CDXXVII – Idolatry

The accusation of Idolatry gets thrown around a lot sometimes, and I think we have lost sight of what exactly it means. Frequently Idolatry is used in the context of “You are putting too much importance on this one specific thing, you are not putting it in it’s proper proportion.”

That’s a good admonition and a valuable one too, but I don’t think it is Idolatry–it is more a matter of Temperance. The linguistic tendency comes from the idea of “idolizing” someone or some thing, or a person referred to as an “idol”–they are objects of fascination and celebritas, but that doesn’t rise to the level of Idolatry.

My wife and I recently read the Letter of Jeremiah. The Letter is non-canonical, is said to be written by the Prophet Jeremiah, and focuses exclusively on Idolatry. I found nothing really erroneous in it, but it’s good to know it is not in the canon; more a helpful supplement.

Edit: the Letter of Jeremiah is indeed in the Catholic Canon, appended to Baruch as Baruch chapter 6. I didn’t know this and couldn’t find it in my Douay Rheims translation at the time I wrote this article!

What the Letter of Jeremiah taught me is that true idolatry is the worship of objects as if they were gods among us. The statue isn’t just a representation of the gods, it is god. The statue is an incarnation. The Letter of Jeremiah rebukes this kind of idolatry–this worship of created things. He goes through numerous examples of hardships that can befall these idols and proves that these cannot be gods. Only the one God, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Joseph, the God of Israel can bestow blessings, can live and breathe, can halt the weather, can bless you with graces.

This past Sunday, at Mass, the deacon gave the homily and it was about four things that, to me, sounded a lot like modern idols: Wealth, Pleasure, Power, Honor. We can idolize these things because we think they can solve all our problems, we think they can give us blessings, we think they have the power to change us and change those around us.

We worship Wealth by trying to accumulate as much of it as we possibly can, by thinking that money can buy happiness. We use our wealth to earn favors, to win the jealousy of others. We think that it is the money, and not God, that has blessed our lives, and so we stockpile money, and ignore God, so that our perceived blessings can continue.

We worship Pleasure by trying to experience as much of it as we possibly can, by thinking that pleasure is happiness. We use pleasure to affirm ourselves, to make ourselves feel important and special. We put our own pleasure first, and ignore the needs of others. We think that it is the pleasure, and not God, that has blessed our lives, and so we continue pursuing pleasure and ignoring God, so that our perceived blessings can continue.

We worship Power by trying to acquire and exercise as much of it as we can, by thinking that power makes us masters of our happiness. We use power to control others and to make ourselves feel meaningful and important. We think that it is the power, and not God, that has blessed our lives, and so we accumulate more power and ignore God, so that our perceived blessings can continue.

We worship Honor by trying to demand and protect as much of it as we can, by thinking that honor received from others makes us meaningful and important. We think that it is the honor, and not God, that has blessed our lives, and so we demand more and more of it, and ignore God, so that our perceived blessings can continue.

The homily put these four things in contrast to the Beatitudes, which said that blessed are the people who don’t have any wealth, pleasure, power, or honor.

We can become blessed by giving our wealth away and building up our treasure in Heaven.

We can become blessed by abstaining from pleasures, that we might receive the ultimate pleasure of union with God.

We can become blessed by forgoing power, that we might rely entirely on the power of God.

We can become blessed by forbearing honors, that we might redirect honors properly due to God.

AMDG