Justinian’s Flea, Redux

A meditation on the similarities, and the differences, between the Plague of Justinian in the sixth century AD and the CCP Virus of today.

From The Catholic Thing

By Francis X. Maier

Sometime in the early 6th Century in Africa, a bacterium that caused mild illness found a promising new host: a flea. Through that flea and countless others, it morphed into something quite different. Migrating up the Nile River on the bodies of rats, it came to the granaries of Alexandria. Then it crossed by ship in A.D. 542 to the markets of Constantinople.

Within five months, it killed up to half of the Byzantine capital’s populace. The plague derailed the Emperor Justinian’s efforts to restore the Roman Empire in the West. It crippled both the Byzantine and Persian Empires for generations. It left both empires ripe for Islamic expansion in the next century. And it effectively ended the age of Late Antiquity.

Or so argues William Rosen in his compelling 2007 story of Europe’s first great pandemic, Justinian’s Flea. The same theme – the power of disease to drive civilizational change – was picked up this past weekend (March 28-29) by Yale historian Frank Snowden in a Wall Street Journal profile. Snowden focused largely on Europe’s Medieval and Renaissance bouts of the Black Plague. Each of these pandemics happened in Christian cultures. On those who survived the ordeal, “it impressed the idea that ‘you could be struck down at any moment without warning,’ so you should focus on your immortal soul.”

This led to widespread “repentance, self-chastisement, and prayer.” Demands on the churches were heavy. In ministering to the ill, clergy and religious sustained stunningly high losses. These losses, in turn, colored the character and course of the churches for many decades.

Our current virus situation is both different from – and similar to – pandemics in the past. It’s different in its lethality. Coronavirus is a serious matter, with high risk for certain age and health groups, and v.ery contagious. But the great majority of people who contract it will recover. Today’s pandemic is also different, and far more survivable, due to the ability of medical authorities to understand and respond to the crisis

At the same time, today’s crisis is similar to the past in the shadow of mortality it casts over cultures that had grown fat for decades in self-confidence, distractions, and wealth. Everyone knows that he or she will one day die. But we’ve become very skilled at evading the thought it will actually happen to us. For rich nations and their elites, the party’s over. At least for a while.

One other notable fact makes this crisis different: people’s religious response. In Iran and other Muslim countries, crowds have stormed closed mosques in order to worship. By contrast, in the West, many Christians have voiced their frustration with the closure of churches, but most seem to accept the prudence of the decision.

Sunday Mass is widely available to follow online. So are retreats, reflections, and Catholic courses that fill the worship void. Many priests are hearing confessions in carefully sanitized and regulated environments. Adoration of the Eucharist, with proper social distancing, happens in some parishes for several hours every day.

But the sense of a widely shared Christian culture with a language that gave meaning to suffering has been lost – and with it, a common turn to “repentance, self-chastisement, and prayer.” As a nation, we’ve looked away for decades as others scrubbed God out of our vocabulary, our thinking, and the institutions that support our public life. Now that we need him, many people don’t have the words or memories to seek him out.

The most poignant lesson for the faithful as this crisis continues may be the sense of loss and depression felt by many of our priests. The pastor of my parish turned a dying community around in the space of three years. He brought it back to life. He restored a sense of purpose. He made it a joy again to take part in the celebration of Mass.

He’s a lucky one. He comes from a large family with plenty of loving relatives. He’s not totally alone; some of his brother priests have nothing but an empty rectory. But much of his life as the pastor of a living community has been shuttered now for weeks.

The parish school is closed. The contributions that sustain parish life, which had greatly improved, have now dropped off because no one’s in church. And some of the tepid will simply not come back when the church reopens. They were on the fence. Now they’re off.

The “civilizational change” wrought by the coronavirus may be less drastic than pandemics in the past. But for American Christians, it may clarify loyalties in a sobering and uniquely painful way.

Shortly before he died, the great French Catholic novelist Georges Bernanos wrote that as long as Christian faith and love “hadn’t grown cold in the world, as long as the world had its share of saints, certain truths could be forgotten. Now [those truths] are reappearing again, like a rock at low tide. It is sanctity and the saints who maintain the interior life without which humanity must debase itself to the point of extinction.”

The illness in the world around us this year, as we ready ourselves for Holy Week, holds a mirror up to our real desires and concerns. It’s an opportunity to pray for those suffering with the virus; to remember and pray for our priests; to support each other in whatever ways we can; and to treasure the precious time we have with those we hold dear. It’s also an invitation to examine the infection of worldliness in our own hearts.

Life, we’re now forced to remember, is fragile and brief. No one can make us give ourselves fully and sincerely to God. But if there were ever a time to do it, this is it.

*Image: Saint Sebastian Interceding for the Plague Stricken by Josse Lieferinxe (aka, the Master of St. Sebastian), c. 1498 [Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD]

The Queen's Speeches, 2020 & 1940

In Her Majesty's message to Britain and the Commonwealth on Sunday evening she referenced her first ever public broadcast almost 80 years ago. Here is her speech from Sunday:

And here is that speech she made in 1940, at the age of 14, to a Britain and Empire at war against a human enemy, as they stand today at war against a microscopic enemy:

GOD SAVE THE QUEEN!

Denmark’s Weapons Against COVID-19: Early Action, High Trust—and a No-Nonsense Queen

“Det synes jeg ikke, man kan være bekendt,” the Queen said, words that loosely translate to “It simply isn’t done.” She added: “It is thoughtless. And it is inconsiderate.”

From Quillette

By Kay Xander Mellish

It’s early spring in Denmark, a welcome relief after months of murky, rainy darkness. Even Copenhagen’s less-affluent districts are covered with carpets of blue wildflowers.

It’s also the third week of the country’s coronavirus quarantine, in which Denmark became one of the first countries in Europe to shut its schools and send most public employees home. On March 14th, it was among the first to close its borders entirely.

