly institution. It is the Body of Christ. If the Body of Christ is shut to any one, then Christ was lying when he said, "come to me all you who labor and thirst". Open the door and the Church shall endure.

Murder in the Cathedral, Christmas and Martyrdom

T.S. Eliot's Murder in the Cathedral presents us with the dramatic reenactment of the martyrdom of St. Thomas Becket. The interlude of the play presents us with the final homily of St. Thomas Becket (or at least Eliot's reconstruction of that final homily). It's theme is martyrdom. Eliot also shows that he understands the liturgy very deeply. St. Thomas Becket begins his homily in the interlude by addressing what is celebrated at every Mass. "For whenever Mass is said, we reflect the Passion and Death of Our Lord; and on this Christmas Day we do this in celebration of His Birth. So that at the same moment we rejoice in His coming for the salvation of men, and offer to God His Body and Blood in sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction for the ins of the whole world."

Given that Eliot's focus in the play is the martyrdom of St. Thomas Becket, it is fitting that he reconstructs the theme of St. Thomas Becket's homily entirely around the topic of martyrdom. Becket draws attention in the opening of his homily to the very essence of the liturgy. The Sunday liturgy is indeed a resurrectional one. There is never a deviation from the theme of the resurrection of Christ within the Sunday liturgy. Four years ago, when I was an Anglican, my mom asked to be taken to our Easter liturgy. Later that day, my dad asked if there was anything particularly special that was done. My mom said that nothing special was really done. Of course, more ancient traditions would include processions, the Eastern tradition has the priest banging a hammer on the doors of the Church before the liturgy, etc. There's only so much that can be done at a Mission. But if "nothing special" seems to have been done at the paschal liturgy, it is because every single Sunday liturgy is resurrectional.

Becket, in the growing understanding of his own martyrdom as he betrays the King by turning down the position of the Lord Chancellor, draws attention to the meaning of Christmastide. "Not only do we at the Feast of Christmas celebrate Our Lord's Birth and His Death: but on the next day we celebrate the martyrdom of His first martyr, the blessed Stephen." The Western calendar has the feast of St. Stephen on the 26th, the feast of St. John the Apostle on the 27th, and the feast of the Holy Innocents on the 28th. Since the canonization of St. Thomas Becket, his feast day occupies the 29th. While St. John the Apostle was never martyred, he was kept imprisoned on the island of Patmos. And the Holy Innocents, the children brutally murdered by King Herod, are yet more martyrs.

So in the Western calendar, the theme of the early days of Christmas is the suffering that we give for Christ. It is all Christ's suffering for if we suffer in humility for He who ransomed us, then it is Christ who suffers with us and in us. The theme of martyrdom is no accident either. In the icon for the Nativity, we see the Infant Jesus wrapped up in bandages, almost as if mummified. Why would this be? As Eliot makes clear to us through St. Thomas Becket, it is martyrdom. Death is a disruption of the entire Gospel. Death comes into the world through sin. No one is meant to suffer death. But Christ comes in bandages to redeem men, to institute the Mass. He comes into the world to be executed on the Cross to storm the Gates of Hell and He must die for that to happen. The only one who ever came to fulfill the purpose of being hanged on a tree is Christ. This is why the Infant is wrapped in bandages.

Venerable Thomas à Kempis, Sermons On Christmas Night and Christmas Morning

The Ven. Thomas à Kempis might be among the most "buried" of medieval theologians in terms of his theological genius. While his prestige lies with his literary masterpiece of devotional work known as The Imitation of Christ many people are unaware of his other biographies of the members of the Devotio Moderna, the order whose principles he had been most greatly influenced by, or even his own treasure of sermons and meditations that he wrote while serving as the canon regular. Although there seemed to be a strong movement forming toward the establishment of a cult of the Ven. Thomas à Kempis in the 19th century with the biography on his life by Francis R. Cruise, for some reason, it was shutdown very abruptly. I think that because of this, people have tended to want to push him aside. Not to mention the fictional story that has been invented as the enemies of Thomas à Kempis claim he shall never be canonized on the grounds he was "mistakenly buried alive" and tried to scratch his way out of the coffin. I have shown that to be false in another post.

