Memorial of St. Irenaeus, bishop and martyr
(Genesis 15:1-12.17-18; Matthew 7:15-20)
Gnosticism became popular during the second century when St.
Irenaeus lived. Its basic tenets include
the dismissal of the body as unimportant to human destiny. Gnostics did not necessarily abhor the body
as vile. Some reasoned (falsely) that it
is a trivial matter which can be used as desired. With this mindset fornication and adultery count
little because of the body’s supposed insignificance.
Irenaeus took issue with such thinking in his five-volume
work Against Heresies. He was
quite aware of the false prophets whom Jesus condemns in today’s gospel. They might say that there is nothing wrong
with sex outside marriage, but it should be obvious that it produces rotten
fruit.
Gnosticism can be found in the current issue of gender
identity. Proponents say that one’s genetic
body make-up does not matter. For them
the determining factor is what one considers her or his gender to be. Unfortunately, this kind of thinking is
penetrating the minds of adolescents who are inclined to act impulsively. They submit themselves to taking pharmaceutics
and even undergoing surgeries that they may deeply regret in a few years.
