by Br. Alexis Bugnolo
Hate of itself is merely a human passion that is neither good nor evil. It becomes good or evil only when it is directed toward a proper or improper object.
The proper object of hate is evil, and an evil is the deprivation of the good which ought to be in a thing, in that thing.
But the improper object of hate is either the good, or the deprivation of a good which does not have to be in the thing, in the thing.
So, for example, it is good to hate the rot in a tomato, or to hate injustice in an institution. But it is wrong to hate honesty in an officer, or the lack of the knowledge of Latin in a carpenter.
Hate can also be immoral when it is excessive or insufficient. Thus it is wrong to hate dishonesty in a merchant so much, that you defraud him; just as it is wrong to hate so little abortion that you tolerate that your wife elect an abortion.
Thus, the worse excesses or insufficiencies of hate are the habitual states of mind, in which our perception of reality, or rather, our moral relationship with reality is skewed, altered, or substantially disconnected, so that we no longer relate to reality as reality, but to our own distorted hate, as the new reality.
This is the diagnosis for all who have been unable to rationally consider what happened on January 30, 2023, when Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected by the Assembly of Roman Catholics from the Roman Church, shortly after noon, in the Sala Michelangelo, at the Rome Marriott Hotel, Rome, Italy.
Because, if one is still acting on faith and using their reason, it is glaringly obvious, that there has been a huge moral change since that day. But for those who are in denial, their fixation remains on their hate. They have chosen to hate without end, and God forbid that the man they hate be converted by God, because then God Himself will become the enemy of their hate, which is now their true and only god.
One wise Franciscan priest once taught me, that the best way to snap people out of a bad state of mind, is to use humor. So let me try to explain what happened 6 weeks ago, with a story.
The Parable of the Palace with the clogged Toilets
Imagine a large and beautiful palace of a king, which has thousands of servants and hundreds of rooms. Guests come and go, and the King is constantly having visits from the most distinguished persons. Everything has to be arranged with perfection for such events, and the King is very particular that not a thing is out of place, or in any way wrong.
But one day, because of his Majordomo’s decision to flush something improper down the toilet in the main visitor’s bathroom, the main line of the sewer gets blocked, and slowly one by one, all the toilets in the palace stop working. The palace is so big that it takes nearly 10 days for all the toilets to stop working, but some of the more observant servants nevertheless start noticing the problem immediately.
Plus, a rank odor begins to fill the air inside and outside of the palace, and the problem soon can be denied by no one, with any honesty.
However, instead of fixing the problem, the servants begin to form factions blaming one person or another for the problem. There are those who blame the Majordomo and those who blame his under secretary. There are those who blame the servants friendly to the former and those who blame the servants of the latter.
Then as the days progress there are those who even blame the king.
Soon, then, these factions become hardened, and it becomes a quasi doctrine that the Majordomo is a demon, or the King a liar, or the undersecretary the antichrist.
But the toilets remain unusuable, because the main sewer line is blocked.
So one day, after the Majordomo dies, a gardener goes to the main room of the Palace and invites all the servants together to discuss how to unblock the main sewer line. And the leaders of one faction do not even take interest, because they hold that the undersecretary is not at all guilty, But the followers of the Majordomo, who is now retired, tell everyone not to come, because they are now content that the sewer line is blocked, because it makes the undersecretary look bad. And none of these two factions care at all that the King’s palace is putrid and none of the bathrooms work, nor that the King’s visitors are all declining his invitations to his banquets and meetings.
So what happens. A few gardeners are the only ones who show up at the meeting, and they vote unanimously to open up the main sewer line and clear the blockage, ignoring any discussion about who is and who is not guilty for blocking it.
And the sewer begins running properly from that day onwards.
But then the palace explodes with riots of hate from the supporters of the retired Majordomo, because now they cannot blame their political rivals for the sewer being blocked.
With the sewer cleared, the block is now an academic question of little importance. Life in the Palace can now go back to normal.
But the servants who supported the outgoing Majordomo won’t forgive the gardeners who voted, and they begin to make vicious attacks on all of them, especially on the gardener who called the meeting, claiming this or that about them and about the Plumber they called in to unclog the drain.
