06-11-2026, 02:40 PM
Mgr. Louis de Ségur: Short Answers to Common Objections Against Religion - 1908
FIFTIETH OBJECTION. I SHOULD BE LAUGHED AT! WE MUST NOT BE SINGULAR; WE MUST DO AS OTHERS DO.
Answer. A very weak argument. When Christ was condemned, many of the Jews did not protest against His condemnation because they did not wish to be singular. They preferred to do as others do; in other words, they condemned our Saviour to death.
Alas! How many are like sheep in this respect! How many go to hell because others do!
"We must not be singular!" you say. Why not? We profess to be followers of Christ. He was singular.
Evil abounds, and good is rare; there are many wicked men and few good ones, many heathens and few Christians. The bad are those who form the mass; it is they who establish the fashion, the customs. Those who desire to follow the other road, which is the right one, are then compelled to be singular.
Very well! This very singularity you must adopt. It is the sign, the necessary condition of your eternal happiness.
Our Lord Jesus Christ has declared this in positive terms: "Enter ye in," said He,* "at the narrow gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat. How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leadeth to life: and few there are that find it!"
"And fear ye not them," He adds in another part of the Gospel, "that kill the body, and are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear Him that can destroy both soul and body in hell."* "He that shall deny me before men, I will also deny him before my Father, who is in heaven. But he that shall persevere to the end," in spite, that is, of all obstacles, all scorn and derision, in spite of the examples and temptations held out by the wicked, "he shall be saved."
Is this warning plain? It is the eternal Judge who declares it to us. It is He who never speaks in vain, and who proclaims with His own lips that "heaven and earth shall pass away," but that "His words shall not pass away." We must, then, under pain of eternal damnation, be in the world as different from the world.
We must glory in this singularity, far from dreading it, and being ashamed of it. It is that which makes us Christians.
"But I shall be laughed at!" Do you give up your political opinions because a neighbor laughs at you for holding them? Not at all. You try to show him that his opinions and principles are wrong. Why not do the same in regard to religion? Because you are too weak, too cowardly. Well! let those laugh at you that like; you will not die of being laughed at! Laugh at those who laugh at you; they are the most worthy of ridicule, and you are, in reality, the wise man of them all. Which ought to laugh at the other? the fool at the wise man, or the wise man at the fool?
If any one were to laugh at you because you eat and drink, or because you walk with your feet, and not on your head, would you leave off eating, and begin to walk on all-fours? No. And why not? Because what you did was right and rational, and what you were asked to do was absurd.
How much more absurd and foolish is it, then, to lose your soul for the sake of pleasing some silly madcaps, whose want of principle you despise in the bottom of your heart! The praise of people of that stamp is the thing to be ashamed of: their blame is an honor. It is a sign that you are not like them.
Do not, however, exaggerate the thing. You will not be alone in the right path. Though, it is true, there are more bad than good men, the number of the good is not so small as is supposed; above all, at the present day, when religion is resuming her wholesome influence over men's minds more and more. In the enlightened classes of society, it is now an honorable recommendation to be a Christian.
A few years ago, young C., one of the most distinguished pupils at the Polytechnic School, happened to lose his beads. One of his comrades found them, and during their time of recreation he called together the school, fastened the chaplet to one of the trees in the court, and with an air of defiance called out, "Let the person who owns this chaplet come and claim it." "It is I who have lost it," young C. quietly replied, coming forward into the midst of the assembled pupils; "that chaplet is a souvenir given to me by my mother; I set a great value on it, and recite it every day." "Bravo!" a loud voice was heard to exclaim. They all looked round; it was the general in command of the school. "Well done, my young friend," he added, shaking the young Christian's hand; "you are a man of feeling and energy. Go on thus; you will make your way well in the world!" Young C. was the first who left the school; but during the whole time of his stay there, he was the most esteemed and best liked of all the pupils.
Be good-humored, obliging, amiable with every one; laugh with them about things which you may laugh at without displeasing God; and they will soon let you alone about religion, if it so happens that they have attacked you on that point.
