I’ve been posting a lot the last few days. Writing is very cathartic. I highly encourage Catholics to write a Catholic blog, in whatever format or scope you choose. It has a similar effect to writing a journal, though shared with others.
Marcus Aurelius, one of the great ancient philosophers, wrote daily journals, published after his death. Since we are told to pray constantly, and since as St. Thomas says all life should be oriented to contemplation, then, in the spirit of St. Joseph who fused perfectly contemplative prayer with his active life, so we can make all activity meditative, oriented directly or indirectly to divine truth.
That is what I attempt here, as much to benefit my mind and soul, as that of the reader.
I am simultaneously aware of the dangers of the modern world, which includes modernism engulfing the mainstream of the Church, and rigorism within those elements of the Church most faithful to orthodoxy and orthopraxis. That is right belief and right religious practice. When you have managed to disentangle yourself from the Novus Ordo, that is the modernist New Order way of things in the Church, the remaining enemy is, in my experience, rigorism.
Sometimes loosely called Jansenism or Phariseesism or Fundamentalism, for lack of better terms. For me, I think Rigorism is the best, least-triggering term. It is a phenomenon already condemned by name by the Magisterium and traditional theology.
Rigorism is the attitude that the strict approach is always preferred to a moderate approach, whether that refers to dress, mannerisms, personality, fiscal responsibility, any form of responsibility, amount of time in external daily devotion, and how strict you treat the non-rigorist. The more moderate approach is then treated as laxity and lukewarmness. It is one extreme failing to see the middle because of an extreme focus on the other extreme.
Rigorism in the Church sometimes takes the somewhat true philosophy of Ancient Rome, in particular that of the Spartans and the Stoics, as if those systems of philosophy are revealed doctrine, when in fact they are philosophies not revealed truth, with many flaws. Christianity only takes certain truths from these philosophies to help live the Christian life, for practical aids in self-discipline. For example, Stoicism helps create a daily schedule of discipline, and a calm mind.
But what contemporary rigorists are essentially doing is importing social Darwinism from contemporary society, which is evil and false, especially if they are a convert or revert, also confusing it with ancient wisdom, which becomes distorted, and creating a rigoristic approach to religion and morality. They believe it is somehow the proper Catholic teaching, when in fact it is nothing more than their own warped ideology.
Social Darwinism is evil and false for every reason Darwinism is evil and false: it is materialist, survivalistic, oppressive, unjust, and contrary to what Christ taught in the Gospels, as in the Beatitudes. It is the ideology of the bully and the narcissist.
Lastly, it isn’t easy to argue what is or isn’t rigorism when bishops and priests today, including the faithful ones, do not uniformly or commonly explain when an idea or practice is that of Rigorism. But I would argue that a Catholic with a well developed sense of faith and common sense can easily detect it.
That is not so much to say I myself am that person, but that we should be aware of Rigorism and learn how to detect it.
One medicine for this, besides reading what Christ taught in the Gospels, is to read St. Thomas’ Treatise on Virtue, and everything to do with morality. He says all virtue stands in the middle between extremes, through the Via Media, or Middle Way.
That was and is the way of Our Lord Jesus Christ.