With all that stated, his sermons on the feast of Christmas Day and Christmas Night, while short, are deep and profound. There is not a moment without substance. It is impossible to do the writer justice by simply referencing one. His sermon on Christmas Day describes it as a feast of the soul. It is more than just the outward festivities that make for Christmas. Indeed, it is impossible to have these outward festivities without there being that ongoing feast in the soul. I have said many times that it is impossible for atheists to celebrate Christmas. It is a Christian holy day, not a secular feast. An atheist who denies the incarnation of God as man cannot possibly hope to understand or even come to an adequate celebration of Christmas. They are in denial of Christ himself. The Ven. Thomas à Kempis would very much agree. "For it is no feast to me: save it be in the heart. But indeed it is often celebrated outwardly on that account: that it may be the more joyously solemnized within."

He contrasts the spiritual with the carnal in this sermon drawing us to the attention that the Feast is not intended for all to partake in but only those with a spiritual mindset. "When therefore my interior man concords well and rejoices with the outward festivity; I seem to have now not a single but a double feast: for what is wrought without, is the more holily celebrated within." It is not possible for many to adequately celebrate this feast. "O great and happy feast: whose celebration is granted not to all, but to a few. How far are these holy solemnities from the lovers of the world; who relish only earthly things: and look to outward things alone." This is precisely why the carnal man who cannot accept the incarnation of God, cannot ever hope to celebrate this holy day. It belongs to Christianity, not capitalism or socialism. A solemn feast is only celebrated in the soul abiding mindful of God alone.

Perhaps the most emphatic statement he makes is the following

"Who would not be glad to be present among the hymning choirs of angels; where there is no discord of voices, no relaxing frivolity, no harassing occupation, no pressing need, no corrupting affection, no distracting imagination: no subject of disturbance, no occasion of of temptation, no carelessness, no disorder, no toil, no weariness, no fatigue: but sovereign tranquillity, supreme joy and honied sweetness, absolute concord and deifying brightness, full bliss and perfect security?"

It is that concept of transcendence, to be elevated to the divine reality, that the secularists and the carnal man are incapable of. They fail to understand the very holy day as they corrupt it with their own economic interests and desires of the flesh. "For therefore came the Light into the world to show us the way to Heaven: to enkindle our heart to the love of Itself, and draw us away from all earthly things; to give us the light of wisdom, and chase away the darkness of ignorance: to make us together with Itself sharers of the kingdom, children of grace, and coheirs of eternal glory."

Expounding on that very theme of light, the Ven. Thomas à Kempis elaborates on the meaning of Christmas Night. I remember hearing about the Midnight Mass schedule when I was an Anglican from our priest the Sunday before Christmas in 2017 and how it would start at around 11pm. I laughed at first not even fully understanding the holy day. He said, "You laugh but I've known some that have started even earlier than that!" The purpose of the Midnight Mass, one would think, is to be the first liturgy for Christmas Day as the Eucharist would be timed in such a manner to be administered at midnight on the day of. But if it comes earlier, than what is the Midnight Mass but a poor misnomer of an even greater reality?

In the Byzantine tradition, we start our Nativity Festivities on the day before with the Vesperal Divine Liturgy. Later in the night, we celebrate the Divine Liturgy for the Feast of the Holy Nativity. The Ven. Thomas à Kempis reflects in his sermon on Christmas Night that the medieval tradition was not that far removed from our own Byzantine tradition.

"To-day night is turned into day and great brightness: for to the righteous of heart a light is risen up in darkness, the merciful and compassionate Lord. Let this night be blessed for ever and numbered among the days of solemnity. Let them bless it who are wont to bless the day; and praise it all the children of the light: for therein is born Christ the Son of God, the Light of eternal light....And when the day shall have dawned: may the Son of Justice, Who is born, shine into the hearts of all them that love Him: and may fresh devotion  again rise in the hearts of all that celebrate."

Not only does Thomas à Kempis maintain that night has been turned into day by the exuberance of the holy light, he also makes a direct reference to the resurrection in the very incarnation of God as he points to fresh devotion being risen up once again in our hearts. In the Byzantine tradition, we call this the Winter Pascha. Just as in Pascha, the Vesperal Divine Liturgy is celebrated in the midday of the previous day and the Paschal Feast is celebrated in the Evening, so too it is with the Nativity. For on Holy Saturday, the Immortal God lies dead in a tomb, the Creator of All has been hanged on a tree, and day has turned into night. In the Nativity, the Immortal God has taken on mortality, the Creator of All has assumed created nature, and night has been turned into day. This is why our Vesperal Divine Liturgy occurs in the mid-morning and our midday liturgy for both feast days occurs at night. It is not without coincidence that his birth occurs around the same time as the Winter Solstice. For as the created light begins to come into the world once again, so now the Light of the World shines in the midst of our darkness. 2020 has been a dark year for so many of us but it is at the point in which we feel most distant from God that he is nearest to us. May we all realize how near God is to us in the present darkness. So near that the night has turned into day.

