A New Form of Anti-Semitism
Free eBook:
|
| Free eBook: Catholic Quagmire |
Anti-Semitism is both immoral and stupid. To condemn, reject, mistreat someone because of his race (for which no one is responsible) is clearly unjust. Surprisingly enough, some people are more likely to give up this aberration when shown that it is stupid than when they are told that it is immoral. No one likes to be called stupid, but any "intelligent" person knows that moral norms are "all relative."
To our grief, a new, more subtle form of anti-Semitism is gaining currency, a "discrimination" against Jews which, given its subtlety and the way it presented, is difficult to diagnose: the idea that Jews need not "convert to Christianity" for "they have their own truth and their own way to salvation." It follows that it is illegitimate to pray for their conversion and to grant them Baptism even when they request it.
A Jewish friend of mine told me that after having received extraordinary graces, and seeing his way to the Holy Catholic Church, he had difficulty finding a priest willing to baptize him on the ground "that he did not need to." A superior of a great religious order, upon finding out that he had actually received this sacrament, exclaimed: "That was totally unnecessary. You should only strive to become a better Jew" (which can possibly be interpreted to mean: become more and more convinced that Christ is not the divine Messiah). That this is the position of a "big shot" in the Catholic Church should make us weep.
Granted that the Jewish people are God's Chosen People, granted that they were extraordinarily favored by being the receptacle of God's Revelation, granted that they were promised that their race would give the world a Savior, the tragic fact remains that when He came into the world (fulfilling biblical prophecies to the letter), "His own recognized Him not" (John 1:11). It is one of the great tragedies of world history. We need faith to endorse the mysterious words of St. Paul: ". . . a hardening has come upon a part of Israel; until the full number of the Gentiles come in, and so all Israel will be saved" (Romans 11:25-26). Why has God permitted this tragic blindness? Why is this "hardening" to last until the full number of the Gentiles will be reached? This is a mystery whose meaning will be given to us in eternity.
No one claiming to be a Christian can fail to pray ardently for this blessed moment when the eyes of the chosen nation will be opened. St. Paul writes to the Romans: "For if you have been cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into the cultivated olive tree, how much more will these natural branches be grafted back into their own olive tree" (11:25). On that blessed day, there will be overwhelming joy both in Heaven and on earth. The key question is one of truth: Is Christ the Messiah promised to the Jewish people or is He not? Tertium non datur.
Different as Aristotle's philosophical approach is from Plato's, both of these gigantic thinkers share one crucial position: the key importance they grant to truth, and their total agreement that truth is objective. Plato put the following words in Socrates' mouth: "I am interested in nothing but the truth" (Euthyphro, xviii:14). "Don't agree with Socrates; agree with the truth" (Phaedo xl:91). Aristotle defines truth as the agreement between a proposition and the fact to which it refers. In Confucius, Buddha, Brahma, Mohammed, we might find some truth, some partial truths (which become errors when they claim to be the full truth), some serious equivocations, some grave errors and heresies.
The Old Testament is unique: Its message is true; it is error free. The tragedy began when the Chosen People rejected the one who said "I Am the Truth." Neither Confucius, nor the Buddha, nor Brahma, nor Moses, nor Mohammed ever dared make a similar claim. If Christ's claim is false, He is an impostor. If it is true, those who have been blessed to recognize Him as the God-man and the Savior of the universe, have the strict duty to pray ardently that all knees should bend in front of Him, and in a very special way, those who have been blessed by giving us the Savior of the world, a descendant of David as announced by the prophets.
Every "truth," modest as its content may be, calls for reverence. Dietrich von Hildebrand has shown that the immorality of lying lies essentially in this irreverence toward "what is," and secondarily in putting off others. (For there are cases in which it is legitimate to mislead them. Let us recall St. Athanasius deceiving his pursuers who were asking him whether he was near. His answer put them off, and he escaped.)
If it not only desirable but obligatory for Catholics to pray that atheists should open their hearts and minds to the existence of God, that pagans should abandon honoring false gods, and turn to the One True one, that Protestants should renounce the heresies that have in various degrees tainted their faith, and turn back to the fullness of truth, that Orthodox should recognize the authority of Peter, how can they exclude the Chosen People from this invocation? The latter need not give up their belief that the Old Testament is God's word. They need not "turn around." Their way is to open the sacred door that they have double locked since the coming of Christ, and to recognize in Him, the Messiah and the King of the Jews. It is therefore imperative to pray that the Chosen People should embrace the sacred Fruit of the tree that was originally confided to them. To exclude them from this holy invocation (that they may all be one) is a subtle form of unholy discrimination: It is a new form of anti-Semitism.
