The Importance of Principles
Apr 1, 2019 11:33:56 GMT
Post by Admin on Apr 1, 2019 11:33:56 GMT
Adapted from the Dominicans of Avrille:
The Importance of Principles
Bishop Charles-Émile Freppel (1827-1891), of the diocese of Angers 1870-1891, highlights the importance of principles in the following passage:
The worst kind of disaster than can afflict an era, or a country, begins when men abandon the truth, or minimize it. It is possible to recover from any other loss, but one never recuperates from the sacrificing of principles. Men may wander from the straight path from time to time, and public morals may receive some damage from the vice and bad example of such men; but as long as the doctrines of truth are left intact, and in their integrity, nothing is lost. For, if these doctrines are not abandoned, men and institutions will recover sooner or later; and goodness will return. However, if society chooses to abandon these principles of truth, all hope of recovery is useless, because it is impossible to construct anything solid and durable without true principles. Hence the greatest service that one can render to his fellow men – even when weakness and darkness rule the age, and even when no one cares to listen – is to affirm the truth without fear, like a ray of light opening a path through the minds of men. If the voice of truth does not manage to dominate the noise of the moment, at least it will be received sometime in the future as a messenger of salvation [Bishop Charles-Émile Freppel. Panégyrique de Saint Hilaire à Poitiers. January 19, 1873. Œuvres de Mgr Charles-Émile Freppel. Paris, Roger et Chernoviz, 1881. p. 234].
Are Principles Unchangeable?
That certain principles are practical – as opposed to speculative principles, which are at the origin of the speculative sciences – does not imply that these principles are only relative. Principles, even those which are practical, remain unchangeable. Thus, the truths of the Decalogue are not relative; and the Syllabus (1864) of Pope Pius IX cannot be reformed. What is changeable, however, is the application of the principles to different circumstances.
For example, the 5th Commandment requires that we “do not kill” (the innocent). This principle applies in the case of abortion, forbidding the killing of the unborn child. However, the principle does not apply in the case of the death penalty. The convict can be judged and executed legitimately because he is not innocent.
Maintaining the Purity of Principles
When circumstances prevent the full application of Catholic principles, these principles cannot be replaced by false ones. It is characteristic of liberal Catholicism to mix truth and error together. Such is what took place at Vatican II, which affirms, in Dignitatis Humanae, that “all men are obliged to seek the truth, especially regarding God and His Church” (§1), and yet claims, in the next paragraph, that man has a right to religious liberty, which is a false principle.
The following is a citation of Pius IX’s speech in Rome to pilgrims from Nevers, France in June 1871:
When circumstances prevent the full application of Catholic principles, these principles cannot be replaced by false ones. It is characteristic of liberal Catholicism to mix truth and error together. Such is what took place at Vatican II, which affirms, in Dignitatis Humanae, that “all men are obliged to seek the truth, especially regarding God and His Church” (§1), and yet claims, in the next paragraph, that man has a right to religious liberty, which is a false principle.
The following is a citation of Pius IX’s speech in Rome to pilgrims from Nevers, France in June 1871:
Mixing principles together is the affliction of your country which prevents it from meriting God’s blessings. I will now express my thoughts and will not hold my peace. I do not fear these miserable men of the Commune of Paris… Rather, what I fear is this wretched political code – Catholic liberalism – which is the true scourge of France. This teeter-tottering between truth and error is destroying the Catholic religion. Although one must be charitable, doing all that is possible to bring our erring brethren back to the fold, it is not necessary to adopt their opinions.
