Cancel Jeremiah!

There is one thing that I am certain about. It is that I wish to fly the Catholic flag. It is the one sure path to life in eternity in the presence of my Lord. It is the one true rock that will prevail against the gates of the netherworld (Mt 16:18). It is my best chance for making it to the great feast that Christ is preparing for me (Mt 22:2). But, Jesus makes it abundantly clear that if I wish to fly that Catholic flag, I will need to take up my cross and follow him (Mt 16:24).

Let’s face it, when you and I take up that cross, we set ourselves up rather conveniently in the crosshairs of the world. So, fly the Catholic flag and the world will hurl its “wisdom” at you and call you a fool (1 Cor 1:18-25). Fly the Catholic flag and you will be vilified, shamed, maligned and cast out (1 Peter 3: 13-18). Fly the Catholic flag and you will be called intolerant, bigoted, closed-minded, and even evil. To fly the Catholic flag means that you and I will drink from the same chalice as our Lord and Saviour did (Mt 20:22). Fly the Catholic flag and the world will plot against you, and bring to bear its every resource to cancel you, as they did against Jeremiah (Jer 18:18), against Christ and every Saint since.

The question isn’t whether these things will happen to me and to you. The question is what is our reaction going to be when it does. Like the mother of the sons of Zebedee, we could seek the seat of power (Mt 20:21) to crush our opponents. Like Peter in the garden (John 18:10), we could draw the sword. Like the other disciples there, we could choose to flee the scene. We could play the same game, give in to the temptation, to return in kind to our taunters, vilifiers and maligners. Or we could play the victim card, to presume that somehow these attacks are unique to our generation and to us. We just need to look to the example of every prophet before Christ, to Christ on the cross, and to the life of every Saint since to know that it isn’t. Neither is this a fight in some far off future, but every day of our lives. The attempt to cancel us happens in our interior life, in married life, in our homes, in our parish, our workplace, our businesses and in our government. Neither is this a fight, of which we need to be afraid.

So, I know that we need to stand our ground as Catholic fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, sons and daughters. I know that we need to stand our ground as Catholic apologists for our faith in our workplaces, in our parish, in our community and in the circles of power in government. I know that each time they come to cancel us, I need to stand my ground with gentleness and reverence, keeping my conscience clear. I know I want to fly the Catholic flag because my Lord did so before me and I have chosen to follow him. I know we have already won this fight, because my Lord did so when he carried his cross, died and rose from the dead. I know that the only proper response to those who would choose to denigrate, disparage, demean, and dismiss us, is to be ever more enthusiastic for what is good (1 Peter 3:13), suffering for the sake of righteousness (1 Peter 3:14) as He did on the cross. Doing so both for our own sake, for the sake of and on behalf of  (Jer 18:20) that very neighbour who chooses to drag us down. Even though I know this, my prayer is that when the opportunity arises to do any of this, on any given day, that I will have the courage to stand my ground and fly that flag. Amen.

[Readings: Jer 18:18-20; Mt 20:17-28]

G K Zachary

I am G. K. Zachary and I write, with my family, about our Catholic faith at BeFruitfulInChrist.com. We believe that the Lord is continually refining us, through the simple events of our daily lives, our trials and tribulations, our fleeting moments of happiness and long-suffering sorrows. It is in those moments that we learn just how present He is in our lives, guiding us, comforting us, softening our hardened hearts. Thus, we feel compelled to write about what God teaches us, through these ordinary life experiences, in the humble hope it might lead you, through your faith, into that extraordinary eternal life in Him. May your life bear fruit for the glory of His name. Amen. I can be reached at [email protected]

1 Comment

  1. Jerry DEMELO Jr on March 3, 2021 at 11:39 am

    The Cardinal virtue of Courage is certainly present in your understanding of being Catholic, and the sanctifying gift of wisdom is clearly operative in your reflection. Thank you. It was wonderfully articulated. God Bless you

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