In our fallen world, the decisions of misguided leaders often have disastrous results — but faithful Catholics should remain firm in Christ’s redemption.
Jesus’ sermon in Nazareth
Shortly after Our Blessed Lord began His active ministry, He visited Nazareth, the town where He grew up. As Luke 4:14–30 recalls, Christ’s visit caused quite a stir — so much so that the villagers rose up in an angry mob and attempted to stone Him, but He slipped through their midst, never to return.
What was it that sparked so much fury and hatred from the sleepy villagers in Nazareth? Was it that Jesus preached poorly? No, He preached with authority. Was it that Jesus misquoted the Sacred Scriptures and blasphemed God? No, Jesus’ knowledge of Scripture was impeccable and He demonstrated perfect piety. Was it that Jesus did not live up to His reputation as the Messiah? No, Jesus’ multiple miracles (in which He gave sight to the blind, mobility to the lame and freedom to those under the possession of evil spirits) offered clear evidence that He was much more than a simple carpenter.
Perhaps a way for us to understand the villagers’ ire and violence against one of their own can be found in how they responded to Jesus’ last synagogue appearance. In Matthew 13:54–58, the villagers ask, “Where did this Man get such wisdom and mighty deeds? Is He not the carpenter’s Son? Is not His mother named Mary?” Ironic as it may seem, the people who knew Jesus so well, including His parents and His relatives, knew the least about Him.
A large part of the crowd’s ire against Jesus arose from this misunderstanding. There’s a penchant for fallen human beings to control one another, their communities and even their families through limited assessments. The names and titles we give to others convey so much. With this tendency to label in mind, we can see how easy it was for the village elders to try to control a carpenter.
But no one can control the Messiah.
Let me explain. For many years, I provided care for individuals with various disabilities. In my 10 years of working in the mental health field, one thing I learned is that, despite advancements in the language used to describe those with mental illnesses, some people still use disparaging terms against their fellow humans — who they presume are lower than themselves!
It always struck me as odd how some people could keep up with the changes of jargon such as the diagnosis of “mongoloid” being updated to “Down’s syndrome” — but their overall disposition toward a person they perceived as deficient never changed. As if so-and-so’s diagnosis of Down’s syndrome summed up the totality of their being.
Shelved too far back in many people’s minds is the reality that someone with Down’s syndrome is made in the image and likeness of God. Additionally, most people have never taken a course in metaphysics and falsely presume the diagnosis of Down’s syndrome sums up the totality of an individual with such a diagnosis.
Beautiful baby with Down’s syndrome
I must confess, I have taken pleasure in tripping up many a professed “holy roller” when they slip up and make an offhanded remark like, “You know, Father, Sally is Down’s.”
My thought is, “I thought Sally was a child of God, with blue eyes and a quick laugh. She is so much more than a little extra chromosomal material.”
I use the condition of Down’s as an example because, as a disease, it’s relatively innocuous. Individuals with Down’s have a measurable IQ and many live very normal lives compared to those with diseases like, say, schizophrenia.
Sadly, many who lack compassion (or have an insufficient knowledge of metaphysics and anthropology) find it easy to write off large numbers of God’s children — as if those children are not made in God’s image and likeness.
Down’s syndrome and even schizophrenia make up only a tiny fraction of who those with them are.
If you question the veracity of what I write, just recall that millions of abortions are now being performed simply because a child in the womb tests positive for Down’s syndrome. Only a civilization that believes that someone with this syndrome is not a person can commit such atrocities. Iceland now has almost no people with Down’s, as these people have been routinely killed in the womb for decades.
Iceland’s elimination of unborn babies diagnosed with Down’s is just another example of how fallen human beings can disregard whole classes of people for no reason other than having an extra chromosome.
A couple of generations ago, German Jews became an easy scapegoat for all of Germany’s woes. In our times, the scapegoats du jour are the unvaccinated! God forbid anyone rely on their natural immunity or uphold their beliefs.
Two millennia ago, fallen human beings in Nazareth rejected Jesus not because they didn’t see God in Jesus’s actions and words, but because they did.
The villagers in Nazareth rejected Jesus as God’s divine Son, as their forefathers had rejected the Almighty time and again over the preceding ages. They tried to eliminate Jesus because what they saw with their eyes and heard with their ears confirmed that He was indeed the Messiah, the Christ. They rejected Jesus’ preaching as their forefathers had rejected God’s law — given to them on Mount Sinai centuries before.
