When I first wrote this, it was 12:45am....I came back from a holy hour not long before and was WIDE AWAKE with thoughts that had been resting on my heart...
A Great Sifting
Have you ever thought of these times in the Church as a final "sifting"? It is worth bringing to prayer and considering.
We know the Church is in the Lord's Passion right now. Many of our Church leaders have spoken of this. We also know it really will take a Divine Intervention to fix the serious problems and sins both in the Church and in the world.
Perhaps this is the time for the Lord to harvest the wheat...
A Sifting in Truth...
Those who prefer to "tickle their ears" and follow the maxims and morals of the world, or whatever suits "their truth," are being sifted and brought out into the light more clearly - in the Church and in the world.
For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own likings, and will turn away from listening to the truth... (2 Timothy 4:3-4)
There are many, sadly, who prefer to only listen to the wolves in sheep's clothing who confirm their pro-LGBT stance, pro-contraception stance, pro-abortion stance, on and on...while Christ and the Church has been very clear centuries upon centuries about how grievously these things oppose God's law in Scripture and Tradition - both His moral AND natural law. There are many lies that people listen to today. Few actively seek to know the truth. Perhaps that's because one does not want to leave the comfort of an already-established lifestyle; perhaps because one is afraid of losing loved ones over the truth; perhaps one is just lazy and indifferent in wanting to know.
There's a name for this: Incredulity.
Incredulity is the neglect of revealed truth or the willful refusal to assent to it. [Catechism of the Catholic Church #2089]
Regardless of why, to believe such lies we see in the propaganda of the world, is surely following an anti-God ideology; make no mistake, these are doctrines of demons...
Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith by giving heed to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, through the pretensions of liars whose consciences are seared... (1 Timothy 4:1-2)
Souls will be held accountable to God for their neglect of seeking truth and their refusal to live by it. Sadly, to go along with the world's propaganda of lies is actually easier than repenting. How sad that mankind today largely prefers the ease of its sin than the reward of repentance!
Indeed, what was hidden in the dark is now coming out in the light.
A Sifting in Charity...
And yet, there is another sifting. A sifting in charity. The focus of the rest of my post will be on this.
For those who have been graced to know the truth, who see what is sin, it easily becomes tempting to condemn and judge, especially in these times where sin abounds. St. Teresa of Avila speaks right to the heart of this in her clear-cut, no-nonsense way...
"There is another temptation we ought to be aware of and take precautions against. We all have zeal for virtue and feel distressed when we see the sins and faults of others. The devil tells us that this distress is caused only by the desire that God may not be offended, and by our concerns for His honour. So we immediately try to set matters right, and get so excited that we cannot pray. The greatest harm of all lies in our thinking that this is a virtue, and a sign of perfection and great zeal for God. I am not speaking of the distress occasioned by public offences that may become habitual in some congregation, nor b such crimes against the Church as those heresies by which we see so many souls are lost. Such distress is very proper, and consequently causes us no excitement. The security of a soul that applies itself to prayer lies in its ceasing to be anxious for anything or anybody, in its watching itself and pleasing God. This is very important. If I were to tell of the mistakes I have seen people make, through reliance on their own good intentions, I should never be done.
Let us endeavor always to look at the virtues and good qualities that we find in others, and to keep our own great sins before our eyes, so that we may see none of their failings. This is one way of working; and although we may not be able to manage it perfectly at once, we shall acquire one great virtue by it: We shall consider everyone else better than ourselves. Then, with God's grace - which is always necessary, since when we do not have it all efforts are useless - we shall begin to progress. At the same time, we must beg Him to grant us this particular virtue, which He denies to no one who makes efforts himself." [Life of St. Teresa of Avila by Herself, Chapter 13]
We see the scandal and sin in the Church and world - there is so much.
Yet in the latter days, Jesus warned us about the "cooling of charity"; I like to speculate that perhaps He told us about this so as to keep us watchful toward our own selves and be diligent in softening and "warming" our hearts through prayer...
And because iniquity hath abounded, the charity of many shall grow cold. [Matthew 24:12]
Charity (or love) is the "footprint" of a true disciple of the Lord:
By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another. [John 13:35]
Rash Judgements Easily Abound
Part of charity is avoiding rash judgements. "Giving the benefit of the doubt" might be another phrase you've heard. Today, given the state of the Church and visible scandal; given the climate of darkness that's descended upon us hastily over these past nine months in this godless vacuum, it is so easy (and tempting) to rashly judge others.
