All Else Is From the Evil One

 
What is wrong with us?  Recent Mass readings from the Book of Kings seem to mirror the current Catholic Church’s capitulation to the pagan gods of today, though Jesus Christ proclaimed how to live as royalty under His Kingship.  Particularly in the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 5, He sums up the ideal faith life:   “So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (V 48)  

 
In the preceding forty-seven verses, Our Lord  establishes the “Evangelical” Beatitudes, corrects the Scribes, explains the Decalogue, and declares that his listeners must be a “light” to others (no hidden lamps).  He has not come to abolish the law, but rather uphold it to the last iota.  In speaking of oaths, but actually the heart of declared faith, he says  “Let your yes mean yes, and your no mean no.  Anything more is from the evil one.”  Throughout, this chapter, Jesus speaks of a spiritual confidence that boldly embraces and proclaims Truth.  No equivocation, no wishy washiness, no “ifs, ands, or buts.”  No bowing, not even a handshake, to the Baals of the world.

 
Yet, in 2026, the zenith age of communication,  the baptized live in confusion and denial —disoriented and disordered—more than ever. Non believers, including atheists and pagans are celebrated, to their own demise, while Catholicism  is scorned as fundamentalist tyranny and “hidden under the bushel.”  While voluminous Catholic resources flourish, they rarely emerge in public forums.  With respect to “the” Faith, falsehood, feint praise, and tepidness fill the vacuum as resistance intensifies against catechetically and sacramentally tackling the deadly undergrowth. 

 
As recently as the 20th Century,  Catholics seemed to be making headway in joyfully proclaiming uncompromised  truth.    Popular evangelists like the Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen appeared in clerical regalia on his enormously successful television show that steadfastly, but almost humorously, proclaimed the Catholic Gospel. His ratings knocked out secular faire running at the same time.   Mother Teresa was a universal icon, beloved by Princess Di and numerous nonCatholic celebrities who praised her great charity and faith across all public forums.  Pope St. John Paul II stands unequaled in contemporary times as the most visible and admired religious figure of the modern era.   

 
Today, we have the Dr. Phil’s, at best.  As practical as secular psychological advice may be, this does not steer the emotionally and spiritually ill towards the Cardinal virtues and away from the seven deadly sins that lead to lasting, if not eternal, health.  Certainly no one is going to hear:  “Unless souls are saved, nothing is saved; there can be no world peace unless there is soul peace.” (The Venerable Fulton Sheen, Peace of Soul,  ever intertwined the practice of virtue and avoidance of vice in this mission.)

 
Perhaps most startling is the increased embrace of Islam, atheism, and paganism.  When have we explicitly heard in numerous mainstream interviews that Dr. Gad Saad,, author of  Suicidal Empathy:  Dying to be Kind is an atheist behavioral scientist?  It is not as though he has kept his beliefs a secret.  While  Saad’s thesis well captured self-destructive thinking and actions by incredibly misguided empathy that turns morality on its head, he is no Father Ripperger as to the surest corrective therapies.    Moreover, Saad never did capture the root meaning of empathy as also related to sympathy and compassion (the last meaning “to suffer with”) But, then, Saad miserably misunderstands Jesus Christ, shamefully reducing him to a “suicidal” human figure. His scattered references to Catholicism expose a person lacking in supernatural grace and in-depth understanding, while trapped in worldly knowledge and his own self perceived sageness.

 
I will close with a recent experience that emphasizes the inexcusable acceptance by Catholics, from the pew to the Papacy, to blunt or hide our authentic Christianity.  We are called to be visible witnesses, in all spheres, and steadfastly defend all that Jesus taught, but most importantly how he showed he Way of the Cross.  I sought J.D. Vance’s book Communion:  Finding My Way Back to Faith.  I thought for sure it would be upfront in the bookstore, but my husband misunderstood and grabbed what was most vividly displayed:  Disrupt Everything and Win by James Paterson and Patrick Leddin.  Not a big problem, and this time I accompanied him, thinking, “Surely, it will be right there, upon entering.  Vance’s book was nowhere to be seen.  I had to ask a clerk, and she unenthusiastically took us back a bit to where it was found on a small table.

 
Really? Not only was the incredibly confusing, spiritually sterile  Patton/Leddin book bagged for return, but I gently but firmly voiced my disappointment, and as a Catholic, at what struck as a thinly veiled attempt to down play Vance’s book.  Now, he is no St. Thomas Aquinas, but what a story!  In the conversation with the book store manager, who claimed it was so placed because it was nonfiction and he (Vance) was a new author, I pointed out that the other book was also nonfiction.  (Besides Vance is not a “new” author. And she he later mentioned his other book?)   I want more such Catholic books and print material visible in the public square.   I seek more invited informed Catholic voices in public podcasts, social media, the news, and so forth to bring out the distinctions of our beliefs and why they are critical to salvation.  I expect politicians to respect what we believe to be the truth and acknowledge our right to unbiased representation in public affairs and events.

 
Many times a day, week, and month we have an opportunity to use our communication skills to likewise maturely and lovingly relay messages about the firmness of our convictions. And that we will not be muted or manipulated to tolerate that which we know keeps persons from God’s perfect love but also harms souls and their eternal destination.  False meekness is cowardliness!  Perhaps we should wall paper our Parish Halls with Matthew 5 and boldface:  Say “yes” when your mean “yes” and “no when you mean “no” as a regular reminder.  All else is from the evil one.