Navigating Catholic Life - Part 9: Exhaustipation: Too Tired to Give a Poop

JMJ

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At some point in a competition, exhaustion starts to become an internal competition between the body and the will.

The same can be said for the continual struggle to be a good Catholic in this world. I know, I know ... there are millions of Catholics who are not SSPX or even Traditional who are "good Catholics". The key difference is how much they care about what has happened over the last hundred years.

Yes, you read that correctly. The fight for the soul of Catholicity started well before the Second Vatican Council. That was when the closeted Modernists came out of their respective closets.

Since then, for those aware of the conflict, it has been a continual battle against the World, Flesh and Devil.

The problem is that, if you just pour yourself into the battle without a strong protected supply chain (see list) then you will run out of energy for the fight, become discouraged and eventually exhaustipated.

Catholic Combat Supply Chain

Active Spiritual life: Spiritual reading, contemplation, meditation, prayer.
Ever deepening knowledge of the Catholic Faith: Pre-Counciliar Encyclicals, Dogmas, Moral Theology.
Regular participation in the Sacraments: Mass, Communion, Confession.

At the point of exhaustipation, you become too tired to give a poop. In short, you give up. This is a dangerous place, because, even if you pull yourself up and take a few more steps, each time you will sink lower and lower. Until you give up and make excuses for why you did. I'm thinking of Steve Skojec right now.

So don't allow yourself to become exhaustipated, you'll probably make some really bad mistakes - such as giving up the Faith and who knows what else.

Acknowledge the past, deal with the present and move on towards the future. I'll say it a different way.

It is important to realise that until we die we are on a fast moving conveyor belt in which we need to:

Take responsibility for our past decisions, learn from them and stop living in the past. Anyone else's bad decisions were theirs, not yours. Likewise, their good decisions were theirs not yours.
Make good decisions in the present moment and own them. They are ours after all, so we need to follow good principles to make good ones.
Move towards the future by making it our present. As long as we are alive we are irresistibly and continually pulled into the future that we call the present. We need to make prudent decisions in each moment to shape our future.

Obviously, I'm thinking about our main occupation - one that separates us from the plants and animals. We make decisions - hopefully rational ones.

So - pace yourself, life isn't a race, it's a marathon and please, try to not be a cautionary tale for others.

P^3

Comments

The Curious Case of Steve Skojec and the Dangers of Deep Diving into the Crisis Sub-Titled: The Failings of Others

+ JMJ It's been a while now since Steve Skojec sold 1P5 and abandoned the Catholic Faith. I've been a 'Trad' since 1982 and in those 40+ years I seen this death-spiral before with a similar end point. It seems that anyone who jumps into the fray unprepared for the enormous task of righting wrongs will, eventually, become discouraged by not the task but the people who surround them. I remember when Skojec complained of the treatment his family received from a traditional priest. This seems to have been the start of the end for him. So what can we learn from the likes of Steve Skojec, Michael Voris (maybe?), Louie Verrecchio, Gerry Matatix and other celebrity Catholics? Probably quite a lot about what not to do. First, don't burn out on the crisis? When you burn out, on work or anything else, little things assume a more greater importance than they are due. This is one of my 'canary in the coal mine' signals that I've been stretching myself too th...

Tradical Commentary on: Restore DC Catholicism: SSPX And Austrilian Bishops - Two Different Errors

+ JMJ An interesting thing has happened on the discussion that prompted my article on whether it is sinful to attend the Novus Ordo Missae . The blog owner of RDCC has shut down discussion by locking the article. That is their prerogative, but I am puzzled as to why? Perhaps it has something to do with some of the latter comments. They didn't believe the teaching on intention with regards to confecting the Sacraments. This is not the first time I've experienced incredulity on this topic ( reference articles ). Really this isn't about what they believe but the truth. They seem to believe that the objections to the Novus Ordo Missae are simply about "overly delicate sensibilities". In response to this I am reblogging a number of articles by the SSPX. Perhaps it was the comment made by Bishop Schneider, a currently well revered hero (who deserved the accolades) but apparently has said something similar to the SSPX. I suspect that it is more...

Australia: Seal of the Confessional Outlawed at the Federal Level

+ JMJ This is simply another step in the attack on the Catholic Church. Interestingly, California's attempt to do the same failed. P^3 Courtesy of FSSPX.news Australia: Seal of the Confessional Outlawed at the Federal Level December 19, 2019 Source: fsspx.news On December 2, 2019, the Australian Conference of Bishops (ACBC) denounced the agreement between the Attorneys General of each state and the Australian federal government, with the aim of standardizing the laws imposing on priests the obligation to denounce any alleged fact of ill-treatment of minors that would be learned in the context of the sacrament of penance. “Counterproductive and unjust” are the terms with which Archbishop Mark Coleridge, Archbishop of Brisbane and President of the ACBC, denounced the new prejudicial legal norms on the sacramental seal of the confessional in Australia. The attorneys gener...

Comparision of the Tridentine, Cranmer and Novus Ordo Masses

+ JMJ I downloaded the comparison that was linked in the previous article on the mass (here) . ... a very good reference! P^3 From: Whispers of Restoration (available at this link) . CHARTING LITURGICAL CHANGE Comparing the 1962 Ordinary of the Roman Mass to changes made during the Anglican Schism; Compared in turn to changes adopted in the creation of Pope Paul VI’s Mass in 1969 The chart on the reverse is a concise comparison of certain ritual differences between three historical rites for the celebration of the Catholic Mass Vetus Ordo: “Old Order,” the Roman Rite of Mass as contained in the 1962 Missal, often referred to as the “Traditional Latin Mass.”The Ordinary of this Mass is that of Pope St. Pius V (1570) following the Council of Trent (1545-63), hence the occasional moniker “Tridentine Mass.” However, Trent only consolidated and codified the Roman Rite already in use at that time; its essential form dates to Pope St. Gregory the Great (+604), in whose time the R...

Morning and Evening and other sundry Prayers

+ JMJ Along the theme of P^3 (Prayer, Penance, Patience), and for my own reference ... here is a collection of Morning and Evening prayers from the Ideal Daily Missal along with some additional prayers. In this crisis of the Church, I do not think it is possible to do too much prayer, penance and have patience. P^3

Tradicat

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