Tag Archives: Identity in Christ

Disorder is Never Intrinsic

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I have an important update to my post from yesterday in regard to the subject of “Intrinsic Disorder.” Many thanks to Marie Dean who pointed out to me via email, and who pledges to write a related post soon on her blog, that disorder is never intrinsic. This is the point I was (clumsily) making in my post, but I failed to point out that the use of the term “intrinsic disorder” is itself erroneous. I’m guessing I was subconsciously remembering how I have been treated in the past when I took issue with a term (“gay”) when writing on this topic. There is no such thing as an “intrinsic disorder” in Catholic spirituality. That man is intrinsically disordered, in spiritual language, is a protestant belief. We can attribute the error’s popularity to Martin Luther, primarily.

It is my understanding that “intrinsic disorder” is a medical term. Perhaps this is where Elizabeth Scalia has heard the term used before. In Catholic spirituality, we refer to same-sex attraction as “objective disorder.” This means, as I stated in my post, that it is something not inherently a part of our own being. Marie pointed this out to me via email (and rightly so):

Objective means outside one’s being but real, such as an objective perception or objective view; we sin objectively against God’s commands, and a disorder which is objective can be changed, (I can objectively become more holy, for example) wherein an intrinsic one cannot be, by definition.

Spot on. Mind you, I don’t expect the average person who is not well-studied in Catholic teaching and/or apologetics to understand why something that initially seems so trivial can be such a huge deal, but it really is the difference between understanding that you can become a saint and the false belief that one cannot possibly become a saint, in the sense that Catholics understand sainthood.

Protestants after the tradition of Martin Luther believe that human beings are intrinsically disordered. Luther referred to “saved” people as snow-covered piles of dung. Fr. William Saunders writes:

Luther believed that original sin had completely destroyed our likeness to God, so that a person lost his free will and all his works were sinful. He taught that after baptism, original sin remained. (While Catholics distinguish original sin from concupiscence, Lutherans essentially do not.) Even after baptism, man’s nature remains depraved; there is no re-creation. However, through baptism and the graces merited by our Lord’s passion and death, a man is clothed in grace and thereby appears just in the eyes of God. Martin Luther described a justified man as a snow-covered pile of dung, clean on the outside but not on the inside. (Please note, this is literally Luther’s imagery.) He explained further, “I understand grace in the sense of a favor of God, but not in the notion of a quality in the soul. It is any exterior good, that is, the favor of God as opposed to His anger.” For Luther, grace then remained extrinsic to the person, and did not produce a new creation. So the classic Lutheran phrase, simul justus et peccator — at the same time righteous and a sinner — captures the state of the person even after baptism.Following this reasoning, since man is depraved and sinful, so are his actions. Therefore, good works are meaningless for Luther, and have no part in justification, thereby ignoring the teaching of St. James. For Luther, salvation comes through “faith alone.”

Protestants of this erroneous tradition also believe that they can subjectively determine what the truth is without the aid of the Church. They see fides ecclesiastica as a false doctrine, hence their belief in Sola Scriptura. Anyone who has spent time debating protestants on the topic of subjective belief and objective truth should have no trouble understanding the topic of objective disorder. This is why I think that anyone who writes about Catholic theology and spirituality would do well to spend at least a month or two engaged in apologetics debate with protestants. The use or misuse of one term may seem trivial to you, but it is often the difference between understanding the truth about God and not understanding the truth about Him. As I have notedrepeatedly, it is the difference between life and death for me, personally.

I have been called a “drama queen” by Catholics who disagree with me on this because I ended up in the crisis unit when a former spiritual director got this wrong. I assure you that every time I write on this topic, I think of this. Please pay attention. Lives are at stake. If I said that “hives” are at stake, you’d have reason to ignore me and call me a loon who is just seeking attention and worldly glory because I’m “jealous” of some other blogger, but lives are at stake. Sometimes even one letter being wrong can change everything. My aim is to lead souls to Christ, not to generate traffic to my blog. If just one person comes to Christ because of what I have written here, it will be worth everything to me.

What is ‘Intrinsic Disorder’?

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In an article today, Elizabeth Scalia appears to be evolving somewhat in her thinking about same-sex attraction and that it is intrinsically disordered. That’s a good thing. Unfortunately, she still misses the mark.

She writes:

In identifying my disorder as “intrinsic”—that it resides within me as naturally as the marrow in my bones—I understand that there is no point in attempting to further fool myself or run away from myself; I am released from self-hate, shame, or defensiveness. At the same time, I am now and forever obliged to acknowledge—with every temptation—that I am disordered, and within that acknowledgement to then choose whether I will serve the disorder, at the cost of Heaven, or serve God.

Scalia speaks of “intrinsic disorder” — in her case, dealing with the passion of appetite for food — as being what she “is,” and therein lies the confusion.”I,” as a person with Bipolar Disorder, am not disordered. Neither is she “disordered” in dealing with overeating. It is the thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, spoken of by St. Paul. We all have one, but the thorn is not “intrinsically” part of us, nor is it part of who we are.

