Highlight: Elizabeth Scalia, The "Anchorress" Counters the Slanderers and Quasi-Schismatics Who Say Pope Francis is Trad Bashing Again!

Hello Everyone,

If someone you know today is a:

• Radical who Misrepresents Traditionalists everywhere, 
• A Pope Francis hater, (different from being just "uncomfortable" with his mannerisms and choice of language in conveying the message)
• A "quasi-schismatic" (as defined by Dave Armstrong) who has truly abandoned Holy Mother Church in mind, body, and soul, but sticks around for the pomp and circumstance of fancy vestments and Latin Masses, afterwards feeling spiritually superior to the "simple" Novus Ordo Catholic they think is the rest of the Church, or
• Just a negative person, etc.

Then they likely woke up to hear another excellent homily of Pope Francis from the Casa Sancta Marta today about being "spiritually open." In typical spiritual pride, conspiracy alert mode, Francis the modernist bashing mode, etc., they then took to their smartphones and social media, and decided to commit more acts of the Devil (e.g. gossip), or perhaps slander and calumny, because once again, "Francis hates traditional Catholics and is evil and wants to destroy the Church. He hates Jesus and is the meanest pope evuh.... wah wah wah ... blah blah blah .... calumny, detraction, slander ....."

(Ha ha. I took a page out of Fr. Z's book.)

Well, allow me to dispel your unfortunate friend's tirades of hate and anti-Catholicism. If they told you that Francis once again went on a hate tirade to wipe the Church of Traditionalists, and they've vowed to be obstinate in their hatred, they are wrong in action and their interpretation of such a homily. 

Or should I say, allow me to feature someone who is much more versed in depth of the Catholic faith, and a professional author and writer on the TRUE Catholic blog-o-sphere and in Catholic newspapers, Mrs. Elizabeth Scalia of "The Anchoress" blog. Today, she writes on the Conservative Catholic or Christian web portal, Aletelia, to counter the fury caused by the Catholic blog-o-sphere of darkness. 

Being a short opinion article, it shall be posted in full. 

Pax, Julian. 

SOURCE: http://aleteia.org/2016/01/18/nothing-grows-in-no-pope-francis-on-the-idolatry-of-ideas/

Opinion  

Nothing Grows in “No”: Pope Francis on the Idolatry of Ideas. Pope urges resistance to the god of "but we’ve always done it this way.”

Elizabeth Scalia  

• January 18, 2016

   

During his homily at Mass today, Pope Francis said:

“Christians who obstinately maintain ‘it’s always been done this way,’ this is the path, this is the street—they sin: the sin of divination. It’s as if they went about by guessing: ‘What has been said and what doesn’t change is what’s important; what I hear—from myself and my closed heart—more than the Word of the Lord.’ Obstinacy is also the sin of idolatry: the Christian who is obstinate sins! [And damned do they. They commit the most Deadliest Sin: The Sin of Pride, taking after their real "god", Satan himself, who told God the ancient equivalent of a middle-fingered salute, "NON SERVIAM!"]The sin of idolatry. ‘And what is the way, Father?’ Open the heart to the Holy Spirit, discern what is the will of God.”

Around the Internet there have some negative responses to these words, particularly by those who feel like Catholic traditions are under attack, but I can’t help wondering if some aren’t missing the pope’s point which is one I made in my book, Strange Gods: Unmasking the Idols in Everyday Life:

"We cling to ideas long past the point of what is healthy or reasonable, and we set them before us, daring anyone to knock them down. I once heard a new pastor complain about a dreaded first meeting with his pastoral team and liturgy committee. “In every parish,” he sighed, “the first thing they want a priest to do is bow down to the god of ‘but we’ve always done it this way.’” 

