The craft of the Evil One is stupefying. Behold the Evil of Secularism and the Evil of Islam in a diabolical synergeia. So this weekend will see a massive celebration in the streets of Paris of Secularism, laicite, and the Revolution. Nothing would surprise me more than to be told that representatives of the French Church had refused to bow low in the temple of Rimmon.
Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus imperat.
A tasteless remark in the circumstances.
ReplyDeleteAs even the Rolling Stones knew, the Devil is a being of impeccable taste.
ReplyDeleteJRF: Laconic disdain satisfies, yes?
ReplyDeleteA reference to the Kipling poem I am assuming?
ReplyDeleteThis frater sejunctus must be exceptionally slow-witted today, but he doesn't find any tasteless remark in the blogpost. Please explain.
ReplyDeleteI didn't see anything tasteless in the blogpost. I think Father is right in his analysis of the current climate of French society.
ReplyDeleteAnthony
Nor I, Anthony.
ReplyDeleteA most perceptive take - that on the synergeia. A Christian mother I know, told me she wasn’t too thrilled with her 17 year-old daughter posting “Je suis Charlie” on her facebook page (I don’t personally belong to facebook or Twitter or any of that ilk ) , but because it was her daughter’s account, she wouldn’t be going about deleting it.
ReplyDeleteI have vivid memories of so many of the patients who have since gone on (Home to the Father I pray) now in the 18 years plus I’ve been serving in my long-term and palliative care apostolate, assisting a Catholic chaplain (priest). One of those memories who currently comes to mind is a Palestinian lady named Madame F.I met her the very first year. She was between 50-60 years of age and a stroke had left the entire left half of her body paralyzed. On the particular day I’m reminiscing we had brought some of the patients (perhaps 20 of them) down to the chapel to pray a Rosary before our Blessed Lord reserved in the tabernacle. At one point, Madame F. inadvertently dropped her rosary.
It would likely require being half-paralyzed and in a wheelchair oneself to actually realize just how difficult it can be to pick up a rosary from the floor after it has fallen for a person in that condition. Yet autonomy reigns supreme for these souls, so, I had to wait to see if she was able to do it herself before approaching her and offering to pick it up. When I did approach and pick her rosary up and hand it back to her saying , “Le voila Madame F.” , she replied, “Merci monsieur”, adding immediately and most emphatically , “Je suis Catholique – comme ça !!” And when she said “comme ça” , she had made a fist with all her strength with the un-paralyzed hand and was waving it in the air defiantly.
That sort of thing can cause a great lump to well up in the throat of a believer – sort of a profound reminder not to take one’s faith for granted.
Similarly,sooner or later we, if true Catholics, will be obliged to cut through all the hoopla surrounding this “Je suis Charlie” trend – I believe it is simply that Father H has chosen to do it sooner (and with commendable clarity).
Now to complete the thought, if I (we) am not “Charlie”, the logical question which follows is: Who then, if not Charlie ? To which my complete answer, with the help of my dear friend Madame F. , would be:
“Je ne suis pas Charlie – point. Je suis Catholique – comme ça !!”