Other than going to work, shopping for non-essentials and dining out, the Danes are doing much of what they would otherwise be doing during spring’s chilly opening act. They are bicycling, sailing, taking nature walks, and gardening. Parents of three- and four-year-olds are teaching them how to ride a bicycle by sticking a broom through the seat support and guiding them along the sidewalks.

And there is always plenty of spring housework—for everyone. (Danish men do more housework than any of their OECD counterparts.) This includes airing out the feather quilts after the long winter, filling up the window boxes with spring flowers, and embarking on the endless home-improvement projects that Danes adore. Wealthier Danes also spend time in their summer houses, where they do the same things all over again.

The worst-case coronavirus scenario is as terrifying in Denmark as it is everywhere else. There is no guarantee that the Danish health system will have the resources to help everyone who needs care. And the economy might be in tatters when the quarantine ends. But for now, there is a certain pleasure in watching the gentle social machinery of the Danish state and people swing into action. At the lakes in downtown Copenhagen—the city’s former moat—kindly city employees in safety vests make sure everyone runs or strolls in a clockwise direction, minimizing the chance of close face-to-face encounters.

The Danish police sent a friendly message to every mobile telephone in the country, reminding recipients to practice social distancing as you “enjoy your weekend.” And Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen made an appearance on the Instagram account of Denmark’s top Gen-Z influencer, Anders Hemmingsen. She empathized with teens’ desire to go out and party, but encouraged them to stay home and tolerate their parents for a little longer.

Frederiksen, a 42-year-old divorced mother of two school-aged children, was initially accused of overreacting to the pandemic. As it turned out, she was out ahead of many other countries in Europe, which generally adopted similar measures after delays of days or weeks.

The first confirmed case in Denmark was on February 27th. Within eight days, Frederiksen had restricted all gatherings to a maximum of 1,000 people, which meant cancelling a number of highly anticipated sports and music events. (The 1980s-era band Simple Minds, having sold 1,500 tickets to a 40th anniversary show, split its local crowd in half, and generously played two separate concerts.) On March 11th, the number permitted to gather was cut to 100; and on March 18th, it went down to 10. Libraries, museums, gyms, and state churches were closed. Few cared about the churches, but there was a great deal of anguish about the gyms.

When the borders were closed, the grumbling about overreaction increased, particularly among commuters who live in less-expensive Sweden and travel across the Øresund Bridge for work in higher-salary Denmark. (The bridge is still open to freight and to Danes, but not to most Swedes.) Sweden, which has taken a more laissez-faire approach to coronavirus, harrumphed about the insult to Scandinavian solidarity and European unity; and a top Swedish health official said the border closing “could not be justified from a health perspective.” Five days later, Sweden closed its own borders. Although Sweden’s closure applied only to visitors from non-EU countries, this was a big step for a country the Danes mock ceaselessly for its preternatural political correctness.

Danes themselves have never been particularly hobbled by political correctness. Indeed, this is a country that still indexes published unemployment statistics according to residents’ country of origin. And early during the coronavirus saga, a Danish newspaper—the same one that enraged parts of the Muslim world in 2005 with a cartoon of the prophet Muhammad—published a cartoon of the Chinese flag in which each star had been replaced by a tiny coronavirus symbol. An army of Chinese internet trolls swiftly descended on Danish websites. The local Chinese ambassador called it an “insult to China,” and demanded that the newspaper and cartoonist “publicly apologize to the Chinese people.”

Denmark has only a small Chinese community, but it is a huge destination for Chinese visitors, many of whom grew up on the stories of Hans Christian Andersen. These tourists pump millions of kroner into the national economy. The Copenhagen hotel sector, in the midst of a building boom that had been expected to expand capacity by 40 percent between 2018 and 2021, was particularly vulnerable to a boycott, even before coronavirus swept Europe. But Frederiksen, who had been in office only about six months at the time, stood firm. “We have a strong tradition of freedom of expression in Denmark, and that includes satirical drawings,” she told a journalist. “That’s not going to change.”

Of late, Frederiksen has been looking tired as she provides her regular updates from the parliament at Christiansborg, where her Social Democratic party must find allies among more than 10 squabbling smaller parties to get legislation approved. Still, her government has been able to quickly pass a massive stimulus program with separate aid packages for big companies and smaller firms and freelancers. To avoid mass layoffs, big companies can get grants for 75 percent of the salary of each employee they retain. The package for small companies and freelancers allows them to put off paying taxes and get preferred access to loans. For people already unemployed, unemployment benefits will be extended.

It helps that the Danish society is still characterized by high levels of trust—including trust in their government. It is one of the least corrupt nations on Earth, a fact that helps make citizens more willing to pay their (extremely high) taxes. Denmark also has a strong national identity (where else do people put their country’s flag on birthday cakes?) which yields high levels of solidarity and respect for imposed norms.

The expectation of situation-appropriate behavior was the theme conveyed by Denmark’s much-loved Queen Margrethe, an 80-year-old chain smoker nicknamed Daisy who still insists on reading her speeches from stapled-together pieces of paper instead of a teleprompter.

Delivering the Danish Royal Family’s first non-holiday national address since World War II, Margrethe was tough on anyone who might violate isolation orders for, say, a birthday party. “Det synes jeg ikke, man kan være bekendt,” the Queen said, looking right at the camera. It was an old-ladyish admonishment that loosely translates to “It simply isn’t done.” She added: “It is thoughtless. And it is inconsiderate.”

So far, most Danes have been quite considerate. Except for an outbreak of supermarket boorishness immediately before the borders closed, there has been little panic buying, and the shelves are mostly full, with bored-looking teenagers behind newly installed plexiglass at the till. Stickers have been placed on the floor near the checkout lines so everyone remains at a good social distance.

Steve Dresser

✔@dresserman

This is from Salling Group / @bilkadk - The Danes adopting their social distancing in the queue.

We in the UK need to get a grip. ASAP.