Maintaining Principles in the Modern World
Escaping the seduction of false principles is especially difficult nowadays because these false principles are being taught to the youth beginning at elementary school (thanks to the pseudo-educational system), continually hammered out by the media, and largely accepted by the Conciliar Church:
The Importance of Education, Especially in the Family
It is especially in the home that moral principles are acquired. These principles are indelible when they are learned right from childhood – which is the reason why the Revolution constantly wages war against the family, in order to remove any obstacle to the spreading of its errors:
The Force of Principles
There is a force attached to the confession of the truth. If we know good principles well, and if we count on the grace of Our Lord to make these principles known, there will always be men of good will to listen and understand:
[Emphasis - The Catacombs]
Escaping the seduction of false principles is especially difficult nowadays because these false principles are being taught to the youth beginning at elementary school (thanks to the pseudo-educational system), continually hammered out by the media, and largely accepted by the Conciliar Church:
“The battle is mainly a battle of doctrines. Your resistance, dear brothers, consists therefore in being firm in your minds against the seduction of false and misleading principles. […] When I ask the wise [men] of this era to identify the worst hardship of modern society, they reply unanimously that mankind is becoming weak and soft. This reply has even become cliché. However, we must go further, and ask the ultimate question. […] Where does this weakness come from? Isn’t it the natural and inevitable consequence of doctrinal weakness, weakness in belief, and, to be more exact, weakness in the Faith? After all, courage has no reason to exist if it isn’t at the service of a conviction. The will is a blind faculty when it is not enlightened by the intellect. One cannot walk with assurance in the darkness of night, nor even in merely dim daylight. […] Dear brethren, today, more than ever, the primary strength of the wicked is the weakness of the good. The core of Satan’s reign among us is the toning down of Christianity in Christians” (Cardinal Pie. Panégyrique de Saint Émilien, November 8, 1859. Note that Saint Pius X cited the last sentence of the above passage, in his sermon on December 13, 1908, when he beatified Saint Joan of Arc).
The Importance of Education, Especially in the Family
It is especially in the home that moral principles are acquired. These principles are indelible when they are learned right from childhood – which is the reason why the Revolution constantly wages war against the family, in order to remove any obstacle to the spreading of its errors:
“Nowadays [in 1910!] we have become helpless witnesses to such acts which – if we were living in the ancient times of paganism – even the barbarians and savages would have violently opposed. Everywhere in France, schools in which the young are taught to know, love, and adore God, are being closed by a government declaring openly that its goal is to establish a nation of atheists. We are helpless to remedy the situation because we no longer have firm principles solidly established in our souls. Instead, we have but vague and unstable ideas, incapable of giving us the strength and energy we need. Why are our ideas unstable? It is because the higher, fundamental principles have not at all been inculcated in the souls of children by parents, who, having been formed by these principles, have not transmitted them. In a word, our families no longer have the sense of tradition.” (Msgr. Henri Delassus. L’Esprit familial dans la maison, dans la Cité et dans l’État. Lille, France. Éditions Deslcée de Brouwer, 1910. pp. 147-148).
The Force of Principles
There is a force attached to the confession of the truth. If we know good principles well, and if we count on the grace of Our Lord to make these principles known, there will always be men of good will to listen and understand:
“Today more than ever – and let it be understood rightly – society needs strong and consistent doctrines. Even though ideas are falling apart everywhere, asserting the truth can still be done in society, provided that this assertion of truth be firm, substantial, and without compromise. The exchanges between men are becoming more and more sterile; each one seems to hold on to a part of truth, without grasping the whole. As in the early days of Christianity, it is necessary now that Christians attract the attention of all, by the unity of their principles and judgments. They have nothing to borrow from this chaos of negations and endless experimentation that testify so eloquently to the powerlessness of modern society. This society is only living off the rare remnants of the former Catholic civilization that the Revolution has not yet taken away and which God’s Mercy has preserved from destruction. It is up to you, convinced Catholics, to show yourself as you are. The world may fear you at first, but be convinced that it will come back to you. However, if you try to flatter these men by using their language, you will amuse them only for a time. In the next moment they will forget you because you have not made a serious impression on their minds. They will see in you the image of themselves; and since they have no trust in themselves, they won’t have much more confidence in you. There is a grace attached to the full and entire confession of the Faith. This grace, according to Saint Paul, is the salvation of those who accomplish this confession; and experience shows that such a confession is also the salvation of those who witness it. Be Catholic and nothing other than Catholic.” (Dom Prosper Guéranger, O. S. B. Le Sens Chrétien de l’Histoire. The Christian Sense of History. Cited in Le Sel de la Terre: issue 22 – Fall 1997, p.196).
[Emphasis - The Catacombs]