CORONA WARS ~ Pride is a Killer (Part 2)

You reap what you sow

When a prideful person is promoted, given an audience, they will usually go from bad to worse. Why wouldn't they? Spiritual narcissism is highly addictive and extremely deadly. St. John Chrysostom in "Concerning Lowliness of the Mind", compares the faith of the Pharisee to the publican. The former perverted his faith through pride, whilst the latter purified his through humility. 

For humbleness of mind is the foundation of the love of wisdom which pertains to us. Even if you should have built a superstructure of things innumerable; even if almsgiving, even if prayers, even if fastings, even if all virtue; unless this have first been laid as a foundation, all will be built upon it to no purpose and in vain; and it will fall down easily, like that building which had been placed on the sand. 

There is a particular website (but it is in no way unique) that carries, and continues to carry objectively gravely sinful headlines, distortions, calumny, and detraction. A favourite activity on this website is daily mocking of the Pope. The Holy Father is "Francis of the Holy Virus", "Virus Pope", and other horrible, nasty names. Do you think God is pleased with this? Approves of this?

There seems to be a diabolical glee about the alleged "sins" of others. This is a monstrous evil. 

But as usually happens when there is a disagreement amongst judgmental and prideful people: they turn on each other. The question MUST be asked. Where were the enablers of this operator of this website when he was engaging (and continues) in objectively gravely sinful activity? Where are they now? Is it permissible to mock the Pope, and others (under the pretext that he/they are evil sinners), but not permissible to mock a sick man? 

St. Francis de Sales quoted St. Bernard, regarding the mocking of others: "...the Devil has possession both of the slanderer and of those who listen to him, of the tongue of the one, the ear of the other".

We are supposed to pray for sinners, not mock and degrade them. What does Our Lord say? 

You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous"  St. Matthew 5: 43-45

                                                       
You see the irrationality, and cherry picking of sin? Once again: where does this evil come from? 

It comes from PRIDE

Pride is a KILLER

Mockery can be a very serious mortal sin. "A spirit of mockery is one of the worst imperfections of the mind, and displeases God greatly, so that He has often punished it most severely". St. Francis de Sales (Introduction to the Devout Life). 

All of this comes from the devil who loves confusion, hatred, rage and anger. The rage, the hate on social media has its source in the demonic (Latin Mass attendance, notwithstanding). None of this is from the Holy Spirit.

Look for "Corona Wars" to get much worse, as the spiritual virus of pride has spread rapidly amongst Catholics. After years of virally overloading with pride from years of mocking, degrading, detracting, and even hating those whom they (by their very own words) claim are sinners, the fratricidal Catholics are now going into the ICU, spiritually gravely ill from pride. I know: I was there. It was not good. It was evil and sinful. 

Whereas coronavirus may kill the body, pride will kill the soul. The Pharisees were infected with this disease, and they, in their spiritual blindness (but so fastidiously "religious") committed the greatest crime in history: Deicide, and crucified the Son of Man. Now Catholics set about crucifying each other. In doing so, they re-crucify Christ. How sad, how tragic. 

Here again God writes straight with crooked lines, He is exposing false "friendships", where people were not true brothers and sisters in Christ, but were only sought out as echo chambers to play back what we like to hear, mirrors to reflect back our own vain image. 

Please pray for those Catholics who have succumbed to this terrible, fatal virus of pride. Pray that they seek out the Divine Physician, who is the only one who can cure them, and bring them the peace of mind and soul they so lack.