When one thinks about being a Catholic, staggering gratitude should pass through the mind. Scripture often gives us words to the effect of: “You did not choose Me. I chose you.” Ephesians, 1:11 is a good example: “Brothers and sisters: In Christ we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One Who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will,. . .”
There is a widespread tendency to forget our place and judge The Church by our own beliefs. For instance, many of us are frustrated that The Holy Father and the Bishops have not clearly and openly consecrated Russia to The Immaculate Heart of Mary. Nor have they revealed the 3rd Secret of Fatima.
We may be told that our frustration is “balanced out” since those on the left continue to be frustrated because The Church doesn’t allow priests to be married and proscribes the validity of same-sex marriage.
The people who tell us this often conclude that: “If The Church is being criticized by both left and right, She must be doing something right.” That is ridiculous. If right and wrong are determined by averaging, a two-bit dictator like Fidel Castro might have killed fewer people than Pol Pot but more than Hugo Chaves and be described by those who bow before averages as “Quite all right, really.”
But, those who criticize The Church from “the right” must remember the consequences of self-righteousness. The Donatists had survived horrible persecutions by Rome without giving in to torture, prison, death, and property confiscation. They despised the Catholics who had compromised with the state.
After those persecutions passed, The Church forgave those who sincerely repented of their weakness. The Donatists did not. These early Protestants formed their own “counter-Church” with their own priests and bishops.
The division they caused by their self-righteousness kept the Roman provinces in North Africa from having stable, defensible governments. So, it was quickly overrun by invaders around 400 AD and was utterly devastated by Moslems sweeping through from the other direction three centuries later.
What if, for instance, leftist bishops and their staffs today fail to do something that would be a great benefit to The Church? We politely and respectfully make our suggestion. If we suggest something that helps The Church and they do it, well and good.
If they are too afraid of rocking the boat to implement the improvements, should we be upset? We may profitably remember Dante, and how faithfully he recorded so many prelates in places worse than Purgatory. From that, we may learn that the souls of “professional Catholics” are judged by far higher standards than our own. Their sins, of commission and omission, are taken very seriously.
Their punishment for failing to do what is best for The Church is so great, in fact, that we may not want to make suggestions, for fear that they may be good suggestions that are ignored, thereby causing great and eternal pain.
On the other hand, our primary responsibility is to save our own souls, so our duty is clear. Suggestions must be made. Soon, we will discover that the chips do not fall where they may, but where God wants them to.
Why should Catholics obey cheerfully? We did not choose to be Catholics, but were chosen. We should be grateful, not self-righteous.