When we are too fast to say “no” — especially if we are entrenched in a bunker-mentality that said, “but this is the way we have always done it…” we cannot help but benumb ourselves to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. And that’s all His Holiness is saying. “But this is the way we have always done it…” shuts the door to Joseph accepting a wife carrying a child not his own; “the way we’ve always done it,” would prevent the church from taking careful looks at who it elevates to canonical sainthood; “the way we’ve always done it” prevents Pope Pius X from advocating for the reception of Holy Communion by children; “the way we’ve always done it,” means no female doctors of the church.

Nothing grows in “no.” Especially not a church, or the life of faith. [Including bringing those "simple" Novus Ordo Catholics that collectively are shunned by these Radicals, to the Latin Mass that they value so much.]

Pope Francis words seem less a call for revolution than a frustrated cry of “ephphatha be opened”! He is prompting us to make sure we leave enough room in our lives, and in the life of the church, to give the Holy Spirit — who has a way of using the most confounding events and people to bring about God’s will — the room to move, and flow, and put God’s purposes to action. As the great saint, Philip Neri reminds us [of whom the Oratory of St. Phillip Neri in Toronto holds the Latin Mass], “All of God’s purposes are to the good, although we may not always understand this we can trust in it.”

Trads Behaving Badly are a Thankless Lot on Thanksgiving Weekend and Update for Latin Masses

UPDATE Oct 14, 2014

Due to unforseen circumstances, the SPGC is unable to now use SLTM for its Christ the King Mass. It might be still held, should an alternate site be found. Prayers for the choir please? Thanks.

UPDATE!!!!!

No sooner do I write about how the coverage of the Synod is biased at the hands of these TBBs, that the Might Trad Hero, Fr. John Zuhlsdorf, weighs in and warns us to watch what is being reported by the media. See HERE!!!
____________________________________________________________________
Hello Everyone,

This weekend in Canada is Thanksgiving weekend, where we have a good old meal of turkey and all the fixings, and are supposed to be thankful for all we have in our lives.

I was reminded of that at Mass this Saturday evening, when with my fiancee we attended the vigil with the pastor presiding, whose community and church is to be built. Due to the current location being locked, we relocated to the temporary chapel set up in his house, complete with an altar, tabernacle, and the like for a basic location to hold Mass.

There, the deacon from the neighboring large-scale parish was present at Mass, and preached on the theme of Thanksgiving. Certainly, on this weekend, one should be thankful for what we have, especially for the Sacrifice that our Lord made on Calvary. However, we are often sour-sacks (not his words) and we are not grateful enough to God and Christ, and should do things such as small efforts of gratitude, but most importantly, open our prayers in gratitude for the coming day, and end at night for the day we had and where God acted in our lives. I think that`s great advice, considering most of us use prayer for supplication, vs. thanking Christ for things. We`re quite selfish and sour and un-thankful, aren`t we?

Unfortunately, some pickled-pepper faced people have no room for thankfulness in their hearts, spewing their hatred for the Church and the Holy Father and others over the Synod of 2014. This is retrospect as mid-way, a document has been released, a ``relatio`` of sorts that outlines what has been covered so far. Wow they are fuming over a lot. It makes you wonder why these angry denziens of darkness even care to be a part of the Church. They accuse Modernist Rome of conspiracy, and Pope Francis of teaming up with the homofacists in changing Church doctrine by stealth, and that the Church is essentially going to Hell in a hand basket with the world. With that kind of attitude, how many Latin Mass ``converts`` have joined you people in your quest for ``holiness?" Have new Latin Masses popped up in your archdiocese, or mine for that matter? With that attitude, likely, 0.

