SATURDAY HOMILY: The Prescription for America's Healing
As a culture we are in the throes of spiritual death but it is still possible that we could be brought back to life. The prognosis is poor but there is hope. The diagnosis is dire, but there is a cure.
PrintLONG BEACH, CA (Catholic Online) - Our contemporary culture has become one of silliness and superficiality. We tend to live on the surface of life and allow ourselves to be swept away by the winds of every fashion and trend, opinion and whim. We live unreflective, shallow lives.
If you need proof, listen to the conversations of people or look at their Facebook postings. So much of it is senseless, stupid and inane.
Consider the entertainments that captivate the public's interest from Lady Gaga (although her light is fading) and the Kardashians to Glee, Dancing with the Stars and the spate of vampire themed movies and shows.
Then there's MTV which had to reinvent itself because the 24 hour music video format long ago ran its course. Still dedicated to sleaze, MTV's menu of programming, which includes popular shows like "Snooki" and "Jersey Shore," makes MTV deserving of the nickname, "EMPTY-V" ("empty viewing").
I could give you many more examples from the world of sports, fashion, advertising, music, etc., that underscore the vapidity and moral decadence of our modern culture but I will spare you.
As a culture we have become the polar opposites of the great St. John the Baptist who was anything but a "reed swayed by the wind." He was not a man carried away by boorish entertainments like the shallow, little man, Herod Antipas, who gave the order for his execution. Hence, all these centuries later the Baptist still entertains us (in the original sense of the Latin inter- + tenire, meaning to hold our attention) and the depthless Herod completely bores us.
As the Christmas Season of the new liturgical year rapidly approaches its grand finale with the Baptism of the Lord this coming Sunday, the blessed figure of Christ's precursor once again enters the spotlight in today's Gospel.
John the Baptist is not by any means a peripheral figure in the history of salvation. In the "ranking" of the saints in the Church's litanies, for example, he is always near the top.
Over the centuries we see St. John the Baptist vying with St. Joseph for the "spot" in the list of Saints which comes after Our Lady and the Angels. This, of course, is how we view it through the lens of our earthbound existence. In heaven, needless to say, there is no jockeying for positions of honor or prestige.
Fact is among all the holy men and women of history there are few greater than St. John the Baptist. Why is this so?
First, we have the testimony of Jesus Himself who said: "I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist ... (St. Matthew 11:11).
Second, there are the extraordinary circumstances surrounding his unlikely birth. He came into this world through the marital embrace of his aged parents, Zachary and Elizabeth.
Elizabeth had been unable to conceive throughout her long married life until shortly after the Angel had told her dumbstruck husband that their prayer had been heard. Elizabeth would conceive and bear him a son! The Angel even told the Zachary the name he was to give to this child.
There is an important observation to be made here: the angel told Zachary that "their prayer had been heard." What prayer? Their ceaseless prayer to God that He would bless their marriage with children. How completely alien to the mindset of our antecedents in the faith is our modern, first world attitude toward marriage and the openness to life.
In the Bible and in Christian influenced societies children are considered a great blessing. In the society in which we live, children are considered a burden or even worse, a curse.
In 2008 when the now twice-elected president Barack Obama was candidate Obama he made a very telling, off-teleprompter remark. At a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, when addressing the issue of sex education and related matters, he said:
"I've got two daughters, 9 years old and 6 years old. I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby."
At the time, his calculating handlers and delirious supporters tried to argue that this was an off-the-cuff remark and that Obama did not really mean it quite that way. But he did. When he went off script, the unvarnished Barack Obama and what he really thinks, was revealed.
He said he will teach his daughters "values and morals." By that he meant to say he will tell them: be sure to use contraception. And, if it doesn't work (which is often the case), kill the baby. This is the moral framework out of which President Obama operates and, sadly, it is a moral framework which obviously resonates with the millions of Americans who voted for him not just once, but twice.
Our "celebrity ...
If you need proof, listen to the conversations of people or look at their Facebook postings. So much of it is senseless, stupid and inane.
Consider the entertainments that captivate the public's interest from Lady Gaga (although her light is fading) and the Kardashians to Glee, Dancing with the Stars and the spate of vampire themed movies and shows.
Then there's MTV which had to reinvent itself because the 24 hour music video format long ago ran its course. Still dedicated to sleaze, MTV's menu of programming, which includes popular shows like "Snooki" and "Jersey Shore," makes MTV deserving of the nickname, "EMPTY-V" ("empty viewing").
I could give you many more examples from the world of sports, fashion, advertising, music, etc., that underscore the vapidity and moral decadence of our modern culture but I will spare you.
As a culture we have become the polar opposites of the great St. John the Baptist who was anything but a "reed swayed by the wind." He was not a man carried away by boorish entertainments like the shallow, little man, Herod Antipas, who gave the order for his execution. Hence, all these centuries later the Baptist still entertains us (in the original sense of the Latin inter- + tenire, meaning to hold our attention) and the depthless Herod completely bores us.
As the Christmas Season of the new liturgical year rapidly approaches its grand finale with the Baptism of the Lord this coming Sunday, the blessed figure of Christ's precursor once again enters the spotlight in today's Gospel.
John the Baptist is not by any means a peripheral figure in the history of salvation. In the "ranking" of the saints in the Church's litanies, for example, he is always near the top.
