I have come to realize more and more, that when we are accused of something like racism or misogyny or the like, sometimes the best response isn’t to deny it but say what Our Lord said to Pilate, “thou sayest it.” However there are still a few things I struggle with when putting this into practice and would like some advice, what are some ways to work on and practice this well, discerning when to answer with this, and when do apologetics? Does Cardinal Sarah’s book “Silence” address this?
An antagonistic fellow at a science message board, years ago, liked to reply "I am whatever you think (or say) I am," when confronted with being a troll. He used it as a twisted self-justification, but it also can be honestly applied to false accusations (I smile and/or shrug if using it).
This isn't too helpful I admit but when confronted with outrageous statements by the woke crowd I either remain silent and smile or I say "As Ernest Hemingway said in The Sun Also Rises: 'Isn't it pretty to think so?'
You know, as our current time passes, it does seem more and more like we will need to withdraw from this apostate society, and just focus saving our own souls and the souls of our brothers and sisters. We should still pray for people obviously and try to Evangelize whomever we come across, but it certainly seems more and more like it’s time to simply withdraw, and hunker-down until this system collapses under its own evil. What are your thoughts?
Yeah, one of the worst ways God can punish a sinner, is by giving him exactly what he wants. We live in a society that wants us to confine religion to our private lives (although now of course, as we all know and knew in advance, they’re coming for us and our families now as well.) and not evangelize nor practice it in public etc. Now we are at a point where we’ll have to indeed withdraw from most of mainstream society and give the powers-that-should-not-be what they want. It’s a real shame, I know a fair amount of people out there who are either descent people who would be great to have as brothers and sisters in Christ, or poor sinners who are badly enslaved to sin and desperately need Our Lord’s grace and Our Lady’s intercession to be redeemed and free; all I can do right now is entrust them to Jesus and Mary, and hope and pray that some if not all of them may be saved in the end.
We are called to be in the world, just not of it. Withdraw enough to spend time in deep prayer and guard your family's innocence, so that when you are in the world, you will look different than the rest--a sign of contradiction. Don't forget this is a time of mercy, and Jesus and Mary are begging us to bring as many souls to God as we can before it's too late. We must not be too focused on ourselves. "Do not be afraid, for I will be with you, wherever you go."
Sometimes I do want to speak the truth in these situations, not to defend myself but simply because it is true; when confronted with accusations of racism and the like, sometimes I’d like to just simply say: “Nope! See you!” And just leave it at that. Do I just need rely on instinct and intuition in these situations, deciding when to say “thou sayest,” and when to say “nope?”
