In a recent email to Dr. Ray, I wrote this same thing that Mark writes about (click link below.) He wrote back and said, "Susie, Whew. You've got some good stuff there." Of course I had different words, perhaps not nearly as eloquent, or as thoroughly spoken as Mark's, but the same message. And here's a few more thoughts.
Doggone it, this PC INSANITY has made us all "cowardly" (not the way Eric Holder described us by the way) when it comes to speaking, in just normal conversations, either in our homes or workplaces, we're more and more afraid of starting a conflict, offending someone, hurting someone's feelings, being dubbed all kinds of things like 'hate-monger', 'racist' 'biggot' etc. Being honest is costly, and too costly for many of us anymore, who'd rather just 'ride it out' and 'not make waves' ...assuage the terrorists (not just militant Islamists but PC terrorists who want religious talk stopped) and the "peace at all costs" crowd. Peace at all costs is NEVER peace.
But it's not the names I'm afraid of being called, or the possible conflict, or confrontation per se, or the debate, (rational debates are so rare these days, too, sadly) it's the lack of courage in those of us who ARE GOOD people that has me puzzled. I experience it many times a day. I keep quiet when I should say something. It's harmful to remain too silent at times. It's shut up some of us that really SHOULD be speaking, like parents, teachers, priests/preachers. Good, God-fearing people, who lately seem to be fearing man more than God. By the way, Jesus frowned on us doing that. He even said some not too "cozy wozy" "fuzzy wuzzy" things about fearing man more than God throughout the NT.
We've got so many good priests, and I'm thankful for them all, for they give us Christ and the sacraments, but yet nary does a homily contain the words 'sin' or 'hell' and how we can avoid sinning and trading our very souls for material gain, or some sort of sin of the flesh, which will corrupt the heart and harden it to God's voice, and where if ones does that long enough and more and more often, that soul will wind up falling from grace. The result IS hell. That's the destination of adulterers, fornicators, drunkards etc. I didn't make that up, it's in the bible. Really. Oh, but that's INTOLERANT! YIPES! So I ask, "What the hell is going on??" Hell is going on, and on, and on...and many are heading there, and the only voices of warning I hear, I don't hear, but read, like Mark's. Like Fr. Corapi's and a few on Catholic radio. What about the voices of our very own priests right here in River City?
What Saint of anytime in history would say, "Ok, money's tight and that wedding is going to be expensive so go ahead and move in with your boyfriend/girlfriend." Yet would they ever say this?-- "Ok, this economy stinks, you've got a huge loan to pay off, go ahead and rob a bank." Yet, our High Priest, Jesus, spoke of sin and hell. He SAID those words. Is it not in a priests "job description" any more to warn us of sinning, and of the destination called HELL of those who perpetually sin?
In a biography of St. Don Bosco I read recently, he told his boys in NO UNCERTAIN terms of all kinds of dangers to their souls. He warned them of bad companions and bad books, and avoiding the 'near occasion of being... intolerant? No, avoiding the near occasion of SIN! (What on earth would he say about things today about I-Pods, Blackberries, tv, movies, computers?!!) And very FEW boys did he ever lose because of his God-given authority as their spiritual father and his stern warnings! I think in all the boys he'd helped over the years, which numbered in the thousands, there were 2 that I remember, and maybe 5-10 altogether. He'd given them every single opportunity to cooperate, and strive to become saints. Only a SMALL number were "discontents" and 'hard hearts' that left his schools. And I think even a few of them did return.
Now, in 2009, priests, bishops, leaders in politics, teachers, parents are trying so hard NOT to offend anyone, we end up losing our kids, our students, our parishoners, anyway. We're all too silent on the important matters, and blabbing like crazy people about stuff that matters not much if at all...in the END. How many really understand the Mass and what takes place on the altar now? How many KNOW it's Jesus Body Blood Soul and Divinity they're receiving on Sundays and not just a 'wafer'?