The Feast Day of St. Ignatius of Antioch

There's a lot to say about St. Ignatius of Antioch. St. Ignatius was a disciple of St. John the Apostle along with St. Polycarp. There is a tradition in the Church that he is the one whom Christ held in his arms in the Gospel of Matthew. St. Ignatius's letters are the first developed theology we have of an ecclesiology in the early Church as he focuses on Communion with the Bishop as being fundamental to the ecclesiology of the Church. Though he does not mention the Bishop of Rome by name there exists speculation as to why that is. St. Ignatius was offered a high position in the Senate by the Emperor but refused as the Emperor Trajan demanded he compromise his Christian faith. St. Ignatius wholly submitted to death and used Eucharistic imagery to describe his martyrdom.

Allow me to become food for the wild beasts, through whose instrumentality it will be granted me to attain to God. I am the wheat of God, and let me be ground by the teeth of the wild beasts, that I may be found the pure bread of Christ. Rather entice the wild beasts, that they may become my tomb, and may leave nothing of my body; so that when I have fallen asleep [in death], I may be no trouble to any one. Then shall I truly be a disciple of Christ, when the world shall not see so much as my body. Entreat Christ for me, that by these instruments I may be found a sacrifice [to God]. I do not, as Peter and Paul, issue commandments unto you. They were apostles; I am but a condemned man: they were free, while I am, even until now, a servant. But when I suffer, I shall be the freed-man of Jesus, and shall rise again emancipated in Him. And now, being a prisoner, I learn not to desire anything worldly or vain. Epistle to the Romans, ch. 4

The Badass Governor of Virginia

Official Seal for the Governor of Virginia

I think we have established something today with Governor Northam's new strain of House Arrest orders. He is super badass. Really badass. Absolutely sensational. That Governor Newsom guy in Cantifornia has nothing on him. Governor Commie-o over in New York? Weakling! They can only figure out a way to shutdown coronavirus for 17 hours. Northam? He can shut it down for 19 hours! 19 hours. That's an entire two hours longer!

Cooltrainer Gavin can stop the virus for
24 hours...but only for himself.

I always knew that guy could do much better than those piles of trash. No one knows exactly when this sharpshooting match between Governor Oakley and his friends started but it may trace all the way back to early 2019 when Governor Commie-o issued the challenge and said, "Any evil you can do, I can do better!" And New York put up pink colors to commemorate the fact that it legalized the murder of children up to 24 weeks in the womb. Governor Northam said, "Look at me! I can kill 'em off post-natal!" Some have wondered if it's not too late for Northam's mother to have an abortion on him.

Northam in his first medical mask.

Not to mention, Northam is a huge mask fanatic. Northam, a pediatrician by profession (which in Bizarro World means infanticidal maniac), knows how effective masks are. He started wearing one back when he studied at the Virginia Military Institute. Northam is so safe with masks as a doctor, his mask covers his whole face as to prevent himself from touching any part of it save for two cut-out holes for his eyes to see through. Well, I guess he's got one for his mouth too in case he needs to play the tuba. Northam is the safest governor of all with masks. He prefers to wear a white mask in the shape of a pointy hood. Virginians know this quite well about Northam. Did you know he still ended up being infected? As it turns out, you can be safe all you want and still get infected. Bummer. It's like we have no control of this virus.

Not spreading COVID-19. He's wearing a mask!

But never fear! We have it under control for 19 hours now! A whole damn 19 hours! Our Governor is like Super Northam for doing this. Unlike Cooltrainer Gavin over in Cantifornia and Governor Commie-o in New York, he has it under control longer. Only at midnight does this scientifically confirmed to be nocturnal virus spread. If we didn't have curfews, this nocturnal virus would prowl around hunting for unsuspecting victims. In fact, it's 100% likely from here on out that in Virginia all COVID-19 cases will be from people who unfortunately made it home only 1 minute after midnight. It will be sad to see so many stragglers dying of this horrible disease that they could have so easily avoided by heading home a whole 2 minutes earlier.

