Tag: children

We Need to Keep What is True, True.

The world, as I know it, is falling into ruin and most of us are just sitting here watching it happen. Sorry for the Debbie-downer intro but it’s really true. Our world has become so secularized, and unfortunately with the advent of the internet, propaganda can be spread instantly and the “truth” twisted to fit an agenda, if it’s the truth at all.

There is a global tendency to accept anything and everything; if it makes the person happy, it’s all good. From the 60’s where peace, love and harmony was the mantra, our culture twisted what is the essential goodness from God ( TRUE peace, love and harmony) into a perversion.  Indifferentism is now the norm, and is defined as the belief that differences of religious beliefs are of no importance. Society tells us to believe whatever you want to believe because, it really doesn’t matter what religion you belong to they are all equally true, as long as you believe in a god and are a good person. We are told that our sincerity of heart is most important and whatever means we use to help us get closer our god is right. Unfortunately, there is no clear definition of what is “good” or is my God the same as yours. These ethical dilemmas make this theory preposterous. The Catholic Church brings up a good point when considering indifferentism. If these “irreconcilable beliefs are equally pleasing to God, it is to say that God has no preference for truth and denies reason.”  If all religions are basically the same, it would be like building a house with no experience, using only certain materials or tools and expecting the house to turn out just fine because it doesn’t really matter what I use or don’t use. It just doesn’t make any sense!

Relativism is another truly evil perversion that has permeated our societies and is indoctrinating our children with the beliefs that knowledge, truth, and morality exist in relation to culture, society, or historical context, and are not absolutes. Our culture is slowly but surely eliminating the moral truths instituted by God by insisting that in order for something to be true, it has to be related to the here and now ( as if we are the ultimate decision-maker about what is true!) If truths, which have existed since the beginning of time, can now be re-defined, what will our world look like in the near future?

Those who hold the beliefs of indifferentism and relativism are slowly taking over positions of power in our society. Media, Corporations, Government, and even some “Religious institutions” are propagating their agendas through as many sources as they can. For instance, elected school board members and state legislators have now mandated schools to educate our children in all forms of what they call “Normal” sexual preferences ie: homosexual, transgender, pangender and other names that will make up the new gender “norms” because of relativistic beliefs that gender can change. They are using the tactic of preventing bullying of children who are different ( which is a good in itself) and twisting it into the education of children to accept this “difference” as a norm and not someone who needs mental help. Phycologists have even gone so far as to remove the term “Gender Dysphoria” as a mental disorder from their texts!  Back in the day, children were taught they can be whatever they wanted to be when they grew up. Well ladies and gentlemen, today, those children will be taught they can become whatever they want to become. Little Johnny can now turn into little Jenny if he want to and no one, NOT EVEN HIS PARENTS can prevent him from doing so in certain states. God has to be so disappointed in our world.

We’ve stopped listening to the truth that He supplied us with at the very beginning of creation. We decided we wanted to know it all and through Adam and Eve lost the graces we had in abundance. Our families have turned their backs on God. No longer do parents consider Sundays a day for the Lord. No longer do families attend Mass, pray and commit themselves to learning more about their faith and instructing their children. Today’s youth are more than just troubled, they are IN TROUBLE. The millennial generation have the highest percentage of perfectionists, depression, and suicide than all other generations. The development of constant communication and connection with “friends” via the internet, have these children posting perfect life scenarios, perfect appearances, perfect amount of friends or “likes” and because they have little to no TRUE social skills, they become affected by the responses they get to their postings. Depression now can be caused by a random reaction to something they said online, it’s unfathomable for those of us who grew up without the internet to think a typed response, on some computer or gadget, could throw someone into a fit or sink them into a pit of despair.

