Monday, January 18, 2010

From The Malicous Enemy Defend Me

Pat Robertson has become the headline in recent days, you can watch his statement on video (here) and his follow up response (here). Even more interesting to me is blog post Satan responds to Pat Robertson by Fr. James Martin, S.J. you can read it (here) for yourself.

What is all the talk about? Read the account Pat Robertson was referring to , hit the links they really do illuminate the story.

Toussaint l'Ouverture (painting to the right) made choice of his most intimate friends, Jean-François Papillon, George Biassou Boukman Dutty and Jeannot Bullet. The conspirators met and distributed roles. More cunning than the others, Jean-Francois won the first rank, Biassou the second, and Boukman and Jeannot, bolder, undertook to conduct the first movement. Toussaint reserved the role of intermediary between the plotters and engines secrets of the insurrection: he would also decide when it could be assured of the success of the company. We fabricated a false newspaper which reported that the king and the national assembly had granted slaves three days a week and the abolition of flogging, but the colonial assembly and poor whites did not want to run this Act France. A young Louiiuc color, candid, was won by Boukman, and then read this newsletter to slaves of the plain, meeting secretly, August 14, Housing Lenormand of Mézy at Morne-Rouge: the majority of slaves were gathered of commanders. Boukman announced that these conspirators are awaiting further troops from Europe who came to execute the laws of the metropolis, and then the slaves would rise to, that this performance might be lacking point, and that he would give the signal raising himself with the workshop on Housing Turpin he was one of the commanders. This information given to the imminent arrival of new troops were acting in concert with the slaves, was a trick of the chiefs of the famous conspiracy trick to decide the slaves because men still shy and afraid of force the power of their masters.
"Boukman also had recourse to the magical influence of fetishism. He led the credulous Wood named Cayman, located on Celtic habitation of Lenormand Mézy There, a priestess plunged the knife into the belly of a black pig, the victim jumped, blood flowed, the conspirators drank greedily. Kneeling Boukman took the terrible oath to lead the company, controlled by the oath priestess: assistants swore after him in the same attitude, follow and obey his wishes.
"The slave houses and Chabaud Lagoscette meeting on housing Lenorraand of Mézy, misunderstood the Boukmann explanations: in the evening they set fire to two houses. The uprising was started by the burning of these palaces high on corpses, and the rich harvest watered with the blood of these unfortunates. Or stopped some slave? who were executed promptly, as they feared the confession.

"Lùilin, August 22, at ten o'clock, Boukman, the intrepid Boukman began at the head of the workshop on Housing Turpin, led those homes Flaville and Clement, and marched on the house Noah . There the fire was put in boxes in an instant, the whole neighborhood Acul and that of Limbe were burning: all slaves rose up armed with torches, axes, sticks, knives, cufflinks, etc.. and all kinds of weapons they served. The whites who dared to resist were sacriflés; other designated hatred of slaves by their atrocities known, also died. In four days, one third of the northern plain offered a heap of ashes ... "

Translated from the original French with Google Translator read the original excerpt (here) fro
m the book entitled, Études sur l'histoire d'Haïti: By Beaubrun Ardouin

Read more about Voodoo in Haiti (here), The author Fr. Joseph J. William, S.J. who is an expert in the subject.

Today's headline on zombies and voodoo priests.

The head Voodoo priest of Haiti Max Beauvoir is sickened by the desecration of dead bodies, as they are unceremoniously collected off of the city streets and hurled into mass graves. In a nation where many people practice Voodoo, the supernatural prospect of Zombies rising from the mass graves to prey on the living, is a real fear. Since a powerful earthquake flattened the poor Caribbean nation of Haiti into mounds of rubble on Tuesday, the shocked survivors have roamed the streets littered with rotting corpses and the overwhelming stench of death. In a nation without an infrastructure during the best of times, the earthquake has not only destroyed most of the buildings in the capital city, and killed tens of thousands of people; it also wiped out what little government existed. Haitian President Rene Preval is homeless and has taken up residence at the police station.

Link (here) to the full piece with pictures describing current voodoo practices in Haiti.
Photo is of a dump truck in Haiti unloading the bodies into a mass grave.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

So, what's your point? We know that these practices exist. The question is this: is Pat R. correct that the earthquake is God's retribution? You seem to suggest that it is exactly that.