But admit it, we have a badass governor, don't we? Cooltrainer Gavin and Governor Commie-o can only stop it for 17 hours. Their poor denizens have to make it home by 10:00pm or the sinister COVID-19 which lurks the shadows will come out and pounce on his victims. Governor Northam, he can stop it until midnight. Shame that he can't stop it for an additional five hours. Maybe we'll bio-engineer a governor who can some day. Or maybe we'll just get a dumbass like Governor Northam.

Official logo of the United States Dumbasses

The Feast Day of the Maternity of St. Anna

Today is the Feast Day of the Maternity of St. Anna. St. Anna, the wife of Joachim, was barren for a much long time into her advanced age. But God produced a miracle. She conceived, through Joachim, the child Mary, the Blessed Theotokos and Ever-Virgin. St. Anna's pregnancy shows a typological connection to other Old Testament pregnancies such as Sarah's and St. Hannah, the wife of Elkanah, who's memory we also keep today. Her pregnancy also foreshadows that of St. Elizabeth, the mother of St. John the Baptist. While the Latins celebrate the memory of the Maternity of St. Anna on the Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception on December 8, many Greek Catholics and all Eastern Orthodox have maintained the Feast Day on December 9, exactly one day short of the nine month gestation. This is to recall that Jesus has a perfect nine month gestation as the Annunciation falls on March 25 and his Nativity falls on December 25, since he is the incarnate God. While Mary is falls short due to her full humanity. While both the Theotokos and St. John the Baptist are purified in the womb, they are purified by God, and thus, fall one day short of perfection.

Today is the Feast Day also of St. Hannah, also called St. Anna, the wife of Elkanah. She was the barren wife who was mocked by Elkanah's second wife, Peninnah, despite Elkanah's stronger favoritism for St. Hannah. St. Hannah prayed that God would be willing to bless her with a child. When he did, she proffered him to the Temple. Much like St. Anna, whom she prefigures, both are barren until God miraculously delivers them a child, and both proffer their children to the service of the Temple as an act of their gratitude to God. The Theotokos would become the Ark of the Covenant, and the Holy Prophet Samuel would become a Judge over all Israel.

I include also here a photo of an icon at my parish. My godfather has told me about the gold-plated hands on the icon in the past. There was a woman at our parish who had also struggled to give birth. She prayed to Our Lady asking for a miracle of a child. The lady became pregnant, gave birth, and as an act of gratitude to Our Lady, she had the hands of the icon plated with gold.

The Feast Day of St. Nicholas

St. Nicholas, from whom we derive our modern day image of the fictional character of "Santa Claus", was essentially the Archtype for everything the modern left cries out for as based on Christianity. He was dedicated from an early age by his parents to a life devoted to God. He was ordained a priest by his uncle, St. Nicholas of Patara. He received an inheritance from his parents upon their deaths and donated all of that inheritance to the poor, leaving nothing for himself. He saved three men from undeserved sentences of death. This man lived and acted out everything the modern left says Christians should empower the government to do so that they can feel better about themselves. St. Nicholas is an exemplary model of the faith.

He is also a defender of the faith. Christians are mocked today by our alleged "bigotry" but the Christian faith by its very nature carries on a role of offense. Indeed, Jesus is declared a "rock of offense" (1 Pet. 2:8). At the First Council of Nicaea, the creed of which is recited in Christian churches every Sunday all throughout the world, he disputed with the Archheretic Arius over the Divinity of Jesus. Arius, asserting falsely that Jesus was a creature and the first created being, provoked the ire of St. Nicholas who loved the Truth so much that he ended up slapping the heretic right across the face in his zeal for the Truth. He was subsequently imprisoned for this until the other bishops received a vision of Christ leading them to sympathy for St. Nicholas.

In contrast to "Santa Claus", St. Nicholas doesn't do his good deeds for milk and cookies. He lets the left hand know what the right hand is doing. He isn't fat. He fasts every Wednesday and Friday, leads a monastic life refraining from meat except fish, and observes all the major fasts of the Christian year. He isn't white. He is from Myra so his skin complexion is probably much darker. Maybe even black. He doesn't ride around in a chariot pulled by flying reindeer, such is not the humility of a saint. He is much better than the fictional character because he is real.

