Many folks marvel at how I have been able to shrug off and be almost completely unbothered by all of the truly evil emails, commentary and occasional snail mail that I receive or read about myself since I went viral nearly three years ago.  Many people – both men and women – refuse to speak forthrightly in the public sphere, or choose stay out of “the public fray” altogether because they are genuinely wounded and impacted by the rhetorical flagellation that comes with any level of public, forthright truth-telling in this post-Christian culture.  And yet none of the insults or even the threats bother me on a personal level in the least.  Let me fill you in on how I not only “deal” with them, but I how I transform them into so many small victories for Christ, in the hopes that you all might start doing the same thing in your battlespaces.

First, today’s example.  Here is a HotAir.com piece on Pope Francis entitled “The Refreshing Sweetness of Pope Francis” which opens with the sentence, “He understands that tone trumps content — that it’s everything, really.”

(Massive, drawn-out eyeroll, followed by a deep, quasi-despairing sigh.)

I am quickly referenced in the comment thread below the piece.  As an aside, I think that HotAir.com went south when Michelle Malkin sold it and it is just too weak and squishy for me, but I still keep an eye on it to see what the pulse and lines of argument are over in squishy RINO land.

Anywhoodle, here are the relevant comments from the thread, and understand that this is actually pretty mild stuff in my world.  Emphases mine.

Can’t wait for Ann Barnhardt to read that.
Xavier on February 9, 2014 at 5:12 PM

Yeah.. sexually frustrated middle aged women like Ann Barnhardt should really invest in vibrators.
And I think that Pope Francis has captured the world’s attention because it is a real life Shoes of the Fisherman or Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. So yes people delight in the “scandal of normality” like they do in the movies. The interesting thing is that Pope Francis is a very astute politician. He knows how his gestures play.
Illinidiva on February 9, 2014 at 5:54 PM

Why don’t you go bang Ann? She could sure use it.
Illinidiva on February 9, 2014 at 8:39 PM

Again, this is relatively mild, but it makes for a great teaching example.  So how do I not only deal with this, but turn this into a little victory for Christ in the battlespace and really stick it to The Enemy and his minions?

When I go to Mass today, I will pray AT THE ELEVATION OF THE HOST for “Illinidiva”, and I will also receive Holy Communion for him/her, and pray that Our Lord give all of the graces of today’s reception of His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity that would have gone to me to “Illinidiva” instead.  Our Lord knows exactly who “Illinidiva” is, and exactly what “Illinidiva” needs in order to make it to heaven and enjoy the Beatific Vision.  Given the content of “Illinidiva’s” comments on the HotAir thread, I think it is safe to say that “Illinidiva” perhaps needs some specific prayers at this time, and if I can help with that, and if I can offer the graces of my assistance at today’s Mass and my reception of Our Lord for “Illinidiva”, then I am delighted to do so.

And let’s face it.  The odds of “Illinidiva” being prayed for at the Elevation of the Host, or receiving the graces of a reception of the Blessed Sacrament by any other means today, are almost certainly quite low if the coarseness and profanity of his/her comments are any indication.

The way I view this is that “Illinidiva” is in need of prayer, and I happened upon this comment thread so that exactly that would happen, all in accordance and cooperation with the Divine Providence.  And not only that, but in writing this piece, which many, many people will read, not only will “Illinidiva” receive even more prayers, but now some of you will begin doing the same thing when you are attacked, insulted and calumniated.  And the devil, whose bag of tricks is shockingly small, gets his weak-sauce attempt at bothering me not only countered, but gets a good, sound beating with his own weapon.

As you can imagine, I am blessed in that I get to do this fairly often.

Kids, when the devil attacks you with a butter knife, counter with a precision-guided MOAB with the butter knife duct taped to its housing.