Monday Musings - May We Open Our Eyes And Ears

[God always sends prophets and teachers to safeguard His people. Unfortunately, over the centuries, man has far too often turned a deaf ear to the wisdom God has placed in the mouth of those He selected as His messengers. Robert Cardinal Sarah is one of His contemporary servants. Please God that we may open our eyes and ears to your faithful and courageous Cardinal.] 

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)

"The sign of Satan is division. Today there are serious conflicts within the clergy. And the devil is partying. The devil loves to divide the Church. The prince of darkness wants first to sow opposition among us. He sets a terrible trap for us through the media amplification of the least important episcopal statements. Everyone is ordered to take sides, to choose his camp. But in the Church, there are no sides! There are no camps! Synods are not political assemblies. Is each Christian supposed to judge everything? Have an opinion about everything? This sometimes hysterical politicization of what ought to remain a calm debate among theologians who love the same God is the mark of the demon. He lures us into his own terrain. He leads us toward hatred, invective, manipulation and Machiavellian calculation. Must we give up denouncing error? Certainly not! But we must do so in a spirit that is Catholic, in other words, profoundly supernatural and benevolent...

He [Satan] loves to utilize confusion. Dominican Father Marie-Dominique Molinie declared: 'The devil's tactic is to propose to us what is 'reasonable'. Yes, he is the prince of lukewarmness, the king of compromise. His aim is to not make us fall into specific errors but, on the contrary, to leave us in vague uncertainty: because it is impossible to stake one's life on vague ideas and consequently, to become a saint in those circumstances'.

He [Satan] tries to make us believe that there is nothing serious about sin and that we can transgress God's law without worrying too much. Satan loves to muddle our correct perception of God in his relations with mankind. He deceives us and tranquilizers us so that the reign of sin can extend its night... 

The devil tries to tear the Church apart, first by attacking the priesthood. Satan intends to destroy priests and the teaching of doctrine.  He is horrified by the liturgy, the sacraments, and the apostolic succession. In trying to take out his hatred on consecrated persons he means to ridicule the Church. Priests frighten him because they are the ministers of mercy. He knows that he will be vanquished by mercy. He seeks to instill lukewarmness and doubt in priests. He seeks to win the hearts of some and to draw them to renounce chastity...

(From The Day Is Now Far Spent)