21

3:38 PM - Mar 22, 2020

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A few individuals, however, have been slightly less than considerate. Armed gangs have busted into hospital emergency rooms to steal hand sanitizer and face masks. And con artists have been working their way into the homes of the elderly, pretending to be coronavirus testers and making off with their valuables. Moving quickly, the government has proposed to double the penalty for crimes related to coronavirus. And businesses who cheat on the aid package would be hit with four times the usual penalty for fraud.

As the outbreak continues, there is discussion about limiting movement between Denmark’s regions, similar to an initiative that Norway already has put into place. That would be a shocking idea for a country that has been largely united since Viking days. In a gesture of national solidarity, in fact, the country’s bishops suggested on Tuesday that each of Denmark’s 2,350 empty churches ring their bells at 5pm every day. The bells are a traditional call to spirituality, explained bishop Henrik Wigh-Poulsen, and “we would like everyone to take a moment to think about the sick, and about everyone who is taking care of the sick.”

“Even though it’s understandable that most people are focused on themselves and their loved ones,” he added, “now is the time to remember God and our fellow humans and, in spite of everything, the good that comes to us every single day.”

Real Crusades History Live: Favorite Events of the Crusades

Real Crusades History #135. And don't forget the Real Crusades History website!

Join the Real Crusades History team for a discussion of some of our favorite events in the history of the Crusades. This will be a relaxed, informal chat with all the RCH crew: J Stephen Roberts, Scott Amis, Rand Brown, and Peter Seferian. We'll be taking questions from the viewers as well.

Vatican News Posts Troubling Eco-Essay, Then Hastily Removes It

The eco-pagans and Pachamama worshipers in the Church think the CCP Virus is a good thing. Not as a call to penance, but because it's healing their 'goddess'.

From Catholic World Report

By William L. Patenaude

For some who champion the Church’s environmental teachings, the desire to protect and nurture God’s gift of creation seems to have set them at odds with humanity itself.

Just days after I wrote about the irresponsibility of environmental advocates looking for silver linings in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Vatican News posted on Monday, and then quickly removed, a piece doing just this.

“Coronavirus: Earth’s unlikely ally” was summed up by Vatican News this way: “The changes in human behavior due to the Covid-19 virus pandemic are yielding unintended benefits to the planet.”

The reduction in human activity, the piece stated, “is having an unintended benefit: Earth is healing itself.”

The essay went on to describe the return of fish in clearer waters in and around Venice, improvement in air quality in Hong Kong, and general reductions in carbon emissions. These sorts of things, of course, happen when whole populations huddle fearfully in their homes as friends and relatives are dying alone in nearby hospitals.

As I wrote in my March 28 piece, cheering improvements to the natural environment right now “is heartless. Indeed, it is Godless.”

The short-lived Vatican News piece—a reflection written by Father Benedict Mayaki, SJ, which can still be found here—went on to commend the global response, but not for the unified quest for medicines and vaccines. Instead, Father Mayaki expressed hope that “Some countries are already preparing to restart their economies after the pandemic…[m]any see this as an opportunity to consider sustainable options.”

Okay. There’s something to be said here. For many across the world—rich, poor; old, young; urbanite, suburbanite, or those who reside in rural communities—the screeching halt of our former ways of life is reminding us of simpler alternatives. We are relearning—and for some, simply learning—lifestyles focused on relationships rather than consumption. Lifestyles that understand our connectedness to the wider world while at the same time appreciating the joys of our families and local communities.

But again, as I noted several days ago, while there will be a time to reflect on all this, “now is not that time.”

The reason for this should be self-explanatory. As of this writing, worldwide some 800,000 people that we know of are infected with COVID-19, and some 39,000 have died. I myself am locked down at home, caring for an elderly mother who, should she get this disease, would probably die.

Certainly, these realities are why Vatican News so quickly removed the post. But the very fact that it was posted at all—and the fact that it was written by a member of the clergy—serves as a warning about troubling elements within the Catholic eco-movement, concerns which I’ve written about elsewhere.

For some who champion the Church’s environmental teachings, the desire to protect and nurture God’s gift of creation seems to have set them at odds with humanity itself. Those in the private sector, for instance, are looked upon with suspicion. Consumers are problematic, too. Both seem to become something alien rather than brothers and sisters formed in the image and likeness of the Triune God, who is love itself—flawed men and women, certainly, as are we all, for whom Our Lord suffered his Passion and death.

I have written and lectured for almost two decades on the Church’s orthodox and immensely important teachings on ecology—teachings rooted in revelation and championed especially by Pope Francis and his two immediate predecessors. Moreover, I know, admire, and love so many deeply faithful, good, and often heroic Catholic eco-advocates—men and women working in sometimes hostile political and social environments—who may put their lives in peril for daring to speak up for the life-giving common good that is the natural environment.

That said, I applaud the decision by Vatican News to remove the offending essay because it did not represent the charity and faithfulness of the vast majority of Catholic eco-advocates. Still, the fact that the news agency would post it to begin with is troubling. Someone there ought to be spoken to, at the least, and the author should be fraternally corrected in a way that is appropriate to clergy.

Last, allow me to suggest that perhaps there is indeed a silver lining here. The post’s publication briefly shone a spotlight on perhaps well-meaning but nonetheless errant voices within Catholic eco-circles—advocates who (like us all) must repent and believe in the Gospel, for the good of their own souls and for that of the Church.

For it will only be through our adherence to the truths of revelation—including that great command to love one’s neighbor, even one’s enemy—that we’ll have any chance to unite a divided Church, save the natural environment, and maintain the dignity and innate value of human life, in every stage of development, from conception to a natural and, God willing, peaceful death.

Baltimore Catechism #4 - Lesson 6 - ON SIN AND ITS KINDS

Questions marked * are not in the Baltimore Catechism #1.

ON SIN AND ITS KINDS

51 Q. Is Original Sin the only kind of sin? A. Original Sin is not the only kind of sin; there is another kind of sin which we commit ourselves, called actual sin.

