Cowardice Cannot be the Sole Strategy in Spiritual Conflict

“Treat not with a man without religion concerning holiness, nor with an unjust man concerning justice, nor with a woman touching her of whom she is jealous, nor with a coward concerning war . . .
Ecclesiasticus 37:12

I’ve noticed many possess a strong inclination to flee (cowardly) from every conceivable difficulty and temptation these days. This includes almost completely avoiding the Internet, a veritable bogeyman, according to some otherwise reasonable traditional Catholics.

Yes, there are certain temptations we must handle with an immediate retreat; lustful suggestions chief among them for any man. This is also true for subordinating most of the lower passions. An alcoholic must fear the bottle and avoid bars, whereas a glutton must not frequent bakeries, pizzerias, ice cream parlors, and the like. Lower passions titillate our five senses too acutely for us to withstand certain temptations (a most pronounced problem for sanguine temperaments).

In those scenarios, “running away” is the noblest strategy.

However, retreat cannot address or protect us from all of life’s terrors and difficulties. This is an important consideration for tempering our use of the Internet most especially. In short, I contend we should NOT retreat from the following things online:

• The News (assuming reasonably trustworthy sources; not “mainstream” ones)
• Conspiracy Theories (provided you know how to evaluate them)
• Awareness of how fake, brutal, harmful, and pernicious the world has become, vis-à-vis the Global Homo-Communist Empire, Bergoglian Antipapacy, and Modernist Anti-Church.

Temperance (not abstinence) should guide our exposure to these topics. If we fail to realize this, then we risk descending into a proverbial teetotalism regarding everything we encounter. Here’s a quick reminder of why such a mentality is absurd and dangerous.

Beware Internet Teetotalism (a Form of Cowardice)

Total Internet abstinence has much in common with every other strand of teetotalism; regardless of whether the bogeyman is alcohol, tobacco, coffee, or anything else. It’s an overcorrection to a potential hazard, one which would have benefited from mere temperance or simple adjustments. While there is always a small percentage of folks who must abstain from something, they represent the exception rather than the rule for the overwhelming majority of Catholics.

Teetotalism, a complete moral aversion to alcohol consumption, has its roots in Puritanism and various other strands of Protestantism. These are the same folks who once wished for the abolition of Christmas, birthday celebrations, and other joyous events, simply because they do not appear in Sacred Scripture. Oh, if only it applied to drinking beer and spirits.

Extreme teetotalism (using the adjective redundantly) finds its way into many components of society, rendering God’s gifts and graces “evil” or to be shunned for exaggerated/fallacious reasons.

Many use this poor “run away from everything” philosophy as their approach to handling the Internet. This is often because they run into troublesome issues (like, for traditionalists, the contradictions we receive from “Vatican Authorities”) they do not desire to resolve. The next section will explain some of those, and why the web HELPS us examine them, even though it’s possible to become confused by erroneous information from time to time.

Which Spiritual and Social Problems Must We Face Directly?

Certainly, I do not advocate anybody use the Internet to explore the horrific avenues of pornography, sadism, spell casting, or other illicit materials. Catholics must also caution against chasing after curiosities or developing a fascination with abomination (borrowing Joseph Conrad’s useful terminology).

However, there are plenty of “unpleasant things” many of us should investigate, miserable as they are. As we suffer through dark times and massive confusion, there are arrays of Intellectual problems we must face directly; fleeing them altogether only serves their inevitable proliferation. 

These include . . . 

1. Antipope Jorge Mario Bergoglio – and of all his wicked machinations
2. The Infiltration of Modernism – something so extensive, you WILL need the Internet for resources; since anti-modernists expunged or whitewashed most non-digital materials long ago
3. Sexual Predation of Children by the World’s Elites – yet another topic your priests, friends, neighbors, and family won’t likely help you understand
4. The Connection Between Abortion and Central Economic Planning
5. . . . and several other difficult or taboo topics

Hiding from the Internet – An Ineffective & Counterproductive Strategy

It’s unwise to hide from the Internet. How else do people discover the traditional faith or master the Science of the Saints, nowadays?

Yes, you should acquire as many printed books (written by saints) as often as possible. However, this assumes you have physical access to the right ones, something almost impossible if your sole resource is the typical, nearby Catholic parish. In short, the Internet is about the only place one might first encounter the traditional/apostolic faith. We would, therefore, be imprudent to shun every bit of it, wholesale. Your chances of finding genuine Catholicism in your non-digital affairs are asymptotic to zero, and will remain this way for the foreseeable future.

NB: We can change this (to an extent), as individuals, by educating those around us and by leading virtuous lives as good examples of traditionalism.