In not wanting to offend a young woman who may have had an abortion sitting in the pew, who might be suddenly overcome with guilt or anger and stomp out of church if she hears a homily on the dignity of life, from conception to eternity, the priest remains mum about the evil and the sin of abortion. He could on the other hand warn many young girls about the horror of it, thus making the damage to his own soul even less, since he's responsible for his flock. He could offer before his homily on the Sanctity of Life, a kind and thoughtful word about God's vast ocean of Divine Mercy that's waiting for her and all of us, and his availabilty after Mass to hear confessions of any young woman who may have had an abortion. He could assure her in a few seconds about her Father God who loves her so much, no matter what she's done, and that he's here for her, too. THEN "bring it on" for the rest of the congregation and proceed to WARN others out the dangerous thinking and belief that it's [abortion] not that bad, (since Pelosi's an ardent practicing Catholic and she's 'pro-choice) Father so&so could firmly and resolutely preach about the lies in this Culture of Death, (why should it only be heard on "Defending Life" on EWTN? Or from Fr. Corapi and a few other BRAVE, COURAGEOUS GODLY MEN?
He could preach on the grave danger of losing her soul should she abort her child. That hell is a real place, and God doesn't want anyone to go there. Premarital sex is grave sin. Mortal if not confessed. What about the consequences of clinging to such a dangerously erroneous belief that "sex before marriage" is "ok" and the "God understands" or the "it's the economy stupid" attitude. Don Bosco warned his boys of sexual sin. One or two young boys were saints when they died, even before Don Bosco himself! So why not expect that same zeal from our priest??? Or was St. Bosco just too rigid and narrow-minded. Maybe he should have told the boys that God sent his Son into the world to save us all from being offensive. God gave His only Son to save us from old fashioned rules. God gave His Son, to suffer and be crucified so we could all be happy, tolerant of vices, and just "get along." He sent his Son to us to make us 'feel good' all of the time. That He gave his Son to save the world from intolerance and guilt-feelings. Yeeeeeah, right.
Are priests so afraid of losing a parishoner or parishoners or money in the collection basket that all of us are told only things 'palatable' and 'pleasing to our ears?' St. Don Bosco was a most tolerant, gentle, humble, kind, giving, amiable, man, but he NEVER tolerated his young boys, who he'd 'saved from the streets' to cause scandal or harm other boys in his oratories. IF certain boys violated his rules for them, they were gone. That was back in the mid 1800's and he was concerned about the wrong books getting into the hands of those young boys and men he was trying to form in the Faith, to train to be good citizens and yes, even saints! He had dreams of his boys, some of them falling into the pit of hell, and he knew he had to WARN THEM, and so he did. Now, I'm not talking "fire and brimstone" fist banging the podium homilies every Sunday by any means, but for crying out loud! We've got kids on the computers, text messaging who knows who, Facebooking with who knows who and seeing God only knows what on line, on tv, at the movies.
We're more uptight about not wanting to make our kids 'mad at us' than for their very souls' salvation. This isn't a sermon for others, I'm guilty as ...sin...for being silent with my own kids. But does that mean I shouldn't say something now? I've been just as guilty for silence. But if we don't tell them, who will? Certainly not their 'friends' or their professors. The world's going to tell them "Sex..Hey, it's only natural, your freaky parents just don't get it.'" More souls go to hell for sins of the flesh than any sin! Isn't that sobering? Our Lady of Fatima said "souls are falling into hell like SNOWFLAKES! And we continue to 'shrug it off.' That's why we're in the mess we're in folks. Isn't it time to speak up, even when everything inside us screams for us to be quiet? We can't MAKE our kids mind, or do what we say when they're grown but we've really dropped the ball while raising them in this last generation or two, because of sheer 'fear.' When fear wins, the only losers are precious, irreplacable, unique souls, made in the image of God. What we need to do is repent of being so fearful of 'making waves' with our own kid(s) or a relative or coworker, and receive the grace (which is ever at hand) to be bold and speak the truth in love. Please pray for me. I've been and am negligent in doing this. I get fearful. Silence is good, but not when it comes to matters of our own and our loved one's eternity.
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