The New Testament is both the fulfillment of the Old, but also a religious tsunami because of its claim that the Savior is both God and Man, and that He is the Truth. This makes no sense if truth is found only in propositions. A true proposition cannot possess me. But the moment the Savior of the world informed us that He is Truth Itself, it becomes our sacred duty to let ourselves be possessed by Truth, which is much more than "to have the truth" found in the Old Testament. For the New Testament teaches us that truth is a Person, a revolutionary claim. He who grasps the impact of this Revelation will become doubly conscious of the duty of charity to wish all men to become the possession of the Savior of the world who is Truth. Only a person, nay only a divine Person, can possess us. Whereas all true propositions (modest as their content can be) call for reverence, Truth itself calls for both love and adoration. Granted that the Old Testament keeps all its value, this holy script cries for fulfillment. The New gives us a golden key indispensable to understanding the mysterious message of the Old. For the latter needs the former to be understood in all its glorious truth and beauty.
The question, therefore, is not one of rejecting the message given to the Chosen People, but to bring it to fulfillment.
Numerous are the quotations in the Bible clearly indicating that the Gentiles are also invited to the banquet of the King: "Ethiopia [the land of the Gentiles] shall be the first to stretch out her hands to God" (Psalm 47:32). With the coming of Christ, the divine message hidden in the womb of the Blessed One among women, was, on the very day of His birth, given to the whole world. This justifies the words of St. Paul announcing that from now on there will be neither Jews nor pagans, nor man nor woman: All of God's children are called to serve Him in Truth.
The whole question therefore is once again whether or not Jesus, the Son of Mary, conceived in her holy womb through the Holy Spirit, is God or not. (He said: "The Father and I are one.") If Christ is the Savior of the world, we are duty bound, not only by Christian charity, but also "by justice" (for our debt to the Jewish people is great) to pray ardently that their eyes might be opened to Truth itself. Why should they, who are so rich "in truths," be denied the Truth? Why should those who were fed for forty years by manna in the desert, be denied the Bread of Angels? Why should the Chosen People be denied what is offered to all men? This is an ugly form of ingratitude.
On the other hand, if Christ is an impostor, then all non-Christians, and particularly the Jewish people, should pray ardently for their tragically mistaken Christian brothers.
To love someone in the deep sense of this term is to wish to be united with Him in Heaven, to adore God "in spirit and in truth." This holy teaching explains why a Catholic worthy of this "aristocratic" name is able, through God's grace, to pray for those who persecute him, for those who torture him. This is far from the law of the Talion. St. Maria Goretti expressed the wish to be in Heaven with the man who fatally wounded her in his frustration that she resisted his efforts to rape her. This prayer was instrumental in his conversion while in jail. Now they are praising God together in Heaven.
Dietrich von Hildebrand used to say that for a Catholic worthy of this name, there are only two categories of people: Catholics in re and Catholics in spe. Holy Church is not a club opened only to those who have certain qualifications. She is the Holy Bride of Christ, and a loving mother whose heart excludes no one.
The Platonic concept of God was sadly deficient. But this noble thinker tried to live up to what was available to his pagan mind, and declared that the knowledge of the gods is the noblest of all types of knowledge (Laws XII: 966), and should therefore be the key concern of human beings. He did not deny any of the truths of Revelation. He did not know them, and we can assume that someone who wrote, as we saw, that he cared for nothing except the truth, would have embraced Revelation had it been available to him. The Protestant emphasis on salvation (their main concern is: "Are you saved?") necessarily puts the question of truth in brackets.
It is precisely this lack of interest in truth, nay, this indifference to the question of truth, that is the cancer affecting our society and explains many Christians' lack of concern about sharing Truth with their Jewish brothers.
Let us assume that a man denies or challenges a truth because of plain ignorance implying no guilt, the fact remains that any proclamation of an error creates a disharmony which we ought to take seriously. Any error — small as it might be — is "off tune." Big ones create a metaphysical cacophony. Every single truth, on the other hand, is a musical line in the symphony of the universe.
The most important truths, as Plato claimed (Laws X: 966), are those related to God's nature and His relationship to man: These are key truths that should be the great concern of every man. To die totally ignorant of Euclid's geometry may be regrettable, but is definitely not tragic. To die ignoring religious and ethical truths has what Kierkegaard calls "eternal resonance."
Years ago, a very orthodox Jewish colleague of mine who had become a friend, told me that the Jewish people resent the fact that Catholics are always trying to convert them. To which I replied: What we Catholics resent is that Jews, convinced as they are that we are tragically mistaken in adoring Christ as the Messiah, do not try to "convert" us, for to adore as God someone who is only a human being is blasphemy, the sin par excellence (Matt. 26:63).
My colleague's answer was baffling to a Christian ear: "Revelation was given exclusively to the Chosen People. It is ours. But you can be saved with your limited knowledge." To which I could not help but say: "I am hungry for the whole of truth. I am not satisfied with scraps." To the orthodox Jews, revealed truth is their exclusive possession because they have Abraham's blood. Race becomes all- important: granted that it was God Himself who chose to privilege a particularly group of people, this is not to be confused with "racism." It is "divine discrimination."
Alas, a large number of Jews have abandoned their faith, and yet, some of them still feel superior to others because of their blood. Once the divine election is totally out of the picture, whether they realize it or not, this feeling of superiority amounts to plain racism.
