Blaming the Wrong Scapegoat

"The Devil made me do it!"

Remember that gem from the nineteen seventies? I can't remember the product but Madison Avenue advertisers, cashing in on Flip Wilson's popular catch phrase, hit a home run with that one.

Funny thing, though, is that we're still blaming the Devil for whatever evil thing we've done which we think couldn't possibly come from ourselves, unless we were provoked, encouraged, driven, lied to, by the Devil himself.

After all, we pray to St. Michael after each Mass (and sometimes in between Masses): "...and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen."

So, we acknowledge the dangerous role that the Devil plays in our lives and, of course, we wish to be spared of his influence by letting St. Michael fight our battles. But just in case he's busy fighting someone else's battle, we can always claim that it wasn't my fault (that I sinned). It was Adam's fault for creating Original Sin; it was the Devil's corrupting influence in my life (because my soul is so pure-white and my goodness is such a threat to the Evil one?); it was my drinking, etc. There are infinite scapegoats for our inability to do good.

So we go on sinning and blaming/giving credit to the Devil. Meanwhile, Jesus - the Logos of the universe - became incarnate precisely to be the scapegoat that we need in order to be spiritually cleansed. But we don't in humility turn to Jesus. Instead, we lay praise/blame on the Devil, who, I would think, is more than happy to take credit for our most recent downfall. Why not? He's got big shoulders, and if we can lay the blame of our own sinfulness on him, he'll gladly take it, especially if it stops us from going to Jesus with a contrite heart and begging for His forgiveness. And notice that this way, too, we don't actually have to acknowledge the real reason for our own sinfulness: The Devil made me do it! Not me! I'm fundamentally, essentially, ontollogically, a good person. If I do bad things, those actions/thoughts/words/omissions surely don't come from me. How could it be me? I've been baptized. I have the Holy Spirit dwelling in me. I'm good. Heck, I even believe in God. I'm practically saved as it is by just waking up in the morning! No, if I do bad things, it has to be due to the almighty powerful Devil's influence.

And the Devil, who doesn't have to life a finger to further corrupt us and draw us away from God, sits back and laughs at our downfall.

* * *

PS: After reading this blog, my wife exclaimed, "The Devil never makes you do anything."

Touche, dear.

Catholic Church - Social Distancing

Saturday (sort of) Funny

The Catholic Church, practicing social distancing years before it was mandated.

McCorvey was paid. So what?

 

So, the latest news is that Norma McCorvey confessed to taking money to become an anti-abortion activist, even though she did not believe in the pro-life cause. What are we (Christians and all pro-life proponents) to make of her deathbed confession?

Nothing. Why should we?

Do people actually think that the whole pro-life movement is based solely on McCorvey's actions and words? If so, they are wrong.

Regardless which side of the debate used her stance(s), she did a world of good by speaking out against abortion. And yes, she was, at the time, the perfect person to voice an objection to abortion. Who cares if she did not believe in what she was saying, or if she did it for money? The message got out, and many true believers in the pro-life movement drew inspiration from her words and actions. McCorvey may have been a fraud, but the pro-life movement isn't, nor do her past intentions reflect on the necessity of standing up for the lives of the unborn.

As scripture states:
"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves" 2Corinthians 4:7

McCorvey is one such broken vessel, who leaked out - through all of her words and actions - a whole lot of God's power. Probably more of God's love for humanity and the unborn was revealed to the world by McCorvey than if she had actually believed in the pro-life cause to begin with.

Of course, she will have to face God for the choices she made, but regardless of her intention, she ignited the pro-life movement. And for that grace, we are grateful that God chose her to do His work.

Sprainter and Street Art

Street art in Rome

Note: The pictures appearing in this post are not my own. Any issues, please let me know.

Street art and some of the artists who work in this style are the background/setting for my young adult dystopian novella Sprainter.

Basquiat - Untitled "Skull" 1984

In Sprainter OZone, the female heroine who shows up in Tronno, asks MrE, an acolyte (religious) street artist who spreads the messages of hope and rebellion through street art, "How's spray painting Bible passages gonna stop the killing?"

The street is the perfect public space for MrE and his group of graffiti artists to spraint (spay paint) their art. MrE usually writes a short Bible reference, such as John 3:16, and then he adds some religious iconography to decorate the text.