Joseph Fromm said...

I am suggesting that vilifying and mocking Pat Robertson is not a proper reaction of Christians. Father Martin's blog post suggests within the satirical quote that Pat Robertson is in league with Satan. Fr. Martin has a much better post in him on the same subject. Honestly most people do not know that these practices exist. The Spiritual Exercise of St. Ignatius point us in a direction and a Christian way of dealing with the malicious enemy that is much needed in today's world.

We can start by looking at the

Anima Christi

Soul of Christ, sanctify me
Body of Christ, save me
Blood of Christ, inebriate me
Water from Christ's side, wash me
Passion of Christ, strengthen me
O good Jesus, hear me
Within Thy wounds hide me
Suffer me not to be separated from Thee
From the malicious enemy defend me
In the hour of my death call me
And bid me come unto Thee
That I may praise Thee with Thy saints
and with Thy angels
Forever and ever
Amen

JMJ

Joe

Maria said...

Dear Joseph:

Yoy are quite right. People do not know that these practices exist.Thank you for the posts. They are remarkable.

And, oh ,how right you are about St. Ignatius' admnonitons about dealing with the Master of Deciet.
We would all do well to pray the Amina Chisti. Lest we forget St. Michael:

PRAYER TO
SAINT MICHAEL
THE ARCHANGEL
St. Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou,
O Prince of the heavenly hosts,
by the power of God,
thrust into hell Satan,
and all the evil spirits,
who prowl about the world
seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry but most people do know--and Pat R. wasn't "educating" them. He was doing what he does every time there is a disaster: spouting off with hatred. Maria's response is chilling. She seems to use a prayer from St. Ign. Loyola to validate the good Reverend's hate speech.

The internet is what is is, i.e., given over to lots of bluster and bad manners. You could find much better examples to make your point.

Joseph Fromm said...

Dear Anonymous,

This is not the 700 Club's publicity department. I have watched his comment many times, I would not consider it hate speech. I would consider it very Protestant. You may not agree with what he said or how he said it and that's OK.

The Bible does however provide clear examples of the wrath or fury of God, just go and to a Bible site and type in wrath or fury in the search box. I found just under 300 on USCCB Bible site.

And on Maria, she is not justifying Pat Robertson. She asking for herself and reminding us to ask for the intercession of the Archangel Michael. We are all sinners and need Micheal's help.

I think that we can use the events in Haiti as way of checking ourselves, examining our own conscious and be giving the opportunity to be thankful for the gifts He has provided for each us.

JMJ

Joe

Anonymous said...

It might clarify things if you were to state that PR was wrong. You are pulling your punches when you write that it is "very Protestant." It's fine to explain the context in which he writes, but that is not the issue at hand (nor is the existence of religious practices in Haiti).

Your whole blog is based on presenting firm and clear moral and religious beliefs but you don't do so here.

Anonymous said...

I'm not certain it's a "challenge"--it's a question: the same one that I posed in my first reply and it's gone unanswered.

Anonymous said...

Haiti is 98% Christian and 50% Voodoo.

Joseph Fromm said...

I am going to suggest that any one interested in further study of this topic read the book entitled,

The Attitude of the Catholic Church Towards Witchcraft and the Allied Practices of Sorcery and Magic,

by Sr. Antoinette Marie Pratt, A.M. of the Sister of Notre Dame of Namur, Belgium. Published in 1915.

It is available free of charge in public domain at Google books.

JMJ

Joe

Anonymous said...

The question is this: is Pat R. correct that the earthquake is God's retribution? It seems like this calls for a "yes" or "no" answer.

Anonymous said...

"The question is this: is Pat R. correct that the earthquake is God's retribution? It seems like this calls for a "yes" or "no" answer."

Said question, however, presupposes several others. For example:

1. Is God able to intervene the world?

2. Does God intervene in the world?

3. Are occult practices and cults pleasing to God?

4. Is Haiti's earthquake entirely attributable to material causes?

The Catholic Church believes that the answers to the first 3 questions are yes, yes and no respectively.

