Protestant pastor dies trying to walk on water – a case of spiritual blindness

By Bro. Peter Dimond, O.S.B.

-9/01/06-

[Link: Protestant pastor dies trying to walk on water]

This story is very sad, yet very instructive. It is instructive because many traditional Catholics have a hard time accepting that men who think they are so dedicated to God could actually not be dedicated to Him at all. Many have a hard time accepting that people who seem to put out so much effort to please God could actually be His enemies. We’ve pointed to this hard truth many times, when it has been necessary to expose certain heretics who claim to be traditional Catholics (or traditional Catholic priests), but who aren’t.

It’s significant to note that the Protestant pastor mentioned above claimed to have a revelation from God encouraging him to walk on water. This is another striking example of the fact that many people today from various parts of the world and from various persuasions of “Christianity” – ranging from those who claim to be Catholic to those who are professed Protestants – are receiving revelations which appear to be from Jesus or Mary, but which are actually from the Devil.

Matthew 24:24-25: "Then if any man shall say to you: Lo here is Christ, or there, do not believe him. For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch as to deceive (if possible) even the elect. Behold I have told it to you, before hand."

The sad story about the Protestant who died trying to walk on water also sheds light on the grim reality of spiritual blindness, which is one of the biggest problems today. Spiritual blindness afflicts almost the entire world; it afflicts heretics; it afflicts complete pagans who live without God and are too blind in the vanity of their own world to consider their obligations to their Creator; and it afflicts many of those who claim to be traditional Catholics. Spiritual blindness is the inability to accurately perceive the truth of God or the truth about one’s true state before God or others. Spiritual blindness, which is a result of sins and primarily of pride, is one of the scariest realities to consider; for those afflicted by it don’t know they are spiritually blind.

Such people think they are spiritually rich, and cannot perceive that they are spiritually bankrupt. They think that they are clothed in the graces of God, and cannot see that they are spiritually naked. They are blind and cannot truly see themselves:

“Because thou sayest: I am rich, and made wealthy, and have need of nothing; and knowest not, that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” (Apocalypse 3:17)

We all must be on guard against spiritual blindness. This is why in his book, True Devotion to Mary, St. Louis De Montfort prescribes that the first week of the consecration to Mary should be dedicated to self-knowledge:

St. Louis De Montfort, True Devotion to Mary (#228): “During the first week they should offer up all their prayers and pious actions to ask for knowledge of themselves and contrition for sins… They should pray our Lord and the Holy Ghost to enlighten them… ‘Lord, that I may see!’; or ‘May I know myself!’… They should have recourse to the Blessed Virgin to grant them this immense grace, which must be the foundation of all the others…”

St. Louis De Montfort declares the knowledge of self to be the grace which must be the foundation of the others. (He is speaking in the context of building one’s spiritual life, of course, for faith is the foundation of all justification.) The Protestant pastor described above is just one of vast millions who are afflicted by spiritual blindness.

An obvious case of spiritual blindness is a person who makes it very difficult to speak in a telephone conversation because he consistently does all the talking, even on a matter about which the other party knows as much or more (not on a matter about which he must instruct the other person). That person is blinded by his pride, and cannot see how unjust and selfish it is to carry on a conversation while making it extremely difficult for the other person to say some things. He is consumed in the vanity of his own mind.

Another example: we hear from people who come right out and tell us that they commit clear-cut mortal sins of the flesh (they look at pornography, etc.), and yet these same people have the audacity to direct, criticize, comment and/or instruct others on traditional Catholic matters as if they possess wisdom (while they give their souls to the Devil by mortal sin). They are despicably blinded by the vanity of their own mind.

We hear from people who, while adhering to all the dogmas of the Catholic Faith, admittedly pray fewer than five minutes each day; and, when told that they cannot save their souls doing such – and that such a consistent lack of prayer proves that one is in mortal sin – adamantly insist that they are not guilty of any mortal sin. We hear from traditional Catholic women who are live-at-home moms, and make no effort to home-school their children and just ship them off to the public school when they could home-school them. They don’t see a problem with shipping them off, when they could be making an effort in this area, because they are spiritually blind. We hear from traditional Catholic men who think they are strong, uncompromising Catholics, but allow their children to listen to rock music.

Then there are more subtle forms of spiritual blindness, which afflict heretics and those in certain traditionalist cliques. These people are hit with truths which their positions deny and contradict, but they are so consumed by the fact that people whom they admire and consider sincere hold their positions that they block those truths out and eventually become blind to them and to their obligation to stand for them.

Ephesians 4:17-18: “…the vanity of their mind. Having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their hearts.”

Perhaps the clearest proof in Sacred Scripture that souls who think they are very much dedicated to God can be spiritually blind and God’s enemies is found in Matthew, chapter 7:

Matthew 7:21-23 “Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. Many will say to me in that day: Lord, Lord, have not we prophesied in thy name, and cast out devils in thy name, and done many miracles in thy name? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity.”

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