The Great Danger of Triumphalism

On April 16, 2018, the administrators of the Facebook group ‘One Million Connected Catholics’ did
not publish my post: “How many Catholics today could answer simple questions such as the
following? … “Who Decides The Truth?” (http://spir-food.blogspot.it/2014/06/who-decides-
truth.html). (See below for the complete post.)
In the Description for the group ‘One Million Connected Catholics’, we find: “Dan Burke
established One Million Connected Catholics. … You can ALWAYS post things from the National
Catholic Register and any EWTN News outlet…”
“EWTN’s Raymond Arroyo: ‘Good Catholics’ can’t ignore controversy over Pope Francis”
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/ewtns-raymond-arroyo-good-catholics-cannot-ignore-the-
controversy-surroundi

Satan is pushing many people off the Barque of Peter, the Church, on the “port side” (left side),
who do not follow the laws of God infallibly interpreted by the Magisterium of the Catholic
Church. But also on the “starboard side” (the right side) of the Barque of Church, there are many
who believe they have the “fullness of the truth and means of sanctification” and thus do not feel
they need to dialogue with anyone or any group who do not totally agree with themselves, as did the
Pharisees and Scribes, and as have done so many people and groups in the Church and outside of
the Church throughout the 2000-year history of the Church, especially today in a world and in a
Church full of crisis and confusion. It is true that the one true Church, the Catholic Church, has the
“fullness of the truth and means of sanctification” (Lumen Gentium, no. 8), but an individual
person or an individual group in the Church is not the Magisterium of the Church, and thus does not
have the guarantee, the charism of infallibility, to INTERPRET the doctrines of the Church
infallibly. This is why the humility to take the risk to dialogue is always necessary, as Pope John
Paul II often encouraged us to do. It is so easy to slide back into what the Second Vatican Council
sought to eradicate - to bring the Church back to true humility and to eliminate in the Church this
TRIUMPHALISM of being the true Church, with the fullness of Truth and the means of
sanctification (LG 8) (“Evangelization VS the Trilogy of Devils in the Church: Triumphalism,
Clericalism and Juridicalism”; http://trueevangelization.blogspot.com). In the mentality of
triumphalism it is very important to maintain the hierarchical structure so as to maintain and to not
loose ones importance before men (Jn 5:44; Lk 16:15; Gal 1:10)!

There is a Facebook group, of which I am a part of, called, ‘CATHOLIC AND PROUD’; perhaps a
better title would be ‘Catholic and Humble and Grateful’!

The liberals do not realize, or perhaps do not care, that to change the truths, expressed in the
doctrines of the Church, will have very great devastating effects both here on earth and after death.
In the first centuries of the Church many wars were fought over these precious truths; now few even
care about these safeguards of life, liberty and happiness. Very few have their eyes open, on both
the left or the right extremes, regarding the disguised beautiful lies presented as if they were the
truth, and the half truths which are worse than lies. Saint Thomas Aquinas tells us that virtue lies in
the middle between the two extremes which is usually the more difficult path requiring constant
maintenance, much patience, discernment and humility.
It is interesting how the two extremes meet: the liberals decide the truth for themselves, in the
“Modern Church”, putting aside 2000 years of the illumination of the Holy Spirit written down in
the doctrines of the Church, while many “orthodox” people believe they have all the truth and so
become complacent and they feel they no longer need to dialogue with those of good will who are
not in their group, and thus no longer seek to discover if their INTERPRETATION is the true
interpretation of the truth outside of themselves or outside of their group, and thus slide into self
sufficiency, spiritual blindness and self closure. Often in this period of crisis these groups end up
separating themselves from the Church and become schismatic traditionalists (http://schis-
trad.blogspot.it/2008/03/rebuttal-to-schismatic-traditionalists.html). In this “dour combat” (CCC
409) of life, there is no guarantee for anyone, in whatever vocation or group, to make it to heaven
until we are in heaven or in purgatory; we must persevere in struggling for true humility until the
moment of our death. St. Augustine said, 'If you should ask me what are the ways of God, I would
tell you that the first is humility, the second is humility, and the third is humility. Not that there
are no other precepts to give, but if humility does not precede all that we do, our efforts our
meaningless.'