I think that sums it up, nearly perfectly.
Bravo! You should write story books with pictures it might just wake a few people up who need it! I am laughing the whole time reading it!
The sin of envy, is a sin so blinding that the owner feels so virtuous while committing a series of mortal sins. The worse sin at that – the sin of hate, which leads to idolatry.
The sin of envy is related to coveting, a sin Jesus sternly warned against. The law on coveting is to protect the gifts God gives to people, since ‘A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.’
Parable of the Toilets.
I like it. 🙂
Well done, good and faithful Plumber.
No, I am just a gardener.
Yes indeed. The circumstances pertaining also provide some much needed feedback for those of us who desire truly to hate the sin and whilst desiring the good for the sinner. It is the self-evident nature of this sin-sinner paradigm that enabled me to flip instantaneously from an ardent critic of antipope Bergoglio to equally ardent prayerful support for Pope Francis. For which grace I credit Almighty God!
That is sooo clear about what happened. So easy to follow – so true. I for one, was so happy with January 30th election and have had the deepest peace ever since. I thank you for that, for your courage and for following the right line of action!
Did you ever read the story Curdie and the Princess by George MacDonald? It is very good and I feel there are some parallels to be drawn in that story as well.
Io credo che è difficile spiegare, far capire a chi si è chiuso nel proprio palazzo e non vuole avere onestà di ammettere di aver sbagliato nel pensiero e nell’azione. Non so perché alcuni, io indegnamente mi ci metto pure, e molti altri ma sempre pochi purtroppo, abbiamo da subito compreso il Mistero grande che è avvenuto il 30 Gennaio 2023. Come in modo misterioso, forte, vero quella frattura che ha fatto sanguinare il corpo Mistico della Chiesa, si è richiusa. In analogia mi viene solo da pensare a quei poveri piccoli e semplici pastori, che furono invitati dall’angelo a venerare quel semplice, piccolo, umile Bambino, che nascondeva in se la propria Divinità. Agli occhi dei pastori nulla e apparso di straordinario ma nella semplicità hanno conosciuto Colui che i Cieli dei Cieli non possono contenere. Ecco senza presunzione a me viene questo pensiero. Al contrario invece fuori vi è un odio che fa male, e gli occhi non mentono, solo a se stesso e chi gravita intorno. Se può potrebbe rispondere Fra Alexis, perché il Signore ha permesso che alcuni da subito hanno sentito questo risanamento, lo chiamo io, ed altri invece no? Eppure non sono, non siamo piug randi o santi di altri, anzi… Comunque dobbiamo pregare per Papa Francesco, che è attaccato dal suo passato, ora usano per denigrare tutto ciò che ha detto prima del 30 Gennaio…Pregare per i Nemici e anche per Don Minutella, perché si ravveda poiché veda e conosca e non cada nella distruzione di se stesso e di coloro che lo seguono. San Michele Arcangelo lo illumini in questo. E a noi che è stato dato di vedere il Signore ci protegga da un proprio e sottile autocompiacimento poiché non a noi ma a Dio ogni onore e gloria sempre. Lei però Fra Alexis, solo in Cielo vedrà l’opera meravigliosa che il Cielo ha compiuto, con pochi pesci e pochi pani. Gesù ha nuovamente donato e moltiplicato il Cibo della Verità. Ha lavorato nella mortificazione umana affinché lo Spirito ne è stato forte, agli “amici”, che dicevano non farlo, come gli amici di Giobbe che dicevano di maledire Dio, lei ha risposto…Con la preghiera che troviamo nella Sacra Scrittura. Non a noi ma a Dio ogni Lode onore e Gloria. Le altezze sono così grandi che ci si perde a conteplarli. Il Signore le ne dia merito. E una preghiera per noi…Grazie…spero che potrà rispondere alla mia domanda. E se lei ritiene corretto il mio pensiero. Pace
Dal momento un cattolico decide di sottopore la Chiesa al suo guidizio, e non il suo giudizio alla Chiesa, viene difficile di mantenere communione con Gesu, poiche’ tale superbia e’ satanica.
