Please Don't Call This Feastday "Slap A Heretic" Day

Today is the feast of St. Nicholas.  Among other accomplishments, he helped defeat the heresy of Arianism in the Church.  This heresy claims that Jesus Christ is not divine in nature.  There was a council conducted, with both Nicholas and Arius in attendance.  As the story goes, Arius was spouting his heresies.  Nicholas became so incensed that he went over and slapped Arius.  The others in attendance stripped Nicholas of the signs of his office and imprisoned him.  He repented.  In the cell he was visited by Jesus and Mary and they restored to him his office.

As I read the story, I see no signs of Jesus and Mary vindicating his loss of temper and act of violence.  I think it's safe to say that had not Nicolas repented, Jesus and Mary would not have come to him.

Those of us who write our blogs and otherwise engage in apostolates to counteract the heresies that bombard us will recognize in ourselves the temptations to act as did Nicholas.  While we must speak and act, we must continually keep our own emotions in check lest they undermine our tasks and perhaps our eternal salvation.  Let us not dare to snicker at Nicholas's fall into temptation for that might indicate a willingness to engage in impropriety and sin ourselves.  Nicholas repented; with that he was able to continue his mission.  Let's not celebrate his lapse into sin, but his repentance and great service to the Church.

Nicholas VS Arius - Another Consideration

Today, Dec 6 is the Feast of St. Nicholas.  Today the feast is subordinated to the Second Sunday of Advent.  Still, the bishop is being celebrated today.  He is considered to be  the inspiration behind "Santa Claus", with that name being a mutation of St. Nicholas.

He is also known for his confrontation of the heretic Arius at the Council of Nicea.  Thus, on Facebook I'm seeing things like "Happy Slap-A-Heretic Day" and a song starting with "I saw Santa slapping Arius".  I just got done with a Facebook discussion in which I held (still do) that Nicholas's slapping was a definite moral lapse.  From an account of the event found on "St Nicholas Center", it seems that the sainted bishop himself would have concurred.  Note that it says Nicholas was ashamed and asked forgiveness.  Only after he did that did Our Lord and His mother appear to Nicholas and he was later restored.

Arius was committing heresy, no doubt.  Had Nicholas refuted him verbally in the course of the council, there would have been no problem.  But Nicholas slapped him - an act of violence.  The ends don't justify the means.  St. Nicholas realized that later so I'm not troubled by this episode.  What does trouble me is the undercurrent of glee that I detect in many of my friends as they ponder the incident.  Any reader of this blog (and thank you for the half-million hits, by the way!) knows that I share their displeasure at so much heresy, blasphemy and scandal pouring from the highest echelons of Church hierarchy.  However, we cannot let that frustration impel us to view with glee any violence inflicted upon any dissidents.  The ends don't justify evil means.

So many of us are up to our eyeballs in fighting the rot within the Church that we can find ourselves defeated by it if we aren't vigilant over ourselves.  I speak to myself as well.

Happy St. Nicholas Day and blessed Advent.