The Great Danger of Triumphalism

On April 16, 2018, the administrators of the Facebook group ‘One Million Connected Catholics’ did not publish my post: “How many Catholics today could answer simple questions such as the following? … “Who Decides The Truth?” (http://spir-food.blogspot.it/2014/06/who-decides-truth.html). (See below for the complete post.)

In the Description for the group ‘One Million Connected Catholics’, we find: “Dan Burke established One Million Connected Catholics. … You can ALWAYS post things from the National Catholic Register and any EWTN News outlet…”

“EWTN’s Raymond Arroyo: ‘Good Catholics’ can’t ignore controversy over Pope Francis”

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/ewtns-raymond-arroyo-good-catholics-cannot-ignore-the-controversy-surroundi

(Note: When pasting this document into Free Republic, it seems that most of the special formatting is lost, such as bold, italics, underlined words and embedded links. To read the document with the formatting and embedded links go to the link of the document.)

Satan is pushing many people off the Barque of Peter, the Church, on the “port side” (left side), who do not follow the laws of God infallibly interpreted by the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. But also on the “starboard side” (the right side) of the Barque of Church, there are many who believe they have the “fullness of the truth and means of sanctification” and thus do not feel they need to dialogue with anyone or any group who do not totally agree with themselves, as did the Pharisees and Scribes, and as have done so many people and groups in the Church and outside of the Church throughout the 2000-year history of the Church, especially today in a world and in a Church full of crisis and confusion. It is true that the one true Church, the Catholic Church, has the “fullness of the truth and means of sanctification” (Lumen Gentium, no. 8), but an individual person or an individual group in the Church is not the Magisterium of the Church, and thus does not have the guarantee, the charism of infallibility, to INTERPRET the doctrines of the Church infallibly. This is why the humility to take the risk to dialogue is always necessary, as Pope John Paul II often encouraged us to do. It is so easy to slide back into what the Second Vatican Council sought to eradicate - to bring the Church back to true humility and to eliminate in the Church this TRIUMPHALISM of being the true Church, with the fullness of Truth and the means of sanctification (LG 8) (“Evangelization VS the Trilogy of Devils in the Church: Triumphalism, Clericalism and Juridicalism”; http://trueevangelization.blogspot.com). In the mentality of triumphalism it is very important to maintain the hierarchical structure so as to maintain and to not loose ones importance before men (Jn 5:44; Lk 16:15; Gal 1:10)!

There is a Facebook group, of which I am a part of, called, ‘CATHOLIC AND PROUD’; perhaps a better title would be ‘Catholic and Humble and Grateful’!

The liberals do not realize, or perhaps do not care, that to change the truths, expressed in the doctrines of the Church, will have very great devastating effects both here on earth and after death. In the first centuries of the Church many wars were fought over these precious truths; now few even care about these safeguards of life, liberty and happiness. Very few have their eyes open, on both the left or the right extremes, regarding the disguised beautiful lies presented as if they were the truth, and the half truths which are worse than lies. Saint Thomas Aquinas tells us that virtue lies in the middle between the two extremes which is usually the more difficult path requiring constant maintenance, much patience, discernment and humility.

It is interesting how the two extremes meet: the liberals decide the truth for themselves, in the “Modern Church”, putting aside 2000 years of the illumination of the Holy Spirit written down in the doctrines of the Church, while many “orthodox” people believe they have all the truth and so become complacent and they feel they no longer need to dialogue with those of good will who are not in their group, and thus no longer seek to discover if their INTERPRETATION is the true interpretation of the truth outside of themselves or outside of their group, and thus slide into self sufficiency, spiritual blindness and self closure. Often in this period of crisis these groups end up separating themselves from the Church and become schismatic traditionalists (http://schis-trad.blogspot.it/2008/03/rebuttal-to-schismatic-traditionalists.html). In this “dour combat” (CCC 409) of life, there is no guarantee for anyone, in whatever vocation or group, to make it to heaven until we are in heaven or in purgatory; we must persevere in struggling for true humility until the moment of our death. St. Augustine said, 'If you should ask me what are the ways of God, I would tell you that the first is humility, the second is humility, and the third is humility. Not that there are no other precepts to give, but if humility does not precede all that we do, our efforts our meaningless.'

Just about all the independent protestant groups believe they interpret Sacred Scripture infallibly, even though there are many fundamental contradictions among themselves, while many Catholic groups feel they INTERPRET Sacred Scripture and the doctrines of the Church infallibly as if they are the Magisterium of the Church. The protestants rejected the guidance of Holy Mother Church, but a great number of Catholics today in the Church do the same. There was a great rebellion against Humanae Vitae (1968); we deserve what is happening today in the world and in the Church (http://spir-food.blogspot.it/2013/11/prophecy-st-francis.html)! Certainly today there is a great tendency in this direction, to seek security, due to the cultural crisis and especially due to the great confusion in the Church herself, when many bishops and cardinals are no longer in agreement about the immutable fundamental doctrines of the Magisterium of the Church, as foretold by Our Lady at Akita, Japan, October 13, 1973. We are truly in the period of the great apostasy before the advent of the Antichrist (2Thess 2:3) when even the elect will be deceived if possible (Mt 24:24)! Just as Christ was crucified 2000 years ago, the Body of Christ, the Church, will be crucified in this period of the purification of the Church (CCC 677)!