My spiritual director, a very wise monsignor, has corrected me on this confusion before as it felt to me that Satan had control over my brain while Jesus had control over the rest of me, including my heart. He very firmly told me, and rightly so, that I belong to Jesus, and because I belong to Jesus, then Satan can have no part of me, even if it feels that he does. Satan is very tricky, causing us sometimes to believe things about ourselves that are simply not true. “The thorn in the flesh” is not a part of the flesh. The thorn is intrinsically disordered, not me.

This is so important to understand because so many young people who deal with same-sex attraction are committing suicide. Having been in the crisis unit multiple times with suicidal ideation, due to Bipolar Disorder, I can attest that where you find your identity is the key to understanding this matter. I am not “intrinsically disordered.” I am a child of God, created in His image, who deals with an intrinsic disorder that is stuck into my flesh. That intrinsic disorder is a messenger of Satan. It is a foreign object, no part of me because I belong to Christ. It exists. It is truly there. But it is not me. It is not who I am.

‘Homoheresy’ and What You Can Do About It

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LifeSite News has been covering the so-called “homoheresy” in the Church. See here and here. There is advice on what can be done about this. I have given my own advice on this already: You Either Believe Our Identity is in Christ…Or You Don’t.

I agree with the Holy Father that the “filth” must be cleaned out of the Church, and also agree with the measures he has taken to facilitate this. On the other hand, I disagree with those who are using this term “homoheresy” to describe the problem. People are not “homos” and that is entirely the point.

What you can do about the “homoheresy” is stop thinking of people as “homos” or “gay” or any other thing that is decidely not what we are all called to be. Both sides of this debate err in believing that homosexuality is something that can be used to define someone. God defines us. If we define ourselves or others in accordance with anything that is not of God, we fail in our duty to become what God has called us to be: saints.

There is a “homoheresy” in the Church only in the sense of people accepting homosexuality as a gift, as morally neutral, or as reason to reject people altogether. We are all sinners. All of us. Homosexuality is not a gift, it is not morally neutral, and it is also no reason to reject people as if they themselves are “filth.”

It takes a deep understanding of the Cross, redemptive suffering and mercy to understand these things. You either get that our identity is in Christ, or you don’t. You either live in God’s reality, or you don’t understand or refuse to accept God’s reality. In the end, the only true reality is God’s reality, and identity is at the core of it. As it says in today’s readings:

Moses said to God, “But when I go to the Israelites
and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’
if they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what am I to tell them?”
God replied, “I am who am.”
Then he added, “This is what you shall tell the Israelites:
I AM sent me to you.”

God is “I AM.” He is the one true reality.

There is a story from St. Faustina’s diary (.pdf) about a boy with diseased eyes. We should approach disorders from this perspective.

401, Notebook One, Divine Mercy in My Soul, St. Faustina’s Diary:

 

What also cost me a lot was that I had to kiss the children. The women I knew came with their children and asked me to take them in my arms, at least for a moment, and kiss them. They regarded this as a great favor, and for me it was a chance to practice virtue, since many of the children were quite dirty. But in order to overcome my feelings and show no repugnance, I would kiss such a dirty child twice. One of these friends came with a child whose eyes were diseased and filled with pus, and she said to me, “Sister, take it in your arms for a moment, please.” My nature recoiled, but not paying attention to anything, I took the child and kissed it twice, right on the infection, asking God to heal it.

We are all naturally averse to disorder, but we should all seek to heal disorder, not recoil from those who have disorders, especially if healing can only come through the grace of God. When St. Faustina kissed the diseased eyes of a child, she was expressing compassion which is seeing the gift of the child as God sees him, and desiring the healing that comes from God.

So, what can you do about the “homoheresy?” Do as Pope Benedict did. Recognize that our identity is in Christ, above all, not in titles or labels that we, or others, attach to us, whether related to order or disorder. Where we find our identity, and how we see others’ identity, is the most important message of God Who is “I AM.” He is all there is with value to know. All things that are placed in importance over His will can only lead us to destruction.

Vatican: Nothing Must Be Put Before Christ

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An unidentified Cardinal puts ash on Pope Benedict XVI's head during the celebration of Ash Wednesday mass at the Basilica of Santa Sabina, in Rome, Wednesday, Feb. 17 2010. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, a solemn period of 40 days of prayer and self-denial leading up to Easter. (AP Photo/Alessia Pierdomenico, pool)

An unidentified Cardinal puts ash on Pope Benedict XVI’s head during the celebration of Ash Wednesday mass at the Basilica of Santa Sabina, in Rome, Wednesday, Feb. 17 2010. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, a solemn period of 40 days of prayer and self-denial leading up to Easter. (AP Photo/Alessia Pierdomenico, pool)

Today at the Vatican news website is an article explaining what must be learned from the papacy of Pope Benedict XVI, including his resignation: New Paths.

