Skip to main content

Are Traditional Catholics Optimists?

Image
By

 +

JMJ

Today's question is are Traditional Catholics Optimists?

For reference, here's some definitions from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

Optimistic: of, relating to, or characterized by optimism : feeling or showing hope for the future.

Pessimistic: : a person who is inclined to expect poor outcomes : someone who is given to pessimism

Optimism: a doctrine that this world is the best possible world, an inclination to put the most favorable construction upon actions and events or to anticipate the best possible outcome

Pessimism: an inclination to emphasize adverse aspects, conditions, and possibilities or to expect the worst possible outcome;

 So a Traditional Catholic who is inclined to expect poor outcomes could be a realist in the near-term, but what about the long-term?

The Extreme Sedevacantists that follow their principles to successively de-throning multiple Pontiffs to the absurdity are not optimists.  I think that they may be fatalists or dogmatic pessimists.

But that decries free-will and the Cardinal Virtue of Hope.

So I would say that, in a way, Sedevacantists are not Traditional Catholics, and if they have lost the virtue of hope, well - that doesn't look too good for their extreme long-term outlook.

Traditional Catholics hold on to more than just their opinions of who is or is-not the Pope. They, IMHO, hold on to what the Church has definitely taught as right and wrong, virtue and vice, Dogma and Heresy.

Holding on and not giving up is not an act of fatalism, but of Hope.

Hope is, in essence optimism, so true Traditional Catholics are optimists waiting and hoping for a better future to become the present.

Things may be tough, but there joy and happiness are still mingled with tears in this valley. 

So yes, Traditional Catholics are optimists and should be happy, but not delusional.  

The Stockdale Paradox (link) describes how we will survive:

 James C. Collins related a conversation he had with James Stockdale regarding his coping strategy during his period in the Vietnamese POW camp.When Collins asked which prisoners didn't make it out of Vietnam, Stockdale replied:

Oh, that's easy, the optimists. Oh, they were the ones who said, 'We're going to be out by Christmas.' And Christmas would come, and Christmas would go. Then they'd say, 'We're going to be out by Easter.' And Easter would come, and Easter would go. And then Thanksgiving, and then it would be Christmas again. And they died of a broken heart. This is a very important lesson. You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.

Collins called this the Stockdale Paradox.[21]

 

 So deal with the reality of your situation by:

  1. Applying and adhering to the Catholic principles, not the theories of what to do with an errant (link) Pope.
  2. Practice and hold onto the Cardinal Virtue of Hope.
 P^3

 

 

 

 

 

 


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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

By
 + 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...
Post a Comment
Read more

Communique about Avrille Dominicans - SSPX.org

By
+ JMJ Having completed the review of the 'Avrille' perspective, this communique from the French District Superior is perfectly timed. I believe that the 'resistance' has lost rationality and further argumentation simply results in their holding on to their false ideal all the more firmly. Pray much ... First, for them to acquiesce to the grace of humility in order to obtain a clear perspective on the principles involved. Second, that we may remain faithful to the Church, and Her Dogmas, Doctrines and Principles. Lest we become that which against we strove ... P^3 Courtesy of SSPX.org
Post a Comment
Read more

Morning and Evening and other sundry Prayers

By
+ 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
Post a Comment
Read more

A Reply to Martin Blackshaw’s FLAWED Remnant article titled: FLAWED: SSPX Advice on Abortion-tainted Vaccines

By
 + JMJ    An article has appeared in the Remnant (link to article) and I am afraid that there are a number of flaws in it that need to be addressed. The author, Martin Blackshaw, believes that both the Church and the SSPX are misapplying the principle of Moral Theology called 'Cooperation In Evil'.  Unfortunately, Mr. Blackshaw rests most of his arguments on citing authors that support his position, without considering the possibility that they are wrong. This highlights a key factor in this crisis: ignorance of the faith and its application . I don't am not singling out Mr. Blackshaw for this criticism, I have observed that it applies to laity and religious, superior and subject a like.  No one seems immune in this enduring crisis, myself included.  I further believe that this ignorance is why so many Catholics, both traditional and non, rely on their gut feeling or "Catholic conscience" for charting their way through this crisis of the faith.  While...
25 comments
Read more

Magisterium and Levels of Assent

By
+ JMJ Understanding the levels of assent to be given to the teachings of the Church is a critical success factor in walking the knife's edge during this crisis of the Church.  The levels of assent are generally associated with the theological grades of certainty, which are not surprisingly mirrored by the censures for contravening the teachings of the various levels.
Post a Comment
Read more