Category Archives: For Contemplation

Many essays here are Food for Thought for your enjoyment.

Hating

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Hating

In utter frustration, she frantically screamed at her brother, “I hate you! I hate you! Why do I have such a mean brother?” She then turned around and defiantly marched out of the room, while her brother taunted her with a wry smile and an indifferent look. Most of us have experienced a, “I hate you”, response from a sister or brother or a friend as the individual charges off into a new direction. Of course, real hatred does not exist in such situations. What did exist was a short period of frustration or disappointment, to be followed shortly thereafter with an atmosphere of mutual reconciliation.

Yet there are many instances where actual hatred does exist. During a televised discussion on the subject of hatred between cultures, religions, and ethnic groups, several panelists offered the thought that the Jews are the most hated group in the world, while others commented that Muslins are the most hated. Finally, a Jewish rabbi countered that no not the Jews nor the Muslins nor any other group or individual is as hated as are those who hold tightly to the teachings of the Catholic faith. His comment stunned many of his fellow panelists. Yet his comment echoed the statement made by St. Cyprian in the third century, “The world hates Christians (Catholics).”

If the rabbi is accurate in his assessment that faithful followers of Catholicism are indeed the most hated individuals, why is this true?   The rabbi noted that whatever one thinks of Catholics, the actual teachings of the Catholic faith present a choice between its teachings, its emphasis on the truth, and the desires of many people. People do not like having their choices challenged by the arguments of the Church advocating objective truth. Few people want to have some of their choices in life be scrutinized and challenged by that which the Church presents as truth – reality. The Church’s positions on the existence of God, abortion, homosexuality, loving one’s neighbor, and many other issues all are frequently challenged by those who hold different views and cannot accept being contradicted. On many vital issues, such as God’s existence or abortion, some people strive to marginalize the Church, while others vehemently denounce the Church hoping to completely isolate her. Still others select and emphasize the failings of individual Catholics, both within the clergy and among the laity, in order to discredit not only certain individuals but all the teachings of the Church. By emphasizing the sins of important members of the Church, they hope to taint the entire Church. Even those who claim to be “Catholics” often join in the criticisms of the church, when it serves their own personal circumstances.

The most intense hatred of the Church occurs when the Church declares its position of any particular issue as the truth, as reality.  Many people vehemently reject the Church’s teachings about sex, freedom, objective truth, the nature and purpose of man and, more importantly, strongly reject the idea that their own positions / beliefs are contrary to the truth. Many people attempt to justify their actions and belief systems so that they are accepted as the truth. However, on many issues, the Catholic Church stands in front of them clearly stating the truth. Oh, how they wish this annoying Church would just go away! When the Church will not leave the field of battle, people try to destroy it in any way it can. Sometimes the Church’s antagonists are assisted by people within the Church, but in the end their efforts, though occasionally having some temporary success, are doomed to fail as Jesus Christ is the protector of the Church….now and forever.

Catholics who accept the teachings of the Church on faith and morals must know that others will try to marginalize, and yes, even hate them.  It part of the life of a Catholic. The response to this hatred is the same one Christ gave to his executioners….love. Oh, that is so difficult for us!  But love we must.

Suggested Reading:

“The Mind that is Catholic” by James V. Schall, published by the Catholic University Press, available on Amazon.  (Fr. Schall presents 23 essays for one’s review and contemplation. As usual, Fr.Schall’s writing is clear, concise, and understandable to a layman. )

Is That All There Is?

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Is That All There Is?

Adolph Hitler died, as did Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt; all of whom were dynamic figures during the first half of the 20th century. Other famous individuals and celebrities also died; people such as Sigmund Freud, Mortimer Adler, John Wayne, Buddy Holly, Michael Jackson, Nelson Rockefeller, and countless numbers of other people. Death is inescapable! Eventually, each one of us will experience death; the end to this human life on earth.  Considering that there is an end to each of our lives on earth, the issue that we all should consider is whether “Is that all there is”?

For those individuals who call themselves materialists or naturalists, the answer is simply, “Yes, that is all there is.” There is nothing after one’s life on earth. There is no judgment, no heaven or hell or some other type of existence. Death is indeed the end; there is nothing more. There is no God, no judgment, nothing. With this belief, the materialist’s worldview during life is likely to be very different from the worldview of those who do believe in God, judgment, and an afterlife of heaven or hell. Essentially the materialist places all hope and joy in his earthly life; stating that man is actually the determinist for all that occurs on earth. Man and his associate, Science, are the gods of the materialists. They determine right and wrong, changing right and wrong as they see fit rather than accepting a universal definition of right and wrong. Man as a god, changes all concepts of morality as he sees fit. It is “doing your thing’ to the extreme. Thus the determinist philosophy leads man to chaos rather than to freedom.

With man as the sole judge of morality, then the man who controls the levels of power will be the determiner of all morality. The most powerful will be the judges of what is moral and what is not. In Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia it can be seen where the powerful materialists have led mankind – almost to the abyss of annihilation and certainly to the depths of depravity, seldom seen in human history. The Nazis and the Stalinists, followers of the philosophies of Nietzsche and Marx, turned human history into the hell they did not believe in.

Those who believe in God and an afterlife existence certainly have a different worldview from that of the materialists. God is the objective reality of all existence; thus man’s earthly life consists in striving to know Him and to join Him in the life after death. Our earthly existence is a trial during which we seek out God’s will for us and then strive to fulfill that will….with the assurance that God will help us along the journey. However, God does not promise earthly prosperity or even happiness; He does promise salvation and eternal happiness in the next life. Fortunately, He also provides us with a road map and a set of instructions on how we should read the map and strive to do God’s will. God is our guide and helper…if we seek His advice.  God is very much the Father, caring for and providing for his human family. All we must do is honestly and continually seek Him and His will for us. This will require effort and, most importantly, the subordinating of our ego and pride to the will of Him. That is the challenge for man; taking the “I” out of the equation of life and inserting God in its place.

All too few people can relinquish their attachment to the “I” and thus they remain unreasonably attached to the false promises of man. The promise that death is indeed all that there is….the promise lacking in hope. All of us are given the opportunity to make that choice – hope in God and freedom or death and conformity.

Man is made for More!