November 12, 2021
Dear Friends,
This morning at mass, we had a great closing prayer or prayer after communion. While today we hear about St. Josaphat, in this prayer, this closing prayer would be used for pretty much any martyr we celebrate. “May this heavenly table, O Lord, bestow on us a spirit of fortitude and peace, so that, following St. Josaphat’s examples, we may willingly spend our lives working for the honor and unity of the church.” The prayer should be an example to us in how we should be living our lives, with strength and peace (see I don’t always talk about love).
Clickbait is a phrase that I think many of us are aware of and have probably fallen prey to over the years when we are online. It is not any different than the teasers that news agencies will use to get you to watch their programs or the hooks they use to keep you watching. Even though we are aware that this is happening, we still fall into the trap and keep watching or reading. It is no different than when they start throwing around the phrases that catch your attention, boomer, millennial, liberal, conservative, cancel culture, woke, etc. I feel like I could create an entire page of these words that will catch your attention and drag you into another news story or article.
The entire idea of the news trying to influence us is not really anything new, but the need for viewers and clicks has made it that there is no slow news day. Remember when those days existed? It is not just a reporting of a story; it is a manipulation of our emotions to engage or enrage us. Instead of a story saying that person x, was called out or being held accountable for saying something that is xenophobic, racist, misogynistic, etc., we see a story about woke culture or cancel culture is at it again. People cannot be held accountable for things they said or past comments. It is someone else’s problem.
Can you imagine if one of the martyrs who came before us spent his entire mission calling people to know God, saying what needed to be said, even if it went against what people believed and when they were finally challenged said something along the lines of “oh, it’s just cancel culture trying to stop me.” No? Neither can I. These people were firm in their faith and had the fortitude to live as a Catholic is supposed to live, evangelizing until the end. Being Catholic is not always easy. People aren’t always going to like what we say. They will use various common phrases against us, because of what we are doing.
The Holy Father has been calling people to protect others during this pandemic, saying being vaccinated and wearing masks are acts of love to protect others. He is getting lambasted by people as being in league with the devil, because of his stance on protecting people from Covid. A few weeks back, I had someone say to me, “who is the Pope to tell me that I should be vaccinated?” Aside from being the Pope, I didn’t have an answer. I know people aren’t fully happy with how we handle things at St. Matthew’s where covid and masks are involved, but in my heart, I know I am doing the right thing. The naysayers who have fallen into the traps that some of the clickbait and news teasers have pulled them into, aren’t going to sway, what is to me, basic common sense.
The lives of the Saints, especially the martyrs, are constant examples to us of how we need to live our lives. Have the courage to do what is right and the peace of heart to still love those who speak against you. If the Holy Father can do it, so too can we.
God Bless,
Fr. Brian