FROM THE SERVANT GENERAL
MODERNISM
(Part 37)
LOVING NEIGHBOR
January 6, 2022
Today’s readings:
1 John 4:19-5:4
Psalm 72:1-2,14-15,17
Luke 4:14-22
The basic reason why the Church is insisting and mandating that the unvaxxed be vaxxed is love for neighbor. It is that one should not want to infect another if one loves the other. The failure of that argument is the reality that both vaxxed and unvaxxed can be infected and can transmit infection. In fact, in today’s world where great numbers of people have been vaxxed, but infections are still rising, most of those being infected are the vaxxed! So who really is infecting others?
Anyway, we certainly are to love our neighbor. “This is the commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.” (1 Jn 4:21). Unfortunately, there are those who profess love of neighbor but do not really love God. These are the modernists who continually preach and teach about caring for and being nice to others, while violating the commands of God with regards to rejecting egregious sin, especially abortion and LGBT. We must be reminded: “In this way we know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey his commandments. For the love of God is this, that we keep his commandments.” (1 Jn 5:2-3a).
Now Jesus, when he began his Galilean ministry, took upon himself the passage from Isaiah, that he is anointed “to bring glad tidings to the poor.” (Lk 4:18b). There is no question that we as his followers should also look to the well-being of others, especially the poor. But again, here is where modernists fail. They look only to the human but not to the divine, to the social but not the spiritual.
Aside from looking to the physical and material well-being of people, what is Jesus’ intent? How does he, and we, bring glad tidings to the poor?
Jesus came “to proclaim liberty to captives.” (Lk 4:18c). The whole world is under the dominion of the evil one, and what makes people captives is sin. But modernists, with their false teaching, keeps Catholics in captivity. With political correctness, modernist pastors preach acceptance, accompaniment, embrace of sinners, but without confronting them with their sin to try to get them out of it.
Jesus came to bring “recovery of sight to the blind.” (Lk 4:18d). The world can no longer see what is good and right and just. In fact, with modernism, the good has become bad and the bad good. Catholic feminists celebrate their abortions and the Church does not call them out. Clerics have LGBT Masses where the LGBTs are affirmed in their sins.
Jesus came “to let the oppressed go free” (Lk 4:18e). The world is being oppressed by totalitarian diktats, including vaccine mandates or passes. But the Church becomes complicit, in also issuing such mandates, and even preventing entry into churches by the unvaxxed. No pass, no Mass. These Catholics, often conservative and faithful, are being oppressed and deprived of the very important sacraments, especially the Eucharist.
Modernist pastors need to manifest love for God first so that they can properly love neighbor. If they look to loving neighbor apart from the righteousness of God and obedience to the commandments of God, then they go astray, and they lead Catholics astray. In doing so, they actually do not love neighbor but in effect hate them, because they are complicit in keeping them in sin. “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates his brother, he is a liar.” (1 Jn 4:20a). Well, that would be in keeping with serving the father of lies.
Let us pray for our Church pastors and teachers, especially the hierarchs, that they “may defend the oppressed among the people, save the children of the poor and crush the oppressor.” (Ps 72:4). The greatest oppressor is the evil one, who keeps people in bondage. Let us ask God to impart true divine wisdom to the hierarchy, that they “may govern your people with justice, your oppressed with right judgment” (Ps 72:2b).