Grazie della risposta Fra Alexis, ciò che mi è un po’ difficile comprendere è, perché molti sentono il miracolo, sentito anche a livello spirituale, che è avvenuto dal giorno 30 Gennaio e molti altri, pur molto più sapienti e dotti rispetto a me ad esempio, invece è come se camminassero ancora brancolando nel buio non vedendo ciò che effettivamente è avvenuto, e anzi sembrano respingere tale Luce finendo per odiare rabbiosamente? È una Grande Grazia che il Signore ci ha fatto nella Sua Misericordia…ciò lo comprendo ma perché a noi è stato dato di vedere, e ad altri, pur avendo gli stessi mezzi, invece no, e cosa oltre la preghiera siamo, sono tenuta a fare ora…Perché a chi il Signore ha dato, molto sarà chiesto è scritto…? Eppure molti che conosco sono molto più preparati di me…Ciò non capisco? Grazie se vorrà ancora rispondermi qui o nche con un suo scritto e riflessione se vuole può rispondere…Io capirò…Il Signore la benedica sempre
A superb, humorous, analogy-story which reminds me of an old saying:- “Laughter is the best medicine!”
And, verily, how sad it is to witness the ignorance & hate of the ‘Catholic grifter collective’ who cannot or will not grasp the Truth since 30/01/2023 and therefore remain manifestly obstinate in their Deadly Sins of Pride, Anger, Envy, and Spiritual Sloth.
Here is just one example:-
https://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2023/03/march-13-2013-march-13-2023-ten-years.html
Today’s TLM Gospel for Tuesday of the Third Week in Lent is St. Matthew 18: 15-22 and, although the overall message is about the need for forgiveness at all times, especially to those who have hurt or wounded us, the following two verses both put me in mind of Brother Alexis and the few other faithful Catholics in Rome that participated in the valid papal election on 30/01/2023:-
“Again I say to you, that if two of you shall consent upon earth concerning any thing whatsoever they shall ask, it shall be done to them by My Father who is in heaven. [19]
For, where there are two or three gathered together in My Name, there am I in the midst of them. [20]”
DEO gratias.
DE LA HAINE, DU CANCER ET DES TOILETTES – La parabole du palais aux toilettes bouchées
#Praedicatho #Bergoglio #BenoitXVI #PapeFrançois
https://www.homelie.biz/2023/03/de-la-haine-du-cancer-et-des-toilettes-la-parabole-du-palais-aux-toilettes-bouchees.html
Br. Alexis, I just saw a picture of Pope Francis where he was waving to someone outside and a white dove landed on his hand. Amazing…
this happened in 2019
https://stjohnoneone.com/2019/02/04/pope-francis-was-waving-to-the-crowds-when-this-dove-landed-on-his-hand/
A dove also landed on Fidel Castro’s shoulder while he was giving a speech: as Castro spoke to the crowds gathered at the Columbia military base, in Marianao, Cuba on January 8, 1959, after he took control of Havana. The scene repeated on January 8, 1989. After the second incident it is reasonable to infer that Communists have managed to train doves.
Be careful not to follow pigeons lest you end up as part of the pavement below.
Doves landing on hands are no certain sign of anything. It can happen naturally. Nor is it found in scripture that such things mean anything. Here we have a case to avoid lest we fall into superstition.
Oh, thank you for letting me know.
On a trip to the States to attend a funeral in 2018, I was reading a book whilst sitting on a deck overlooking Galveston Bay, Texas with my feet propped up on a table. A female grackle (an annoying bird unloved by Texans) was pecking around, and after a few minutes flew onto the table, looking in vain for crumbs. It then hopped onto the toe of my shoe, gave me a bored look, and began to preen her feathers. After a final fluff, she flew away.
I pondered whether this visitation had any spiritual import, and concluded that it didn’t.
On the other hand, since everything reveals something about the goodness of God. I considered that the bird was neither a white dove, nor a raven, nor yet a vulture.
I concluded that Our Lord sent the grackle to roost on my foot as a Divine greeting of “Have a nice day.” 🙂
Which made me smile, and conclude once again that Our Lord has a sense of humour.