The Feast Day of St. Barbara

St. Barbara was the most beautiful and intelligent daughter of a Pagan man named Dioscorus. Dioscorus wanted to preserve the beauty of his only daughter by locking her away in a tower. She was surrounded with all sorts of idols but there, she was able to discover faith in the one true God. When Dioscorus found out about her newly Christian faith, he chased her from the tower and beat her. But God sent angels to heal her beauty once again. After he killed her, lightning struck the house, setting it on fire, killing him.

St. Barbara's feast day falls on the same day as St. John of Damascus. An iconographer and proponent of the Orthodox faith in a time when it was suppressed by the iconoclasts. St. John of Damascus was accused falsely of a crime which led to the caliph cutting off his hand. His hand was miraculously healed and put back together to allow him to continue his iconography. To this day, his work is influential in the thought of the Church. St. Thomas Aquinas appeals to St. John of Damascus regularly in his Summa.

The heresies in Fratelli Tutti

(Disclaimer: I have since revised my views on the document.)

I intended to do this sooner and then thought about neglecting it but I feel without addressing these issues, then a planned future post will never make much sense. Indeed, I had felt writer's block for quite some time and all of a sudden, a dam has burst open and a flood of ideas is running through my head. I've been spending more time reading lately too.

Pope Francis's recent encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, will go down in history as the worst encyclical ever. I have been appalled by both what I've read in it and what I've seen coming from the neo-Catholic community. Of course, the neo-Catholic mentality is to embrace anything and everything on the basis of following a blind authoritarianism. That is not the Catholic doctrine. That has nothing to do with the Catholic faith. If a Pope is preaching heresy, he is rightly resisted by the faithful. One of my friends has scolded me with the typical neo-Catholic rhetoric. "We're not Protestants any more!" "You have not the authority to judge the Pope!" It is true I have not the authority to judge the Pope. I am only making judgments on the teachings of the Pope. If that ends up being a judgment of Francis, then perhaps he is a manifest heretic and therefore not even the Pope.

Some defenders of the Pope's social theology have stated that he simply just frustrates conservatives and liberals at the same time. The problem with this reasoning is that bad theology can and does exist in small doses with good theology. We don't condemn Arius because he denied the historical realities of the crucifixion and resurrection. We condemn Arius because he denied that Jesus was God. We don't condemn Origen for his theology of the Trinity or for his condemnation of the Pagan Celsus. We condemn Origen because he taught that all men will be saved. Heresy is heresy regardless of how much orthodoxy it is mixed with.

Private Property

The first heresy of Fratelli Tutti is in its "re-envisaging" of private property.

For my part, I would observe that “the Christian tradition has never recognized the right to private property as absolute or inviolable, and has stressed the social purpose of all forms of private property”. The principle of the common use of created goods is the “first principle of the whole ethical and social order”; it is a natural and inherent right that takes priority over others. All other rights having to do with the goods necessary for the integral fulfilment of persons, including that of private property or any other type of property, should – in the words of Saint Paul VI – “in no way hinder [this right], but should actively facilitate its implementation”. The right to private property can only be considered a secondary natural right, derived from the principle of the universal destination of created goods. (120)

Actually, on the contrary, private property is historically and loudly recognized by the Christian tradition since Naboth had his vineyard forcibly stolen from him by Ahab in 3 Kings 21. Since the divine commandment was given of "thou shalt not steal". And even in Rerum Novarum by Pope Leo XIII it is recognized multiple times.

 The fact that God has given the earth for the use and enjoyment of the whole human race can in no way be a bar to the owning of private property. For God has granted the earth to mankind in general, not in the sense that all without distinction can deal with it as they like, but rather that no part of it was assigned to any one in particular, and that the limits of private possession have been left to be fixed by man's own industry, and by the laws of individual races. (8)

With reason, then, the common opinion of mankind, little affected by the few dissentients who have contended for the opposite view, has found in the careful study of nature, and in the laws of nature, the foundations of the division of property, and the practice of all ages has consecrated the principle of private ownership, as being pre-eminently in conformity with human nature, and as conducing in the most unmistakable manner to the peace and tranquillity of human existence. (11)

