I’ve been thinking about evil. Hard not to sometimes if you’re reading the news. It seems to me there are different kinds of evil.
There’s the guy who knows he’s committing evil and either just doesn’t care or gets a thrill out of it. When caught, he giggles and says something like, “Yup. I’ve been thinking about killing someone for a long time now. So I did it.” You’ve read about these guys on the front page of newspapers. There’s a manhunt and people lock their doors at night. Usually there’s big headlines and it’s what everyone talks about and everyone shakes their heads and says stuff like “Can you believe…”
I think there’s some comfort in everybody shaking their heads at the same things.
You can say all you want about that kind of evil but at least you’re dealing with the same definitions. You’re looking at the same game board, just making different decisions.
There’s another kind of evil though. The kind that doesn’t get in the newspaper much -at least not labeled as such. It’s the kind of evil that doesn’t even acknowledge the terms good or evil.
That’s the kind that scares me. It’s abortion. It’s euthanasia. It’s embryo banks where people come for spare parts. It scares me because there’s not one name linked to it. There’s no manhunt. You can’t lock the doors because it’s already inside.
And I don’t see many people shaking their heads over these things.
And it’s all got me thinking -which is always dangerous – about whether it’s time or not. We’ve all seen the moment in movies. After the nameless Evil has come. It’s gone into the vents. It’s terrified the villagers. It’s killed half the cast. And the good guys are using everything they have on it but nothing’s working. All the lasers, bullets, or cannons have done little to slow the Abomination. In fact, the Abomination isn’t even limping. And now it’s coming at our hero. So what now?
It comes down to that. Do you throw the gun or just run?
I feel sometimes that maybe throwing the gun is all one man can do. Maybe that’s what blogging is. It’s the last resort. It’s throwing the gun. I’ve been throwing the gun so long at the same Abominations that the idea of running sometimes seems appealing. Even logical. I mean, at some point isn’t it smart just to pull up stakes? Give up the fight. Cut bait. Go Amish. Find your hidey-hole and live your life.
At some point just focusing on my family, my friends, and the little piece of the world around me seems appealing. And just stop fretting about the rest of the country all eagerly climbing into the handbasket. Maybe, just forget the public schools. The universities. The culture. The often quoted ethicists without ethics. The scientists. The celebrities. Maybe forget them all and just worry about what I’ve got right here.
I’m not there yet. But the idea comes into my head more often than it used to. And probably more often than it should.
Maybe I’m not talking much sense. It’s late. I didn’t mean to even write about this. But you read these stories about abortions, baby banks, and euthanasia and let’s face it, the bad guys are winning. The Abomination ain’t even limping. And nobody’s shaking their head.
April 27, 2009 at 4:32 am
What else can we do except face evil and throw that gun? All those flicks you mention have a happy, Hollywood-style ending. Life isn’t like that, we’re likely to get chewed and spit out with nary a thought of the stand we might try to take. To all involved it might be useless and evil will win.
But just what else can we do? Going Amish only works until that evil hits the Amish communities, sooner or later you’ll run out of places to hide from the Abomination and the end may be no different.
So what else can we do except throw the gun?
April 27, 2009 at 4:49 am
Life might not be like that, but the whole point of the Gospels is that there’s something more to it- the Kingdom of God.
“Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
We can’t give up. For righteousness’ sake.
April 27, 2009 at 4:55 am
Hope is a vital virtue in these times.
Christ triumphed over death. What battle is left? Evil may appear to be winning, but evil is devious and tricky.
Christ gave us so much. We have the Church, the sacraments. In this terrifying world there is much to help us and overall a God who loves us. These battles for life and truth shall be won, bit by bit.
April 27, 2009 at 5:35 am
“Never compromise. Even in the face of the Apocalypse”
Rorschach “The Watchmen”
April 27, 2009 at 5:40 am
I’ve been thinking something similar: nomads. Maybe we should get like-minded Catholics together and go nomad in RVs. Never too big — only 10 RVs or so, lest we make the watch lists. Then I wonder if there’s enough Domino’s money left over after Ave Maria to stock us up with RVs and supplies. Then I get mad at Ave Maria Law School and the stupid design of their parish. Then I get distracted by something shiny.
But yeah…I kinda’ know where you’re coming from.
That said, there are two very interesting ideas concerning legislation which exceeds the logical breaking point of the culture of death. One involves abortion, the other involves so-called same sex marriage. Shoot me an e-mail if you want the deets.
God Bless,
Ryan
April 27, 2009 at 6:15 am
The greatest way to combat the evil is to “run”, which really means to live fully the life of the Church.