We must all struggle to not slide into complacency and to struggle for the truth in our lives every day until we die, else we slide automatically into the subtle traps of Satan who disguises himself as an angel of light (2Cor 11:14). In this short life, he who does not go forward goes backward! So many, including a great number of priests and bishops today, no longer have the persevering humility to answer Philip’s question, “Do you understand what you are reading?”, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” (Acts 8:30-31), by being willing to listen and dialogue with those of good will not in agreement with themselves, with the documents of the Church on the table. Saint Thomas Aquinas, quoting Saint Augustine, recalled “St. Paul made a correction to the first pope Peter and he made this publicly not privately” (Summa Theologica, Second Part, Question 33, Article 4). St. Augustine said Peter was so humble and so wise that he accepted this correction. He did not say, ‘You are Paul, you are against me. You are heretical. You are schismatic.’ No, he accepted this with gratitude and so should be the Pope in these days (the “Dubia”!?!), and so should any other person or group who has TRUE humility and charity, who are seeking the Truth that comes from outside of themselves, from God. This is because the Truth comes from God, the Author of Truth, the Truth is God (Jn 14:6). The Truth does not come from any human being and not even from the Church, the Bride of Christ, the handmaid of the Truth, the protector of the Truth.

Another way of saying what Raymond Arroyo is saying is ‘Good Catholics’ cannot follow the easier way: “Ignorance Is Bliss!” (http://spir-food.blogspot.it/2016/06/ignorance-is-bliss.html). “Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Mt 7:13-14)! “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and BECOME LIKE CHILDREN, you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven” (Mt 18:3)!

Does the Truth come from God or from the Church? Is the Church the handmaid of the Truth or the Author of the Truth? Does the Truth change with the world and the times or does the world have to change according to God’s laws and Truth? Was Christ just playing with words when he said: “I am the way, and the TRUTH, and the life” (Jn 14:6)? When Christ said, “The Truth will make you free!” (Jn 8:32), was he referring to the truth of the world or the immutable Truth of God? “Christ said “I am the truth”; He did NOT say, “I am the custom”.” – St. Toribio. “We do not need a Church that is moved by the world, but a Church that moves the world” – G.K. Chesterton.

There is less prayer than ever before, more sin than ever before, even worse, indifference as if sin no longer exists, and so we have given much greater power to “the father of lies”, Satan (Jn 8:44). In particular Satan has more power to “disguise himself as an angel of light” (2Cor 11:14), to offer his very deadly beautiful lies as if they were the “truth”, but instead does us great harm.

Thus it is very important in these times of great confusion, when even Catholic bishops are no longer in agreement about the fundamentals of our faith and morals, to not only pray much and to study the Catechism of the Catholic Church for adults (CCC, ed. 1992!!!), but to keep our eyes open so as not to fall into the beautiful lies of Satan presented as if they were the Truth, or the half truths presented as if they were the whole and integral Truth! A HALF TRUTH IS WORSE THAN A LIE!

“Who Decides The Truth?” (http://spir-food.blogspot.it/2014/06/who-decides-truth.html)

[[ “Thus it is very important in these times of great confusion, when even Catholic bishops are no longer in agreement about the fundamentals of our faith and morals, to not only pray much and to study the Catechism of the Catholic Church for adults (CCC, ed. 1992!!!), but to keep our eyes open so as not to fall into the beautiful lies of Satan presented as if they were the Truth, or the half truths presented as if they were the whole and integral Truth! A HALF TRUTH IS WORSE THAN A LIE!” ]]

Thank you for your article. Most priests say little or nothing (to warn) in regard to the pope. And, yes, confusion and half truths. Our Lady of Akita has been unfolding before our eyes! Jesus, please help us. Mary, please pray for us.

https://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/AKITA.HTM

Haven’t the time just now to do an extensive review of this post, but it looks to me like a typical attack upon Traditionalists, i.e., Tridentine Catholics who will forever oppose the debacle of the Second Vatican Council and the bitter and rotting fruits thereof.

You might find very enlightening the following if you have not already read it:
“To The Priests Our Lady’s Beloved Sons” (http://our-lady-priests.blogspot.it/).
Almost twenty Cardinal and more than 150 Bishops, more than 50,000 priests and religious, have followed the Marian Movement for Priests, receiving by way of the book which contains the messages, precious teaching from the Mother of God, in this devastating attack of the ecclesiastical Masonry on the sound doctrine of the Church and the Sacraments, especially the Most Holy Eucharist.

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