Private ownership, as we have seen, is the natural right of man, and to exercise that right, especially as members of society, is not only lawful, but absolutely necessary. "It is lawful," says St. Thomas Aquinas, "for a man to hold private property; and it is also necessary for the carrying on of human existence."" But if the question be asked: How must one's possessions be used? - the Church replies without hesitation in the words of the same holy Doctor: "Man should not consider his material possessions as his own, but as common to all, so as to share them without hesitation when others are in need. Whence the Apostle with, ‘Command the rich of this world... to offer with no stint, to apportion largely.’" (22)

The New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia further adds that,

The Catholic Church has always regarded private property as justified, even though there may have existed personal abuses. Far from abolishing the commandments of the Old Law (Thou shalt not steal; thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, nor anything that is his) Christ inculcated them anew (Matthew 19:18-19; Mark 10:19; Romans 13:9). And though the Catholic Church, following in the footsteps of her Founder, has always recommended voluntary poverty as an evangelical counsel, yet she has at the same time asserted the justice and, as a rule, the necessity of private property and rejected the contrary theories of the Circumcellions, Waldenses, Anabaptists etc. Moreover, theologians and canonists have at all times taught that private ownership is just. Leo XIII, especially in several encyclicals, strongly insisted on the necessity and justice of private ownership. Thus the encyclical "Rerum novarum" expressly condemns as unjust and pernicious the design of the socialists to abolish private property. The right of acquiring private property has been granted by nature, and consequently he who would seek a solution of the social question must start with the principle that private property is to be preserved inviolate (privatas possessiones inviolate servandas). And Pius X, in his Motu Proprio of 18 Dec., 1903, laid down the following two principles for the guidance of all Catholics: (1) "Unlike the beast, man has on earth not only the right of use, but a permanent right of ownership; and this is true not only of those things which are consumed in their use, but also of those which are not consumed by their use"; (2) "Private property is under all circumstances, be it the fruit of labour or acquired by conveyance or donation, a natural right, and everybody may make such reasonable disposal of it as he thinks fit."

Just War

The irony of this one is that in Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis actually ends up refuting himself. He states, 

War can easily be chosen by invoking all sorts of allegedly humanitarian, defensive or precautionary excuses, and even resorting to the manipulation of information. In recent decades, every single war has been ostensibly “justified”. The Catechism of the Catholic Church speaks of the possibility of legitimate defence by means of military force, which involves demonstrating that certain “rigorous conditions of moral legitimacy” have been met. Yet it is easy to fall into an overly broad interpretation of this potential right. In this way, some would also wrongly justify even “preventive” attacks or acts of war that can hardly avoid entailing “evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated”. At issue is whether the development of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, and the enormous and growing possibilities offered by new technologies, have granted war an uncontrollable destructive power over great numbers of innocent civilians. The truth is that “never has humanity had such power over itself, yet nothing ensures that it will be used wisely”. We can no longer think of war as a solution, because its risks will probably always be greater than its supposed benefits. In view of this, it is very difficult nowadays to invoke the rational criteria elaborated in earlier centuries to speak of the possibility of a “just war”. Never again war! (258)

While he is correct from a human perspective that wars are almost never carried out justly, he actually reiterates that the teaching of the Church is that there is a legitimate use of defense and yet ends up deciding to reject this teaching flatly. This is simple obstinance in an alleged papal document! People have asked me if I have read "all of it". I've certainly read enough of it to get the gist that this Encyclical belongs on an Index of Forbidden Books, not in the official teaching Magisterium of the Church!

Death penalty

This one has raised heated controversy but nonetheless the rejection of it by Pope Francis does constitute a heresy.

There is yet another way to eliminate others, one aimed not at countries but at individuals. It is the death penalty. Saint John Paul II stated clearly and firmly that the death penalty is inadequate from a moral standpoint and no longer necessary from that of penal justice. There can be no stepping back from this position. Today we state clearly that “the death penalty is inadmissible” and the Church is firmly committed to calling for its abolition worldwide. (263)

Once again, Pope Francis has taken the position that inadequacy leads to rejection of the teaching. The Church's bureaucracy itself in the Middle Ages had instituted the death penalty against those most pernicious of heretics who intruded upon the life of the Church and disturbed greatly the worship of the parishioners. It was not instituted to "eliminate others" for we eliminate ourselves with our own heresies and destruction of the image of God with our own sins. But several saints, including St. Augustine, St. John Chrysostom, St. Joseph Volotsky, and St. Thomas Aquinas. The position of Francis, being contrary to their views, effectively undermines the credibility of the Church. For if the Church is infallible on faith and moral teachings then the Church screwed up by permitting the death penalty to be carried out by the State. Such would mean that the Church is not infallible on morals. Francis has actually explicitly denied the infallibility of the Church.

