A Man Not To Francis’ Liking

The provably oldest man in the world just died at 114.

His biography is one of extreme poverty. Started working at 5. Started school at 10. Managed to learn to read only because he was self-taught. It is clear that his entire existence was one of labour, poverty, and faith in the Lord.

There is, in the account that is given of this man, not the lightest shade of the social justice warrior. There is, on the contrary, a clear indication of a life spent in service to the Lord, in the serene acceptance of the way Providence worked in his own life.

If the account is accurate (and there are no reasons to doubt it is), it is realistic to think that this man’s place in heaven will be one of great honour, and of uncommon joy even among the saints. An eternal reward fitting for one who has put his hope in his next life. This guy knows more of return on investment, and of the dividend for his effort, than a ton of people consuming their lives in the finance industry and deeming themselves, no doubt, very smart.

As I was reading the details of this man, I was reminded of what I have stated, on this blog, very often: that a poor and, often, ignorant peasant with a good heart and the grace of a simple, but robust faith is vastly wiser than every triple-PhD credentialed idiot, wasting his life as he nurses his hundred neuroses and his thousand liberal prejudices until the grave catches up with him. Christ does not judge as the world judges. The last will be the first.

But then, even before I stopped reading, I became aware of another, in my eyes, incontrovertible fact: Francis would hate this guy. A guy like this would – whether Francis explicitly admits it or not – cause Francis to simply hate his absence of envy for the rich, his lack of “social conscience”, and his evident refusal to consider himself one of the angry oppressed. The guy, instead, spent his day praying the Rosary twice a day, and we all know that “counting the rosaries” is something Francis openly mocks, too.

In fact, we can now turn Francis’ mockery on himself, and state with absolute confidence that this man’s behaviour is the perfect, mocking answer to Francis’ unbelief.

You keep being stupid in your palatial luxury, Frankie boy. Meanwhile, countless simple, but smart people will live their life in their simple, but smart faith; and will, with God’s grace, merit heaven, fully oblivious of your proto-Marxist propaganda, of your continuous insults to everything that is Catholic, and of your unspeakable arrogance.