In the midst of my busyness at workplace with my migraine which continues to persist despite intake of strong painkiller, I took some time out to spend time with God to relax my mind just now. I was reading on the latest blog entry by Fr Ron Rolheiser, titled 'Things Hidden From the Learned and The Clever'. It surprised me that he was writing on it as this topic ran through my mind during last night since I was suffering from insomnia. I did write something along this topic for my blog entry yesterday. Fr Ron Rolheiser accurately depicted what I was trying to express in a more polished way.
I do not belong to any academic groups. Neither am I smart. However, I think alot. Sometimes, I think too deeply according to my friends. I guess our minds trick us alot. They may hinder us from being childlike in our faith, surrendering ourselves totally to God. The intellectual ideas about the faith may be the very obstacles for us to expeirence the Love of God through our poverty and brokeness. Meditate deeply into Psalms 51 and you will see what I mean. I have bumped into people who are intellectual and some think that they are intellectual. Based on my observation in church, I do see that some intelleactuals or seemingly intellectual people like to form their own groups and build intangible around them with small doors so that only people whom they deem intellectual can enter into these groups.
However, such acts only show the self centeredness for show like the Pharisees. They may articulate or write very well on the Catholic faith, doctrines and teachings but the very act of excluding people who are not of their types backfire their very intention to show that they are holy. In my previous blog, these are the people I name as 'elites'. Like what Fr Ron had mentioned in his blog entry, they had such self sufficiency that they no longer have the childlike faith that they totally depend on as vulnerable chidlren of God. Where is that vulnerability for God to work on if one shows his self sufficiency based on his intellect? When a person is self sufficient, there is no room for God to work. The attention is brought to themselves as they gather among themselves as exclusive groups instead to God who bless them with the gifts. Sometimes, I am amused that they use certain platforms meant to spread and teach the Catholic faith to seemingly exchange views when they are actually trying to prove that they are more intellectually superior and holier than the others. It is good to have such people around who write and talk about God in such flowery language but such flowery language is burnt by the very act of being exclusive as intellectual individuals. Their actions and words through their daily living simply do not live up to their flowery languages. Often, when reading their comments at a deeper level, one can find that their seemingly holy comments or description of Catholic faith seems holy but they actually reveal the tendency to reject people who seem to be sinful and not holy. They definitely do not truly grasp the meaning of the parables of the prodigal son though they may undertsand it as the head level. I won't be surprised that they would look down upon and prematurely reject people who are poor, not as intellectual, have sinned in any ways, do not have the right mentality into joining RCIA but may have the potential to change their mindset and transform by God along the way, etc. Well, I have known some of them. They seem holy mingling well with others who are intellectual and priests. But, when serving in the ministries where mercy is needed to forgive the others who have done wrong and grow together, they leave no mercy for such people and say or do things that are trying to kick them out. During RCIA, I would not be surprised they are the very people who will prematurely kick people who join due to other reasons such as marrying Catholics or accompanying boyfriends and other seemingly wrong reasons out when these people may be transformed by God through the Catholic community and the sessions along the way. These arrogant intellects tend to be tunnel visioned.
The danger is that while it is good to learn from such arrogant intellects at the head level, many people who could have been saved by God are hindered by these arrogant intellects. Those who do not fall into the same category are deemed not worthy or holy to stay in the church. Sometimes, I do bump into some of them who lord themselves over us. I simply keep quiet and laugh at them with amusement as they make fools out of themselves to continue to show off their intellect when they simply do not fathom what Love is all about. The more they show off, the more they make fools of themselves in the Kingdom of God. I believe they should meditate on the Beautitudes and meditate on it with their hearts.I should say that their intellectual arrogance will continue to blind them to miss the narrow gate to heaven if they continue to live in this way. I am quite naughty. The more they write more comments or Catholic faith in polished ways without changing their behaviour and interaction, especially people whom they deem less superior than them, the more I smirk whenever I read or hear from them. How ironic!
Ok, hopefully they will learn to decrease themselves and increase God. If not, throughout their whole lives, they only live in limited ways and deprived themselves of learning from more people, especially the very people whom they have rejected and could help them to grow to be more complete towards holiness. By the time they have to meet God, then they realize no matter how eloquent or flowery they are with their words to show off, they have been falling through the cracks blinded by their arrogance and attention to themselves as holy, missing the narrow gate to heaven all the while. This is all because the eyes are always on self and not on the narrow gate of holiness. By the way, a pair of eyes can only focus on one thing at a time. So, where are your eyes fixing on? God bless.
With Love,
Elena
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