Hypocrisy

I've found it to be a Lenten leitmotif this week.

1. Fr. Cantalamessa speaks about it in an article recently made available courtesy Zenit in which he relates it to purity of heart:

"What determines the purity or impurity of an action is the intention, that is, if it is done to be seen by men or to please God," the priest said. Purity of heart, added Father Cantalamessa, does not indicate "a particular virtue, but a quality that must accompany all virtues, so that they are truly virtues and not, instead, 'splendid vices.'" The Pontifical Household preacher concluded, therefore, that the opposite of purity "is not impurity, but rather hypocrisy."

Please go read the rest of the article- it's brilliant and thoughtprovoking. Do note the little bit in bold lettering before you consider the following:

2. Fr. Euteneuer relates it to the need for humility in this blogpost criticising Sean Hannity:

"Given the size of his audience and the importance of his status in pop culture, Hannity's anti-witness to a fundamental tenet of Catholic moral doctrine is just devastating for the faith of others who may be weak or vacillating in this area. His impact is greater, and so his judgment will be stricter. 'To those who have been given more, more will be required…' The moral of the story is that Catholic men and women in the media need to be truly Catholic or at least stop being hypocrites. We have enough pretenders to the title of Catholic in public life without being treated to superficial assessments of profound moral issues. Rules are important, but Lent is not about rule-breaking, it's about conversion of heart; and on the most important moral issues of our day, public Catholics like Hannity have no right to profess 'another gospel,' or the faith of millions—and indeed their own souls—are in serious jeopardy."

I highlighted in bold the part that jumped out and slapped me in the face.

Why? Because I've behaved incorrigibly this Lent. I have behaved like the Pharisees, who were denounced as a brood of vipers. I've done precisely the behavior Christ protested most forcefully in his Gospel. This has resulted in my feeling like a jerk. I like it when people think of me as a good and faithful Catholic (that's probably a partial motivation for this blog) and I like to maintain the illusion that I am. If people have that illusion I do not try to correct their impression of me.

To all outward appearances I'm very dutiful and upstanding. But God knows me better than that and expects better from me ("to those who have been given more..."). And that's why I feel like a jerk-- we only hurt the ones we love, right? Fr. C goes on to say, "...hypocrisy is also found among religious people for a simple reason: 'Where the appreciation of the values of the spirit of piety and of virtue is strongest, so also is the temptation to display them so as not to appear deprived of them.' "

Boy, this hits hard. "The priest said that hypocrisy translates into leading two lives: One is a true life and the other is an imaginary one that empties the person, and reduces the individual to an image or mere appearance."

A wise man once told me that's the definition of Sin...nothingness. Void. Hell. You can actually make yourself cease to exist. In doing so, you inflict quite a bit of damage- felt, tangible damage-


Yeah. That hurts.

3. So how does one cultivate a pure heart? Penitent Blogger suggests we turn to the God always ready to forgive and not neglect the simple things that are well within our purview. Fr.C has the simplest suggestion of all:

The preacher said that "a simple and unsurpassable means to rectify our intentions" is to repeat the three first petitions of the Our Father: "Hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done." He said that "they can be recited as a prayer, but also as statements of intention: Everything I do, I want to do so that your name is sanctified, your kingdom come and your will be done."

Really, please read the whole sermon here: