Above: 15th century Franciscan Abbey ruins. County Donegal, Ireland.
It has been surprisingly easy for the Anti-Christian Revolution, that is now in full course, to throw the West into Cultural Marxist ‘Woke’ spiritual and cognitive confusion. By investigating two flaws in the reaction that we have made against these attacks on Western culture we might be provoked to change our tactics.
In my mind, these two flaws are that family-oriented individuals failed to hold authorities accountable, and that we failed in attracting and retaining high-talented people. These failures resulted in the isolation of good people to the cultural fringes, geographic suburbs, impoverishment and, ultimately, and too often, irrelevancy. Once the healthy reaction had been neutralised, Revolutionary advances had an open highway.
Non licet tibi habere eam (Mt 14:4). […] uxorem fratris tui (Mk 6:18). But Herod the tetrarch, when he was reproved by him for Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done: He added this also above all and shut up John in prison (Lk 3:19-20).
The gospels are generous to recount when the Prophet John, the testimony of the Light (the Truth) who cried in the wilderness held the king accountable for his public sin.
Strangely, the best contemporary Catholics, who love the Tradition, have not been enough of a testimony of the truth when it comes to holding public civil and ecclesial authorities accountable. This task must be renewed with both ecclesiastical authorities and political authorities.
At first glance, it might appear that the good people are challenging the establishment – they have been doing half of this job by writing to the government, and to newspapers, and by adopting a posture of perplexity and resistance against the mad measures that come from Rome and the several National Bishops’ Conferences.
Resistance to the Leviathan is very much needed, and it is welcome to see the beginning of it, but I am afraid that this kind of resistance does not require special courage, wisdom or grace. Indeed, we witness libertarians and neo-pagans doing the same.
Separation Between Parish and Secular Struggle
I believe that one flaw in good people’s posture lies in their separation of the struggle against the central secular power from the struggle in the parochial life. The local aspect of life is extremely relevant in the temporal arena. I am a great critic of the impulse to solve the liturgical and doctrinal problems of many Sunday Masses by abandoning the local parish and strengthening a nearby church that holds a better Mass. I instead advocate that in parallel to having a Tridentine Mass available at driving distance, each family must carry on the local campaign, door to door, parishioner to parishioner, to improve their regional parish liturgy. This type of posture is extremely rare. Unfortunately, we post-modern laity are naturally rather clerical and have never really developed the art (and it is an art) of holding priests (good ones and defective ones) accountable, but this skill must be quickly learned.
A soul observing us from eternity would see Christians who lose this militancy, also losing true perseverance. The Christian who does not make the huge effort to convert his neighbours and to get a Tridentine Mass at his nearest church will not stick to a path of constant growth, self-awareness and holiness; his Christianity will risk turning into a pharisaical hypocritical façade.
The local effort is enormous, but enormous and certain is the grace that accompanies this job.
There used to be a website in French teaching Traditional people to write politely to the parish priest, bishop and Rome. This website used to carry models of letters to be written and advice the faithful to collect a double-digit number of local supporters for the initiative. Actions like this are part of the art we must again figure out and develop as soon as possible.
I am conscious that zoning laws in America, and some other countries, make this scenario even more challenging as the distribution of family residences impair organic articulation and ownership. The Church spread itself around the world by defining geographic parishes and dioceses, and charging Catholic families living in those boundaries with frequenting the local church. It is rather bizarre, therefore, to instead be able to elect and register in one of the nearby parishes. Historically, the regional nature of dioceses meant that a bishop’s authority was occasionally spread over two countries, whose political borders would change through time, and this is desirable in Christianity. Our love for borders and commandments make our culture better.
Local Politics
This same accountability is needed towards local politicians and representatives, and, once more the geographic nature of power varies from country to country. The United Kingdom has a relatively localised political system which helps us maintain its traditions and liberties, thus suffering less harm than other Western countries, but this local political effort must be made everywhere.
They shall be the true apostles of the latter times, to whom the Lord of Hosts shall give the word and the might to work marvels, and to carry off the glory of the spoils of His enemies.[1]
The apostles we desire at this time must have the prophetism of St John the Baptist. This is the prophetism of pointing out the deviations of our authorities, holding them accountable and limiting their most harmful actions.