They might as well take their Modernist Rome hate and join their ``good friends`` who are outside of the Church canonically and are protestant, the Society of St. Pius X (Don't blame me for the protestant remark, even a Latin Mass saying priest in a diocese neighbouring mine thinks that. Not linking to him though due to whom he associates with.). Why with the SSPX, you can have your Francis/Church of Rome hate, believe you have the "true" Church, and get your Latin Mass done to every minor law about liturgy in one! If you are happy to believe the lies that their sacraments are VALID and licit (of which, "Trad Hero" Benedict XVI re-iterated they have NO SACRAMENTAL FACULTIES in 2009), then great! Go be a part of their number. Stop being part of the "modernist" church! The exit door with Dante's Inferno's line about abandoning all hope ye who enter here, is just waiting for you. As for your soul ... well it`s a dice roll, as other communications such as from the PCED warn going frequently can put you in a state of schism, which automatically excommunicates you. But really, if you don`t like what`s going on in Holy Mother Church, then get out. Go be with your like-minded friends.

Now listen, I don't like some of the politics that is going on here. I don't approve of Francis' power play with the "liberal" additions to whatever committee he put the supposedly "sinister 6" on, when democracy was upheld and this is not something needing "supreme legislator" interference. If he purposely told all in attendance, "kay I get some of you are pastoral, and others doctrinal. You can't have one without the other, so I'm balancing the groups as an exercise in collegiality and co-operation," then fine. I'd approve of that as a teachable moment. But no announcement to that effect was made. That was not a move where the Pope is exercising divine authority/Infallability.

Regardless of politics and human fault, I still stand with Holy Mother Church, and I still obey the Holy Father in terms of his valid election to the chair as Bishop of Rome, and that in Faith and Morals he cannot err, as well as being supreme legislator of the Church.

One bone of contention in my mind, is this principle of "graduality." Thankfully, the Anchoress, Elizabeth Scalia, a Benedictine tertiary/oblate, has covered this topic in an excellent post, of what proper gradation is AND addressed some of the more educated laity's fears, which I'm posting most of the content:

"... we’ve been writing about aspects of graduality here at Patheos, sometimes without even realizing it, and to my way of thinking there is no better explanation of “graduality”, or a better example of its power, than Calah Alexander’s personal story, which she first shared here in 2012, and in which she describes, yes, a yes, “long road” to mercy, undertaken by a sincere but challenged couple, and a priest who was willing to see them fully and deal with the reality of their lives:

He was trying to figure out how to bring both of us into a state of grace, how to help us learn to love God, each other, and our child, and how to begin building a foundation that might one day support a solid family.

Saint John Paul famously said told his priests that we have to “deal with the world as it is; the world before us.” That is precisely what Calah and Christopher’s priest did, and he ultimately welcomed them into full communion with the church. Now they’re a solidly-Catholic young family of six.

That’s the goal of gradualism. It is not about ignoring doctrine or condoning mortal sin. It is about a priest at work the field hospital God has provided, and applying powerful medicine within dosages that each patient can withstand, until they are spiritually stronger, and can withstand further treatment. Your dosages and mine will be different at different times in our illnesses.
Calah has written more about gradualism, here:

The law being for the people means that its purpose is to aid in the salvation of souls. It can’t be thrown out or changed without throwing away souls in the process; but neither can it be used as a spiritual threshing machine without throwing away souls in the process.

When I go to confession, I usually confess the same sins. The same sins, over and over, over and over, like a litany of awfulness...
The thing is, though, that the sins I confess over and over today are not the same sins I confessed over and over seven years ago. They are, in fact, radically different.

Do people have a point when they worry about “gradualism” assisting in the degradation of the sacraments and our understanding of them? Is there a possibility of it being misunderstood and misused? Oh, yes, and that’s worth being concerned about, particularly given the church’s poor catechetical transmission over the past five decades — when it has most desperately been needed — and the Curia’s self-destructive habit of not controlling its message but allowing important teachings, documents and exhortations to be filtered through the secular press, and thereby reduced to the least-helpful soundbites.

Father Dwight Longenecher is concerned about the seeming double-speak on co-habitation, and I get that, but then again. . .the thing about Calah’s story is that Calah and her husband were taking the church on its own terms, while still trying to extricate themselves from their sins, and were therefore willing to work within the discipline, willing to withhold themselves and (so to speak) “take their medicine” of refraining from Communion, until they were in a state of grace.