The Crucifixion and Resurrection
What played out in Nazareth, with the unsuccessful attempt on Jesus’ life, would be repeated in Jerusalem three years later.
But the second murder attempt would be successful. In their folly, evil men thought they could kill God’s Son. However, as we know from the Gospels, God’s Son may be killed, but His death is hardly of the permanent sort. On the third day, He rose from the dead.
The people of Nazareth reacted so violently against Jesus because He, as God’s Son, spoke and acted with true authority. As Matthew’s Gospel relates, “When Jesus finished these words, the crowds were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority and not as their scribes.”
Jesus, by just being the Christ and speaking the truth and revealing God’s true nature, challenged all the little men who liked to assert their power over others in order to enjoy having people grovel to them.
As demonstrated by Our Lord during the course of His earthly ministry and as demonstrated by the holy men and women over the centuries, authority comes from God Himself. It is a reflection of God’s presence in holy people who welcome God into their hearts. And in the case of Our Lord, it was an open window to who He was — God’s Son, incarnate in the world.
Those who have God’s authority are easily recognized by the faithful. And for those who do not have it, no amount of propaganda or self-promotion will suffice to legitimize their authority.
Vladimir Lenin, Adolf Hitler and Mao Tse-tung
The totalitarian regimes that wreaked havoc and killed millions in the past century were successful in achieving their despicable ends largely because of their propaganda. When those in power do not recognize God-given authority and when they promote evil causes, they have to resort to propaganda to achieve their aims.
In the past century, there have been three regimes responsible for millions of innocent men and women losing their lives. These were Lenin, pushing communism in Russia; Hitler, pushing his Third Reich; and Mao Tse-tung, pushing communism in China. For these godless men and their evil regimes, the only truth they recognized was that which they fabricated for their own ends. In the aftermath of Hitler’s short-lived regime, the extensive propaganda machine that supported him and his rise to power came to light. Tragically, too few challenged the lies that Hitler perpetrated until it was too late, and millions lost their lives.
To this day, communist regimes in places like China continue to thrive — despite millions of lives having been lost in these nations over the last century. Millions have lost their lives because their deaths were believed to be expedient for achieving the purposes of these regimes.
Tragically, the evil of communism in this fallen world continues to unfold.
Unbelievable as it may seem, despite the mounting evidence against the Chinese Communist Party regarding their oppression of Uyghurs, China continues to wield great influence in Biden’s administration and in Pope Francis’ papacy. For the average Catholic, it’s hard to stomach how these world leaders continue to support the CCP.
At this point in time, the truth of what China is doing is widely known, but the very world leaders who can do something about it are failing to stop the Uyghur genocide.
The average Catholic in the pew has a right to know the truth, despite all the propaganda and bald-faced lies being bandied about in the media. And this truth, which comes from God Himself, will eventually shine as the clarion light that it is. In the future, the current group of diabolical world leaders will be known for who they really are and for the lies they perpetuated to maintain their control.
As a man of 60-odd years now, I don’t foresee anyone or anything forestalling the current trajectory of the upcoming train wreck. Our Lord Himself said that this world would come to a sorry end and that we should prepare for it by steering clear of all sin — to be holy as God is holy.
At this juncture, the faithful remnant to be brought into the new creation upon Christ’s return looks a lot smaller than any of us would have hoped. But the good news is that there’s still time to ensure that you’re part of that remnant.
The foremost thing to remember is to keep Our Lord’s teachings, which are found in the Gospels and Sacred Tradition. We must resist the temptation to redact the Gospels or the Church’s Tradition. Redaction makes sins like false worship, sodomy, adultery, abortion and contraception seem permissible.
God is perfect, unchanging and beautiful, and so is His word as recorded in Sacred Scripture. During the evil trials we are undergoing, take this truth to heart! As demonstrated by so many holy Chinese Christians in the last couple of years, many will lose their freedom and even their lives in defense of their belief in the true God.
In the eyes of the world, these martyrs have all been forgotten. In Heaven, they will shine brighter than the sun itself. Their lives were nothing in the sight of the world, but they will be privileged to bask in the glory of God Himself.