‘Liberalism is a Sin’ gives us one last warning of three was that Christians become liberals – and sets out the relations that can send us to this terrible fate. (Day 12 of Total Consecration)
Editor’s Notes
We are now at the end of the first period of the preparation for St Louis de Montfort’s Total Consecration to the Blessed Virgin, which is focused on gaining a greater awareness of the spirit of the world, and emptying ourselves of it.
We are over a week into this series, which is something very new for The WM Review, and a truly mammoth project. What are your thoughts on it? Are you enjoying it? What’s been the best thing about it so far? Let us know in the combox:
Next week, we will be focusing on the nature of sin and gaining a knowledge of ourselves. This, then, is our last opportunity in this series to remind ourselves about the dangerous and subtle ways that the spirit of the world gains its foothold in even the most stalwart Catholics.
This is why we are returning, one last time, to Don Félix Sarda y Salvany’s classic work Liberalism is a Sin. The text is a new translation made by The WM Review. In this section, “The Don” explains where Catholics are most likely to encounter Liberalism, why it is that so many of us allow it to infect us – and how to prevent ourselves being unknowingly infected by its venom.
As with the previous reading from Liberalism is a Sin, we recommend readers to return to a previous day’s meditation. In this case, we recommend The Call of the King.
David from Catholic Hub has again kindly agreed to read this text for us. He has also released a video about True Devotion and this series:
You can read a recent overview of the history of this work, and the controversy from which it arose, at
’s Substack here. Wright also gives an account of this controversy and the importance of this work in the video below:The themes, as well as vocal prayers and readings associated with this ‘Week 0’, can be found here. You can find the book here.
Although this is part of the Total Consecration preparation, it also stands alone as a great text in its own right.
CONTENTS:
READING: The text consists of a few chapters from Don Sarda y Salvany’s Liberalism is a Sin. This text is intended to provide material for further consideration of the subject of this week.
MEDITATION: Repeat the meditation on The Call of the King. A guide on how to use these points in meditation can be found here.
Reading: Where Catholics fall into Liberalism – and how to deal with Liberals
Liberalism is a Sin
Don Sarda y Salvany
Base text translated with AI and every line compared for accuracy and readability.
XXXI – On the slopes down which a Catholic most frequently comes to fall into Liberalism
There are several slopes down which the Christian faithful frequently fall into the error of Liberalism, and it is of great importance to indicate them here – both to understand, in light of them, the reason for the universality this sect has attained, and to guard the unwary against its snares and ambushes.
Very often the corruption of the heart is reached through the wandering of the intelligence; but it is even more frequent to fall into an error of the intelligence through the corruption of the heart. The history of all heresies makes this clear. At the beginning of almost all of them, one finds nearly always the same thing: either a wound to self-love, or an offence one wishes to avenge, or a woman after whom the heresiarch loses his wits and his soul, or a bag of money for which he sells his conscience.
Error almost always springs, not from deep and laborious studies, but from those three heads of the hydra pointed out by Saint John, which he calls concupiscentia carnis, concupiscentia oculorum, superbia vitae. (“Lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life”.) Along that path, one goes to every error; along that path, one goes to Liberalism. Let us look at these slopes in their most usual forms:
1. A man becomes a liberal through the natural desire for independence and a broad, unrestrained life.
Liberalism must necessarily be attractive to the depraved nature of man, just as Catholicism must be, by its very essence, repugnant to it. Liberalism is emancipation; Catholicism is restraint. Fallen man therefore loves, by a very natural tendency of his, a system which legitimises and canonises the pride of his reason and the unbridledness of his appetites. Hence, just as Tertullian has said that the soul, in its noble aspirations, is naturally Christian, one may likewise say that man, by the vice of his origin, is naturally born a liberal. It is therefore only logical that he should declare himself such in all forms, as soon as he begins to understand that along that road, all his whims and excesses are secured for him.
2. Through the desire to get on
Liberalism is today the dominant idea. It reigns everywhere, and especially in the official sphere. It is, therefore, a sure recommendation for making a career. The young man leaves his domestic home, and casting a glance over the various paths that lead to fortune, renown, or glory, he sees that in all of them the necessary condition is to be a man of his age, to be liberal. Not to be so is to create for oneself the greatest of all difficulties. Heroism, then, is needed to resist the tempter who, like Christ’s in the desert, says to him while showing a flattering future: Haec omnia tibi dabo si cadens adoraveris me — “All these things will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me.” And heroes are few.