Sin is first or chiefly divided into original and actual; that is, into the sin we inherit from our first parents and the sin we commit ourselves. We may commit "actual" sin in two ways; either by doing what we should not do—stealing, for example—and thus we have a sin of commission, that is, a bad act committed; or by not doing what we should do—not hearing Mass on Sunday, for example—and thus we have a sin of omission, that is, a good act omitted. So it is not enough to simply do no harm, we must also do some good. Heaven is a reward, and we must do something to merit it. Suppose a man employed a boy to do the work of his office, and when he came in the morning found that the boy had neglected the work assigned to him, and when spoken to about it simply answered: "Sir, I did no harm"; do you think he would be entitled to his wages? Of course he did not and should do no harm; but is his employer to pay him wages for that? Certainly not. In like manner, God is not going to reward us for doing no harm; but on the contrary, He will punish us if we do wrong, and give no reward unless we perform the work He has marked out for us. Neither would the office boy deserve any wages if he did only what pleases himself, and not the work assigned by his master. In the same way, God will not accept any worship or religion but the one He has revealed. He tells us Himself how He wishes to be worshipped, and our own invented methods will not please Him. Hence we see the folly of those who say that all religions are equally good, and that we can be saved by practicing any of them. We can be saved only in the one religion which God Himself has instituted, and by which He wishes to be honored. Many also foolishly believe, or say they believe, that if they are honest, sober, and the like, doing no injury to anyone, they shall be saved without the practice of any form of religious worship. But how about God's laws and commands? Are they to be despised, disregarded, and neglected entirely, without any fear of punishment? Surely not! And persons who thus think they are doing no harm are neglecting to serve God—the greatest harm they can do, and for which they will lose Heaven. God, we are told, assigned to everyone in this world a certain work to perform in a particular state of life, and this work is called "vocation." One, for instance, is to be a priest; another, a layman; one married; another single, etc. It is important for us to discover our true vocation; for if we are in the state of life to which God has called us, we shall be happy; but if we select our own work, our own state of life without consulting Him, we shall seldom be happy in it. How are we to know our vocation? Chiefly by praying to God and asking Him to make it known to us. Then if He gives us a strong inclination—constant, or nearly constant—for a certain state of life, and the ability to fulfill its duties, we may well believe that God wishes us to be in that state.

After we have begged God's assistance, we must ask our confessor's advice in the matter, and listen attentively to what the Holy Ghost inspires him to say. The signs of our vocation are, therefore, as stated: first, a strong desire, and second, an aptitude for the state to which we believe we are called. For example, a young man might be very holy, but if unable to learn, he could never be a priest. Another might be very learned and holy, but if too sickly to perform a priest's duties, he could not, or at least would not, be ordained. Another might be learned and healthy, but not virtuous, and so he could never be a priest. Aptitude, therefore, means all the qualities necessary, whether of mind, or soul, or body. The same is true for a young girl who wishes to become a religious; and the same, indeed, for any person's vocation. We should never enter a state of life to which we are not called, simply to please parents or others. Neither should we be persuaded by them to give up a state to which we are called; for we should embrace our true vocation at any sacrifice, that in it we may serve God better, and be more certain of saving our souls. Thus, parents and guardians who prevent their children from entering the state to which they are called may sin grievously by exposing them to eternal loss of salvation. Their sin is all the greater when they try to influence their children in this matter for selfish or worldly motives. As they may be selfish and prejudiced without knowing it, they too, should ask the advice of their confessor, and good persons of experience. Oh! how many children, sons and daughters, are made unhappy all the days of their life by parents or superiors forcing them into some state to which they were not called, or by keeping them from one to which they were called. This matter of your vocation rests with yourselves and Almighty God, and you are free to do what He directs without consideration for anyone.

52 Q. What is actual sin? A. Actual sin is any willful thought, word, deed, or omission contrary to the law of God.

Three ways we may sin, by "thought"—allowing our minds to dwell on sinful things; "word"—by cursing, telling lies, etc.; "deed"—by any kind of bad action. But to be sins, these thoughts, words and deeds must be willful; that is, we must fully know what we are doing, and be free in doing it. Then they must be "contrary to the law of God"; that is, violate some law He commands us to obey, whether it be a law He gave directly Himself, or through His Church. We can also violate God's law by neglecting to observe it, and thus sin, provided the neglect be willful, and the thing neglected commanded by God or by His Church.

53 Q. How many kinds of actual sin are there? A. There are two kinds of actual sin—mortal and venial.

"Mortal," that is, the sin which kills the soul. When a man receives a very severe wound, we say he is mortally wounded; that is, he will die from the wound. As breath shows there is life in the body, so grace is the life of the soul; when all the breath is out of the body, we say the man is dead. He can perform no action to help himself or others. So when all grace is out of the soul we say it is dead, because it is reduced to the condition of a dead body. It can do no action worthy of merit, such as a soul should do; that is, it can do no action that God is bound to reward—it is dead. But you will say the soul never dies. You mean it will never cease to exist; but we call it dead when it has lost all its power to do supernatural good.

"Venial" sin does not drive out all the grace; it wounds the soul, it weakens it just as slight wounds weaken the body. If it falls very frequently into venial sin, it will fall very soon into mortal sin also; for the Holy Scripture says that he that contemneth small things shall fall by little and little. (Ecclus. 19:1). A venial sin seems a little thing, but if we do not avoid it we shall by degrees fall into greater, or mortal, sin. Venial sin makes God less friendly to us and displeases Him. Now if we really love God, we will not displease Him even in the most trifling things.

54 Q. What is mortal sin? A. Mortal sin is a grievous offense against the law of God.

"Grievous"—that is, very great or serious. "Against the law." If we are in doubt whether anything is sinful or not, we must ask ourselves: is it forbidden by God or His Church? and if we do not know of any law forbidding it, it cannot be a sin, at least for us.

