The Grey Wolves of Modernist Ambiguity

p/c North American Whitetail.

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits.—Mt 7:15-16.

Many traditional Catholics today rip on the ultra-leftists because it’s easy to knock out of the park really low-hanging fruit like “Clown Masses” or social-justice warriors to oppose Eucharistic rallies because it detracts from the poor or even pro-abortion “Catholics.”  Trads tackling people that far left on the political and theological spectrum are after “easy likes” on Twitter and Instagram.

The bigger problem is that neo-conservative (non-traditional) priests who may be found making pro-life statements or be seen headlining at a national “Eucharistic Congress” will often give heretical answers for nearly every doctrinal question except those two (pro-life and True Presence.)   In other words, it’s not good enough to say “Don’t kill babies” and “Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist.”

In my article titled 40 “Smaller” Heresies of Modernism, I admitted that such heresies only seemed small.  But really, there is no such thing as a small heresy.   As you look through that list, I guarantee you that nearly every single American-based clergy-celebrity (except those who are traditionalists in the Catholic Church) will side against the Catholic Church’s classic Magisterium on those 40 issues.  For example, if you were to ask a superstar bishop or priest headlining at the recent Eucharistic Congress about the death penalty or evolution or patriarchy or suicide or ecumenism or hell, you would get a radically different answer from me.

In fact, if any of those celebrity bishops or priests read this article, I would be happy to debate you on any of the issues in the previous sentence.  We can debate on my podcast or yours.  This is not me being contentious or flexing in braggadocio.  Rather, I am simply confident that the clear and classic Magisterium can quickly defeat the modernist one.  The modernist superstar clergy (even if people think he’s “sooo solid”) will almost always give an ambiguous answer to all the tough questions listed above.  Debating me would require black-or-white dogmatic answers, and they know that.  Thus, I don’t expect any “takers” to join me on their podcast or invite me to theirs.

Still, we have to ask:  Is ambiguity really as bad as heresy on tough issues like ecumenism?  St. Hildegard von Bingen was a 12th century saint who described the enemies of the Catholic Church in several different time-periods as “five ferocious epochs of temporal rule.”  These five ferocious epochs were represented in her mystical visions as five different animals:  A fiery dog; a yellow lion; a pale horse; a black pig; a grey wolf.  Like Venerable Bartholomew Holzhauser, one can coordinate their writings to recent centuries of Church history.

The last period of Church history for St. Hildegard von Bingen would be attacked by the grey wolf of ambiguity within the Church. She wrote: “For those times will have people who plunder each other, robbing the powerful and the fortunate. And in these conflicts they will show themselves to be neither black nor white, but gray in their cunning. And they will divide and conquer the rulers of those realms. And then the time will come when many will be ensnared, and error of errors will rise from Hell to Heaven. And then the children of light will be pressed in the winepress of martyrdom, and they will not deny the Son of God but reject the son of perdition who tries to do his will with the Devil’s arts.”—Hildegard of Bingen, Scivias, trans. by Mother Columba Hart and Jane Bishop, NY: Paulist Press, 1990.

Notice again that the last age of Church history will be attacked (presumably from the inside) by grey wolves of ambiguity who “show themselves to be neither black nor white, but gray in their cunning.”  Keep in mind that Our Lord warned in the Gospel for the 7th Sunday after Pentecost (just a few weeks ago) that false-prophets would be like wolves: Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

The way to tell if your priest is hot or cold in loving Jesus Christ is whether he gives black or white answers in doctrine on tough issues like ecumenism or evolution.  Thankfully, a raging heretic will simply give you a black answer—a cold answer to those doctrinal questions.  But anything lukewarm (or ambiguous) is really no better than the cold-hearted cleric.  The grey wolf of ambiguity makes his salary by saying he is “pro-life” but believes in evolution.  Does he not see those are contradictory?

Wolves are quiet at the outset of an attack, but it’s only an act of cunning.  It’s only an act of ambiguity.  There’s only one way to tell the difference between a sheep and a wolf and it’s the very next line in the Gospel: You will recognize them by their fruits.  The Novus Ordo superstar clergy may repeatedly say they “believe in the True Presence,” but they have produced nothing but a waffling 30% belief in it since Vatican II.  This happens year after year, no matter how many “Eucharistic Congresses” they offer Steubenville-style with laser beams and smoke machines and Brittany Spears style ear-microphones for the celebrity speakers.

On the other hand, TLMers’ belief in the True Presence is at least 99% in every study.  At least that number for those sticking with the classic dogma and liturgy.  (And yes, of course we are “self-selective,” as is every adherent to a religion.)  So, my conclusion remains the same as always:  Stick with Apostolic Catholicism, the original founded by Christ.  (With everything going down in the world, I believe we will soon see it takes more than valid sacraments to remain truly Catholic.  It’s also going to take the True and unchanging Faith.)

I am posting more Life Updates these days. Also, thank you to all those who have decided To Donate. I hope to build a real hermitage with a chapel in the next five years.