"Holier Than Thou"

This article brought this subject to my attention this morning. The subject, however, does not have a limited audience. It's a lesson that has to be learned throughout the world. It's a lesson that has to be learned by every single person.

The election of Pope Francis brought about many, many reactions. Some were pretty extreme. The extreme ones involved kicking and screaming. At one extreme, people were screaming about His Holiness being "too holy." At the other extreme, people were screaming about His Holiness being "not holy enough."

Whoa.

In reply to the first, one has to give them a little bit of slack. The media's portrayal of the pope is never very kind. The image presented is a "holier than thou" image. There are pictures of the pope praying and quotes from the pope, which, out of context, sound judgmental and harsh.

But this Pope is not a "holier than thou" man.

Exhibit A: In the first minutes of his papacy, before extending his blessing over the world, he asked for our blessing, bowing his head to receive it.

Exhibit B: This morning, after praying before an icon of our Blessed Mother, he told the confessors at the church to "be merciful, the souls of the faithful need your mercy."

He hasn't been pope for 24 hours and he has shown to us the importance of humility and mercy.

But how do we respond to those who accuse Pope Francis of not being holy enough?

Dare we point to the same examples?

Holiness is not praying 15 decades of the rosary a day. It is not adhering to only the 1962 missal. It is not about how long you can kneel in front of the Blessed Sacrament. It is not how well you can (carefully and haltingly) explain a little bit about the mystery of the Trinity.

Holiness is about intention. 

Now, before all of my more traditional readers wig out and declare me a relativist heretic, let me explain.

I do not mean that you can do whatever you want as long as it is done with the right intentions. What I do mean to do is echo Christ, who says, "Not every one who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.' (Matthew 7: 21-23)

Let's reflect for a moment on what doing God's will looks like. Christ says blatantly that it's not about doing stuff. Expelling demons? Doesn't do it. Mighty works? Nope. What did Jesus do? Jesus is Love Incarnate.

He loved with humility.

He scolded the Scribes and Pharisees who militantly followed the letter of the law. He rescued the woman who was going to be stoned to death for adultery. He ate with tax collectors. He did all things with humility and love.

And no matter how many times I have heard people accuse Catholics of being "holier than thou," I have never once heard anyone say that of Jesus.

No matter the level of your devotion, you will probably be "more pious" than someone else in the world. But you should never assume that you are more or less holy than any other person.

How do we convey that? By being ever-humble and ever-merciful. Nothing says "non-judgmental" like showing a little mercy. That's what Jesus did. Remember: we can judge the morality of an ACTION. But we can never, EVER judge the morality of the PERSON doing the action. Ever.

Whatever you do, do it with a humble heart. Love everyone. Everyone. No more hate talk. No more condescension. Go ahead with your devotions. Pray. Fast. Give. But do not, under any circumstances, judge another person.