Suppose, for example, a boy should doubt whether it is sinful or not to fly a kite. Well, is there any law of God or of His Church saying it is sinful to fly a kite? If not, then it cannot be a sin. But it might be sinful for another reason, namely, his parents or superiors might forbid it, and there is a law of God saying you must not disobey your parents or superiors. Therefore a thing not sinful in itself, that is, not directly forbidden by God or His Church, may become sinful for some other reason well known to us.

We must not, however, doubt concerning the sinfulness or lawfulness of everything we do; for that would be foolish and lead us to be scrupulous. If we doubt at all we should have some good reason for doubting, that is, for believing that the thing we are about to do is or is not forbidden. When, therefore, we have such a doubt we must seek information from those who can enlighten us on the subject, so that we may act without the danger of sinning. It is our intention that makes the act we perform sinful or not. Let me explain. Suppose during Lent a person should mistake Friday for Thursday and should eat meat—that person would not commit a real sin, because it is not a sin to eat meat on an ordinary Thursday. He would commit what we call a material sin; that is, his action would be a sin if he really knew what he was doing. On the other hand, if the person, thinking it was Friday when it was really Thursday, ate meat, knowing it to be forbidden, that person would commit a mortal sin, because he intended to do so. Therefore, if what we do is not known to be a sin while we do it, it is no sin for us and cannot become a sin afterwards. But as soon as we know or learn that what we did was wrong, it would be a sin if we did the same thing again. In the same way, everything we do thinking it to be wrong or sinful is wrong and sinful for us, though it may not be wrong for those who know better. Again, it is sinful to judge others for doing wrong, because they may not know that what they do is sinful. It would be better for us to instruct than to blame them. The best we can do, therefore, is to learn well all God's laws and the laws of His Church as they are taught in the catechism, so that we may know when we are violating them or when we are not, i.e., when we are sinning and when we are not.

*55 Q. Why is this sin called mortal? A. This sin is called mortal because it deprives us of spiritual life, which is sanctifying grace, and brings everlasting death and damnation on the soul.

When the soul is sent to Hell it is dead forever, because never again will it be able to do a single meritorious act.

*56 Q. How many things are necessary to make a sin mortal? A. To make a sin mortal three things are necessary: a grievous matter, sufficient reflection, and full consent of the will.

"Grievous matter." To steal is a sin. Now, if you steal only a pin the act of stealing in that case could not be a mortal sin, because the "matter," namely, the stealing of an ordinary pin, is not grievous. But suppose it was a diamond pin of great value, then it would surely be "grievous matter." "Sufficient reflection," that is, you must know what you are doing at the time you do it. For example, suppose while you stole the diamond pin you thought you were stealing a pin with a small piece of glass, of little value, you would not have sufficient reflection and would not commit a mortal sin till you found out that what you had stolen was a valuable diamond; if you continued to keep it after learning your mistake, you would surely commit a mortal sin. "Full consent." Suppose you were shooting at a target and accidentally killed a man: you would not have the sin of murder, because you did not will or wish to kill a man.

Therefore three things are necessary that your act may be a mortal sin: (1) The act you do must be bad, and sufficiently important; (2) You must reflect that you are doing it, and know that it is wrong; (3) You must do it freely, deliberately, and willfully.

57 Q. What is venial sin? A. Venial sin is a slight offense against the law of God in matters of less importance, or in matters of great importance it is an offense committed without sufficient reflection or full consent of the will.

"Slight," that is, a small offense or fault; called "venial," not because it is not a sin, but because God pardons it more willingly or easily than He does a mortal sin. "Less importance," like stealing an ordinary, common pin. "Great importance," like stealing a diamond pin. Without "reflection" or "consent," when you did not know it was a diamond and did not intend to steal a diamond.

*58 Q. Which are the effects of venial sin? A. The effects of venial sin are the lessening of the love of God in our heart, the making us less worthy of His help, and the weakening of the power to resist mortal sin.

"Lessening of the love," because it lessens grace, and grace increases the love of God in us. It displeases God, and though we do not offend Him very greatly, we still offend Him. "Weakening of the power to resist." If a man is wounded, it will be easier to kill him than if he is in perfect health. So mortal sin will more easily kill a soul already weakened by the wounds of venial sin.

59 Q. Which are the chief sources of sin? A. The chief sources of sin are seven: Pride, Covetousness, Lust, Anger, Gluttony, Envy, and Sloth; and they are commonly called capital sins.

A "source" is that from which anything else comes. The source of a river is the little spring on the Mountainside where the river first begins. This little stream runs down the mountain, and as it goes along gathers strength and size from other little streams running into it. It cuts its way through the meadows, and marks the course and is the beginning of a great river, sweeping all things before it and carrying them off to the ocean. Now, if someone in the beginning had stopped up the little spring on the mountain—the first source of the river—there would have been no river in that particular place. It is just the same with sin. There is one sin that is the source, and as it goes along like the stream it gathers strength; other sins follow it and are united with it. Again: each of these "capital sins," as they are called, is like a leader or a captain in an army, with so many others under him and following him. Now, if you take away the head, the other members of the body will perish; so if you destroy the capital sin, the other sins that follow it will disappear also. Very few persons have all the capital sins: some are guilty of one of them, some of two, some of three, but few if any are guilty of them all. The one we are guilty of, and which is the cause of all our other sins, is called our predominant sin or our ruling passion. We should try to find it out, and labor to overcome it.

Every one of these capital sins has a great many other sins following it.

"Pride" is an inordinate self-esteem. Pride comes under the First Commandment; because by thinking too much of ourselves we neglect God, and give to ourselves the honor due to Him. Of what have we to be proud? Of our personal appearance? Disease may efface in one night every trace of beauty. Of our clothing? It is not ours; we have not produced it; most of it is taken from the lower animals—wool from the sheep, leather from the ox, feathers from the bird, etc. Are we proud of our wealth, money or property? These may be stolen or destroyed by fire. The learned may become insane, and so we have nothing to be proud of but our good works. All that we have is from God, and we can have it only as long as He wishes. We had nothing coming into the world, and we leave it with nothing but the shroud in which we are buried; and even this does not go with the soul, but remains with the body to rot in the earth. Soon after death our bodies become so offensive that even our dearest friends hasten to place them under ground, where they become the food of worms, a mass of corruption loathsome to sight and smell. Why, then, should we be so proud of this body, and commit so much sin for it, pamper it with every delicacy, only to be the food of worms? This does not mean, however, that we are not to keep our bodies clean, and take good care of them. We are bound to do so, and could not neglect it without committing sin. The one thing to be avoided is taking too much care of them, and neglecting our soul and God on their account. The followers of pride are: conceit, hypocrisy, foolish display in dress or conduct, harshness to others, waste of time on ourselves, etc.

