“they ridiculed him”
There are two predominant human actions that take place in the Gospel, one of faith and one of doubt. Saint Mark says that there were also present “people weeping and wailing loudly”. These people did not have the faith of Jarius, they did not come forward, see Christ, fall at His feet, and plead. What did this group do? First they were centered on themselves and their own emotions and the emotions of those around them as they wept and wailed loudly. They cannot see past their weeping and wailing, and so they do not see Christ. Since they do not see Jesus, for who He truly is, “they ridiculed him”. A lack of faith we always result in ridicule of Christ and His Church.
VIDEO – God is Dead || Spoken Word Most of the time when a person does not have the virtue of Faith, when they do not see Christ for who He truly is, that person will likely ridicule Christ, His Church, and His followers. The cover of the April 8, 1966 edition of Time asked the question "Is God Dead?” The German philosophy, Friedrich Nietzsche believed and taught that God is dead. There is then, no need for faith, because there is no relationship between man and God, if God is dead. Faith is both a human act and a gift from God. Faith is man’s response to the free gift of God, a gift that is eternal. The statement, “God is dead” is a ridicule of the virtue of faith. How can we answer someone that ridicules God by saying, “God is dead”?
Karl Marx said, “Religion is opium for the people.” What does this statement mean? Marx is ridiculing religion by equating religion with drugs. People use drugs as an escape and when under the influence of drugs cannot think or act correctly. Faith is a free human act in response to God, it is not a delusional act, not is it an addiction or type of slavery, but rather, faith is a free act. When a person is under the influence of drugs, they are not living life to the full, but are rather living a sort of false life, under the influence of the drug, and in a sense they are dead, not sober to living life to the full. Faith is the complete opposite. Jesus says, “I came that you might have life and have it more abundantly.” [1] Drugs do not give life, but rather steal, kill and destroy life. To equate faith with drugs is a lie from Satan, for it is Satan himself that “comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy.” [2] Saint Irenaeus said, “The glory of God is man fully alive.” Man can only be fully alive when he is free to act, free to respond out of love to His creator. Faith and Religion give glory to God, because it is through Faith and Religion that man freely acts of our response to his loving Creator, thus giving Glory to God and living life to the full.
MOVIE – For Greater Glory Trailer Official 2012 The 19th Century was a century that saw “many people weeping and wailing loudly” and especially many like Marx and Nietzsche who ridiculed Christ, His Church, and His followers.
What was the result of this weeping, wailing, and ridicule? The immediate result was the rise of Communism and the godless state. Millions were killed in Russia alone and in communist / socialist countries, especially Eastern Europe, Spain, and Mexico the Church was heavily persecuted. In Spain alone - 13 bishops, 4,154 priests and seminarians, 2,365 religious, 283 nuns and about 4,000 laymen killed for helping or hiding nuns or priests. The 19th century, which was full of ridicule, lead to the bloody 20thcentury that saw the rise of dictatorship with Mussolini in Italy, Stalin in Russia and Hitler in Germany. There were two world wars, genocide and the evil of legalized abortion.
In 1905, Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the Soviet Union said, “Religion is one of the forms of spiritual oppression which everywhere weighs down heavily upon the masses of the people, over burdened by their perpetual work for others, by want and isolation. Impotence of the exploited classes in their struggle against the exploiters just as inevitably gives rise to the belief in a better life after death as impotence of the savage in his battle with nature gives rise to belief in gods, devils, miracles, and the like. Those who toil and live in want all their lives are taught by religion to be submissive and patient while here on earth, and to take comfort in the hope of a heavenly reward. But those who live by the labor of others are taught by religion to practice charity while on earth, thus offering them a very cheap way of justifying their entire existence as exploiters and selling them at a moderate price tickets to well-being in heaven. Religion is opium for the people. Religion is a sort of spiritual booze, in which the slaves of capital drown their human image, their demand for a life more or less worthy of man.” [3]
Where is Lenin wrong? What are his false views of religion? Lenin says that Christian’s are “over burdened by their perpetual work for others, by want and isolation.” The life of a Christian is not based solely on “work for others” but also the work of God. The Christian lives a balanced life of prayer (the love of God), belief (the knowledge of God), and service (the service of God and man). If we are accused of being “over burdened by their perpetual work for others” we might be only living a third of our religion and could be neglecting our responsibility to know and love God. A Christian does not suffer “want” for Christ satisfies. A Christian’s role is not that of isolation but that of evangelization. Lenin says that the Christian, whom he calls “savage”, is in battle with nature and this battle “gives rise to belief in gods, devils, miracles”
Are we in battle against nature? Nature is fallen, and without Christ, human nature, cannot reach its full potential. Saint Paul tells us that, “…where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more.” [4] Jesus Christ is one person with two natures (human and divine), therefore nature is not the enemy. We are not in a battle against nature, but rather, against Satan, the one whom comes to “steal and slaughter and destroy” [5] nature. Christ shared in our humanity so that we could share in His divinity. Living life as if “nature” is the only reality and dismissing “the divine”, is the true enemy. To dismiss “gods, devils, and miracles” is to dismiss the reality of the divine and to live in a world materialistic world in which the only reality is “nature”. Lenin says that we are taught by religion to be “submissive and patient while here on earth, and to take comfort in the hope of a heavenly reward.”