Home school children, refuse to participate in the culture of death, go to mass daily and confession weekly with the entire family. Preferably in Latin.
I strongly recommend that you read John Senior’s two short masterpieces, “The Death of Christian Culture” and “The Restoration of Christian Culture.”
April 27, 2009 at 7:03 am
maybe going amish is the best way to build up a safe haven for just long enough to really fight, to really be a striking example of a christian community, run for just long enough to be able to find our place to dig in
April 27, 2009 at 7:05 am
You’ve gotten the roles reversed. The Named Good won the war already, but the bag guy just can’t give up. He hasn’t any hope (as if he had any in the first place), but he still causes trouble, and that trouble might even seem worse because it strikes closer to home. I’m thinking of “The Cleansing of the Shire” at the end of the LOTR books. Saruman has no chance of returning to power, but he still tries to ruin the Shire.
The way he’s spread corruption seems worse to the hobbits than what they’ve seen elsewhere precisely because it is in their home, in the place they fought to preserve, and they fight to fix it.
Even if Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin had not taken out Saruman, though, the once-white wizard (claiming to be wise, he became a fool) would have been eliminated: there is a king in Gondor once more. The throne is no longer empty, for the sword that was broken has been reforged, and the Dúnedain wanderer has reclaimed his crown. He shall establish peace and justice in all of the land.
In the words of the martyrs: “Viva Christo Rey!”
April 27, 2009 at 10:01 am
Wait, isn’t this supposed to be a Catholic blog? If it is, then maybe it should take a Catholic stance on this issue: we are commanded to face the evil head-on as it were (I don’t remember guns being mentioned in the gospels though). The early martyrs faced the evil of pagan Rome and the Jews for three centuries. Their deaths contributed to what we know as the church today. Christ said very specifically we would need to take up the cross. So, the author of this blog should be thinking less like an action-hero and more like a Christian if this topic is to be taken seriously.
And let’s also not forget, Jesus said there would be end days. If these are them, there is NOTHING any of us can do to stop it. I personally doubt they are, but all the more reason to face evil head on, don’t you think?
April 27, 2009 at 12:06 pm
There’s one thing that everyone can do, no matter how bad things are, that hasn’t been mentioned in so many words: Pray!
Prayer is a gun that always works and never runs out of ammo.
April 27, 2009 at 1:32 pm
Matthew, I totally sympathize with your frustration and your feeling of helplessness. It will pass.
I invite you to share with me one determination: that when Catholicism is outlawed, I will be among the first to be rounded up for the “crime” of being Catholic.
April 27, 2009 at 1:44 pm
Matthew, it’s writers like you and your commenters that give me hope. Hope that maybe the Abomination is deluded and will realize how futile it is to wage a war that is already won.
As a Mama, the fear strikes deep in my heart for my children. So little! So innocent!
Keep fighting. Knowing that there are so many of you warriors out there helps me sleep at night.
🙂
April 27, 2009 at 2:12 pm
Prayer indeed does work but usually requires some sort of action to be most efficacious. Europe and much of the world was not ‘conquered’ for the faith by prayer alone but by martyrdom, marriage, military exploits, and political means. We just want to pray evil away without facing it. Jesus knew what would happen after his crucifixion and advised the disciples to arm themselves spiritually for the upcoming battles with ‘the world’.
St.Luke 22:35-36, DRB
‘When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, did you want any thing? But they said: Nothing. Then said he unto them: But now he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise a scrip; and he that hath not, let him sell his coat, and buy a sword’
Let’s stop lamenting the successes of the Abomination and prepare for the fight!
– PaddyMash
April 27, 2009 at 3:08 pm
Throw the gun AND run. Distract the evil in order to protect you and yours a little longer, to give yourselves a little better chance.
Or, to switch genres, provide covering fire while retreating to a safe hold and regrouping. Continue to harass the enemy and make him fight for every inch. Hold out until the silent masses awake to the horror of what is truly happening, and they get behind the fight to stop it. Hold the evil at bay until D-Day arrives. Surely Germany looked unstoppable in France and Great Britain, and it looked like the Nazis weren’t even limping for a while…
It wasn’t a single superhero, the stereotypical “good-guy” of movies, that won WWII, it was millions of heroes. Those on the front lines, those in the invasion forces, those back home, fighting in any way possible.
You are not alone, and it’s not a futile fight.
You may never see the effects you’re having in the fight. Workers here never knew if an individual B-2 they rolled out was pivotal in the war or if it was destroyed on the airfield before ever flying a single mission.