It seems to me this is where things fall apart and gradualism becomes scary for people; precisely at the line where people place their sense of entitlement before their willingness to try something as radical as obedience, which is strong, strong medicine, and must be taken with an IV of humility.

Yes, I get the scary part. But I also get the humane part that evangelizes people back into church by seeing them in their totality and walking with them. Gradualism is a time-consuming and one-on-one sort of pastoring, and we have so few priests well-trained to it, and so many Catholics or potential Catholics, in great need: how can shall we manage this?

The laity will have to step up. The priests will need the support of a nursing and nurturing laity — a laity willing to humbly assist the patients, and their priests, with hands-on support and their prayers, and with a minimum of hand-wringing about how it “looks” to have all these spiritually bedraggled people milling about the pews, giving scandal to the church, as though we do not do that, all of us, every day, anyway.

We really must pray, and ask the Holy Spirit to forcefully guide the synod and its wisdom, and then keep praying all the way through to the next synod, next year. It’s that grave an issue.

There are a lot of prodigals who are “still a long way off” and whom the church wants to “run out to meet.” Gradualism is effective ministry, but it’s a long healing. Done correctly, it can completely renew the church. Implemented poorly (as was VCII) and it can be a wrecking ball, and pfft goes Catholic credibility and too, too many souls.

I’ll let Calah close this:
The danger inherent in the idea of gradualness lies in losing the distinction that JPII made — the law of gradualness is not the same thing as gradualness of the law. We knew we were in sin. That was clear. No one told us that it would be okay if we went ahead and took communion, since we were working on that whole “not sinning” thing. We went to Mass with our friends and the Ogre’s family and stayed in the pew during communion, and everyone knew why. But we kept going, and when we finally got to receive with everyone else it was amazing. That approach would probably not be healthy or helpful with some people…the point is, only the pastor can know when, where, and how to apply it.

But for ordinary laypeople, our job is not to figure out when, where, and how someone is sinning or not sinning. Our job is not to cast out those among us who smell suspiciously like sulfur, or whose hair looks a bit tinged from brimstone, or whose companions in Mass cry “irregular!” from the bare ring fingers of their same-gendered hands.

And that is not our job for a very simple reason: if we’re always looking for scandal, we’ll find it everywhere.

What is also everywhere, whether we’re looking for them or not, are souls trapped in the mire of mortal sin and desperately in need of Christ. Please don’t cast them out. There were people in the Church who tried to cast me out, who went to extraordinary lengths to bar the door against me. I can’t begin to tell you how much it hurt to feel unworthy and unwanted by the people I recognized as keepers of Truth and bearers of Christ.

And there you have it. So people, just remember that the doom-prophets don't have the foresight on the Church, and that their message is thankless, and spiritually damaging and full of despair. THEY DO NOT REPRESENT THE AUTHORITY OF THE CHURCH, NOR THINK WITH ITS MIND. Does that mean we are to just be tolerant of everything? No. However, we should be thankful in our faith life and with others, and not everything that "Modernist" Rome does is poisonous. If anything, the gravity is lesser than the Chicken Littles are saying. 

Pax and Happy Thanksgiving, Julian. 

P.S. Oh yeah! New Latin Mass update Here! St. Patrick's Gregorian Choir is doing their annual Christ the King Mass Sunday October 26th @ 1pm, I'm serving in it.  

P.P.S. The Trads Behaving Badly, are not all badly, nor all the time. Here's an example of a guy who does attend their organized Masses and supports them, but is demonstrating that Pope-bashing and the Modernist Rome thing isn't their modus operandi 24-7. There are times some of them actually can have Joy and thank fullness in their lives and not act like their Trad-masters. 

The "Nun" Trend ... but Not Those Nuns ... I'm talking about "That" Symbol

Hello Everyone,

Sadly, the Islamic terrorists in the Middle East have driven our Christian brethen out of one major city, and are now doing graffiti art to Christian's homes, painting a symbol that looks like a "happy face" with one eye. It's called "Nun" and is used by the terrorists as a mark of shame.