I know an Alsacian, a good Christian, who, on joining his regiment, was laughed at by several of his comrades. They called him devotee, bigot, hypocrite, and such like words. One day, when this sort of battle was being carried on more sharply than usual, he asked his captain's permission to assemble his company in the barrack-room. He mounted on a bench, and thus addressed them: "You may ridicule me as much as you please: you will not make me change my ways at all. God is of more importance than you are, is He not? Well! I would rather please Him than please you. Go to bed, if you are sulky about that!* The whole regiment might turn to, but I would never yield an inch." His comrades began to laugh and applaud him, and from that time they never said an offensive word to the worthy fellow.
One day, a traveller made his appearance at a table d'hôte; it was Friday; he called for abstinence fare. Some of the persons at dinner began to titter; and one, bolder than the rest, addresses him:
"Monsieur abstains?" says he, with a bantering air.
"I do, Monsieur," replies the traveller, in the same tone: "and Monsieur, he eats meat?"
"I do, Monsieur," said the first, a little discomfited at finding himself laughed at in turn.
"So much the worse for Monsieur," replies the traveller. "Does Monsieur think, then, that a man of honor ought to prefer a cutlet to his conscience? For my part, I prefer my conscience to a cutlet."
Those who had been turning him into ridicule now took his side of the question; and better still, one person present, looking toward him, congratulated him on his firmness in performing this duty: "I should be sorry, Monsieur, to see you the only person here who did so," he said; "I shall profit by the delicate lesson you have given us; for I am also a Catholic. Garçon, bring me, too, du maigre." (abstinence fare).
Never shrink weakly before a word, before a look, before a smile.
Let those lose their souls who have them to lose: you, who know what your soul is worth, save it. Let him laugh who wishes to laugh. He will laugh to the purpose who laughs last, says the proverb.
FIFTIETH OBJECTION. I SHOULD BE LAUGHED AT! WE MUST NOT BE SINGULAR; WE MUST DO AS OTHERS DO.
Answer. A very weak argument. When Christ was condemned, many of the Jews did not protest against His condemnation because they did not wish to be singular. They preferred to do as others do; in other words, they condemned our Saviour to death.
Alas! How many are like sheep in this respect! How many go to hell because others do!
"We must not be singular!" you say. Why not? We profess to be followers of Christ. He was singular.
Evil abounds, and good is rare; there are many wicked men and few good ones, many heathens and few Christians. The bad are those who form the mass; it is they who establish the fashion, the customs. Those who desire to follow the other road, which is the right one, are then compelled to be singular.
Very well! This very singularity you must adopt. It is the sign, the necessary condition of your eternal happiness.
Our Lord Jesus Christ has declared this in positive terms: "Enter ye in," said He,* "at the narrow gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat. How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leadeth to life: and few there are that find it!"
"And fear ye not them," He adds in another part of the Gospel, "that kill the body, and are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear Him that can destroy both soul and body in hell."* "He that shall deny me before men, I will also deny him before my Father, who is in heaven. But he that shall persevere to the end," in spite, that is, of all obstacles, all scorn and derision, in spite of the examples and temptations held out by the wicked, "he shall be saved."
Is this warning plain? It is the eternal Judge who declares it to us. It is He who never speaks in vain, and who proclaims with His own lips that "heaven and earth shall pass away," but that "His words shall not pass away." We must, then, under pain of eternal damnation, be in the world as different from the world.
We must glory in this singularity, far from dreading it, and being ashamed of it. It is that which makes us Christians.
"But I shall be laughed at!" Do you give up your political opinions because a neighbor laughs at you for holding them? Not at all. You try to show him that his opinions and principles are wrong. Why not do the same in regard to religion? Because you are too weak, too cowardly. Well! let those laugh at you that like; you will not die of being laughed at! Laugh at those who laugh at you; they are the most worthy of ridicule, and you are, in reality, the wise man of them all. Which ought to laugh at the other? the fool at the wise man, or the wise man at the fool?