What is wrong with being submissive? Yes, we are called to be submissive. This is the virtue of obedience. Submission means to be “under” a “mission”. We are under God’s “mission” and pray “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done”. As Christians we also place our self under the mission or are submissive to other authority granting that their “mission” does not contradict that of God’s mission. Without God’s mission, there is only the “mission” or will of one man against another. Communism therefore served the will of man and strives to serve the “common good” or “common will” which is always determined not by the masses, but rather by the few.
What is wrong with being patient? Patience is a virtue, a virtue, which Lenin citizens the Christian for. Saint Teresa of Avila wrote a beautiful prayer in which she says, “Patience obtains all things” “Let nothing disturb you, all things are passing away: God never changes. Patience obtains all things. Whoever has God lacks nothing; God alone suffices.” [6] Communism like all earthly things passes away and yet the God, which Communism sought to destroy never changes. This prayer of Saint Teresa contradicts everything that Lenin says. Patience does obtain all things. Lenin says that Christians “suffer want”, yet “whoever has God lacks nothing” and “God alone suffices”. We practice patience because it is a virtue that Our Lord practiced. Saint Paul prayed, “May the Lord direct you hearts to the love of God and the patience of Christ.” [7] As Christians we want to love as God loves and be patience as Christ is patient. Patience is a fruit of the Holy Spirit and therefore shows that the Holy Spirit is active in our life.
What is wrong with hope? Yes, we have hope in Heaven and in eternal life but this does not mean we neglect our earthly existence. Eternity for the Christian begins now, because we have eternal life in our soul, now! The falsehood that somehow a Christian can ignore the earthly and live as if his head is in the clouds was answered at the Vatican II Council. “This council exhorts Christians, as citizens of two cities, to strive to discharge their earthly duties conscientiously and in response to the Gospel spirit. They are mistaken who, knowing that we have here no abiding city but seek one which is to come, think that they may therefore shirk their earthly responsibilities. For they are forgetting that by the faith itself they are more obliged than ever to measure up to these duties, each according to his proper vocation.” [8] There is nothing wrong with having hope in heaven and hope in an eternal reward. Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire and expect from God both eternal life and the grace we need to attain it. [9] The divine, eternal life, dwells in our soul and grace is given daily to attain that divine life now and experience it eternally in heaven. Hope is both the desire and expectation to live eternal life. Once again, Lenin would criticize “eternal life” because he only believes in temporal life.
Could Christians be a cause for atheism? Yes. Lenin is annoyed by Christians that practice charitable acts but yet exploit people. In this case, the Christians that Lenin had witnessed were not living an authentic Christian faith, but yet a false faith, which Lenin not only disagreed with, but rejected. As Christians we are an example of Christ and His Church and in some cases we might be the only example some will ever see of Christ and His Church. Therefore if we give a false example of Christ and His Church, those that witness our lives will reject Christ and His Church. “Believers can have more than a little to do with the birth of atheism. To the extent that they neglect their own training in the faith, or teach erroneous doctrine, or are deficient in the religious, moral or social life, they must be said to conceal rather than reveal the authentic face of God and religion.” [10]
According to Vatican I how can Christian’s be the cause of atheism? We can cause atheism when we are not living our Catholic Faith. In what ways do we not live out Catholic Faith?
1. When we neglect our own training in the faith. What is our training in the faith and is it adequate? How can we train better?
2. When we teach erroneous doctrine. What are some errors in doctrine today? Who is teaching them and why? If people are not teaching the error, are they speaking out against the error? Who are those that are defending the Church against error and what is the response?
3. When we are deficient in our religious life. What is our prayer life like? What impact does the liturgical life of the Christ and the Church make in our life? Do take advantage of the Sacramental life and what impact do they play in our life?
4. When we are deficient in our moral or social life. How do we see our self and how do others see us in regard to morals: what we think and say and what we do and omit. Are we living the Life of Christ, morally? Do we not only live out the Ten Commandments, but do we listen, know, and obey the teachings of the Church on moral issues? We are called to be social, especially in the sense that we are witnesses of Christ and we must be the ones that spread the Gospel (life of Christ) to others.
The priestly blessing in the Book of Numbers says, “The Lord bless you and keep you! The Lord let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace!” [11] This scripture is used in the Solemn Blessings at Mass in the Roman Rite during Ordinary Time.
May the Lord bless you and keep you. R. Amen.
May he let his face shine upon you and show you his mercy. R. Amen.
May he turn his countenance towards you and give you his peace. R. Amen.
And may the blessing of almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
come down on you and remain with you forever. R. Amen. [12]
If it is a blessing to have “his face shine upon you”, then it is a curse to not have his face shine upon you. When we as Christians are deficient in the areas above we are not a blessing to the world, but rather a curse. When we do not live out our faith we “conceal rather than reveal the authentic face of God and religion.”
Search: Fear and Fatima
ACTIVITY – Psalm 53
Psalm 53 opens with the words, “Fools say in their hearts, ‘There is no God.” Read the whole Psalm. How does this Psalm speak of both Marx and Lenin and the anti-religion, anti-God philosophy they promoted.
[1] John 10:10
[2] John 10:10
[3] Novaya Zhizn No. 28, December 3, 1905
[4] Romans 5:20
[5] John 10:10
[6] Prayer of Saint Teresa of Avila
[7] 2 Thessalonians 3:5
[8] Pastoral constitution On the Church in the Modern World; Gaudium et Spes; 43
[9] Catechism of the Catholic Church; Glossary
[10] Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, I, 19.
[11] Numbers 6:24-26
[12] The Order of the Mass; Solemn Blessings