Interestingly enough, a number of Catholic Traditionalist Bloggers, including the Trads Behaving Badly, have taken that symbol as their Facebook profile pictures, or their Twitter pics, and even made blog posts with the symbol, to show solidarity for their persecuted Christian brethen.

I, however, on Servimus Unum Deum, as well as on my Facebook, will absolutely NOT be doing this.
I will not be doing this for two main reasons.

1) Holocaust Reminder ... Offensive to my Jewish Background. To me, this symbol reminds me of the Jews who were persecuted and killed by the Nazi's, who were forced to be identified by wearing a Yellow Star of David. It reeks of being made to feel like a second class citizen, and a target to be killed. Further, having a Jewish father and relatives (yes that's true. Is that offensive to you, TBBs?) I am abhorred with the whole practice for what it is worth. You may want to argue that you are trying to turn this symbol into something positive, but to me, a mark of death, is a mark of death. So no, I am likewise, not going to practice in a different form to "reform it", as this act is the very thing that made the friends of, and possibly, some of my distant family members and predecessors back in World War II, marked targets for death. Just instead of German Nazis, it's Radical Islamic Terrorists marking me. And don't even get started on saying that it's a way to "identify" with the pains and sufferings of my family. We don't simulate practices that degrade the human of their dignity just to "identify" with them. In fact, if anything, it destroys the person even if it was simulated or similar. Don't believe me? I dare you to research the Dr. Zimbardo prison experiment that is well known in psychology.

2) (Mostly) Radical Traditionalists Trending This Practice. Hate Screeds and Desire to Fight Back ... Between the Lines or Directly. My second big reason for not doing this is because most of the people gung-ho to do so are the Radical Traditionalists, a.k.a. TBBs. Some of those I know or read are more saner in the Traditional Catholicism spehere who are doing it, but not everyone. For the TBBs, what is part of their posts accompanying the nun letter makes me sick to my stomach.

First example, everyone's favourite TBB blog, Rorate Caeli, devoted a posting to the Nun Letter, and here's a screen capture of the first part of the post:

If you notice what the "header" picture is accompanying the blog, (and all other posts as well), it's an artistic depiction of a knight in the red cross regalia in armor slaying the Ottoman Turkish Muslim radicals in the Crusades. 

Further, here's what they have to say at the end of the post, before an interview with a Christian representative, with my emphasis bolded:

"They mean it as a mark of shame, we must then wear it as a mark of hope: Yes, we are in the army of the Resurrected Nazarene, the Master and Lord of the Universe, the Man who is God Almighty, the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity. You may kill our brethren and expel them, but we Christians will never go away."

I am not sorry to say this, but between that Crusades header and the military language, basically Rorate Caeli is expressing a hatred for this, so much that the message is to slaughter the Muslims. It doesn't need to be said aloud, but they are advocating a Crusade to fight the militants. Put 2 and 2 together folks. That's TBB antics for you.

Another example, was one that offends me as a Catholic with Traditionalist leanings, and some participation in the Latin Mass. While I will not name the blog on purpose I am that disgusted with it, another TBB blog posted this symbol in solidarity with their Christian brethen. But in addition, the poster called the Muslim faith inspired by demons (in essence, Satan and Hell). Wow ... how anti-ecumenical, anti-Nostra Aetate/Vatican II, and anti-Catholic. It's one thing to hate the murder and violence, and to properly discuss what elements are true and not in other faiths, but to call the faith of a whole Mass of people, who express more devotion than many Catholics around the world, "demonic" serves once again to show the inner hatred and pride of the TBBs, and embarrasses the many good Latin Mass attending Catholic Traditionalists worldwide. I am sure that any Muslims reading that posts, SOOOOO BADLY wants to convert to Catholicism now, especially the Latin Mass, knowing their faith is inspired by Hell's demons and Satan. What a nice show of "ecumenism" to our monotheistic brothers.