At a men’s conference here in Detroit in 2006 I got to hear Sen. Santorum speak on the issue of abortion and his fight against it. Linkto the audio for the conferences. In his talk, he related a story about fighting against Clinton’s veto of the Partial Birth Abortion ban, how he “failed” after spending the night before the vote talking to an empty chamber. They didn’t override the veto. But a college couple who had seen it on C-SPAN were affected by his “failure” of a speech. The girl didn’t have an abortion she had scheduled for the next week.
Keep fighting the good fight.
April 27, 2009 at 3:35 pm
I often feel the same. I’m usually not into politics, but I have been since Obama was running and now with his administration. I feel the same as you, from time to time. Reading the news and learning what’s going on can be overwhelming and discouraging.
I believe, that we are called to do both. We work diligently to protect and educate those under our care to the best of our abilities in the matters of faith, life and how to live in the world as well. After all, our little saints must still live in this world.
And we must work to care for society through advocacy. Work to end abortion, euthanasia, baby banks, etc. Educate others as to the abominations that are going on. Become involved in politics to the extent our abilities allow. And pray.
So, rest up, pray, and carry on, looking both ways. And know that the rest of us feel discouraged and without hope from time to time as well. May Go’d’s peace be with you today!
April 27, 2009 at 4:07 pm
I had the same feeling when I posted “Why you should continue blogging” at
http://divine-ripples.blogspot.com/2009_04_01_archive.html#956001933092442151
This weekend, I had an ongoing exchange at another where I was told that I’d be dismissed as an ideologue by mainstream America.
http://www.haloscan.com/comments/americanpapist/3940264726719115528/
There was also a post from Vox-Nova that seemed to take the wind of our sails as it concludes that the evil of abortion is from sin and that only the Lord can correct it.
It questions, “What does it mean?”
http://divine-ripples.blogspot.com/2009_04_01_archive.html#8198810027958430547
Then again, that post might be the impetus to replace all our hot air in our balloons with the Spirit of Life – the one that stormed into the cenacle on Pentecost.
And the discouragements or the disarming encounters that come within our ranks may be the final offensive of the enemy because it is the enemy within that is most destructive.
When I entered the seminary I thought, “Even if I can only save one soul, it will be a soul who will be with God for all eternity. It will one person who will not suffer the fires of hell for all eternity.” I think with God, numbers don’t matter much. When almost everyone left the Lord, Jesus turned on the remaining 12 and asked, “Do you want to go too?” If they did, I am sure there will be one who’ll remain because she’s proven herself already when she had given her fiat. (It’s not a car; it’s a commitment.)
Finally at the end the day, we won’t be asked if we won but rather if we fought.
God bless.
April 27, 2009 at 4:33 pm
I know exactly what you mean. Sometimes I want to just let the world fall apart and preserve my family, friends and parish. But then I feel we are betraying the world.
“Even the dogs eat the crumbs from their master’s table.” If we aren’t there with the Bread of Life on our tables, what will the world eat? Even the secularists have imbibed part of our Faith, they just don’t realize it and are rather ungrateful for the whole thing.
So I guess its throw the gun, pick up a 2×4 and charge in like Braveheart.
April 27, 2009 at 8:20 pm
To many comments not enough time. I might be stating what has already been said.
We cannot run. Retreat, Regroup, Reorganize yes. Leave the battlefield with tail between legs, no.
It is our duty as Christians and Catholics to maintain a Braveheart like stance and “hold” as the enemy approaches. We can’t react (as Vatican I did) but clearly consider our position and form a detailed plan (as Vatican II did).
When the tide has turned against as much as it has, it takes time for the water to recede and ground to be regained. I cling to the hope that the worse things get the outcome only comes that much closer.
The outcome is that the battle is won, the war is over. Christ is victorious. The abomination doesn’t know it yet, but in the final moment, just before the death blow to the hero the Calvary will show up. Be it legions of Angels, or Patton with his tanks, or maybe the KofC with rosaries in hand… the beast is decaying from inside out and will suffer end which Christ already dealt to it, death.
Hold fast, stand strong. While we take causalities on all sides and hope seems lost remember that the victory of Christ occurred ON the cross at his death.
April 27, 2009 at 9:32 pm
Never give up, never surrender.
To horribly misquote: ‘Sing sorrow, sorrow, but good win out in the end.”
Oh, and don’t throw the gun– you can always get more bullets. Hold on to the gun, throw rocks, see who you can pull out of the way of the Abom.
April 27, 2009 at 9:39 pm
“…the public schools. The universities. The culture. The often quoted ethicists without ethics. The scientists. The celebrities…”
That’s a lot of people — in a sense, everyone in America — not meeting your high standards. Has God appointed you Lord Temporal Judge of the World? Have you considered the concept of humility lately?