An excerpt:

It was a surprise at his election when inspired by the father of western monasticism, he chose the name Benedict to revive the importance of his rule of life centred on the principle that nothing must be put before Christ. As Pope, Ratzinger has always disseminated and encouraged this rule as the primary reference point for every Christian and at every level of responsibility. And it was in the light of this rule that he defined himself immediately after his election as a humble worker in the vineyard of the Lord.

Read it all.

Regular readers know that I am always talking about finding our identity in Christ. Some say it is an “obsession” on my part, but those who say this mistake love for Jesus with “obsession.” Our identity in Christ is the most important thing there is, and we see it expressed time and time again from the Vatican and from this Pope, including in today’s article about his retirement.

“Catholic identity,” not “identity in Christ,” has become “the” issue among faithful Catholics these days. We are obsessed as a Church, it seems, with preserving our “Catholic identity” in our institutions. This is all well and good — indeed, it is very important — provided that we are clear that Catholic identity depends on each of us finding our identity in Jesus Christ — in following the will of God in all things, no matter what that requires us to suffer, as Jesus did. The Holy Father has given us, in his resignation, a prime example of finding our identity in Christ. As it says in the article today, on Ash Wednesday as we begin Lent, “Nothing must be put before Christ,” and as we see from the Holy Father, this includes even the Chair of St. Peter.

Certainly, the Chair of Peter is the seat of authority for all Catholics, and has been throughout the history of the Church. The first concrete example of this is the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15, when the issue of circumcision was settled by the teaching of St. Peter. St. Paul could have started his own church, like Martin Luther did during the “Protestant Reformation” centuries later. He could have claimed authority over Peter among the Christians at Antioch. Instead, he traveled over 300 miles, before the days of Twitter and email, and before mass transit and automobiles, across the Mediterranean Sea to Jerusalem where the Church was seated in Council. It was St. Peter who delivered the correct teaching to settle the matter, which was affirmed by St. James, as was his place to do as the Bishop of Jerusalem at the time. This teaching of St. Peter on circumcision thus became doctrine for the entire Church worldwide, and remains Church teaching even now. This is our model for the Church today, with Pope Benedict XVI in the Chair of Peter. Though the world may reject this, it is the will of Jesus, having given Peter the keys, a symbol of authority, and having given all the apostles the authority to “bind and loose.”

So it is that we always turn to the Chair of Peter to resolve our disputes, which keeps the Church and her institutions “Catholic” meaning “universal.” This is why any Catholic may go to Mass anywhere in the world and it is essentially the same Mass. Understanding this reality is at the center of my conversion to Jesus, having found Him on the altar the first time I attended Mass 21 years ago today. Like St. Paul, I was many miles from home at the time, but I knew that what mattered was not my location, but that Jesus is in the Church everywhere, and that all is held together by the Chair of Peter. In two millennia, the Church has often clarified the Gospel as new issues have come along, as St. Peter did on the matter of circumcision, but not once has a direct contradiction been promulgated as doctrine.

If we fail in following the example of Acts 15, we are not being what God has called us to be as Catholics. This is why the preservation of “Catholic identity” is so important in our institutions. The Chair of Peter is an office that, though held by an individual, transcends the individual who is holding it in the hearts of all the faithful, including in the heart of any truly humble Pope who holds the office. It is precisely the understanding in our hearts of this transcendence that ensures there is no panic when the seat is vacant. In like manner, it is this transcendence that makes it possible for Pope Benedict XVI to understand that he is free to retire if he is unable to fulfill his duties. What makes it transcendent, though, is Jesus Christ. Not one of us, not even the Pope, is allowed to put our own will above God’s will.

This is a great lesson for all of us for Lent. No matter where you find yourself today, turn your heart to God and ask Him what it is that He wishes to make of you. Not our will, but God’s will, be done. Jesus Himself prayed in the Garden that the Cup (the Cross of Sacrifice) should pass from Him if it be the will of the Father. Let us follow His example and accept the Cup that the Father has in store for us this Lent, for it is only in accepting it that redemption will come.

May God bless Pope Benedict XVI and all of us as we enter the holy season of Lent.

 

Fr. Joseph Eddy on Identity and the Disorder of Narcissism

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Fr. Joseph Eddy

Fr. Joseph Eddy

There is a “must read” article at Great Catholic Homilies on the topic of disorder, narcissism, mental illness, and finding our identity in Christ, by Fr. Joseph Eddy, vocations director for the Mercedarian Friars:

Sorry, world — narcissism is not a virtue, but humility is.

It was announced in 2010 that Narcissism would for the first time be removed from the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). This was a surprise to many even within the psychological community. Narcissism can be defined as a disorder which causes a person to fixate on oneself, one’s ideas, and one’s works. In general, it is characterized by a need for constant attention.

Finish reading….