...Yet we can't. It is a sin.
To avoid rash judgement does not mean closing our eyes to objective actions committed and "wearing rose-colored glasses" like nothing is wrong in the Church or world, or that we're not seeing serious problems. To remain willfully ignorant about truth (because maybe it's an uncomfortable reality or scares or hurts us a bit) is an offense against truth itself.
To avoid rash judgement does not mean we can't admit that objective actions committed or words said may (or do) have damaging, undermining, or ill effects - perhaps scandalizing or leading souls astray. Many are hesitant on this fact, confusing it with slander or rash judgement in certain matters, when it is not:
Public, notorious sinners may be spoken of freely, provided always even then that a spirit of charity and compassion prevail, and that you do not speak of them with arrogance or presumption, or as though you took pleasure in the fall of others. To do this is the sure sign of a mean ungenerous mind. And, of course, you must speak freely in condemnation of the professed enemies of God and His Church, heretics and schismatics,--it is true charity to point out the wolf wheresoever he creeps in among the flock. [Introduction to the Devout Life, St. Francis de Sales, Ch. 29 on Slander]
To avoid rash judgement does not mean we can't have doubts about a person. But we must be very watchful lest those thoughts or suspicions be rash or hasty, St. Francis de Sales says.
So why should we be leery of drawing conclusions about persons, especially ones we have not interacted with personally on an intimate level (which is likely almost everyone we read about in the news or encounter in life)?
Man's judgment is hasty, because the chief malice of sin lies in the intention and counsel of the heart, which is shrouded in darkness to us. [Introduction to the Devout Life, Part III Ch. 28]
Not only that, but practically speaking, no one ever sees every single action, word and thought that led up to that person committing the objectively wrong thing. Again, only God sees all.
St. Francis de Sales even explicitly states that our tendency to rashly judge can absolutely be tied up with our temperament; because of that, we sometimes have to fight all the more against it:
"Such as these greatly need to be dealt with by some wise spiritual physician, for this bitterness being natural to them, it is hard to conquer; and although it be rather an imperfection than a sin, still it is very dangerous, because it gives rise to and fosters rash judgments and slander within the heart. [ibid.]
Actually, I definitely suggest you read this chapter in his book because we gives a short list of reasons why people might be tempted to judge rashly. It's really interesting but I won't get into all of them here.
Now, given the fact that we cannot know the intentions of the heart does not unburden us of the spiritual works of mercy like admonishing the sinner or instructing the uninformed.
Another remarkable spiritual work of mercy is to be patient with those in error. Patience. We can't expect an "ah-ha" moment and conversions overnight. Although God can work in such a way, often growth in the spiritual life and conversion takes much time, prayer, patience and humility.
Also, something I'd like to point out is that everyone has a unique personality, temperament and gifts that God has given them. For some, God has given the gift of holy boldness, like St. Paul. Others may be more tender. It may be tempting to assume one is being prideful if they're using their gift of boldness. It may be tempting to mistake one's meekness for weakness.
God has made everyone uniquely, with different gifts, personalities and temperaments. That's what make the diversity within the Body of Christ so beautiful and complementary. That's what makes us need one another. However, all gifts and temperaments are to be used, with humility, for the salvation of souls and building up of the Church.
This brings us, therefore, to my next point about the need to focus first on ourselves...
Remedies
To counter temptations to commit a rash judgement, our Lord principally tells us to examine ourselves first.
First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. [Matthew 7:5]
How much time do I spend examining or talking about the faults of others? If I were to "track" that, what would the time spent look like? Now, what if I were to "track" the time I spent examining my own conscience or in prayer, to how much time would that amount? How do these compare?
St. Bonaventure echoes:
When you perceive anything reprehensible in your neighbor, turn your eyes on yourself; before you cast any judgement, examine yourself well and condemn in yourself that which you would have condemned in him. [The Secret of Sanctity of St. John of the Cross, by Fr. Lucas of St. Joseph, O.C.D., Ch. 7]
One excellent way to soften our hearts in love while working toward the salvation of a person whose actions are alarming is to offer a prayer and act of reparation in direct response to the offense we perceive. If we can do this immediately or as soon as possible, that would be best. St. John of the Cross recommends this practice.