It is therefore natural that most of youth should begin its career by affiliating itself to Liberalism. That brings praise in the newspapers, recommendation from powerful patrons, and a reputation for enlightenment and omniscience. The poor ultramontane requires a hundred times greater merit to make himself known and establish a name. And youth, as a rule, is not very scrupulous. Moreover, Liberalism is essentially favourable to public life, which youth so ardently desires. It has in view deputations, commissions, editorial boards, etc., which form the organism of its official machine. It would therefore be a marvel of God, and of his grace, to find a young man who detests so insidious a corrupter.
3. Through greed
The confiscation of Church property has been, and continues to be, the principal source of proselytes for Liberalism. This iniquitous despoiling was decreed as much to deprive the Church of those resources of human influence as to acquire through them fervent adherents to the liberal cause. So have its own leaders confessed when accused of having given the fat possessions of the Church to their friends, almost gratis. And woe to him who once has eaten of this fruit from another’s enclosure!
A field, an estate, some property that belonged to the convent or to the parish, and which is now in the hands of this or that family, chains that family for ever to the chariot of Liberalism. In most cases there is little hope that even their descendants will ever cease to be liberals. The revolutionary demon has succeeded in placing an impenetrable barrier between them and the truth. We have seen striking cases of mountain farmers, pure and fervent Catholics until ’35, and from then onward decided and obstinate liberals.
Do you wish to know the explanation? Look at those irrigated lands, those fields of grain, or those woods that belonged to the monastery. With them that farmer has rounded off his holdings; with them he has sold his soul and family to the Revolution. The conversion of such unjust possessors is morally impossible. Against the hardness of their souls, entrenched behind their sacrilegiously acquired goods, all arguments of friends, all the invectives of missionaries, all the remorse of conscience dash themselves to pieces. Confiscation made – and is making –liberalism. This is the truth.
Such are the ordinary causes of liberal perversion, and to these all others may be reduced. Anyone with moderate experience of the world and of the human heart will scarcely be able to point to others.
XIX – On the principal rules of Christian prudence that the good Catholic must observe in his dealings with liberals
And yet, O reader, one must live in the present age with fierce liberals and mild liberals, or with Catholics miserably tainted by Liberalism, as men lived with Arians in the fourth century, with Pelagians in the fifth, and with Jansenists in the seventeenth. And it is impossible to avoid mixing with them, for one encounters them everywhere: in business, in amusements, during visits, perhaps even in church, even within one’s own family. How, then, must the good Catholic conduct himself in his relations with such plague-stricken souls? How can he prevent and avoid – or at least lessen – that constant danger of infection?
It is exceedingly difficult to lay down precise rules for every case. Nevertheless, general maxims of conduct may very well be indicated, leaving to the prudence of each one the concrete and individual application.
It seems to us that, before anything else, it is fitting to distinguish three kinds of relations that may be supposed between a Catholic and a liberal – that is, between a Catholic and Liberalism. We speak thus because ideas, in practice, cannot be regarded as separated from the persons who profess and uphold them. Ideological Liberalism is a purely intellectual concept; real and practical Liberalism consists in liberal institutions, persons, books, and newspapers. Three classes of relations, then, may be supposed between a Catholic and Liberalism:
Necessary relations.
Useful relations.
Relations of mere inclination or pleasure.
Necessary relations.
These are those which each one’s state or particular position inevitably brings with it. Thus are those that ought to exist between children and father, husband and wife, brothers and sisters, subjects and superiors, masters and servants, pupils and teachers, etc. Clearly, if a good son has the misfortune of having a liberal father, he must not on that account abandon him; nor must the wife abandon her husband; nor a brother or relation abandon another of the family – except in cases where Liberalism in such persons should come to require from their respective subordinate acts essentially contrary to Religion, and which would induce formal apostasy from it. Not when they merely impede the liberty of fulfilling the precepts of the Church; for it is well known that the Church does not understand herself to bind such persons sub gravi incommodo.