Equality

This one should be more obvious but it is not. Paragraphs 103, 104, 131, 161, and 272 all show that Fratelli Tutti is devoted to the establishment of equality in a fraternity called for by Francis. But if equality is supposed to be called for then we would have no angelic hierarchy of St. Dionysios or St. Thomas Aquinas, no priestly hierarchy of the sacraments, and men would become the same parts of the body of Christ. Men are different. They are created differently. They have different purposes, different qualifications, and are inherently unequal. We are competing against nature by advocating for equality. This is why the Church has always taught that in proper social ordering, there is hierarchy. Improper social ordering is anarchy and chaos. Only in anarchy and chaos is there true equality.

This document should be seen as non-binding on those who are faithful to the teachings of the Catholic faith. There are too many heresies for this to be dogmatic. Therefore, I humbly reject it and denounce it.

Masks of charity?

There is a common theme coming from the mask-fascists declaring that this is a matter of charity. A matter of love toward your neighbor. A matter of coming together and uniting. I am not persuaded by these arguments. I have studied socialist and revolutionary movements to know better. But more precisely, I have studied the teachings of the Church to know better. St. Gregory of Palamas talks about the pagans stating,

"[W]e know that if they [the Hellenic writings] have something beneficial, they have obtained it from us without fully understanding it. On examination, we also understand that they give it a different meaning. And if one of the fathers says the same thing as one of these worldly men [the Hellenists], the similarity is only in words. The meanings are quite different. In fact, according to Paul, the one has the nous of Christ, while at best, the others express human reasoning." (The Triads, Bk. 1, 1.11)

So it is unsurprising to hear so many people talk about love and charity and saving lives but is this really founded in the true charity of divine agape or is it founded in the deficient human reasoning of the gods of chaos? Every revolutionary movement starts off seeking something beneficial. Every revolutionary movement is about uniting people to a common good that is for the benefit of the nation. If I may here cite a reference to the heavy metal band Blind Guardian's album Beyond the Red Mirror. Regardless of whether you think the style of music is evil or not, the storyline shows a group called "The Nine" overthrowing the old order of "The One". Many aspects of the album can seem almost political at times as the first song on the album, "The Ninth Wave" almost appears to be about the rise of an earthly dictatorship. The opening lines of "The Ninth Wave" are as follows:

(We are a nation)

I will cleanse all your thoughts

(We will wipe them out)

Now my children

(For the sake of the nation)

Let us carry on in glory

(We are a nation)

Be my fellowman!

(We will wipe them out)

Let there be light!

(For the sake of the nation)

Precious and bright

(As dark night embraces)

As dark night embraces my mind!

"The Nine" intend to usher in an era of nihilism. They intend to completely destroy the old world. "The One" is a divine figure. "The Nine" boast about how there is no real salvation. There are no gods, no one can save you. But they also go beyond a state of nihilism. It is a state that seeks to make their act of the overthrow of "The One" seem worthy. "The Nihilist rebellion and antitheism responsible for the 'death of God' give rise to the idea of the 'new age': the transformation of man himself into a god." (Fr. Seraphim Rose, Nihilism, 92) And if indeed man is a god, then he must clearly make himself worshiped as a god, no?

And this is the root of the obsession with the pandemic by our media and our political ruling class. It has become blatantly more and more obvious to those in the Resistance that the social controls implemented by our political elites have minimal, if anything, to do with actual health policies. Most of the leaders involved in making these policies have no health experience, failed health experience, or haven't even interacted with the virus on a daily basis. The pandemic has become an obsession to embrace our inner fascists without us even thinking what we've become. We cannot think what we've become because our world has fallen into the abyss. So we repeat mantras that give us the confidence that we are working toward the benefit of the human race when we are actually nose-diving toward its own detriment. We cover up our faces to hide our beauty thinking that we actually hold a godlike power to stop and slow the spread of a virus that escaped from a level 4 lab in China and state this as our "act of love" toward our fellow man.

