Stand for truth

NINETEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

The Sunday of the Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council

2 Cor 11:31-33;12:1-9

Luke 6:31-36

Today, we remember the Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council. You’ve heard heard the old Chinese curse, “May you live in interesting times”? Well, the era of the 7 Councils of the East can certainly be described as “interesting times”. The first six dealt explicitly with the question of the nature of the Trinity and Christ’s incarnation.  At the First Council, St Nicholas is said to have been jailed after physically assaulting the heretic Arius. Some were exiled by the Emperor for refusing to assent to heresy.  Before banishment, one saint had his tongue and writing hand removed! And major schisms in the Church occurred in those days, schisms which continue to this day.

The Seventh Council dealt with the question of icons. The Emperor had forbidden their use, destroying them and, at times, imprisoning those who believed that they were part of our faith. It came to a head in 787. The beautiful iconography you can see here is the obvious result.

The Council Fathers, guided by the Holy Spirit, Scripture, and Tradition, held firm and stood for the truth.

We face a similar situation today. 

Sister Lucia of Fatima said that the final battle between Satan and the Kingdom of Christ would be over marriage and the family. We live in interesting times, where society, and sadly, some in the Church, would seek to normalize things that would work against marriage and the family.

How are we to respond?  Our Lord tells us in this Gospel.  “Do unto others as you would have them do to you”.  It comes down to what we’ve been talking about - the Spiritual Works of Mercy.

• Council the doubtful

• Instruct the ignorant

• Admonish the Sinner

• Pray for them - Pray for your enemies, pray for those who persecute you.

You’ll notice, I’m not suggesting you follow the example of St. Nicholas and assault those in the wrong!  I am, however, saying that you need to know what the Church teaches.  

How to know? Read the Catechism. There are two - The Catechism of the Catholic Church, and Christ, Our Pascha.  You can use something like Read the Catechism in 40 Days from royaldoors.net, or you can look at the table of contents and just pick a topic .Read good Catholic or Orthodox literature. Read the lives of saints, meditations of the saints. The Church has a wealth of literature you can learn from

Remember, though, you might face some backlash.  People don’t like being told the truth.  

When the Gospel was first preached in Jerusalem, some Jewish authorities didn’t like it, and they got one of their own, Saul of Tarsus, to persecute the Christians.  One the road to Damascus, God hit him upside his head and said, “What’re you doing? Why are you fighting me?”, and after that, Saul was converted and started going by his Greek name, Paul.  In our Epistle, he relates that the king of Damascus, Aretas, was so upset by that that he wanted to have him killed, and Paul had to be lowered from the city walls to escape that persecution.  People don’t like being told the truth.

When you face backlash, remember the Beatitude - “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil word against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven”.

Around 20 years ago, I was a parishioner at a Latin parish. I asked my pastor for a few minutes at the end of each Mass to encourage people to attend the upcoming March for Life downcity. After one of the Masses, I’m going to get my coat, and I notice a lady glaring at me. She turned to her companion and said, “He should keep his mouth shut”. Well, at first, I was taken aback.  And then I thought for a moment.  I’m sure that Herodias said something similar about John the Baptist.  I knew I was in good company.

How can we change the situation?

Again, scripture gives us the answer.  After the dedication of the First Jerusalem Temple, God said, “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land”.

My brothers and sisters, we do live in interesting times.  But we also have the solution.

• Be like the Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council. Know the truth, live the truth, and stand for the truth.  Remember the words of Jesus - You shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

• Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.  Live the Works of Mercy.

• Rejoice when you get backlash - remember that they’re really delivering God’s blessings to you!

• Above all, seek holiness.