The enemies of the church have a certain strategy, and this is to just be as obnoxious as possible, with the intention of provoking you time and time again. They hope to do this so often that the victim, in this case the faithful Catholic trying to save their soul, has no time to rest from the previous attack before another begins. It is a form of besieging of the church by the devil, and the enemies of the church act like this.

The problem with reacting to a provocation is that energy is spent in some deep seated emotional response to the enemy.
The problem with not reacting enough is that the energy spent is wasted, and it seems as if one is capitulating in the face of evil.
The problem with not reacting at all is that one is subjugated by obnoxious evil and offers no resistance.

When no resistance to evil is offered one begins to adopt the principles of the enemy, or if they will not do that they will fear over expressing their faith in a world which their enemy contests.
The territory we have that the enemy wants from us cannot be entered with our flag held high without fear of punishment from the enemy who wants us crushed.

I see this fear in others who are subjugated or persecuted by others and i also see it in myself.

In effect this is like a mental paralysis of Catholics where the mind is afraid to think things that provoke the enemy. It is the same as in an abusive relationship where the victim is brainwashed by their abuser to accept such treatment. Catholics become INCAPABLE OF GETTING ANGRY and of expressing their will when it conflicts with the pleasures of others.

The solution to mental paralysis is often lost on me, but on thinking about it I gather that because the justification for accepting subjugation to the enemy is the avoidance of pain, that one who wants to avoid this paralysis must have no fear of pain. Self inflicted pain is the answer, MORTIFICATION, and if one desires it enough, one will seek it by confrontations with the enemy, and then the faith will be preserved.

I know the solution but alas, I do not follow it. I suffer with this fear of punishment because of my past in which it will be very easy for me to be locked up again, and the psyche suffers.
However the solution is here, for anyone who suffers paralysis of emotion and mind when it comes to fighting for the faith. The solution is basically, to say to the world "DO YOUR WORST, I will still be Catholic"!!

Discuss