"Covetousness," the same as avarice, greed, etc., is an inordinate desire for worldly goods. "Inordinate," because it is not avarice to prudently provide for the future either for ourselves or others. Covetousness comes under the Tenth Commandment, and is forbidden by it. We must be content with what we have or can get honestly. The followers of covetousness are: Want of charity, dishonest dealing, theft, etc.

"Lust" is the desire for sins of the flesh; for impure thoughts, words, or actions. It comes under the Sixth and Ninth Commandments, and includes all that is forbidden by those Commandments. It is the habit of always violating, or of desiring to violate, the Sixth and Ninth Commandments. Lust and impurity mean the same thing. The followers of lust are, generally, neglect of prayer, neglect of the Sacraments, and final loss of faith.

"Anger" comes under the Fifth Commandment. It is followed by hatred, the desire of revenge, etc.

"Gluttony" is the sin of eating or drinking too much. With regard to eating, it is committed by eating too often; by being too particular about what we eat, by being too extravagant in always looking for the most costly things, that we think others cannot have. With regard to drinking, it is generally committed by taking too much of intoxicating liquors. The drunkard is a glutton and commits the sin of gluttony every time he becomes intoxicated. Gluttony, especially in drink, comes in a manner under the First Commandment, because by depriving ourselves of our reason we cannot give God the honor and respect which is His due. Think of how many sins the drunkard commits. He becomes intoxicated, which in itself is a sin. He deprives himself of the use of reason, abuses God's great gift, and becomes like a brute beast. Indeed in a way he becomes worse than a beast; for beasts always follow the laws that God has given to their nature, and never drink to excess. They obey God, and man is the only one of God's creatures that does not always keep His laws. Think too of the number of insane persons confined in asylums, who would give all in this world for the use of their reason, if they could only understand their miserable condition. Yet the drunkard abuses the gift that would make these poor unfortunate lunatics happy. Again, the drunkard injures his health and thus violates the Fifth Commandment by committing a kind of slow suicide. He loses self-respect, makes use of sinful language; frequently neglects Mass and all his religious duties, exposes himself to the danger of death while in a state of sin, gives scandal to his family and neighbors, and by his bad example causes some to leave or remain out of the true Church. By continued intemperance, he may become insane and remain in that condition till death puts an end to his career and he goes unprepared before the judgment seat of God. Besides all this he squanders the money he should put to a better use and turns God's gifts into a means of offending Him. If a father, he neglects the children and wife for whom he has promised to provide; leaves them cold and hungry while he commits sin with the means that would make them comfortable. Drunkenness therefore is a sin accompanied by many deplorable evils. There are three great sins you should always be on your guard against during your whole lives, namely, drunkenness, dishonesty, and impurity. If you avoid these you will almost surely avoid all other sins; for nearly all sins can be traced back to these three. They are the most dangerous, first, because they have most followers, and secondly, because they grow upon us almost without our knowing it. The drunkard begins perhaps as a boy by taking a little, even very little; the second time he takes a little more; the next time still more, then he begins to be fond of strong drink and can scarcely do without it; finally he becomes the slave of intemperance and sells his soul and body for it. The passions of dishonesty and impurity grow by degrees in the same manner. Therefore avoid them in the beginning and resist them while they are under your power. If you find yourself inclined to any of these sins in your youth, stop them at once.

"Envy" is the desire to see another meet with misfortune that we may be benefited by it. We are glad when he does not succeed in his business, we are sorry when anyone speaks well of him, etc. Envy comes under the Eighth Commandment.

"Sloth" is committed when we idle our time, and are lazy; when we are indifferent about serving God; when we do anything slowly and poorly and in a way that shows we would rather not do it. They are slothful who lie in bed late in the morning and neglect their duty. Slothful people are often untidy in their personal appearance; and they are nearly always in misery and want, unless somebody else takes care of them. Sloth comes under the First Commandment, because it has reference in a special manner to the way in which we serve God. How, then, shall we best destroy sin in our souls? By finding out our chief capital sin and rooting it out. If a strong oak tree is deeply rooted in the ground, how will you best destroy its life? By cutting off the branches? No. For with each returning spring new branches will grow. How then? By cutting the root and then the great oak with all its branches will die. In the same way our capital sin is the root, and as long as we leave it in our souls other sins will grow out of it. While we are trying to destroy our sins without touching our capital sin—our chief sin—we are only cutting off branches that will grow again. Indeed a great many people are only cutting off branches all the time and that is why they are not benefited as much as they could be by the prayers they say, Masses they hear, Sacraments they receive, and sermons they listen to. But do not imagine that because you are not becoming better, when you pray, hear Mass, and receive the Sacraments, you are doing no good at all. That would be a great mistake, and just such a thing as the devil would suggest to make persons give up their devotions. What is the use, he might say, of your trying to be good? You are just as bad as you were a year ago. Do not listen to that temptation. Were it not for your prayers and your reception of the Sacraments, you would become a great deal worse than you are. Suppose a man is rowing on the river against a very strong tide. He is rowing as hard as he can and yet he is not advancing one foot up the stream. Is he doing nothing therefore? Ah! he is doing a great deal: he is preventing himself from being carried with the current out into the ocean. He is keeping himself where he is till the force of the tide diminishes, and then he can advance. So they who are trying to be good are struggling against the strong tide of temptation. If they cease to struggle against it, they will be carried out into the great ocean of sin and lost forever. Someday the temptation will grow weaker and then they will be able to advance towards Heaven. We feel temptations most when we are trying to resist them and lead good lives, because we are working against our evil inclinations—the strong tide of our passions. We have no trouble going with them.