Moreover, another striking proof that the Old Testament is fulfilled in the New is that in holy Catholic teaching, "blood" still plays a crucial role: For in the Holy Eucharist those blessed by Baptism receive the Body and Blood of Mary's Son. In other words, a Catholic who daily receives Holy Communion from the age of reason until his death, is nourished with the Holy Blood of the Savior who is Jewish. This was implied in the famous words of Pius XI: "We are all Semites."
It is inevitable that knowledge of some true propositions (for example, those concerning nuclear physics) is limited to very few people, but this is not acceptable if Truth is a Person. All men should be "possessed by Truth"; no one should be excluded. Truth and Love are one.
True Christian love means essentially to wish to share Truth with men of all nations in Heaven. It is meaningless to speak of love unless one ardently wishes the loving union of all men in the Truth. All human benefits that human love wishes to shower on the loved one are "nothing but dust and ashes" compared with the gift of gifts: the eternal contemplation of God. To refuse to pray for the conversion of the Jews is to betray not only a lack of charity, but is also a betrayal of the very core of the Christian message: "Love one another as I have loved you."
Why do some Jews mind that the Catholic Liturgy has a prayer for their conversion? Let us assume that Catholics are apprised of the fact that Buddhists, or Muslims, or Jews are daily praying for their conversion. The Catholic answer is not to be offended, but to give them the credit that their intention is a loving one. We should assume that they sincerely deplore the dreadful error into which we have fallen: to adore a man as God. On the other hand, convinced through the grace of faith, that, unworthy as we are, we have the fullness of revealed truth, the prayers of those begging "that our blind eyes might open," are bound to be totally ineffectual. Therefore we have no reason either to fear them or to resent them.
The "perfect" form of hatred is to say to another person: "Be damned." This is so horrible that it has a devilish stench. Those truly animated by love of neighbor, should hope that, at the very, very last moment, even monsters like Hitler, Stalin, and their ilk, repented. We should feel no satisfaction in thinking that they are burning at the very center of Hell: The place where love is excluded. David wrote: "A contrite and humbled heart, O God, thou wilt not despise" (Psalm 50). These words should give confidence to the worst sinner. Dante expressed the same truth in his Purgatory. He puts the following words in Mandred's mouth: "Horrible were my sins, but Infinite Bounty has arms of an embrace so broad that it accepts whoever turns to it" (verses 121-124).
Total indifference to the eternal fate of others is only "a bit less bad" ("it is not my business"; "I am not my brother's keeper"); it betrays an abominable lack of charity. True love alone, that is a partaking in Christ's love for all men, commands us to have a burning concern about the fate of all of our brothers, whatever their race, and their religion or lack of religion may be.
This is why it is difficult for a Catholic to understand why some Jews should mind our praying for their conversion, and the pressure placed on Church authorities (in concert with some influential liberal Catholics) to eliminate from our liturgy the prayers referring to their conversion. The fundamental belief of Catholics (Christians) is that Christ is the Messiah, the God-Man, a descendant of David, God Incarnate. The most logical conclusion from this belief is to pray for those whose eyes are blinded, whose heart is hardened. This key Christian belief is undermined and challenged by of the Zeitgeist, which confuses charity with tolerance, and views indifference as an expression of respect for the opinions of others.
Let us assume that one doctor finds a cure which, when followed, guarantees full recovery from an epidemic affecting the whole human race; this epidemic is original sin. Let us assume that this doctor (or those he had completely healed) refuses to share this information except with his family and friends; we would then condemn him as an evil man.
The deep-set Christian conviction is that Christ is the Holy Doctor (as mentioned by St. Augustine), who through His death on the cross and His founding of the Holy Catholic Church grants her children the Holy Wheat of the Eucharist, the Holy Food that transforms sinners into saints. Should not this holy remedy be made available to all people?
Alas, terrible mistakes have been made in the past: More than once, possibly well-intended but stupid, ill-informed, or fanatical Catholics have tried to "force conversions," the most counterproductive means one can imagine. (Let us think of Ivan the Terrible). Let us acknowledge further that many, although well intentioned, lack the great virtue of "discretio" so strongly recommended in Ecclesiastes: "There is a time to speak, there is a time to remain silent." This should not eliminate the call to a true apostolate: that is to be so deeply possessed by the Truth that one radiates a radiance, a peace, a holy joy, a sweetness which is likely to touch the most hardened hearts. When the ground has been prepared, the moment to speak has come.
May these modest words remind all Catholics, and particularly those in a position of authority, that they have the strict duty to obey Christ's words: "Go and teach all nations, and baptize them." Indeed, they should live up to the words of the Psalm 39: "I have not concealed . . . thy truth."
May the Jewish people realize that to pray for their "conversion" (in the sense explained above) is an expression of our love, and may this love be instrumental in bringing about the blessed moment when the veil will be taken from their eyes.
This item 8004 digitally provided courtesy of CatholicCulture.org