I don´t see how anyone could answer the 4th question with certainty.

Anonymous said...

Clever--so your answer, finally, is that PR ISN'T wrong!

If we substitute "earthquake" and "Haiti" for, say, "tornado" and "the American South" and substitute "divorce and remarriage" or another sin, we can conclude that a tornado that touches down in the South and kills a lot of people (many of whom are divorced and remarried--the South has the highest rate in the nation) we couldn't rule out this as God's retribution? Should we assist them anyways? Maybe wag our fingers at them as we pull them out of the ruble? What do we say about the dead children and those who don't practice this nature religion? Collateral damage?

In the interest of transparency you should be very clear with your readers that you view all natural disasters as possibly being God's retribution.

I only read this website every once in while. I don't share your interpretation of Catholicism or your take on the Jesuits. It' mostly material for a course I teach on religious conservatives in the U.S.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous --If indeed you teach a course on religious conservatives, you should try harder not to make so many assumptions. For example:

1. I am not Joseph Fromm. I am anonymous just like you.

2. From what I wrote you cannot conclude that I agree or disagree with Pat Robertson. Why do you pretend to?

3. The Catholic Church teaches that there will be a final judgment and that hell exists. If that is true, wouldn't you agree that preventing it is a blessing? A natural disaster might make people think about their mortality a little more and a little differently, don't you think? In the end, what matters most is the eternal soul's salvation, not this world's fortunes and misfortunes, life or death. Consider reading Saint Ignatius First Principle (from his Spiritual Exercises) to your class.

4. Personally, I believe God created the best of all possible worlds, earthquakes and all. For life as we know it to exist, so must earthquakes. Does that mean God did not want to punish evil doers in Haiti. Only He knows.

All the best.

Anonymous said...

Oh, I thought Mr. Fromm was replying--I guess that won't happen.

But, Mr. Anonymous, please don't "play possum"--your words read very much like Rev. Robertson's, i.e., " A natural disaster might make people think about their mortality a little more and a little differently, don't you think?"

Joseph Fromm said...

Dear Anonymous,

Pat Robertson is wrong about a lot of things.

The Petrine Ministry
The Seven Sacraments
Means of Salvation

On your question,
"is Pat Robertson correct that the earthquake is God's retribution? "
It is possible? I guess it will have to remain a Mystery.

Anonymous said...

I'm glad to get your response but it won't surprise you that I disagree with your interpretation of Sacred Mysteries. I liked Michael Sean Winter's take on PR:

"My issue with Rev. Robertson is not, ultimately, his bigotry. My problem is with his view of the Christian faith. My problem is with all those evangelical and charismatic preachers who suggest that discerning God’s will for us is a simple thing, that finding the "purpose-driven life" the Lord intends for you is as easy as opening a checking account, and that suffering is always a punishment. Yes, Robertson is a bigot, but he is also a false prophet and that is a greater indictment in my book."

Joseph Fromm said...

Dear Anonymous,

There is very little about Michael Sean Winters politics that I agree with. He tends to try and stuff the square Catholic block into the round Democratic Party hole. I suspect that MSW statement originates from a political perspective rather than from a Catholic religious perspective. His writings can be painful at times for me to read. Pat Robertson may be a bigot, he is prejudiced against the Catholic faith for sure, but I am not sure that his statement is sinful. We all have a right to free speech and freedom of religion so that we may exercise our gift of Free Will.

JMJ

Joe

Anonymous said...

We are a Church divided in many ways. This much is clear when I read "Catholic" blogs--although I would argue that conservative bloggerss spend a lot of time trying to explain why they are "true" Catholics and others aren't.

Re. PR: To me sinning is a failure to love. When I read and hear his words I don't see any connection to the Jesus we read in the Gospels.

We are at an impasse in terms of this exchange.

Anonymous said...

"To me sinning is a failure to love. When I read and hear his words I don't see any connection to the Jesus we read in the Gospels....We are at an impasse in terms of this exchange."

In other words, Catholic conservatives fail the gospel of love. Those who deny Jesus' divinity are the ones who truly love. Supporting abortion is of course love. The keyword is 'love', whatever it may mean to whomever.