Finally, St. Francis de Sales gives advice that will allow us to not only avoid hasty judgements of actions, but allow us to love:
Drink freely of the sacred wine of love, and it will cure you of the evil tempers which lead you to these perverse judgments. So far from seeking out that which is evil, Love dreads meeting with it, and when such meeting is unavoidable, she shuts her eyes at the first symptom, and then in her holy simplicity she questions whether it were not merely a fantastic shadow which crossed her path rather than sin itself. Or if Love is forced to recognize the fact, she turns aside hastily, and strives to forget what she has seen. Of a truth, Love is the great healer of all ills, and of this above the rest. [ibid]
A Refining in Love
These are challenging words of the saints. To be honest, when I first read what I quoted right above, it at first seemed to me like St. Francis de Sales was off in la-la land about this. (No offense St. Francis!)
Yet, let's be honest: For a strong spiritual life - we should not be hooked on reading about the (bad) news of the world and Church. Yet isn't that what the devil would love to always "broadcast" before our eyes? He wants your love to grow very cold right now...
And because iniquity hath abounded, the charity of many shall grow cold. [Matthew 24:12]
We should actually be longing to fill ourselves with the good, true, and beautiful. The more bad we are coming across, the more good we need to counter it with otherwise - prayer, Sacred Scripture, the catechism, the saints, spiritual reading.
Again, this doesn't mean we put ourselves out of touch with the reality of something that has happened. Yes, we see. But St. Francis is teaching us to watch over our memory; it's the mulling over it in our head or the constant highlighting or reading/hearing of it that's going to damage our ability to love that person into heaven. It will affect us and chip away from our desire (a longing desire at that) to see their salvation. We are to be quick to love, and be quick to "take that person into our heart."
If we are quicker to desire to see justice dealt to that person than to desire to see that very person's face in heaven (go ahead, picture yourself with them in heaven and pay attention to your reaction), then something is amiss. Love needs refined.
If we recognize that we are disgusted with the thought of a certain person, though their actions are absolutely deemed intolerable, there is still something amiss. Love needs refined. There should be no bitterness in our hearts.
Of course, I am not downplaying justice; it is a virtue. And God often uses justice to bring people to that place of repentance, which absolutely makes His justice a loving and merciful act. But notice the end goal is salvation and a desire for God to rejoice with that person for eternity in heaven; the desire does not stop at the justice itself, much less the satisfaction one might find in seeing that justice meted. (Everyone has a natural desire for vengeance, let's be honest!)
"But you were wrong in your lenient judgements!"
Ok, so what if the person turns out to be malicious through his actions and you were wrong? Oh well. It's not like you chose to be willfully ignorant about a concerning action or event in the first place. What is sin, is sin. What is scandalous is scandalous. Yet it is still far better to err on the side of charity when it comes to judging the motives of their heart.
How we judge others is explicitly how God told us he will judge us.
In reality, it is frightening to think of how easy it is to rashly judge another. And it is frightening to think that in such a way as we are with others, so the Lord will be with us at our judgement.
Far better to err on the side of charity than make bold assumptions about a person's intentions or reasons, face your judgement at death, and find out your accusations were wrong!
Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God. [1 Corinthians 4:5]
So yes! Let us be refined in love. Let us desire truth and not seek out those who will make us feel justified or excused from our sin without sincere repentance. And let us desire to grow and be refined in charity. Those who refuse truth will be sifted. Those who refuse to grow in charity will be sifted.
Do not accept anything as the truth if it lacks love. And do not accept anything as love which lacks truth!
~St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross
"Surely if God's goodness is so great that in one instant we can obtain pardon and grace, how can we tell that he who was a sinner yesterday is the same today? Yesterday must not be judged today, not today yesterday; it is the last day that will give the final verdict."
~ St. Francis de Sales
***For extra spiritual food for thought on rash judgement, in your time driving, doing laundry, dishes, etc... I invite you to listen to this very challenging sermon on backbiting and rash judgement. It's only about 24 minutes but truly worth it if you're desiring to grow in sanctity and find navigating these waters a bit murky.
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