Yes, graffiti is vandalism, and no, I do not endorse it. But for a fictional setting, I thought it presented a unique chance to examine the possible lifestyles of two of my favorite artists in a piece of fiction; Bansky and Jean-Michel Basquiat, to begin to pry the lid off this type of artist, and to also bring my characters' religious zeal into the public sphere of action.

Jean-Michael Basquiat

All street art is essentially propaganda. Much of it is political satire, contributing to some aspect of the current political discourse, be it in . This defining characteristic suited my purposes quite well, since I wanted the street artists in Sprainter to be fully involved in their world, regardless of their relatively young age. I want the young adult readers to realize that it is possible to do something to fight injustice - something besides creating a Facebook page and garnering "likes". I do not personally think those pages make any difference, and I seriously worry about the future of political activism when it is reduced to such trite acts as creating a FB page.

Bansky, street art

Towards that end, I love street art. It is big-scale, in-your-face socio-political activism! It can be simple, or complex, but it is always driven by a desire to expose social injustice, and to sometimes point the way to change the status quo. These are two traditional characteristics of  great art.

In Sprainter, I sought to bring this artist-revolutionary spirit to the forefront of political-religious activism and this story afforded me the opportunity to explore such extremes, including how zeal (religious or otherwise) can, if propelled by reasons other than love, can itself easily slip into oppression and persecution.

If you're interested in young adult romances, art-themed fiction, a dystopian setting, and religious inspirational fiction, then you will enjoy Sprainter, available from Smashwords and most e-tailers.



Just a note before leaving you. I wish to clarify any possible misunderstandings about Basquiat and Banksy: To the best of my knowledge, neither artist has expressed their religious views in their street art the way MrE does in Sprainter.

Jean-Michel Basquiat died of a heroin overdose at the age of 27 in 1988. Banksy is wanted by police agencies throughout the world. Although his identity has been a well-guarded secret for years, I just discovered this recent photo.

 ~JT~

Mediation on Psalm 90

Dust particles

Meditation on today's Morning Office, Psalm 90:

You turn men into dust,

  you say to them “go back, children of men.”

Where, exactly, is God sending the "children of men" back to? The dirt and dust from which we were made? To the beginning, since we are being sent "back". If we go backwards, we return to what, then?

What state of being do we return to, when we are turned into dust? Inert dust? Molecules of matter that no longer need to be "en-souled" for survival/life? The term "dust" does not imply any kind of in-formed matter, does it? A dust particle is insignificant, it is carried to and fro by a breeze, by something else that animates it, that moves it. Its random movement (qua fate) is in someone/something else's hands.

The phrase "children of men" implies they (we?), the dead, are not "children of God". We are one or the other: children of men, or children of God. Jesus was both, but can we be both? We begin our life on earth as children of men, but remembering that our earthly existence only begins once God has joined our soul to a body (matter/dust).

Do we simply "go back" if we fail to acknowledge our divine origins? In other words, return to your state of dust if you cannot or have not lived your life in a holy way. If you want to live as children of men, you will die as children of men, and not children of God?

The answer lies further down in the psalm:

 

Let the glory of the Lord God be upon us:

  make firm the work of your hands.

  Make firm the work of your hands.

We implore God to "make firm the work of His hands". We are the work of His hands. Let's remember that. God is the only one who gives meaning to our lives, since He is responsible for creating us in the first place. Why did God make you? The Baltimore Catechism answers this for children (of God):


A. God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in the next.

Read your Catechism, people.

On St. Ita

None of this material is my original work. It comes from The Magnificat, Tuesday April 28, 2020. I am happy to pass it along, because I felt it was significant.

From St. Ita, who lived in Ireland and died, circa 570.

When (future) saint Brendan asked Ita what three things pleased God, she replied, "Three things that most please God are true faith in God with a pure heart, a simple life with a grateful spirit, and generosity inspired by charity."

When Brendan asked her what three things most displeased God, she replied, "The three things that most displease God are a mouth that hates people, a heart harboring resentments, and confidence in wealth."

St. Ita, pray for us.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter to Christians everywhere! He is Risen, Alleluia, Alleluia!

I'm sharing a touching video that a close friend shared with me.