Do we fight the good fight? Or are we indifferent Christians?
Dear Friends and Benefactors,
In the typical vigorous prose that reveals his vibrant soul, St. Paul testifies: “I fought the good fight, I completed my race, I kept the Faith” (2 Tim 4:7).
And what about us? Do we fight the combat of the Faith, demanded by our vocation as Christians? Or rather – and let us be honest – have allowed ourselves to be imperceptibly poisoned by the liberal spirit? Have we thus, unavoidably, become indifferent Christians, forgetting that Calvary and the Cross are the obligatory path for every Christian soul?
In a world dominated by liberal ideology, it is necessary to affirm forcefully that, to preserve the Faith, it is not enough to profess it. The Faith that is not incarnated in our daily lives weakens and dies. This necessary incarnation in the life of the believer is in total opposition to the liberalism that preaches that religion must remain strictly in the private domain and must not interfere in the public sphere. In other words, Liberalism insists the believer must conceal his Faith when he goes out into the world. This means the Faith must be denied in practice – which is the same as repudiating it.
Pointing out this liberal dogma and its necessary consequence of forcing the believer to live in an unbearable internal contradiction may surprise those who think that liberalism is only the defender of freedom against all forms of totalitarianism. It is nothing of the sort. Liberal ideology is the most accomplished expression of doctrinal Naturalism and, for this reason, it is itself a ruthless totalitarianism.
The philosophical system of Naturalism professes that there is nothing apart from nature and, especially, nothing above it. In order not to shock those men who would immediately reject Naturalism for the simple reason that the nature man has received from God pushes him to turn to his Creator, Naturalism disguises itself as Liberalism. Who would dare to oppose a system that protests against tyranny in the name of freedom? Thus, whereas Naturalism would repel men by the excess of its radical positions, Liberalism deadens them by painting those positions with the radiance of freedom. Consequently, souls fooled by this deception are not capable of living by Faith any more, since they have accepted the liberal principle of restricting Faith only to the private domain.
On the contrary, the Catholic who lives by Faith fights forcefully against this false ideology and professes his Faith openly, eager to work so that the social Reign of Christ becomes a living reality. This combat is paramount. As long as Christ does not reign in society, errors will proliferate, souls will wander following their passions and we will be in great danger of losing theFaith. We have a strict duty to carry out this combat of the Faith and to maintain tradition within the Church.
However, we must take care not to fall into another error which is curiously related to Naturalism.
This combat for the Faith necessarily requires that we carry it out according to the spirit of faith, in hope and in charity – not in a vindictive, human spirit. Let us remember that Calvary is the battleground and the Cross its great victory. However, when we hear of combat, we immediately think of military strategy, inflicting damage on the enemy, decisive victory and, we must acknowledge it, pride and glory. In the shadow of the Cross, the combat of the Faith consists in humility, kindness in the midst of sufferings endured for the love of God. The supernatural ways of God are not pleasing to our nature and His thoughts are far from being ours.
The combat of the Faith is, first of all, a victory against ourselves, a victory of the Beatitudes against our selfishness and our desire for domination. Let us be wary of the satanic trap of engaging in this combat motivated by an overly personal intention. This would lead to discouragement, bitterness and, ultimately, to quitting the fight. We must remember the essential motive that animates us in this titanic struggle for the rights of God on earth: charity.
Msgr. Lefebvre traced the way for us, in the light of his episcopal motto, Credidimus Caritati. We believe, indeed, in the love of God for us, a paternal and personal love. Returning to the expression of St. Paul, can we not see that the race we must run during our life, consists in responding to our heavenly Father’s love by giving Him our own filial love and trust?
To keep the Faith is to live by charity in a world whose charity has cooled and which, by its laws and its customs, blasphemes Him who has created it and still wants to save it.
We want to fight this fight and keep the Faith by letting Christ seize us more and more through an ever-increasing interior life. Then Christ will live in us and show forth in our daily life, in an invisible but very real way, and we will remain faithful to Him by the grace of God.
In Christo Sacerdote et Maria.
Fr. Yves le Roux