CAT: Contra Mundum

Every crisis has its hero
Deadly debates and controversies without end
Factions arise in the community once united,
Tempers flare and broil in this feverish climate,
Brother fights brother and son turns against father,
The community loses a leader and candidates are mentioned:
Only one will be chosen and called.

Every crisis has its hero,
But what does it matter when shepherds quarrel,
And ravenous wolves invade their flocks?

When called he came forth reluctantly to his post
Humble though obedient, and with outstanding courage--
Yet the conflict grows ever greater, the danger more imminent--
Now riots are in the streets and altars are defiled,
For one side has its ideology to uphold and spread,
The other can only embrace and proclaim its creed.

Every crisis has its hero,
The shepherd tried to protect his sheep,
But thieves have become his rival claimants

An attempt is made to bring peace via diplomacy,
Though neither side is willing to budge--
Some are beholden to their own philosophies,
The rest cannot be made to compromise the truth--
No accord can be reached between these two parties,
One side tries reason, but the other meets it with treason.

Every crisis has its hero,
Though the shepherd is now an outcast,
And his exile leaves his sheep in danger

In council the parties may have reached agreement,
But treachery and subterfuge are found in abundance,
The creed once signed is now subverted instead,
One man wanders in solitude in his lonely desert exile,
Another returns from his hermitage to give a warning:
But few take heed, and the traitors are free to work.

Every crisis has its hero,
The sheep call for their shepherd's guiding hand,
While his enemies call for his head.

Another attempt is made to reconcile in council,
"Why don't you compromise on your beloved creed,
And the ideologues will then meet you in the middle--
Won't this bring a blessed peace to our community?"
The tempter proposes this simple solution to both sides,
But neither the hero nor his antagonists can accept.

Every crisis has its hero,
Exile is at long last lifted from him: a trick!
For the wolves' machinations force exile upon him again

In response to this compromise the hero spoke:
"No ideology can be diluted nor can a creed be amended,
For truth is not a matter of votes and compromise,
And beauty is not always in the beholder's eyes--
Two substances are never merely similar,
If both can truly be said to be one and the same."

Every crisis has its hero,
His suffering is inevitable, a foregone conclusion,
Though it is with pain that redemption is won.

To the hero's side rally the common men to defend the creed,
But the generals prefer their ideological elitism;
While the creed binds men of good will together,
An ideology rather binds them hard to their sins,
Sometime truth is not found by human wisdom alone,
For flesh and blood are prone to discern in error.

Every crisis has its hero,
In his exiles he did more than merely wander,
And At his return he cast out the wolves

No ideology can last unchanging forever,
Though its taint may linger for many centuries;
Only a creed can survive the test of time,
For a creed alone is rooted deeply in history,
Safe from the fires of revolution and the poison of dissent:
If it's truth will only be defended by a few faithful men.

Every crisis has its hero,
A man who in humility, obedience, and faith
Is willing to stand against the world's wrath.
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Originally posted on the Catholic America Today blogs.