Louis Veuillot: The Liberal Illusion [1866]

[Stone]

The Liberal Illusion

Chapter VIII


When heresy reaches the flood stage, there is only one high ground that cannot be submerged, only one place of refuge, and that is the ROCK. “Thou art Peter . . . and the gates of Hell shall not prevail” — Tu est Petrus . . . et non prsevalebunt.

It is not, says the Bishop of Tulle, a rolling stone, to-day in one place, yesterday in another place, to-morrow in a third place. Neither is it a plastic rock that men can shape to suit their taste. The rock remains in its place, its matter, its form, all of it is unchangeable. The Rock, on its own part, does not accommodate itself to the times, in order to keep abreast of them — in order to be “of its time.”

People are fond of insisting that the Church ought to be of her time. A silly piece of advice, to say the least. The Church is of her time and will always be so, because she is of all times. If that were all one meant to say, he would simply be wasting words. Unfortunately, in the parlance of liberalism these words have a sense that is literally horrifying. The Church ought to be of her times, even when those “times” do not wish her to be in existence at all; and, by a natural consequence, God too ought to be of His time: that is to say, God ought to run with the hour, but ought not to start with it until the hand of man deigns to reverse the hourglass! In other words, there is no Church and it is man who creates God. Such formulas are a commentary on the age that accepts them. Verily we are embroiled in an orgy of nonsense.

Let us extricate ourselves; let us cling to the unchangeable, so shamefully denied and insulted.

Peter is the Eternal Rock, and this Rock — prefigured in the Scriptures — is the Mountain of Salvation, the Mountain where it hath pleased God to dwell. Our Lord, speaking to Simon and petrifying him into the Rock, says to him: Thou art, just as he says of Himself, I am Who am. Thou art chosen by an eternal design for an eternal work. It is an accomplished fact. Peter, Mouth of Christ , 22 speaks eternally the Divine word; Peter is eternally the ROCK that God has placed, the Mountain where God is pleased to dwell. So God has willed, so God has done; and what God has done shall never be undone nor better done.

Now, in what capacity does God dwell upon this Mountain of His own creation, upon this Rock harder and more lasting than all the things of Earth? In the capacity of KING. This leaves Liberalism without a leg to stand on.


22 St. John Chrysostom.