The Reign of Terror (Part 2)

The Queen of Hearts
And the Reign of Terror
Were equally obsessed
With severing heads from necks.

Now, this obsession puzzles me.

It puzzles me
Because I’m Catholic.

This will puzzle you
Since at least 
For the last five hundred years
Being Catholic 
Has hardly been universally 
Synonymous 
With virtue.

Um, ironically.

Well, let me explain.

Being Catholic,
For me,
Means not just living
A good life
But being good
To others.

This is not merely
A way to say
“Charity.”

Being good
To others
Goes deeper than that.

The Catholic idea
Is that the metaphor
Of original sin
Means that we’re all
Quite capable 
Of human folly.

Now,
Most people
Spend a lot of time
Vilifying Catholics 
Because of human folly,
Which is surely
An irony
If there ever was one.

They’re determined
To condemn the whole idea
Because of it.

Or,
You know,
So they say.

I can only assume 
They have no idea
What being Catholic 
Means.

Being Catholic 
Is being able to forgive.

We don’t have that
Today.

We have the opposite of that
Today.

We are,
Ah,
Hellbent 
On vindictive justice
Today.

And are absolutely certain
We’re right about that.

This is not to say
Justice cannot be served
But that it should not be
Vindictive.

Every impulse we have
Should be
To curtail 
That impulse.

Which is to say,
The Catholic way.

If you can manage.

If you can 
Look past
Human folly.

Which,
Even when we fail,
Is what a Catholic does.

Which is the whole point.

To be Catholic,
To try to be a good person
To yourself
And to others,
You have to have
Compassion,
The ability 
To acknowledge 
Wrongdoing,
Forgive it
And move on.

To do otherwise
Is to live in a world
Populated
By everyone 
Who has plucked out
The eye
Of those who have
Offended them.

Which is to say
Everyone.

The world
Of the blind.

Although
Of course
Even then
There’s a chance
To do better.

Which
Again
Is the whole point.

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