We, as a society, are at a precipice. We MUST act against the evil which is taking over the world at a rapid pace or we will fall. We must turn back to the family unit that God established as the way to combat evil. Parents must give the Scriptures priority in the home because God’s Word is the necessary foundation. Satan has done a masterful job at keeping families so busy that they have little time to read the Bible, pray the Rosary, or attend religious education classes or small group study at Church. Spending time in God’s Word, both individually and as a family is essential. If Satan can keep families too busy for the Scriptures, they will lose their joy, strength, and effectiveness in this world. Satan, using busyness as his tool, has robbed many families of the time God wants them to spend with each other. This results in a lack of both closeness and enjoyment in each other. Husbands and wives need time together to nurture their relationship. They need time with their children if they are going to fulfill the Scriptural mandate of training up a child in the way he should go (Prov 22:6). This training takes time and focus, both of which are lost when lives become frantically busy and stressed. Ironically, the less time we give to God, the more anxious, depressed, or overwhelmed we become. The family needs time when the earplugs are out, Internet is closed down, and televisions are off, and when the needs of family members are lovingly met. Time must be taken for reading and praying together and for eating and playing together. As families live out God’s plan for them, God will be glorified, families blessed and society will benefit. We can’t pervert the family, instituted by God, by claiming that it is anything other than a Father, Mother and children. This is they way God intended a family unit to be. We aren’t saying there aren’t circumstances outside the man, woman, child unit; however, that wasn’t God’s plan for the family.

We have to remember those who struggle with situations outside the truth of God’s plan, should still be loved as a child of God. We cannot shun, bully or insult those who are different from us; however, while not judging their souls, we are allowed to speak the truth to them in love. Jesus actually wants us to speak the truth to people who are doing wrong. He wants all God’s children to believe in Him so they may be with Him in eternity. We must start speaking up. We need to brace ourselves against those who will call us intolerant, or judging. Those are the people who have been lied to by the father of lies as he knows the words of Jesus better than we do. He will use Our Lords words in ways that “appear” good ( we have no right to judge others lest we be judged); however, Jesus commands us to speak the truth in all things.

Truth is good, right and just; evil is bad, wrong and unjust. We must not allow this to change.

 

 

When Virtues All But Disappear

I’ve been wanting to write for a while now; however, within the last month, I’ve witnessed such a gamut of hate, rejection, accusations, and bullying within my State and Country, I’ve just been at a loss for words. I’ve prayed for and sought guidance to understand what is happening to our society and it was finally revealed to me: we have lost or rejected God’s virtues.

So many people in our society “claim” to be Christian. As a matter of fact, in a 2017 Pew Research report, “80% of Americans say they believe in God or some higher force, while 99% of Christians say they believe in the God of the Bible.” Interestingly, the same study shows that only, “49% of those under the age of 50, and 43% of those under 30 believe in God.” This is a startling fact, especially when you consider our Country was based on the freedom to express our religious beliefs in God. Now, basically, half of our children do not believe in God and they are raising their children without any sort of belief in God, and we wonder what is happening to our Country.

So many of our separated brothers and sisters ( those who do not believe in the Catholic faith) believe they are “saved” by “Faith Alone.” For them, reciting the “Sinner’s Prayer” and accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior will “Guarantee” their salvation, no matter what they do with the rest of their life. It seems so un-fulfilling to me, that someone who makes this claim, will have nothing to work toward, other than a sort of “pyramid scheme,” of making sure they get another soul to pray the “Sinner’s Prayer” and on and on it goes. According to Dr. David Anders, ” Life is a rich, textured, many faceted thing with enormous beauty, pain, horror and amazing panoply of experiences. What meaning and value are these, if the only thing that I can do of eternal value, is to convert another soul or myself to be converted? Faith alone falls apart because it doesn’t take into account the essentials to living out our faith through Virtues.”

We are so fortunate, as our Catholic faith explains, to have the 7 Virtues which affect human beings in the material and spiritual aspects of life. All human beings can acquire the 4 Cardinal Virtues of Prudence, Justice, Fortitude and Temperance. With these 4 Cardinal Virtues, humans can use their intellect and free will to live a moral life. This opens the door to accepting God’s love; thus, receiving the Theological Virtues which helps to prepare us to live as children of God and prepare us for eternal life.

The first Cardinal Virtue of Prudence gives people the ability of reason to see what is good and evil. In today’s world, we are definitely seeing a lack of prudence due to the lack of moral choices. The Virtue of Justice allows humans to respect others rights, equality and to serve the common good. This has been twisted and perverted in our society, so much so, that if you don’t agree with a side purporting someone’s “rights” you are called evil, close-minded, and hateful.