Next - Baltimore Catechism #4 - Lesson 7 - ON THE INCARNATION AND REDEMPTION

Word of the Day: Holy Week

HOLY WEEK. The week preceding Easter, from Passion (Palm) Sunday through Holy Saturday inclusive. During this week the Church commemorates the Passion of Christ, and all the ceremonies reflect this attitude of sorrow, yet joined with gratitude for God's mercy in becoming man in order to suffer and die for a sinful mankind.

The Rise of Militant Catholicism and Rules for Retrogrades

The War Trumpet sounds! Mr Schaetzel calls us to the vocation we accepted at our Confirmation, that of Soldiers of Christ, fighting for Christendom!

From Complete Christianity

By Shane Schaetzel

The world has radically changed in the wake of the Wuhan Virus (COVID-19) and with it the Catholic Church has changed too. The worldwide quarantine, of both the sick and the healthy, has spawned the birth of something new. Or maybe I should say the rebirth of something very old. The rise of Militant Catholicism has begun and with it the promulgation of Rules for Retrogrades.

What is a Militant Catholic? Simply put, a Militant Catholic is any Catholic who actually believes everything the Catholic Church teaches, and strives not only to live it in his own life, but also encourage others to do the same. Militant Catholics might be traditional, as in Latin Mass devotees. Militant Catholics might be Eastern Catholics who love and practice the Faith. Militant Catholics might be Ordinariate Catholics who are devoted to the English Patrimony within the Catholic Church. Militant Catholics may be regular Catholics who attend a Novus Ordo Mass, but who seriously believe the whole Faith, strive to live it, and convince others to do the same. In other words, a Militant Catholic is just a Catholic, who is serious about the Faith and won’t accept the halfhearted, lukewarm Catholicism that has permeated our culture for the last 50 years. If you’re not sure what I mean by halfhearted and lukewarm Catholicism, let me clarify by dropping some names. I’m talking about the Catholicism of Cardinal John Deardon, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Cardinal Roger Mahoney, Cardinal Blaise Cupich, Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Pope Francis. I’m speaking of the kind of Catholicism that gives communion to pro-abortion politicians, affirms or ignores homosexualism in the Church, rebels against Church teaching on marriage and contraception, sees no distinction between abortion and economics, makes clergy into social justice warriors (SJWs), coddles Pagan idolatry and covers up sexual abuse. That kind of Catholicism is over. It is a dying relic of a previous generation that is no longer powerful or relevant. This lukewarm Catholicism is now “circling the wagons” as the saying goes, in full retreat mode, both from the culture and the civil government, as it closes down churches and downsizes dioceses. It offers the Catholic Faithful nothing anymore. Its biggest proponents are Baby Boomers who relished the liturgical changes of the 1970s and used them as an opportunity to reject traditional Catholic teaching as well. That generation is slowly fading away, and with it the lukewarm Catholicism they created and nourished for a generation.

What is arising in its place, incubated in Catholic homes now in quarantine, safely removed from the influence of lukewarm clergy during this crisis, is a new kind of Catholicism (or rather a very old kind). We shall call it Militant Catholicism: a fellowship of traditionalist, conservative, ordinariate, and eastern Catholics, united with regular Novus Ordo Catholics of kindred spirit, to emerge from this quarantine as Faithful to the historic teachings of the Church, and in full retrograde rejection of the lukewarm Catholicism that is now obsolete and irrelevant to our lives. We will have been denied the sacraments of confession and communion for at least a month, and in some cases longer, with the full understanding that any bishop who would do this to us, and simultaneously allow public sinners (like pro-abortion politicians) to receive communion, is no bishop that we can relate to or have anything in common with. The fact that we are still in the same Church is a mere technicality, which will most certainly be rectified in time, as our Lord and Savior sorts this out in the near future. We leave that to Him and His providence. As for us, we are Militant Catholics, and we shall behave according to the FOUR CHARACTERISTICS of Militant Catholicism…

1. We shall believe everything the Catholic Church teaches, as taught in the Baltimore Catechism, and we shall study it fervently. Other Catechisms (such as the Catechism of Trent, the Universal Catechism, the US Bishops Catechism, etc.) will be useful to us for reference, but for Militant Catholics in the United States, the Baltimore Catechism shall be our gold standard as it is easy to procure and understand at all age levels.
2. We shall make every attempt to find and worship at a Reverent Catholic Mass, wherever we can find one, throughout the United States, or wherever else we may live. We shall not give up. We shall continue to seek one indefinitely, renewing our search every week, until we can find one, or one is provided nearby, even if we must drive long distances to attend. We do this because we understand that liturgy is catechesis in its highest form, Lex Orandi Lex Credendi (or “the law of prayer is the law of faith”), meaning how we worship determines how we believe. Sloppy and irreverent worship results in sloppy and irreverent faith. Orderly and reverent worship results in orderly and reverent faith. This is a rule as old as Catholicism itself.
3. We shall make every effort to teach the Faith to our families, most especially our children, and live in accordance with it, making our own homes the primary vehicle for catechesis, doing it ourselves, rather than entrusting it to the clergy and Catholic schools, which have consistently failed us for an entire generation. If we are able, we shall homeschool our children entirely, removing them from the influence of corrupt public schools and compromised Catholic schools.
4. We shall read the Rules for Retrogrades and seek to incorporate them into our lives.

