The Virus of Humanism

Last month Father Laisney spoke of the history of Humanism and its opposition to the spirit of Catholicism. This month he concludes his talk, pointing out how this virus has spread into modern society and alas, even into the Catholic Church.

 

Human Rights

If man is set up as The Absolute, then Human Rights become the foundation of all morals. On the contrary, when God is rightly put as The Absolute, then the Rights of God, and the duties of man, the Ten Commandments, become the foundation of all morals. This dictates a completely different attitude for social justice. A typical example of the practical consequences of a humanist theology is "Liberation Theology."

But this will never bring about social Justice!

An example of this is given in the very beginning of the Church. When the Apostles went out into the world to preach there was slavery. Slavery was everywhere, in the Greek world and in the Roman world. The master had the right to kill his slave if he wanted, he paid for him, he was his possession, he could destroy him, he had the right of life and death over his slave. The children of the slaves belonged to the master, like the fruit of the tree, and this was the law. Some masters were good, some masters were harsh. Now you probably have heard of a certain Gladiator called Spartacus, (there was a film made about him). Spartacus was a gladiator, he was a slave but he was a strong man, proficient in the art of combat. Therefore he thought one day: "I'm strongly built, I want to be free!" Thus he led a revolt of slaves, like a revolution, trying to free himself from his masters. Many other gladiators went with him and other slaves went with him; they formed a great army of which he was like a little general. They made a revolution, they wanted to be free, what happened? The Roman senators sent for the Roman Legions; the Roman army came and killed every one of them. Spartacus died on the cross, he was hanged on the cross, the death reserved for slaves. Revolution does not work.

Now the Church should have learned a lesson; our modern theologians claim to return to the Fathers of the Church, but are not keen on following their examples! Thus you have Theology of Liberation, which is revolution. That's not the preaching of St. Paul. What did St. Paul say? What did St. Peter say? He said: "Slaves, obey your masters, not only the good and gentle ones but even the froward!" That is a preaching of social justice we do not hear very often today. In modern language this would translate to: Workers, obey your bosses, not only the good ones but even the harsh ones. But then St. Paul and St. Peter say to the masters: "Masters, do to your slaves that which is just and equal; knowing that you also have a Master in Heaven."

And do you know what overcame slavery? The means by which the Church suppressed slavery was one of the smallest books in the Bible, the smallest Epistle of St. Paul, the Epistle to Philemon. Philemon was a master from Colossa who had quite a few slaves; he had been converted by St. Paul and had become an excellent Catholic. Philemon had a slave called Onesimus, Onesimus was a bad slave, disobedient, who did a lot of harm to his master and then fled away. After having done a lot of bad things, he ended up in a Roman prison. Well, St. Paul did a lot of good things but he also ended up in the same Roman prison. When he was in prison he converted Onesimus; in talking together he discovered Onesimus's past as a slave of Philemon. When Onesimus was set free, what did St. Paul tell him? Now you can go, you're free, you can do what you want. No! What did St. Paul tell him? He told him: "Go back to your master!" That is not Liberation Theology, that is St. Paul's Liberation Theology: Go back to your master and serve him again. But he wrote a little epistle to the master and said to him first: "Receive him not as a slave, but instead of a slave, as a most dear brother." But St. Paul went even further: "Receive him as you would receive me!" He went even a step further: If ever he owes you something consider me as your debtor, "I will repay." That is Catholic charity, that is not Liberation Theology. That is to preach to everyone his duty and not to preach the rights of men.

It is very important for you to realize that it is not the preaching of the rights of men that will bring out social justice. No! I proclaim it, the preaching of Human Rights will not bring social justice in the world!

Why? St. Thomas Aquinas gives the explanation with a simple remark: "There is no need of virtue in order to claim your rights, even a thief, even the most wicked man is able to claim his rights. There is need of virtue in order to give; and the virtue of justice consists in this: To give what you owe to your neighbor." What a great difference!

To claim man's rights is self-centered on man. To give to your neighbor is a complete opposite movement of the soul. The Church has always preached since Our Lord, with St. Paul, the duties of men, the Ten Commandments, to give to your neighbor what you owe to him. Slaves, obey your masters; Masters, be good to your slaves; husbands, love your wives; wives, be subject to your husbands; children, obey your parents; parents, do not provoke your children. That is what the Church has always done, preaching the duties of men. This is what brought out social justice, overcame slavery, and established a beautiful order of Christian justice in the Middle Ages.

The modern world has preached for many years now the Rights of Man. And it has always gone further and further in social injustice. Because if you preach the rights of man you exasperate the desires of men—I want more and more, everything is due to me! Many children think that everything is due to them; this is evidently not true, but this is the spirit of modern man which they breathe in their schools. This spirit is what you find in the Church today: preaching the dignity of men, human dignity; preaching the rights of men. The Church should not preach the rights of men but the duties of men. The right of your neighbor, the right that you have to give to your neighbor, not your rights. You see, it is very important to understand that.

"Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also"

All the activities of the Church, all her longings, her prayers and desires have always been directed towards heaven. Because her treasure is Jesus Christ our Lord, Who is in Heaven. You find that many times in the prayers of Mass; one expression that comes in these prayers again and again is this: Teach us to despise the things of this earth and to love the eternal things. Just one reference for you if you want to check: the Postcommunion of Mass on the Feast of the Sacred Heart.

Now if you look at the New Mass, most of these beautiful longings, not all, but most of these prayers have been changed. You no longer despise the earth, you no longer long for the goods of heaven. The Postcommunion of the Sacred Heart in the Novus Ordo is: Love your neighbor. It is fine to love your neighbor but the vertical dimension towards heaven disappears.

We need to be reminded of the heavenly things. St. Paul says: We do not contemplate the things that are visible but the things that are invisible, because the things that are visible are temporary but the things that are invisible are eternal.

Ecumenism

Another important area in which humanism manifests itself in the Church today is Ecumenism. Ecumenism is again to replace God by man as the motive of loving our neighbour. As I said, the Catholic attitude is to love our neighbor for God's sake, this is Catholic charity. Ecumenism is not that, but rather it is to love our neighbor for Man's sake. How is this? Well, when a Catholic sees someone who is not Catholic he looks at this man as someone who does not yet have the treasure of faith and for whom and to whom he wishes to give, to transmit this great treasure of faith. Spiritually someone who does not have the faith is poor, and so we wish to give him the faith, to give him the light of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The Catholic is looking for the image of Christ in the other's soul, does not yet find it, therefore desires and works for the coming of the reign of our Lord Jesus Christ in this soul. This is the missionary spirit, so essential to our holy religion. St. Thomas in one of his beautiful short sentences says: by charity we want for our neighbour "ut sit in Deo—that he be in God!" In God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, since there is no other Way (John XIV, 6).

But when someone who has the ecumenical spirit looks at a non-Catholic what does he see? A mere man, a man that is worthy of respect even if he offends our Blessed Lord, and you do not bother him just because he does not have the faith. Do not bother him, he might get upset, but respect him, love him, adulate him because he is a man; that is the ecumenical spirit. It disregards the fact that he is separated from God. The union with God is secondary for these ecumenists. A sad, but typical example of this was given during the visit of the Pope to the Synagogue; at the end of his discourse, the Pope says that he is aware that the difference between Catholics and Jews is on their appreciation of the person of "Jesus of Nazareth" (He does not say "Jesus Christ," the Jews do not believe that Jesus is the Christ; neither does he say "our Lord" because the Jews do not want Him as their Lord!); then the Pope says that this is a matter of Faith, I agree, therefore a matter of a free choice—I would distinguish: free psychologically, since all spiritual acts are psychologically free; but not free morally, since it is the duty of everyone to accept Jesus Christ and believe in Him: He that shall believe and be baptized shall be saved; he that shall not believe shall be condemned! then the Pope continues to say: therefore this should not be an obstacle for building a good friendship among us! But such a friendship is therefore built WITHOUT our Lord Jesus Christ! He does not count in this friendship, this is an ecumenical friendship.

An example of this false ecumenical spirit: The Pope
embraces the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan-Buddhists' deity.

This is far from the attitude of St. Peter in the Synagogue where he preached: "Be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Whom you crucified, Whom God hath raised from the dead, even by Him this man standeth here before you whole…Neither is there salvation in any other. For there is no other name under heaven given to men, whereby we must be saved." That is another language! St. Stephen also is given as a model of Charity, both for God and for his neighbour: he preached the word of God, the Faith even to the price of his blood; yet he did not hate those who stoned him, but rather prayed for them! But neither did he establish friendship with them, by keeping quiet the Word of God!

Conclusion

There is one simple word of our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ which sums up all the opposition between Humanism and Christianism, between the spirit of the world and the Spirit of Christ, between the religion of Man who makes himself god, and the religion of God Who made Himself man to redeem men from their sins. Our Lord said: "Every one that exalteth himself, shall be humbled; and he that humbleth himself, shall be exalted" (Lk. XIV, 11). Humanism is man exalting himself, he shall be humbled by God! Christianity is Christ humbling Himself, and teaching us to humble ourselves, and God will exalt us, i.e. will give us the only true greatness, that of children of God, seeing the Holy Trinity in the eternal bliss of Heaven!

May the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose whole life was entirely centered on our Lord Jesus Christ, obtain for us the grace to follow with her our Blessed Lord here below, so that we may be with Him forever in Heaven, joy without end!