Just about all the independent protestant groups believe they interpret Sacred Scripture infallibly,
even though there are many fundamental contradictions among themselves, while many Catholic
groups feel they INTERPRET Sacred Scripture and the doctrines of the Church infallibly as
if they are the Magisterium of the Church. The protestants rejected the guidance of Holy Mother
Church, but a great number of Catholics today in the Church do the same. There was a great
rebellion against Humanae Vitae (1968); we deserve what is happening today in the world and in
the Church (http://spir-food.blogspot.it/2013/11/prophecy-st-francis.html)! Certainly today there is
a great tendency in this direction, to seek security, due to the cultural crisis and especially due to the
great confusion in the Church herself, when many bishops and cardinals are no longer in
agreement about the immutable fundamental doctrines of the Magisterium of the Church, as
foretold by Our Lady at Akita, Japan, October 13, 1973. We are truly in the period of the great
apostasy before the advent of the Antichrist (2Thess 2:3) when even the elect will be deceived if
possible (Mt 24:24)! Just as Christ was crucified 2000 years ago, the Body of Christ, the Church,
will be crucified in this period of the purification of the Church (CCC 677)!

We must all struggle to not slide into complacency and to struggle for the truth in our lives every
day until we die, else we slide automatically into the subtle traps of Satan who disguises himself as
an angel of light (2Cor 11:14). In this short life, he who does not go forward goes backward! So
many, including a great number of priests and bishops today, no longer have the persevering
humility to answer Philip’s question, “Do you understand what you are reading?”, “How can I,
unless someone guides me?” (Acts 8:30-31), by being willing to listen and dialogue with those of
good will not in agreement with themselves, with the documents of the Church on the table. Saint
Thomas Aquinas, quoting Saint Augustine, recalled “St. Paul made a correction to the first pope
Peter and he made this publicly not privately” (Summa Theologica, Second Part, Question 33,
Article 4). St. Augustine said Peter was so humble and so wise that he accepted this correction. He
did not say, ‘You are Paul, you are against me. You are heretical. You are schismatic.’ No, he
accepted this with gratitude and so should be the Pope in these days (the “Dubia”!?!), and so
should any other person or group who has TRUE humility and charity, who are seeking the Truth
that comes from outside of themselves, from God. This is because the Truth comes from God, the
Author of Truth, the Truth is God (Jn 14:6). The Truth does not come from any human being and
not even from the Church, the Bride of Christ, the handmaid of the Truth, the protector of the Truth.
Another way of saying what Raymond Arroyo is saying is ‘Good Catholics’ cannot follow the
easier way: “Ignorance Is Bliss!” (http://spir-food.blogspot.it/2016/06/ignorance-is-bliss.html).
“Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and
those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and
those who find it are few” (Mt 7:13-14)! “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and BECOME LIKE
CHILDREN, you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven” (Mt 18:3)!

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Here is my complete post of April 16, 2018 in several groups in Facebook:

How many Catholics today could answer simple questions such as the following?
Does the Truth come from God or from the Church? Is the Church the handmaid of the Truth or the
Author of the Truth? Does the Truth change with the world and the times or does the world have to
change according to God’s laws and Truth? Was Christ just playing with words when he said: “I am
the way, and the TRUTH, and the life” (Jn 14:6)? When Christ said, “The Truth will make you
free!” (Jn 8:32), was he referring to the truth of the world or the immutable Truth of God? “Christ
said “I am the truth”; He did NOT say, “I am the custom”.” – St. Toribio. “We do not need a
Church that is moved by the world, but a Church that moves the world” – G.K. Chesterton.
There is less prayer than ever before, more sin than ever before, even worse, indifference as if sin
no longer exists, and so we have given much greater power to “the father of lies”, Satan (Jn 8:44).
In particular Satan has more power to “disguise himself as an angel of light” (2Cor 11:14), to offer
his very deadly beautiful lies as if they were the “truth”, but instead does us great harm.
Thus it is very important in these times of great confusion, when even Catholic bishops are no
longer in agreement about the fundamentals of our faith and morals, to not only pray much and to
study the Catechism of the Catholic Church for adults (CCC, ed. 1992!!!), but to keep our eyes
open so as not to fall into the beautiful lies of Satan presented as if they were the Truth, or the
half truths presented as if they were the whole and integral Truth! A HALF TRUTH IS
WORSE THAN A LIE!
“Who Decides The Truth?” (http://spir-food.blogspot.it/2014/06/who-decides-truth.html)