With that in mind, we should also reflect on how much we know (and would not otherwise know) thanks to the Internet. Here, we should not recall illicit truths or sinful curiosities, but rather those authentic pearls of wisdom: religious or secular.

This is an inexhaustive list of things I wouldn’t know were it not for the Internet.

1. Crucial health advice amid a world of manipulative “experts”
2. Comprehension of the catastrophic evils of Vatican Council II
3. 90% of what I know about the true Catholic Church (i.e., traditional Catholicism)
4. The obvious errors behind the “SSPX is in schism” assertions
   • Though, alas, it is the SSPX itself, whose members often advocate the “avoid the Internet” or “don’t read the news” strategies.
5. Several other clues, tips, and facts leading one to acknowledge the illegitimate “papacy” of Jorge Bergoglio. How consoling it is, indeed, to experience freedom from the melancholic and debilitating perception of a so-called “Francis Pontificate.” 

Granted, in the old days, many of these topics would have been taught or explained by competent authorities (parents, teachers, priests, etc.). Now, we live in a world where almost every form of authority has been usurped, mutilated, fabricated, or obfuscated. Ordinary folks, including myself, have no choice but to “DIY” our understanding of everything; hence the efficacy of the Internet.

What About the So-Called “Digital Dangers”?

The SSPX priest, Fr. Jonathan Kopec, recently published a thorough and helpful deep-dive into the perils of heavy Internet usage in his 10-part series, Digital Dangers. For anyone still doubting the most hideous/vicious aspects of the Internet, Fr. Kopec does a solid job exposing various evils without scandalizing viewers with the goriest details. I encourage folks to watch at least some of this series, but I have one important criticism I must submit.

His practical solutions, although not altogether inefficacious, focus far too much on accountability tools (like Covenant Eyeballs, or whatever’s it’s called), yet very little on traditional spiritual solutions.

We can debate whether any of the “practical” Internet safety measures work even in the slightest. However, Fr. Kopec rarely (if at all) mentions the most vital tools for combating Internet dangers. Those include 1) Praying the Rosary, 2) Meditating on our chances of going to Hell, and 3) Recourse to the Sacrament of Penance.

To be sure, Covenant Eyeballs will not render much help to the compulsive masturbator, who will inevitably dodge around the software. It is only through praying the Rosary, developing a belief and fear of Hell, and going to Confession, that will ever address such serious mortal sins.

In fact, each of those are MANDATORY if any of us wish to escape this hellacious world with our souls intact. The other items (firewalls, accountability software, etc.), easily bypassable with any semblance of web competence, do not affect anywhere near the same results. While one shouldn’t ignore basic safeguards against the ugliest corners of the Internet, one MUST NOT omit the Rosary, Confession, devotion to the Eucharist, and meditation on our final destinies.

This strategy has always worked for countless saints throughout the ages, against every temptation to grave sin, irrespective of what Satan and his minions have ever hurled at them. Internet dangers are no different, do not require a full-blown teetotalism or paranoia, but are conquerable with the aid of Our Lady’s intercessory guidance.

Conclusion (More Practical Solutions to Internet Excessiveness)

21st-century Catholics who aspire to the traditional religion have no choice but to become much more versatile with circumventing the world’s worsening and diversifying evils. Most of today’s temptations offer no corresponding hiding place for which to retreat.

Fortunately, there are several ways to ease this burden without resorting to a full escape from the world, this valley of tears, which we are exiled to endure.

1. Steadfastly resist all forms of discouragement. There may be days where you find yourself to be no better than the vestigial appendix in the Mystical Body of Christ. Nevertheless, at those times, recall how much God accomplishes with any of us unprofitable servants, useless as we may be.
2. Pray the Rosary → all 15 decades → every day.
3. Stop working on Sunday, the Holy Day which allows you to withdraw from the world at least one out of every seven, something that pleases God immensely.
4. Focus on detachment from the world without developing Internet phobia.
5. Consider getting a blue-collar job, involving legitimate work, thereby eliminating all the idle-mindedness, the primary contributor to compulsive Internet usage. Perhaps if Catholics would no longer insist that their children only seek white-collar jobs, with always abundant access to the web, then these problems would disappear. No, my friends, little Jimmy does not have to become an attorney, doctor, real-estate salesman, or computer programmer. He can build calluses on his hands and feet by learning a trade such as plumbing, carpentry, HVAC, or electrical work.
6. Remember that the world, intimidating and awful as it is, cannot defeat you if you conform your will to God’s providence. If you seek the will of God, then you have nothing to fear, organic or artificial, allowing you to announce with great confidence: Exsurge Domine, Non Prevaleat Homo!