Handle the "Bad News" Like a Desert Father (or Mother)

 Controversy and negativity sell. 

A couple of weeks ago I was browsing an article by Catholic apologist David Armstrong. In it he states that, for once, he agrees with the editor of a certain "Catholic news" outlet, with whom he is known to be almost continually at odds.

What do they agree on?

We Catholics have become addicted to the "bad news" going on in the Church and in the world.

As evidence, the editor of this news outlet cited a social media statistic from his own platform: An uplifting article they'd published about Saint Marianne Cope got only 27 shares; but when he published a "snarky" (the publisher's word) post about Cardinal Wuerl's retirement income, the post was immediately shared 500 times.

Negativity's Damaging Effects

Today we’ve become increasingly anxious to read about, hear, or discover the latest scandal in the Church, rather than delve deeper into the great mystery of God’s love and mercy. 

It's become not just acceptable, but encouraged and expected among many Catholic intellectuals and pseudo-intellectuals to decry “ambiguity,” “heresy,” or “heterodoxy” almost any time the Pope or an ill-favored bishop or priest opens his mouth.

But have we stopped to consider the damaging effect this attitude is having on our personal spiritual lives, as well as on our ability to witness to the truth of the Catholic Faith? 

At one point in time, feeling confused, dejected, anxious, and mistrustful of Christ's Church because of the barrage of negativity I was consuming from certain "Catholic news" sources, I had to stop and ask myself: "What good is this doing for my soul to be constantly immersed in the filth that’s going on in the Church?"

I was reminded of, and convicted by, the words of a priest I'd heard speak when I was a child: “If you bathe in a tub of manure, you might come out smelling kinda funny.”

Today that “manure” is covered over with a veneer of Catholicism that purports to be “fighting for the Faith,” “defending the Faith,” “proclaiming the truth.” Well here's the harsh truth of it: Often what gets published is little more than detraction, slander, and gossip. Reading it does your soul no good.

It took some time, but I finally realized (thanks in large part to my insightful wife) that, thanks to my continual immersion the smelly mire of today's controversies, my heart and mind had become confused. I was anxious and had grown angry and mistrustful. I'd become hesitant to submit myself to the rule of humility through obedience to the authorities God has placed over me in the Church.

And I know I'm not alone in this.

A friend of mine, still in the early stages of his the faith-journey, admitted his own confusion. He confessed that he isn’t sure where to turn when it comes to seeking the truth. He wants the truth. He longs for the truth. And yet he’s been so steeped in the “bad news” that the Good News has been obscured for him. 

I have no doubt that’s true of most people out there today.

How the Desert Fathers Dealt with
the "Bad News" of Their Day

In his biography of Saint Antony of Egypt, Saint Athanasius had this to say about Saint Antony's dealings with heretics:

He never took count at all of the other heresies, and even exhorted every man to withdraw himself from them. He used to say, “Neither in the discussion of them nor in their results is there any advantage.” (Paradise of the Holy Fathers, pg. 63)

Read that last line again...

"Neither in the discussion of them nor in their results is there any advantage."

Not only are we wasting our time by reading or listening to the garbage spewed in much of the so-called "Catholic news" world today, but we're even harming ourselves spiritually. 

It really does us no good to “know” about the latest scandal in the Church, or what some heterodox person is saying about some topic or other. Our time would be better spent immersing ourselves in the Scriptures, the Catechism, and the lives and writings of the saints. 

It's amazing the peace and clarity that comes when we cut the noise out of our lives. Three months ago, inspired by what I'd been reading in the Desert Fathers, I cut out all my consumption of the Catholic news media and focused my attention instead on prayer, the Scriptures, and the Desert Fathers. If you're feeling anxious, angry, and/or confused about the state of the Church today, I encourage you to do the same. 

Church teaching is remarkably clear, for those of us who take the time to read and study the Scriptures and the Catechism. It’s there for you to discover. Why waste your time with those who contradict or at least distort the clear teachings of the Church? And why waste your time with those who aren’t proclaiming the truth in love, but are instead sowing the seeds of confusion, anger, and discord? 

Be on your guard.

Here’s where the wisdom of the Desert Fathers really comes into play for us lay people. There’s no reason for us to get entangled in the mess of today’s structural Church. That's Christ's mess to deal with. So let Him deal with it.

You want to know what the actually Church teaches about the hot-button issues of today? 

It’s simple. 

Read the Bible. Read the Catechism. Read the lives of the saints and their writings.

But most importantly, don’t just read for information. Read for formation. Don’t read to satisfy your curiosity. Read in order to convert/transform your life. Read in order to imitate, or rather to emulate.

Sure we may not be able to imitate everything in the lives of the saints, but we can allow their lives to inform how we live ours. We can look to their example and their teaching, and we can then use that to inform how we respond to situations in our own lives and inform how we live out our own calling by God.

If you're feeling overwhelmed and confused by the "bad news" today, then turn your attention instead to the Good News. That's what Christ came to proclaim to us, after all.