Political & Religious Commentary

Could It Be That It Was All So Simple Then

Or Has Time Rewritten Every Line[1]

I’m not psychic, but everywhere I look I see dead people.  Is anyone conscious any more?  Whether its pining about The Good Old Days, following the quest of Dragon Ball Z, getting drunk at Super Bowl parties or speaking of TV characters as if they are our next door neighbors; everyone seems to be living in another world. 

The more important question is what is driving all this energy to numb out?  Most addicts drink or drug to anesthetize pain — the pain of guilt, the stress that comes with great responsibility or untenable situations, and emotional or even physical pain.

In what has become a very secular America, sin is a dirty word, temptation is all encompassing and the Church has become an object of ridicule.  Hundreds of people seem more willing to confess their mistakes on national TV, than the millions of Catholics who refuse to disclose their sins to a priest under the seal of confession.  The result is that millions of Catholics, not to mention Protestants and pagans are suffering under the weight of an enormous amount of guilt.  But were The Good Old Days really all that good?

The Greatest Generation grew up in a very different kind of a world.  As children they learned right and wrong, from parents, neighbors, nuns and priests, who were exemplary role models.  The bedrock of their world was built on the highest moral aspirations of the Church.  They fought together to protect our society from evildoers by placing “one nation under God” into the pledge of allegiance and they joined with their bishops in having the Legion of Decency put Hollywood on notice to either produce good uplifting films that support Christian values or risk going out of business.

Yes, it was that good.  It was tough, but it was good.

Sure there were misers like Mr. Potter, amoral opportunists like Al Capone, and demonic sociopaths like Hitler and Stalin.  But for every Scrooge there were a million parishioners supporting missions around the world and providing free parochial schools in the neighborhoods for children.  For every Mafia Don there was an Elliott Ness, honorable FBI agents, and a thousand dedicated cops.  And for every despot there was a Douglas MacArthur and millions of soldiers lining up at the recruiting offices, to give their lives in defense of others.  So what went wrong?

Today we live in a much different world.  Our freedom and advances in technology have produced unimaginable wealth. We now enjoy much easier lives.  But spiritually, we are dying.  Suburban houses require two incomes just to pay the mortgage.  The permanence of the Sacrament of Matrimony has been replaced with serial monogamy.  Secular movies and TV blaspheme God, ridicule His values, and seduce us into a world of materialism and relativity.  Children receive toys with every happy meal and little league teams wear brightly colored uniforms, but these kids don’t get that hug from Mom after school, or in many cases don’t get to play catch with Dad in the evening.

The child is grown, the dream is gone. I have become comfortably numb.[2]

Any way you look at it, there has been a great deal of loss in our society.  I’m not even sure we know how to grieve the loss.  But somewhere deep in our soul there remains a gnawing sense of guilt for having dropped the ball.

We were so proud of our accomplishments, so tired of war and so seduced by the so-called good life that we assumed the war was over and dropped our guard.  In short, Satan had flanked us.  We had forgotten that we must be ever vigilant as members of The Church Militant. 

Seeing this growing weakness in the areas of faith and obedience, Pope John XXIII, called the Second Vatican Council.  It specifically addressed our spiritual sloth and lack of passion.  It was a war cry to re-engage the enemy, not just in church but at home and in the market place.  It was a call to remember our first Love.

Once upon a time I was falling in love

But now I’m only falling apart

Nothing I can do

A total eclipse of the heart[3]

But instead of being obedient to the call, repenting and getting back into the fight, we numb the pain of guilt and loss.

Cowardly clergy reinvented liturgies in their own image and refused to preach on contraception.  Laymen remained silent in the marketplace.  The married contracepted and divorced.  Feminist nuns abandoned their posts in the convents and two generations of children have gone un-catechized. 

Men sublimated their anger into drive for their careers, and turned sports into a religion.  Women became soccer moms, joined the workforce, and went shopping.  Our children, weaned on Sesame Street, and inebriated with video games, have no clue who God really is.  They think Jesus is some kind of Mr. Rogers, not the Sovereign King of all.

And so, with the churches empting out, many no longer even hear the call of the Church, much less obey her.  We distract ourselves with even more sin: illicit sex, watching blasphemous movies, or degrading sit-coms, and spending ourselves into credit card oblivion.  But deep down, it does not satisfy; the conscience knows what should be happening and the pain remains.

Some liberals in order to avoid the consequences of their actions deny the very existence of sin, hell, and a personal Satan.  Some say this life is all there is, and so they continue their efforts to change the church, or believe they get some kind of second chance through reincarnation. But deep down the conscience knows the truth and the pain remains.

Some who miss the good old days, climb into a kind of virtual time machine.  They watch old movies over and over again, listen exclusively to vintage music, or reminisce just a bit too much when visiting with old friends.  Some devout Catholics have even left the Church in order to join schismatic churches that still celebrate the old Tridintine Mass. But this too is a kind of an addiction; numbing the pain and silencing the voice of our conscience.

God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in heaven.[4]  But we are not in Heaven yet.

We are called to live out our faith today, not yesterday.  We are called to sacramentally confess our lack of faith and obedience.  We are called to have a personal relationship with Christ, not reminisce about a time long ago when it was easier.  We are called to learn from and be obedient to the dictates of the hierarchical Church, which preserves the fullness of faith.  We do this not because great men happen to be in charge right now, but because the Holy Spirit guides, instructs, and loves us, through His Church, in an ever present now.

Wake up Christian Soldiers!  We’ve got battles to fight, a war to win, and miles to go before we sleep.