If any one were to laugh at you because you eat and drink, or because you walk with your feet, and not on your head, would you leave off eating, and begin to walk on all-fours? No. And why not? Because what you did was right and rational, and what you were asked to do was absurd.
How much more absurd and foolish is it, then, to lose your soul for the sake of pleasing some silly madcaps, whose want of principle you despise in the bottom of your heart! The praise of people of that stamp is the thing to be ashamed of: their blame is an honor. It is a sign that you are not like them.
Do not, however, exaggerate the thing. You will not be alone in the right path. Though, it is true, there are more bad than good men, the number of the good is not so small as is supposed; above all, at the present day, when religion is resuming her wholesome influence over men's minds more and more. In the enlightened classes of society, it is now an honorable recommendation to be a Christian.
A few years ago, young C., one of the most distinguished pupils at the Polytechnic School, happened to lose his beads. One of his comrades found them, and during their time of recreation he called together the school, fastened the chaplet to one of the trees in the court, and with an air of defiance called out, "Let the person who owns this chaplet come and claim it." "It is I who have lost it," young C. quietly replied, coming forward into the midst of the assembled pupils; "that chaplet is a souvenir given to me by my mother; I set a great value on it, and recite it every day." "Bravo!" a loud voice was heard to exclaim. They all looked round; it was the general in command of the school. "Well done, my young friend," he added, shaking the young Christian's hand; "you are a man of feeling and energy. Go on thus; you will make your way well in the world!" Young C. was the first who left the school; but during the whole time of his stay there, he was the most esteemed and best liked of all the pupils.
Be good-humored, obliging, amiable with every one; laugh with them about things which you may laugh at without displeasing God; and they will soon let you alone about religion, if it so happens that they have attacked you on that point.
I know an Alsacian, a good Christian, who, on joining his regiment, was laughed at by several of his comrades. They called him devotee, bigot, hypocrite, and such like words. One day, when this sort of battle was being carried on more sharply than usual, he asked his captain's permission to assemble his company in the barrack-room. He mounted on a bench, and thus addressed them: "You may ridicule me as much as you please: you will not make me change my ways at all. God is of more importance than you are, is He not? Well! I would rather please Him than please you. Go to bed, if you are sulky about that!* The whole regiment might turn to, but I would never yield an inch." His comrades began to laugh and applaud him, and from that time they never said an offensive word to the worthy fellow.
One day, a traveller made his appearance at a table d'hôte; it was Friday; he called for abstinence fare. Some of the persons at dinner began to titter; and one, bolder than the rest, addresses him:
"Monsieur abstains?" says he, with a bantering air.
"I do, Monsieur," replies the traveller, in the same tone: "and Monsieur, he eats meat?"
"I do, Monsieur," said the first, a little discomfited at finding himself laughed at in turn.
"So much the worse for Monsieur," replies the traveller. "Does Monsieur think, then, that a man of honor ought to prefer a cutlet to his conscience? For my part, I prefer my conscience to a cutlet."
Those who had been turning him into ridicule now took his side of the question; and better still, one person present, looking toward him, congratulated him on his firmness in performing this duty: "I should be sorry, Monsieur, to see you the only person here who did so," he said; "I shall profit by the delicate lesson you have given us; for I am also a Catholic. Garçon, bring me, too, du maigre." (abstinence fare).
Never shrink weakly before a word, before a look, before a smile.
Let those lose their souls who have them to lose: you, who know what your soul is worth, save it. Let him laugh who wishes to laugh. He will laugh to the purpose who laughs last, says the proverb.
"So let us be confident, let us not be unprepared, let us not be outflanked, let us be wise, vigilant, fighting against those who are trying to tear the faith out of our souls and morality out of our hearts, so that we may remain Catholics, remain united to the Blessed Virgin Mary, remain united to the Roman Catholic Church, remain faithful children of the Church."- Abp. Lefebvre