What of fame?

Robert Scott Lauder (1803-1869) - Christ Teacheth Humility

Worldly fame is but a breath of wind that blows now this way, and now that, and changes name as it changes direction. - Dante Alighieri

Dear Friend, do you seek fame? What is it that you possess that leads you to think you merit fame? Is it something tangible such as an ability? Is it something intangible such as luck?

AMDG

Ad maiorem Dei gloriam. For the greater glory of God.

• fame (n.) Online Etymology Dictionary
• early 13c., "character attributed to someone;" late 13c., "celebrity, renown," from Old French fame "fame, reputation, renown, rumor" (12c.), from Latin fama "talk, rumor, report; reputation, public opinion; renown, good reputation," but also "ill-fame, scandal, reproach," from PIE root *bha- (2) "to speak, tell, say."
• The goddess Fama was the personification of rumor in Roman mythology. The Latin derivative fabulare was the colloquial word for "speak, talk" since the time of Plautus, whence Spanish hablar.
• *bhā-; Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to speak, tell, say."
• [...] Evidence for its existence is provided by: Greek pheme "speech, voice, utterance, a speaking, talk," phōnē "voice, sound" of a human or animal, also "tone, voice, pronunciation, speech," phanai "to speak;" Sanskrit bhanati "speaks;" Latin fari "to say," fabula "narrative, account, tale, story," fama "talk, rumor, report; reputation, public opinion; renown, reputation;" Armenian ban, bay "word, term;" Old Church Slavonic bajati "to talk, tell;" Old English boian "to boast," ben "prayer, request;" Old Irish bann "law."

The fame of saints is earned not by indulging a need for attention. The saints draw attention to the way of Jesus Christ and His Person, for the salvation of souls.

Rivalling the Church of the Renaissance era for its decadence, the Church in this era has become a den of thieves. Financial scandals plague the highest levels of the Church. Obstinate immorality and irreverence, the twins of despair, are common among Catholics lay and ordained. Our hierarchs are highly and widely divided on pastoral and theological issues. Politicians make a mockery of the name of Catholic. An entire nation, Germany yet again, faces schism because of pride, arrogance and worldly values. Reform, of the deformation kind, has found a home in dioceses via the wrench of synodality.

• infamy (n.)
• early 15c., "public disgrace, dishonor, evil fame," from Old French infamie "dishonor, infamous person" (14c.) and directly from Latin infamia "ill fame, bad repute, dishonor," from infamis "disreputable, notorious, of ill fame," from in- "not, without" (see in- (1)) + fama "reputation" (from PIE root *bha- (2) "to speak, tell, say"). Meaning "quality of being shamefully vile" is from 1510s.
• An earlier form in Middle English was infame (late 14c.), from Old French infame, an earlier form of infamie. Infame also was the Middle English verb in this set, "brand with infamy," from Old French infamer, from Latin infamare "bring into ill repute, defame," from infamis. The verb has become archaic in English (infamize is attested from 1590s).

We may be tempted to cry out, "How long O Lord; how long must we endure the wayward antics of faithless priests and people bent on remaking the Church in their own sinful images?" Such a temptation should awaken in us a recollection of the need to shift our understanding away from distractions toward the truth and goodness of the Lord, so that by embracing His agenda we may become agents of change for the salvation of souls.

Where do we look for consolation, that we might endure the present scourge and triumph over despair? What is our part? To worship God in the beauty of holiness. That is our part; that is our peace. Relying on God's grace, we cooperate with God's will to: feed the hungry, give shelter to the homeless; visit the sick; counsel the ignorant. The faithful Catholic embraces the call to serve those among us who are spiritually and materially impoverished.

'Woe-is-me' is not an acceptable mindset for the faithful Catholic. The faithful Catholic is immersed in prayer: the Daily Office; Mass; the Rosary. Take time to fill the well by drawing deeply from the wellspring of grace offered by Jesus Christ. Thank the Lord for the smallest blessings. Thank the Lord for trials that purify the heart and mind and strengthen one's resolve to live the Gospel, the Gospel as lived by the saints.

May we be illuminated by the Holy Ghost so that our thoughts and actions may be daily configured to Jesus Christ. May our lives be transformed by grace so that we, being freed of useless preoccupations, may spend our days doing little things with great love for the good of others, those in whom Jesus appears to us - as Saint Teresa of Calcutta would say - often in distressing disguise.