The Rules for Retrogrades, was written by Dr. Timothy Gordon and his brother, David Gordon, to counter the Rules for Radicals, written by Saul Alinsky and dedicated to Lucifer (the Devil) who was the first radical. The Satanic Alinsky bestseller has been the playbook and manual of the Democratic Party and partisans, along with socialists and radicals of all stripes, since the early 1970s. Rules for Retrogrades not only counters Alinsky’s evil book, but is conversely dedicated to Saint Michael, who defeated Lucifer in heaven and continues to wage war against him here on earth. Within the pages of Rules for Retrogrades, one will find a play-by-play set of principles that will guide Militant Catholics to small victories in the short-term and large victories in the long-term, retaking first the Church, then the culture, followed by our schools, universities, media and governments. It’s a manual for generational warfare, which will begin today and not be finished until our grandchildren are grown and raising families of their own. Rules for Retrogrades is a manual for immortal combat, both on a personal and social level, that will prepare us for the long war ahead. It is a war we cannot lose, because God is on our side, but will not be won without courage, fortitude and spiritual grit. It’s not for the fainthearted, but Catholics were born for spiritual and social combat. That’s why we’re called the Church Militant. Our job is to storm the gates of hell, as Jesus said we would (Matthew 16:18). It’s a vocation many of our Catholic leaders have abdicated for a generation. Now, whether they choose to lead us or not, we (the laity) shall advance forward with or without them. They are either with us or not, but they shouldn’t expect to be respected when it’s over if they haven’t led the charge. It’s a moot point anyway, for the cowardly bishops (and there are many), along with their quisling clergy (and there are many), will be long dead before its over. Theirs is the last generation, aging and irrelevant, leaving us nothing but a shell of a Church to work with. By the time this war is over, they will have been long since in the grave. Only the most bold and brave of the youthful clergy will be left when this is finally over. These young men of today will be our bishops tomorrow, and we salute them. There are, of course, a few bold and brave clergy today. They should receive our full support and encouragement, not only in word and prayer, but also financially. Let me make this crystal clear. Bishops and priests who are bold and brave, in defense of the historic Catholic Faith, should be rewarded with our time, talents and treasure! It’s called positive reinforcement and justice. Those who do right should always receive their right due.

Retrogrades are primarily Catholics, but they don’t always have to be. There is plenty of room in the Retrograde Movement for people of good will, regardless of faith, but keep in mind that Militant Catholicism is the natural religious state of any Retrograde. I believe that in time the world will see that. Other Retrogrades will be seen as Militant Catholic allies, and friends of the Church, in many cases moving toward Catholicism in their own faith, but perhaps not ready to make the leap yet. Time will change everything.

So what is a Militant Catholic to do right now? Simple. Get yourself a Baltimore Catechism Set (for all ages) along with Rules for Retrogrades and read both. Then find a Reverent Catholic Mass, and figure out how to redirect, as much as possible, your children’s education back home, so that the parents become the primary educators once again. Welcome to boot camp! It’s time to prepare for war!

When Our Churches Open Again…

Mr Lawler has some very pointed questions that our 'Shepherds' need to answer when things return to normal. It will be interesting if we ever get answers. 

From Catholic Culture

By Phil Lawler

When the pandemic crisis eases, and the world heads back into its normal routines, Catholic bishops will have some explaining to do.

Why did you forbid the administration of the sacraments? For 

reasons of public health— and in many cases, because of emergency government regulations— you were forced to curtail public ceremonies. But were you forced to issue a blanket prohibition? Weren’t there ways to allow some acts of public worship, with appropriate safeguards? Did you explore those possibilities thoroughly?

Just a few months ago, at the Amazon Synod, we heard pleas for the ordination of married men, based on the argument that the faithful must have access to the sacraments.

Why wasn’t the same imperative felt during the pandemic: the need to take special measures to ensure that the sacraments were available?

If the precepts of the Church are important, why didn’t you address them in your public statements? Catholics are under a solemn obligation to attend Mass on Sunday. When you made it impossible to fulfill that norm, did you assure the faithful that they were dispensed? A diocesan bishop has the authority to allow for general absolution. When you forbade sacramental confessions, did you encourage your priests to offer general absolution?

How will you coax the people back into the pews? For weeks, Church leaders have been encouraging the laity not to worry about missing Mass, since we can watch a livestream private Mass from the comfort of their homes. They have urged lay people not to worry about the lack of opportunity for confession, because we can always make a perfect act of contrition. They have been reminding the people that it is always possible to pray alone, or with the family, in the home. What will you say now, if many Catholics conclude that it must not be terribly important to come to Sunday Mass, to make a sacramental confession, to receive the sacraments?

Did you show your loving care for your people? Did you make yourself visible to ordinary Catholics? Did you lead and/or encourage Eucharistic processions? Did you issue statements of reassurance? Did you visit the sick?

The decision to shut down churches must have been agonizing; did you convey your regret in your announcements? Did your public statements have the tone of messages from a loving father rather than a bureaucratic administrator? Did you let people know that you understood their thirst for the sacraments? Did you express sympathy for priests who tried to find creative ways to continue their sacramental ministry, or did you treat them as potential rebels?

Did you bow to public pressure? If you closed churches and barred the administration of the sacraments, did you do so completely on your own, motivated by concern for your people? Or were you fearful of adverse public comment if church services continued? Did you feel pressure from the government? If so, would you ever resist that pressure?

Did you unnecessarily prohibit baptisms and weddings? In America today, a wedding almost invariably means a large public celebration. Baptisms, too, have become crowded affairs— especially in churches were the sacrament is only administered occasionally, so that many infants are baptized at the same ceremony. But from the perspective of the Church these sacraments require the presence of only a handful of people. Did you allow for “minimalist” celebrations? Did you remind the faithful that in an emergency they have the authority to baptize? And we were in an emergency, weren’t we? Otherwise your restrictive orders were unjustifiable.

Will you reopen the churches as soon as possible? All of them? If government directives point to a gradual easing of restrictions, how will you respond? Will you take every opportunity to resume the normal sacramental life in parishes?

You will probably be facing a financial crisis, having missed all those weekly collections. Will you address the deficit by closing parishes, or will you look for ways to trim the chancery staff? Which is more important to you? Which is more important to the lay faithful?