We are called to use the Virtue of Fortitude almost on a daily basis as we need courage to stand-up for what is right and good. Often we find ourselves confronted by those who have been deceived by the evil one, thinking they are standing up for what they consider to be right – oftentimes, what is left out of their consciousness is the fact “It Is Not Good.”

The last Cardinal Virtue is Temperance. Our culture, especially in America, is a “more, more, more,” society. No longer do we moderate our desires for goods or pleasures. “If it feels good, do it” was a slogan that infiltrated past generations and has become “my right”, or “the norm,” in today’s world. Temperance is something we all need to start implementing and we can do so in our lives by doing such simple things as, decreasing our need for shopping, watching how we speak to others or holding our tongue when we really want to speak out. Skipping a favorite snack or dessert and/or denying ourselves a certain pleasure, every now and then, can be a small way we show our children and Our Lord how much we love Him for all the sacrifices He made for us.

I have often wondered how people can be so heartless, cruel, ruthless or just plain evil. The lack of Theological Virtues, especially Charity, explains this well.

When the Theological virtues are bestowed upon people, they will be drawn toward God. The first Theological Virtue of Faith allows people to commit themselves entirely to God and live out the Christian values and works He expects of us; however, without the gift of Charity (Love), the believer cannot increase in the Virtue of Faith and draw himself completely to Christ. I have personally experienced this. When you have hate in your soul, you are kind of spiritually “blocked” from drawing closer to The Lord. Think about it, if God IS love, why would He want someone who has hate in their heart to be near Him? Once the hate in my heart was gone, through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, prayer, forgiveness, and a miraculous blessing, I finally felt the burden of hate lifted from me and a peace filled my heart and soul and I was more able to receive the Theological Virtues.

The Theological Virtue of Hope is the trusting that Heaven is real, desiring eternal life with God, as well as, trusting in love that the promises of Christ are true and we will have eternal happiness with Him. Imagine, so many people have no Hope. They cannot trust or love because they have not been able to experience the Virtue of Hope. God designed us to progress through the Cardinal Virtues and develop those habits in order to open our hearts to the gifts of the Theological Virtues, through the most important Virtue which unites them all, Charity.

God IS love and the Theological Virtue of Charity is what gives all the other Virtues life! When we have the Virtue of Charity (Love) we Christians are able to experience the love for God and the love for others. Saint Paul teaches us that the greatest of the Virtues is Love. When we are applying Charity to the fullest in our lives, we are able to experience true joy, peace and mercy, as we start to see things through the eyes/perspective of God.

It is interesting how this has manifested in my life. All my life, I have been one who has to be constantly “moving” a part of my body in one way or another. Even as an infant, I rocked my crib so hard it moved it across the wooden floor of my bedroom. I often remember sitting quietly and having to move my leg or foot for some strange reason. Before going to sleep, I’d have to “wiggle” my leg or foot in order to put myself to sleep, to the unfortunate displeasure of my husband who would often ask me to stop moving. I never considered it to be an “issue;” however, when I received the gift of charity and the profound peace that entered my soul, I noticed the “moving” I’ve done my whole life, quite literally stopped. I often wondered if I had some interior anxiety that I was repressing but expressing with my movements. All I know is that now, I rarely “wiggle” unless I’m engrossed in a knuckle-biting sporting event, and for that, I’m thankful.

Humanity was designed by our Creator to incorporate the 7 Virtues of the Catholic faith; unfortunately, we are witnessing, at this very moment, a culture devoid of Virtues.

Regrettably, the badly Catechized lay Catholics have reproduced and ignored their faith and responsibility to grow/learn and teach the faith to themselves and their children. No longer do we see Churches filled, Parochial schools with waiting lists, or parents taking on their roles as primary educators of the faith to their children.

If we want Society to make an about-face rather quickly, we must instill Cardinal Virtues and call upon the Holy Spirit to infuse within us and our children, the Theological Virtues we receive by being true followers of Christ and the Holy Catholic Church that He founded. We know that we, and those who are in positions of leadership, are not perfect – just as Saint Peter was not perfect; however, he was chosen by Jesus to lead his sheep. Through the Graces we receive in the Sacraments of the Catholic Church, we can strive to be like Jesus in all we do, with love for Him and our neighbor.