The ongoing discussions about Rachel Zoll's article have flushed out publicly the thrust of the theological problems we have been facing inside of our parishes, schools and community.
Discussion with Elizabeth Scalia sheds decent light on the counterfeit church being erected. The theology she is using to warehouse her gig is "I desire Mercy", from St Faustina. I wanted to dissect it so we can be armed for future discussion.
So you'd have to believe that Scalia, who desires mercy, picked up the article written by Zoll and draws the conclusion she needs to tell the world that Zoll is a bigot.
For the record, Zoll is not a bigot. She in fact expressed to me that as a religion reporter, she is reading with interest and has has gained more perspective on orthodox Catholics and this has been an insightful and pleasant experience.
Scalia, completely out of tune with the spirit of the article, decides she's going to give her readers her judgment call about Zoll and the new breed of nasty, hateful Catholics who want their religion taught to them.
While trying to explain to Elizabeth Scalia that her clouded judgment is inciting the malice against Christ's Church that is intimidating people into proclaiming the teachings, she said that wasn't her intention but she was standing by her words.
Yes, there are a handful of extreme Catholic bloggers to whom Jesus might say, “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy. . .’.”
And, because they are extreme types, they will each assume that that line is meant for the “others”—
the ones against whom they burnish the swords of righteousness; the ones they lampoon, often, unto snotty incoherence"
That one line from St. Faustina can get played over and over in some heads. But lampooning innocent people and their intentions to make Christ's Church and Her teachings look like hateful things said by nasty people isn't exactly what St. Faustina was talking about. It is taking away the teachings that inspire us to seek the Sacrament of Confession and the Divine Mercy St Faustina was talking about. This is why the Sacrament of Confession is an essential part of the feast day of Divine Mercy when we granted indulgences and Divine Mercy. You won't be seeing people Elizabeth Scalia is spiritually forming lined up on Divine Mercy Sunday because they are instead going to her to get kindness.
Elizabeth wants to emulate kindness, humility and gentleness and we need this spirituality in the Church. Each of us is animated with gifts we are perfected and sponsored and prayed for by great Saints who had these gifts when they were alive and served Christ's Church with them.
None of us are perfect with these gifts, she admits, but she wants everybody to have the same gifts she is perfecting and mocks others
There are also many great Saints who carried swords. The next time you run into a Bush basher, remind them that St. Joan of Arc not only carried a sword, she led an army of people who lampooned people with them in a thing called just war. People who use mercy as the symbol of their spirituality ought not to be mocking other Catholics whose gifts and symbols of those gifts are not the same as her own.
What St. Faustina meant by "I desire Mercy", was Christ's reminder that in our personal lives, when people malign, insult and hurt us, we apply the virtue of "charity" to nurture mercy in our heart.
If you read the thread, you will see a comment by "Bender" that really demonstrates how backwards the unsound theology is.
In the scenario they are proposing, "wrong lessons" are taught to our children and "right lessons" are withheld from the person espousing the "wrong lessons". This leaves both people in these circumstances ignorant of the truth. What is astounding to me is that they see this as the sign that they are doing God's work. This is impossible.
Maybe a little parable will help put things into better perspective.
There was once was a father who taught his children and his servants the moral theology of the Catholic Church. He brought his children to Our Lady of the Puppets because it said "Catholic Church" and it was animated with lively music and entertainment for teenagers. He sent them to CCD where they learned the teachings of the Church are antiquated. Everyone has sex as teenagers and if they need condoms or an abortion their god desires mercy so call 1-800-Caritas Christi or Partner's Health Care and the Cardinal and Jack Connors will fix you right up. They helped many people at Our Lady of the Puppets to understand that they can vote for people who legislate abortions. They desire mercy. His eldest son, let's call him Prodigal, started visiting the local brothel, being licentious, drinking, partying, etc. The other children in the house started to wonder if this was okay and thinking it looked like fun. After repeating moral laws of God, the son was getting madder and madder at his father.
There was another 'family' who lived next door who was always out in the public square saying this man was mean old snooty curmudgeon. Other people in town started being mean to the father. Prodigal loved the woman next door. She was so kind, he thought. Prodigal kept comparing this woman to her own father. Prodigal grew angrier and angrier at his own father until finally one day he did not want to hear what he was doing was wrong and left his father's house.
The woman next store was wild. She went to the local church and gossiped about how the father purged Prodigal from his own house. She tarred and feathered the father until he was no longer welcome in his community. There is no joy and love in people like this, she told everyone in cyberspace. Other parents who also teach their children the morals of the Catholic Church were afraid to say anything because the woman had influence and they did not want to be tarred and feathered like the father at Our Lady of the Puppets.
One day the priest at Our Lady of the Puppets was transferred and the new priest was all fired up for leading souls to the Sacrament of Confession and Divine Mercy St. Faustina was talking about. He dusted off the Catechism started teaching the people moral theology in it and about Humanae Vitae and about God's Mercy in the Sacrament of Confession helps us to amend our lives and be better prepared to understand the truth when it is spoken to us because it awakens our consciences. Father noticed more and more people asking him for the Sacrament of Confession. He was pleased. But the woman was very upset with Father and told everyone in the parish that father was cold-hearted snotty extremist and he has to learn the meaning of "I desire mercy". The more and more the woman complained about Father, the mobs in the pews started swearing at him and telling him they were not going to give him any more money. The mobs called the local Bishop, lets call him Cardinal Spineless, and telling him they were not going to give any more money to the Cardinal's Appeal. Cardinal Spineless and his chancery bureaucrats told Father that he couldn't teach that kind of stuff anymore but to teach people how to rely on the woman for kindness.
People stopped coming to church because they can be kind in the grocery clerk and they can be kind to trees and plants. They hung quarts around their necks for energy and power and they drew circles in their yard and walked around in circles thinking about the peace they are creating on the planet and how Jesus must be so pleased with them.
They link to the faith of Stephen Colbert and John Lennon.
Imagine there's no heaven, it's easy if you try. Nothing to kill or die for and no religion too. No need for greed or hunger. A brotherhood of man. You may say they're dreamers. But they're not the only ones. They hope some day you'll join them and the world will live as one.
They didn't intend to whip up malice to shut people up and they don't know how that all happened. They're just trying to be nice and the father of Prodigal and the priest who teaches the Catechism who is making people hate the teachings of Christ's Church and keeping them away from the mercy of the women at church.
See anything familiar with Elizabeth's Scalia idea of "I desire mercy"?
The prodigals are being keeping from conversion by whipping up a frenzy against our priests and prophets. They have replaced God in the hearts of His people.
Elizabeth and others seem to think we are trying to get them to go back on their 'words'. They think we are upset and angry and have hurt feelings about the names they are calling us. That used to work so well.
But they better pull out the Book of Revelation to see where it's going. We no longer have attachment to whether they accept or reject what we are saying or ridicule or mock or slander. We're doing it because our eyes on on Our Beloved.
n.b. Before anyone reads the parable and sucks on their charity crack pipes starts to throw around slanderous assertions about my children - for the record - all of them have done none of the things described in the story of the prodigal. I was referencing the story in the Bible. Your poor judgment has caused enough people anguish, especially Our Lord.
Good day to you, ma'am.