The Virtue of Retention
This is the same prophet John who helped Our Lord in the attraction and retention of the best people by baptising all who wished to be baptised. However, unfortunately today, the Catholic social ambiences lack the imponderables necessary to retain the people that the Holy Spirit attracts. Retention is the opposite virtue here, forming a gothic arch with the ownership of holding authorities accountable. However, the virtue of retention is more fluid and, difficult to put our fingers on, to understand, and to act upon.
In the contemporary West, the Anti-Christian Revolution has somehow managed to attract and keep the most talented people in places of vulgarity and decadence, and to repulse them from churches and right-wing organisations.
Witness how the naturally best and most gifted young men prefer careers in finance, commerce and private sector leadership; over anything to do with politics, the military or ecclesiastical ambiences. I believe that this artificial ‘emptying’ has been planned and executed by Revolutionary forces. Tragically, good families did not have enough wisdom and militancy to respond to the change in tendencies and counter this trend. Britain prospered when its elites were mainly dedicated to the Anglican ‘clergy,’ politics, military and diplomacy. Our downfall started when our elites put their personal profit above the common profit of the general population, and dedicated themselves to finances.
We now find ourselves living in a crisis scenario with both the politicians and the ecclesiastical structure (clergy) are often composed of people of low quality and people of mediocre talent. Society is similar to a tent; it gets elevated as high as its poles can reach. When a parish priest is good, the best people surround him. Such priests have an army of humble, simple and praying parishioners – plus a large number of average performing families and individuals, plus a circle of highly talented local natural elites – the life and parishes of St Louis Gringon of Monfort can attest to this.[2] With often less-talented individuals as our ‘poles’ now, we might not be able to bring the tarp of possibilities as high as it would be needed for our survival in this time of tribulation, without a miracle.
This problem becomes more evident in the parochial nature of life. In a future article against the Transgender Revolution and ‘Woke’ Cultural Marxism and Feminism, I will explore the current emasculated nature of parishes dominated by ‘Karens’ and ‘Susans,’ but suffice to say here, when a parish has weak leadership its conditions will not be elevated as they should.
All of this is extremely problematic because, as described in the Parable of the Sower (Mt 13:3-9), seeds surrounded by rocks will not grow. Everything that is alive, grows. Christendom, coming as it does from organic society must grow, but in our current times, a machine that spreads its tentacles to the level of parishes will make sure the tall poles never grow while the parasite keeps fed. Let us recall that Our Lord wanted to be born poor, but noble. St Joseph and the Blessed Virgin were both Israelite Royalty of the House of David. It would be a mistake to think that the best people are defined by their bank account – as our Protestant cousins try to claim with their Prosperity Gospel – but by other characteristics. The best people are the ones who pray better, parishes should be a great environment for them, as well as for naturally talented individuals.
Why Retention Fails
There are several reasons why our retention of high-quality individuals often fails miserably. Certainly, one reason is infiltration in seminaries, military and politics. Our chief tactic against infiltration must be our tactic of holding authorities accountable. All power comes from God, but people can restrict the range of action of men in power. We must learn and master this art.
Other reasons for this lack of retention lie with the ambiences of Catholic social life that are often not genuine and fulfilling to more talented individuals. We must also learn the art of sanctifying our community life to the point of producing “apostles of the latter days.”
Clearly there is a lot to be done on the retention front. The gender confusion we live in was preceded by 200 years of feminist takeover with little resistance from those who should have defended the flock. The crisis in authority is so abysmal that here in the UK the Anglican Conventicle with its priestesses and bishopesses is a national joke, while good quality men, who should be the elites ahead of spiritual affairs of Catholic society, instead prefer financial careers, enduring an ambiance of cursing and vulgarity, so that they can have some adventure and conquest denied them elsewhere. The Church must once again offer young men this adventure and conquest that their hearts naturally yearn for.
I have made the case that accountability and limitation for authorities in all levels, and attraction and retention of good quality people, are two arts that must be developed by the children of light. Families of good-will must adopt these two tactics of cultural fight. The battlefield for survivors is the battlefield to grow and convert the whole world; to have the seed grow conscious and formed against the rocks that surround it. In this arena, sanctified parochial life could be an explosion of grace!
Photo by Elisabeth Arnold on Unsplash
[1] Louis Marie Grignon de Montfort (st.). “A treatise of the true devotion to the Blessed Virgin”, Burns and Lambert, London, 1863. Part I: II Discernment of the True Devotion to our Blessed Lady; five fundamental truths presupposed.
[2] See Louis Le Crom, Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort (Clovis, 2010).