In all these cases the Catholic must bear his hard situation with patience; he mst surround himself with every precaution, to avoid the contagion of bad example, as is advised in all books when treating of necessary proximate occasions; he must keep his heart very much lifted up to God, and pray each day for his own salvation and for that of the unhappy victims of error; he must avoid as far as possible conversation or dispute on such matters, or else enter into them only when well furnished with offensive and defensive weapons. Seek these weapons in the reading of good books and newspapers, according to the judgement of a prudent director; counterbalance the inevitable influence of such infected persons by frequent intercourse with others of authority and enlightenment, who are clearly in possession of sound doctrine; obey the superior in all things not opposed to the Catholic faith and morals, but renew each day the firm purpose of refusing obedience to whomever it may be, in whatever is directly or indirectly opposed to the integrity of Catholicism.
And let him who finds himself in such a situation not lose heart. God, who sees his struggles, will not fail to supply him with the necessary aid. We have observed that good Catholics in liberal countries and liberal families usually distinguish themselves, when they are truly good, by a certain special vigour and steadfastness of spirit. This is the constant working of God’s grace, which sustains more firmly where it sees the need more pressing and severe.
Useful relations
There are other relations that are not absolutely indispensable, but which are morally so, inasmuch as without them social life – founded entirely on an exchange of services – is scarcely possible. Such are the relations of commerce, those between employers and workers, those of the craftsman with his customers, etc. In these relations there is not the close subjection found in the former group; therefore one may make a greater display of independence.
The fundamental rule is not to have contact with such persons, except in the respect necessary to engage with them for the working of the social machine. If one is a merchant, let him have no dealings with them other than those of commerce; if he is a servant, none other than those of service; if he is a craftsman, no others than those of the give-and-take proper to his trade. By observing this prudence, one may live without detriment to the faith, even in the midst of a community of Jews. Without forgetting the other general precautions recommended in the previous group, and bearing in mind that here there is no question of being the vassals of the liberals, Catholic independence ought to be displayed on frequent occasions, to exact the respect of those who believe they can crush us with their liberal impudence.
But if the case should arise of an impudent imposition of liberalism, it must be repelled with complete frankness – one must stand up before the sectarian’s shamelessness with all the noble and holy shamelessness of a disciple of the faith.
Relations of mere inclination
These are the relations we contract and maintain freely, simply by wishing to do so. With liberals we must freely abstain from such relations, simply by willing to abstain. With liberals, we must abstain from them as from real dangers to our salvation. Here the saying of the Saviour applies in full: He who loves danger shall perish in it. Does it cost something? Let the dangerous tie be broken, however much it costs.
Let us bear in mind the following considerations, which will certainly convince us – or at least put us to shame if they do not convince us. If that person were afflicted with a contagious bodily disease, would you keep company with him? Surely not. If your association with him compromised your worldly reputation, would you maintain it? Certainly not. If he professed ideas injurious to your family, would you go to visit him? Clearly not. Well then: in this matter, which concerns divine honour and spiritual health, let us consider what human prudence dictates to us concerning our own interests and human honour.
On this subject we once heard a person of great rank in the Church of God say: “Have nothing to do with liberals; do not frequent their houses; do not cultivate their friendships!” And indeed the Apostle had already said as much of their kind:
Ne commiscemini – “Have no association with them” (1 Cor. 5:9).
Cum hujusmodi nec cibum sumere — “With such a one not even to eat” (ibid. 5:11).
Horror, then, of heresy, which is the evil above every evil! In a plague-stricken country the first thing sought is isolation. Would that we could today establish an absolute cordon sanitaire between Catholics and the sectaries of Liberalism!
Meditation for Day 12
It is in mental prayer that that much of the preparation will be achieved – and meditation is a means of entering mental prayer. See our guide to meditation for two ways to use the below texts.
The Call of the King
A repeat of Day 11
In this preparation for the consecration of ourselves to the Blessed Virgin Mary, we should keep Our Lady in mind throughout our meditation. We should consider that Our Lady, the Queen, has her own call for us – and that it is perfectly united to that of her Son. She stands at his side. His will to conquer the world, is her will. His embrace of the suffering that entails is also hers. She too is watching us, as Our Lord makes his call – watching to see how we will respond, and praying to obtain for us the graces to respond well.
After the meditation, St Ignatius includes this very important note. It is worth reading it beforehand:
Note. So, it is very helpful for whoever desires to get this third Humility, to make the three already mentioned Colloquies of The Classes of Men, asking that Our Lord would be pleased to choose him to this third greater and better Humility, in order more to imitate and serve Him, if it be equal or greater service and praise to His Divine Majesty.
The Preparation
Prayer. The usual Preparatory Prayer.