Over the centuries we see St. John the Baptist vying with St. Joseph for the "spot" in the list of Saints which comes after Our Lady and the Angels. This, of course, is how we view it through the lens of our earthbound existence. In heaven, needless to say, there is no jockeying for positions of honor or prestige.
Fact is among all the holy men and women of history there are few greater than St. John the Baptist. Why is this so?
First, we have the testimony of Jesus Himself who said: "I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist ... (St. Matthew 11:11).
Second, there are the extraordinary circumstances surrounding his unlikely birth. He came into this world through the marital embrace of his aged parents, Zachary and Elizabeth.
Elizabeth had been unable to conceive throughout her long married life until shortly after the Angel had told her dumbstruck husband that their prayer had been heard. Elizabeth would conceive and bear him a son! The Angel even told the Zachary the name he was to give to this child.
There is an important observation to be made here: the angel told Zachary that "their prayer had been heard." What prayer? Their ceaseless prayer to God that He would bless their marriage with children. How completely alien to the mindset of our antecedents in the faith is our modern, first world attitude toward marriage and the openness to life.
In the Bible and in Christian influenced societies children are considered a great blessing. In the society in which we live, children are considered a burden or even worse, a curse.
In 2008 when the now twice-elected president Barack Obama was candidate Obama he made a very telling, off-teleprompter remark. At a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, when addressing the issue of sex education and related matters, he said:
"I've got two daughters, 9 years old and 6 years old. I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby."
At the time, his calculating handlers and delirious supporters tried to argue that this was an off-the-cuff remark and that Obama did not really mean it quite that way. But he did. When he went off script, the unvarnished Barack Obama and what he really thinks, was revealed.
He said he will teach his daughters "values and morals." By that he meant to say he will tell them: be sure to use contraception. And, if it doesn't work (which is often the case), kill the baby. This is the moral framework out of which President Obama operates and, sadly, it is a moral framework which obviously resonates with the millions of Americans who voted for him not just once, but twice.
Our "celebrity ...
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Fr. Irving is on target, as always. I so respected Fr. Irving's sermons at Sts. Peter and Paul in Wilmington, CA because they were pretty "tough" on us. He whipped out a copy of the St. Joseph's Baltimore Catechism every Sunday, following his sermon, and began teaching us about 3-4 questions and answers every Sunday. Yes, back to basics! He broke us all down and then began to build us up again. I am forever grateful that my children were there to benefit from his teaching (and Fr. Robert Pirrone). He was pretty tough on them (rightfully so). To this day, all my children say that if they ever married, they would track Fr. Irving down to the ends of the earth to administer this Sacrament.
Perhaps we have been lost as a holy people because of the modern teaching of an "always loving" God, removing the harsh need for self discipline and penance.(Think: St. John the Baptist?) Perhaps, God is capable of righteous anger and just maybe it would serve us well, to be a little more fearful of our individual judgement.
Love your website.
Excellent article! and I say, " America, return to the Lord, your God." The Best medicine for gun control and for the respect for life, is to return to God, observe His Commandments and live ny the Christian Principles. Washington, are you listening or do you want to hold meeting after meeting trying to find the solution. Unless we are governed by God and His law, we will be governed by Tyrants.
We must lead by example, show the world we love God, family and one another. Mary wants to help but we catholics and non-catholic must show her our love for Her. Too many times we just go along with the crowd. Many non-catholics are missing Her love. She wants to be part of their faith, She truly wants to help but sadly She if forgotten. We catholics need to bring Our Mother into all our lives. Mary's love for us has been lost by too many non-catholics.
Many great Saints that have been converted, have been so by the prayers of their mothers.
It is time for this child (US) to listen to OUR Blessed Mother, our Lady of Medjugorje.
What does She want us to do?:
1) Fast ever Wednesday and Friday on bread and water. Wednesday, for the Holy Spirit to rain His graces upon the world, and Friday, for peace in the world.
2) Go to confession at least once a month.
3) Pray at least three hours each. This prayer must include the Holy Rosary.
4) Consecrate yourself to the sorrowful, immaculate heart of Mary by doing the following every first Saturday of the month for 5 months in a row: * Go to confession. * Receive Holy Communion. * Pray the Rosary. * Keep our Blessed Mother company for 15 minutes while meditating on the mysteries of the Holy Rosary with the intention of making reparation to Her. She promises if these things are done with devotion and fervor, she will bestow enough graces so that you will not suffer eternal fire.
CONSIDER YOURSELVES INFORMED!!!
Excellent article Father. But sadly I would add that so much of the discussion of christianity and dare say our faith is also superficial. It really is time to get back to basics. We act so suprised when "catholics" do not behave a particular way but never ask the question if they even know Jesus. I believe we are deathly afraid to ask the question if we are being Christ to others. Are we serving as examples of a life filled with the Spirit or are we instead just using the trappings of church etc to get other people to do what we want them to do? Do we use the "rules" as justification to be just as nasty as the pagans are to us?
I think until someone has a real encounter with Christ, all of it's just going through the motions. I think until someone has a life centered on Christ and lives daily to put him at the center, none of this stuff makes sense. People just go along to get along. I really do believe that society has grown weary of our words but aches for lived examples. Until we do that, nothing will change. We just become one more political voice that is just as irrelevant in the grand scheme of things as any other.