Now, what about the rest of the Catholic blogosphere? Most bloggers, including the so-called "Neo-catholic" ones, are discussing this, but they are NOT posting that symbol on their Facebooks, or their actual blogs. If anything, they are advocating prayer and NOT subscribing to such hate screeds.

So, what can we do then, besides the symbol?
Well, in a nutshell, prayer, and acts of fasting and penance, are our greatest spiritual weapons. I'll leave the lovely Mrs. Anchoress, Elizabeth Scalia, to inform you how to properly do something productive about the crisis in the Middle East with our Christian Brethen, instead of participating in these symbol shenanigans. Please see her latest post here: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/theanchoress/2014/07/21/5-things-you-can-do-right-now-as-isis-threatens-iraqi-christians-and-shiites/.

And so, that is my 2 cents on this matter, and something off my chest. Again, I am deciding that comments are to be closed for this post, to deter combox harassment. Frustrated? Do it on your own soapbox, er, blog.

Objects and Evil Part 1: A Commentary on the Issue of Using Things and Social Media, or Why I Choose Not To Abhor Facebook

Hello Everyone,

I am deciding to comment on an issue and a relevant sub-issue that is popping up a little bit on my blogger feeds: Using objects for moral goods/evangelization and social media. I want to start general about usage of goods and what got me writing, and then to say why I remain on Facebook (albeit not promoting Servimus, or maybe I should ..... hmmmm), despite what I have witnessed online.

Introduction: Where am I going, and What got me Writing
The starting point for me is that I observed a posting on a blog that I do not want to give anymore web hits to, nor name, as I've found the content to be critical to the point of overstepping proper, Catholic fraternal charity, particularly in a number of instances, some with regards to the Office of the Archdiocese of Toronto. While lately postings have supported our Holy Father, Pope Francis, if one has been reading it as long as I have, the "bigger picture" is one that I cannot endorse, one that unfortunately also supports other elements in our diocese, that I will not be promoting on this blog. See my "about page" to see what my blog stands for and my intentions with Servimus for more info on what guides my decisions to link blogs and not to.

On this blog, one of the group of men who write for the blog, has decided to take down the corresponding Facebook Page for their website, after finding Facebook a cesspool of near-pornography and Catholics living double lives.

If one is a traditional, older, moral man, I can see the shock for someone just venturing into what Facebook has now developed too. It may be no piddle-sticks to one like myself who has been "wired" from day one, or as a child. But, I have been part of Facebook since 2003, so I have seen where it's gone from, from a simple social media networking site, to one with ads, online free (with pay option) gaming, and worse, including the advertising content. In addition, it has mostly, or always allowed for posting of electronic pictures from digital cameras, scanned print pictures, or cellphone cameras. Needless to say, people in this "ME" age, or tell-all, hide nothing age, think that it's fun to let the world know about the raucous parties you go to, or to flash some skin needlessly. I've even defriended a person or two as I couldn't stand the stuff they were promoting in their newsfeeds online. I can understand the shock part of it, and the reaction is valid, but as for the decision to kill all participation in Facebook, I disagree for reasons I will explain in my second post on these matters.

So the summary argument of this "trad" blogger is: Facebook is a cesspool of evil, porn, immorality, and two-faced Catholics that show the sickness of the youth and our world, and I will not be a participant in the demon machine attached to Hell known as Facebook.

Scalia's Points: General Usage of Goods for Good or Evil
What finally got me to write these posts today, is that I caught a blog post by the Anchoress, Elizabeth Scalia, with regards to money and power, and referencing a Billy Joel song: Everybody Loves you Now, about his fame. Scalia is a Benedictine Oblate (tertiary layperson's order) who writes at The Anchoress. However, Scalia's content in this post does intersect the issue above about Facebook from a use of goods standpoint.