The modernist heresy is the spiritual error that you are in control of your world. That you can control things in life. That you can control your health. The Christian belief is that these are gifts from God. Every breath of life is a gift he has given to you. Every chance of suffering is for your perfection. But to think you can control a microscopic virus is disillusionment at best, and beyond nihilism at worst. It is the status that you yourself are god and capable of stopping the inevitable from happening upon you. Our political elites sure haven't stopped the spread of any viruses with their dictats, that's for certain. What they have stopped is our love for our fellowman. Our being there for each other. Our being side-by-side with each other. They insist that those who hold these views just want everyone to die from a disease. They are disillusioned by their own anger toward the God who has given them life.

The Christian mission seeks eternity. It is one thing for one to shelter in place voluntarily. That is a noble goal if they truly believe they are doing it to save someone. It is another thing to coerce the rest of society to follow suit. To mandate that society be distanced to such an extent that we now stand tethered by mere threads holding us together and to one-by-one clip them apart from each other separating us from each other. We are "united" under their whims to a common goal but only in a fictional sense. We are separated and broken off from each other. This is where they want us to be. They have not charity.

"Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends." (1 Cor. 13:4-8)

If it is a "public duty" to wear a mask in public such that you are threatened with jail time or must end up in court if you aren't wearing one, then your wearing one is not actually an act of charity. It is an act of suffering. Suffering can improve charity so it is put up with but it cannot ever become an act of charity. If love truly endures all things, then it must be able to endure a virus. We are living in a world where our leaders tell us to be charitable and yet their charity cannot endure a virus. Their charity cannot endure all things. Their charity is deficient. Their charity insists on its own way. It is irritable and resentful toward those who seek to challenge it. We must pray for them and know how much we have failed to be charitable in full. We must use the suffering to improve our own charity but it cannot be said that being blindly obedient is ever an act of charity.
 

In defense of Confederate statues

I'm actually talking about all monuments here. Statues, cemeteries, war memorials, etc. Confederate monuments need to be defended, not because of what they stand for people who are revulsed by them but because of what they stand for the people who put them up. As I have written before, a compelling case can be made in support of the Confederate secessionist movement from the Union. Before casting judgments, that article should be read in full because I provided a very well sustained argument for the Confederacy.

People these days talk of "charity" and "love for your neighbor" as if that is the equivalent of "do not offend your neighbor". It is nothing of the sort. It is to be understandable that things we come across will offend us and cause revulsion. Some things will cause revulsion to us throughout our lives. This is part of becoming an adult. It is how we respond. The problem with Confederate monuments is not their existence but the response to their existence.

In the history following the defeat of the Confederacy there was a long and bitter reunification process called "Reconstruction". Reconstruction is almost universally disparaged by American historians. Former Confederate states were held under what was essentially a military occupation which damaged their economic production and held them as essential slaves of the GOP. The period of Reconstruction ended with the heated and contested Presidential election of 1876 as Democratic candidate Samuel Tilden soared in nationwide popularity with nearly 51% of the majority voting for him. His Republican opponent, Rutherford B. Hayes, staggered with three points less in the nationwide vote. For a long time 20 electoral votes were contested as Tilden held a 184-165 lead. Back then, 185 was the deciding number. After long and bitter contentions, the electoral votes were given to Hayes with the concessions that Republicans would withdraw military troops.

The period of Reconstruction ended. Then came the Jim Crow laws and with them, the Confederate monuments. While it is easy to connect these statues to a "culture of racism", historians tend to know that people are more complex then what our modernist sensibilities seek to limit to them. For these Southerners, it wasn't simply about an animosity they held toward blacks, it was an animosity they had been fostering from the Reconstruction period toward the Union. The Union were centralizers and oppressors. These statues were put up in protest. But statues were put up, nonetheless.

This is the difference between Black Lives Matter, Anti-fa, and White Southerners. White Southerners have a culture. BLM and Anti-fa are about cultural destruction and annihilation. To White Southerners, these things have strong significant meaning and represents their history of oppression. BLM and Anti-fa have been able to scream that they have victimhood status but they use their victimhood to drag people down to their own inhuman level. They do not build culture or contribute to society. They denigrate and degrade society. The people who put up statues of Martin Luther King, Jr., Booker T. Washington, Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, Malcolm X, these are the people who build and contribute to culture. Confederate statues were placed in protest of the Union and they built up a culture and contributed to American culture. The solution to their existence is not to destroy or remove them but to leave them up and add more statues of honorable men.