‘It has been rightly noted that the sometimes necessary criticism in the Church heals no wounds unless it consists in an example of greater love: The critic without love resembles rather a man who scratches himself all the more furiously, the more fiercely he itches, a process which of course can only result in exacerbating and spreading the inflammation. The great saints were reformers of the Church but they were edifying reformers. Not all great reformers were saints, that is to say those who truly loved; many of them destroyed more than they built up... One can picture Catherine of Siena disapproving of the papal presence in Avignon and yet at the same time profoundly loving the pope as her "Christ on earth". Her criticism had all the marks of the Spirit: made with reluctance, moderation, gentleness, accuracy and love. One need only compare this approach with its opposite: eagerness, exaggeration, harshness, bitterness. When one reads of theological disputes through the centuries (including our own), he sees clear examples of the two types of criticism. One has the marks of proceeding from God; it builds up in love. The other bears the brand of human pride; it cuts and erodes.’ --Fr. Thomas Dubay
Posted on: Mon, 23 Sep 2013 23:38:01 +0000
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