In her post, she comments on the fame aspect of the song, but then proceeds to talk about money and its usage for good and for evil, with reference also to Pope Francis' "Pope of the Poor" modus operandi as our current Holy Father. The underlined content pertains to the subject matter at hand in my postings:

".... But while the pope is, justifiably, dressing down the “bishop of bling”, I wouldn’t make the argument that wealth is, in and of itself, an evil thing. Saint Paul says the love of money is the root of all evil, not the money itself. Just as guns are simply objects, only made evil in how they are used, money is just money, and how you attach to it, and what you choose to do with it, is what corrupts the soul.

Prosperity is not evil in and of itself. A wealthy nation is one that can respond quickly and effectively to help another nation in crisis. A wealthy philanthropist can do a great deal of good for others. It was the wealthy Joseph of Arimathea who had the coin, the connections, and the clout to have Jesus’s tortured body removed from the cross, shrouded in fine linen, and entombed before the Sabbath. All of this was essential to the Resurrection. But prosperity can be a fast and powerful vehicle for driving us away from what Christ has told us is essential which does not include getting rich.

In the end, everything always comes down to our intention, and with how we use the gifts we are given. You could do a great deal of good with money, if your heart is open to it."

It makes perfect sense. Whether it's a physical tool, like a knife, a talent like computer programming, or a computer program, like Facebook, we can all use it the way we choose. A knife can cut our food, free someone stranded by rope, or you can thrust it into someone's torso to pierce a vital organ, causing a person to be murdered with the cause of death being exsanguination (bleeding to death). The computer programmer can create useful programs, such as ones which organize our life and keep track of things, like say a spreadsheet that keeps' a parish's budget on track, or you can make malicious programs such as viruses that can take your vital imformation for someone's evil purposes, or even destroy your computers themselves. I am sure you can see that the same could be said for Facebook, which is, at its core, a computer program created by a user (which we know, one of was a principal founder, Mark Zuckerberg).

Before I get specific with Facebook though, what can we delve from Scripture, and our church theology and teachings on using Goods?

Scripture and Theology
New Testament
Let's begin with a passage that comes to mind: The usage of talents. Jesus tells of the parable of a land or business owner who gives lots of money for his servants to go out and make more profit, in
Matthew 25: 14-30 (NRSV, B/C we use this translation in Canada):
"14 For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; 15 to one he gave five talents,f to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. 17 In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. 18 But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20 Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. 29 For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 30 As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

The obvious here is that the foolish servant who wasted his money, or just let it not be used to profit, despite the least amount, wasn't looked above highly. It is also highly evident, without me having to consult someone with more theological training than I, that verse 29 - 30 is referring to our spiritual salvation. You do the work of the Lord and remain steadfast, you will be rewarded with Him, but the other guy ... well let's not be him shall we? And part of that is using the gifts and talents God gave us for His glory on Earth.

Catechism of the Catholic Church
Our current Catechism, lists the following under explanation of the Seventh Commandment:

PART THREE
LIFE IN CHRIST
SECTION TWO
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS CHAPTER TWO
"YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF" ARTICLE 7
THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT  You shall not steal.¹⁸⁶  

2401 The seventh commandment forbids unjustly taking or keeping the goods of one's neighbor and wronging him in any way with respect to his goods. It commands justice and charity in the care of earthly goods and the fruits of men's labor. For the sake of the common good, it requires respect for the universal destination of goods and respect for the right to private property. Christian life strives to order this world's goods to God and to fraternal charity.   

I. THE UNIVERSAL DESTINATION AND THE PRIVATE OWNERSHIP OF GOODS

2402 In the beginning God entrusted the earth and its resources to the common stewardship of mankind to take care of them, master them by labor, and enjoy their fruits.¹⁸⁷ The goods of creation are destined for the whole human race ....

2404 "In his use of things man should regard the external goods he legitimately owns not merely as exclusive to himself but common to others also, in the sense that they can benefit others as well as himself."¹⁸⁸ .... 

