A truly horrific example of how the masses control people can be found during the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord is the perfect model of virtue. He showed this through preaching and performing miracles. The masses who saw and acclaimed Him as king changed on a whim. Many of them acclaimed Him king just to follow the majority, and without any personal conviction. Later they did the same thing when they shouted against Him, clamouring for His death and even insisting upon freeing Barrabas.
Why? They shamefully succumbed to the dominant opinion. This leads to all types of aberrations. It makes the person follow the flow of public opinion, wherever it goes.
He does not have the courage and aseity to stop and reason, “I don’t understand why Our Lord is mistreated. He doesn’t deserve it, so I shall protest against it.”
A curious example of a middle ground between aseity and non-aseity is Nicodemus. He used to speak to Our Lord at night. On one hand, he had an independent opinion. On the other, however, his political interests and a probable lack of independence from the masses made him only speak with Christ at night.
Veronica is a very beautiful example of aseity! She was all alone when she comforted Our Lord while He was persecuted and abandoned by everyone. Mary, His mother, is the perfect natural example of aseity. She practiced aseity to a degree that transcends all comparison. She was not concerned about others’ opinions, but stayed, along with the holy women, with Our Lord until the end. She is in a class all to herself.
The apostles are examples of lack of aseity. Saint Peter, for example, was intimidated by a maidservant who laughed at him. The apostles fled, not just because they feared death, but because they lacked aseity: everyone thinking one way and finding it hard to affirm the opposite.
St. Peter denying Our Lord.
In respect to this, the greatest drama of history, many of the worst ignominies were committed because of this lack of courage to resist one’s misplaced instinct of sociability and to go against the prevailing winds. It is impressive to see how low people can fall when they lack aseity. The fact that very few people had the courage to contradict the opinion of the masses is clearly illustrated in the Gospel.
In the opposite sense, it is most beautiful to see how aseity grew strong after the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the apostles. Increasingly, people who speak out and go against the tide start to appear. This is to have true aseity.
The founders of the Christian nations and institutions, as well as those who fought against widespread heresies and error, were all champions of aseity. Those who work for the Revolution are slaves of the kind of delight of being, thinking, and feeling like everyone else. Here we have exposed a nerve, a delicate problem of soul that warrants a very special, methodical, systematic, and gradual practice of aseity.
A religious once told me how a friar of his community noticed that his convent was in decadence. He said he intended to follow along because he could not resist. This is a lack of aseity. He would rather be a coward and follow the others. This is a low and vile deed. One feels like telling him to follow the right path and saying, “Put your foot down, stand up, be a hero, have personality.”
The Christian Institution of the Family: A Dynamic Force to Regenerate Society, by Tradition, Family, Property Association. Pgs. 56-59.