First Prelude. The first Prelude is a composition, seeing the place: it will be here to see with the sight of the imagination, the synagogues, villages and towns through which Christ our Lord preached.
Second Prelude. The second, to ask for the grace which I want: it will be here to ask grace of our Lord that I may not be deaf to His call, but ready and diligent to fulfill His most Holy Will.
The Points for Meditation
The Call of the Temporal King
First Point. The first Point is, to put before me a human king chosen by God our Lord, whom all Christian princes and men reverence and obey.
Second Point. The second, to look how this king speaks to all his people, saying:
“It is my will to conquer all the land of unbelievers. Therefore, whoever would like to come with me is to be content to eat as I, and also to drink and dress, etc., as I: likewise he is to labour like me in the day and watch in the night, etc., that so afterwards he may have part with me in the victory, as he has had it in the labors.”
Third Point. The third, to consider what the good subjects ought to answer to a King so liberal and so kind, and hence, if any one did not accept the appeal of such a king, how deserving he would be of being censured by all the world, and held for a mean-spirited knight.
The Call of the Eternal King
The second part of this Exercise consists in applying the above parable of the temporal King to Christ our Lord, conformably to the three Points mentioned.
First Point. And as to the first Point, if we consider such a call of the temporal King to his subjects, how much more worthy of consideration is it to see Christ our Lord, King eternal, and before Him all the entire world, which and each one in particular He calls, and says: “It is My will to conquer all the world and all enemies and so to enter into the glory of My Father; therefore, whoever would like to come with Me is to labor with Me, that following Me in the pain, he may also follow Me in the glory.”
Second Point. The second, to consider that all those who have judgment and reason will offer their entire selves to the labor.
One could consider these points in reference to oneself: How far have we been conscious of this in our daily lives so far, what practical conclusions should we draw from these truths, how far have we lived up to them so far, what must we do to live up to them in the future, etc.
One could consider the acts of virtue we can make in response to these truths – Acts of faith, humility, hope/confidence, thanksgiving, contrition and love – talking all the while to God, the Blessed Virgin, our Guardian Angels, etc.
The Colloquy
Fr Ambruzzi offers some suggestions for colloquies:
1. O Jesus, I lie prostrate before Thee and Thy heavenly Court—like a recreant knight covered with shame and confusion, a criminal bound in chains and deserving of death, a fire-brand plucked out of hell. Thou art my King—Thou art the Son of God made Man, my Creator and Lord—I am wholly Thine. Thou hast redeemed me out of love—I am doubly Thine: the spoils and the slave of Thy Heart. At the feet of Thee crucified, I have repeatedly asked myself: What shall I do for Christ? and, behold Thou invitest me to be one of Thy dearest friends and companions—to continue Thy life and mission—to establish in myself and others the Kingdom of God—the Kingdom of truth and life; of holiness and grace; of justice, love, and peace.
2. “Come and be with Me.” This is Thy sweet and persistent call, O my Jesus. “Be with Me. Thou shalt be encamped under my tent—eat at my table—drink of the same cup—be clothed as I am clothed. To make thee live by My very life, I shall give thee My very Body as the food. I shall crown thee with My glory—have thee be with Me eternally, in the House of My Father. Come, then, and be with Me—work and watch, fight, and suffer as I do—for Me and with Me.”
However, it is important to speak frankly to God in our own words, rather than simply reading somebody else’s.
If one feels moved to speak to God before meditating on all the points, one should certainly do so. The same applies if one feels moved to simply rest in God, rather than engaging in discursive meditation. These impulses should be followed over any particular method of meditation.
The End
End the meditation with a vocal prayer – such as the Our Father, the Anima Christi.
Reflect on how well we have prayed, and how well we have followed our chosen method.
Select a spiritual nosegay from your meditation to keep with you for the rest of the day.
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For more on Liberalism:
For more on the St Louis de Montfort’s True Devotion and Total Consecration, for which we are preparing, see here:
The theological basis of ‘True Devotion’ and the Consecration to Mary (Garrigou-Lagrange)
The fruits of ‘True Devotion’ and Consecration to Mary (Garrigou-Lagrange)
For more on the importance of not getting bogged down with methods, and on allowing God to act, see here:
For more on Week 0, and the vocal prayers that are are suggested for each day, see here:
‘Week 0’ of St Louis de Montfort’s Total Consecration preparation (Prayers, practices and reading)
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True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary (St Louis de Montfort)
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