2405 Goods of production - material or immaterial - .... oblige their possessors to employ them in ways that will benefit the greatest number. Those who hold goods for use and consumption should use them with moderation, reserving the better part for guests, for the sick and the poor ....   

2414 The seventh commandment forbids acts or enterprises that for any reason - selfish or ideological, commercial, or totalitarian - lead to the enslavement of human beings, to their being bought, sold and exchanged like merchandise, in disregard for their personal dignity. It is a sin against the dignity of persons and their fundamental rights to reduce them by violence to their productive value or to a source of profit. St. Paul directed a Christian master to treat his Christian slave "no longer as a slave but more than a slave, as a beloved brother, . . . both in the flesh and in the Lord."¹⁹⁴

So what can we glean from these paragraphs, or at least how can I relate this to the Facebook situation? Generally, we are to use the goods we have, for the sake of respecting our God who created us and our world in the first place, and that we should be stewards of these gifts, using them for good reason. These goods are to the benefit of all members of our world, including ourselves and our friends.

CCC 2404 says it best though, because the good of production, both material and immaterial, requires us to use them to their maximal goodness. Facebook is a computer program, and runs on a program, and hence is "material" in that sense, but its content could be possibly "Immaterial" in the sense you cannot touch it, hold it in your hand, etc. It is "data". Have you ever been able to hold "Data" in your hands? Or an electric signal? The pictures you post, and your text, etc. are physical in the empirical sense that you can see them with your eyes, however it's not "material" in that you can't hold it in your hand, your ideas are not physical in themselves, but are made physical in the text, and what is conveyed in your pictures (the idea again in your pose or your more-revealing photos) is not malleable.

In addition, Facebook has sadly morphed less and less from its original function and context, as other deadly sins of pride, and especially greed, have creeped its way into Facebook, from online games of questionable morals, and even advertisments promoting dating with escorts, and games that feature scantily-clad heroines enticing young men to, em, fantasize online while killing fictional beasts. So yes, Facebook is actually participating indirectly in CCC 2414 with that regard, or directly if these advertisments are being OK'd by Zuckerberg and his staff in the appropriate division of his company running Facebook.

And what about the young people online who like to show themselves provocatively, or pictures of their latest drunken bouts, or ventures into electronic music festivals where there was likely drugs and liquor involved? Well yes, whether they know it or not, if you read the paragraphs above, we too, have a role to play, in using Facebook properly. It's not just those with businesses or profits, it's also those of us who use Facebook profiles. 2405 and 2414 strike again: When you are putting up pictures of yourself in those awkward poses, or a whole bunch of yourself (like, wayyyyy many pictures),

(1) Are you using Facebook in a way that you can assist your fellow man, your family, your friends, or are you engaging in self-gratification, saying "look at me! I'm a bad-@#3, / A hottie".
(2) Those who gaze at your pictures or posts, are you encouraging them to carry out the Gospel of the Lord and assist their fellow man, or are you just entertaining yourself and them? Think about it, what will encourage someone to feed the homeless, a picture of your shirtless self or a chest shot, or a picture of you working at a homeless shelter feeding those who are less fortunate?
(3) CCC 2414: Believe it or not, by putting up those pictures of yourself, are you really giving yourself the human dignity and respect you deserve or think you do, and telling others that you deserve that respect? What is the message about your human dignity and respect you are sending to your friends, family, and any onlookers to your Facebook profile?


So here we have a bit of Catechism and Scripture to tell us about what responsibility we have with our goods, materially and spiritually speaking. It's not just the bigwigs, it's also you and me, with what we can grip in our hand, and what we do online.

But now, you might be saying "Well Julian, you just proved that blogger's point. Facebook is the work of a Devil's minion and we should abhor it like the plague!!!!"

Really? Well, perhaps that's what you choose, but I am not making that decision for a number of reasons, ones I will be expanding upon in my next post.

Pax, Julian.