Editorial: “NOT EVERYONE WHO SAYS ‘LORD, LORD’ . . . “

“NOT EVERYONE WHO SAYS ‘LORD, LORD’ . . . “

IT   WAS INEVITABLE THAT, sooner or later, the discussion would get around to matters of religion.

This always happens (thank God) when clergymen are invited out to dinner by old friends. The prospects of success for the local football and hockey teams are quickly disposed of. Then comes the pause which, experience shows, is the prelude to matters of deeper concern.

“About the existence of heaven,” came the opening question, “what’s this nonsense in my daughter’s high school religion textbook. I happen to have it right here, and I quote . . .”.

And quote he did, and so did all the others, from books, magazines, newspapers, until the wee hours of the morning. Questions about heaven, original sin, the divinity of Christ, the truth of the bodily Resurrection of the Lord, the presence of Christ in the Eucharist, the virginity of the Blessed Mother, the trustworthiness of the Gospels, the infallibility of the Pope and what, precisely, are we supposed to believe these days in order to call ourselves Catholics?

THE CHURCH WAS COMMISSIONED BY CHRIST . . .

“Confusion,” Shakespeare wrote, “hath wrought her masterpiece.” One is tempted to add: he should be living today if he wanted to see real confusion, especially in the field of religion. And especially among our Catholic people who have, as Pope John Paul made it clear, a right not to have their faith undermined and disturbed by those who have an obligation to preach and teach the Gospel of Christ.

Take the quote from the above mentioned high school text on religion.  “Science has exploded the myth of some other part in the universe where one might go to find that other place called ‘paradise’ “.

NOTE, TO BEGIN WITH, THAT paradise is unaccountably brushed off as a “myth”.

No proof given, except that last refuge of the unthinking, “science.” It is useless to ask where, exactly, can we find any scientific evidence for the nonexistence of paradise. The matter of paradise is beyond the competence, to say nothing of the interest, of any scientist. But it is precisely this kind of anti-intellectual gibberish that so upsets and infuriates many Catholic parents. Questions of ultimate importance are treated in such a way as to leave the impression that they are not worth considering.

. . . TO HAND DOWN THE TRUTHS OF THE FAITH

The Church was commissioned by Christ to hand down the truths of the faith, and our Catholic people have the right to have the faith explained to them clearly, concisely and completely. If that faith is not being given to them, if it is being kept hidden and obscure, if it is being distorted and twisted out of shape, if it is being denied and ridiculed, then the Catholic people have a right to protest. And if this is being done in the name of Catholic teaching, then it is the obligation of all of us to do what we can to rectify the situation.

We can all start by trying to get a knowledge of our faith from primary sources: Scripture and Tradition and the official teaching of the Church’s magisterium: our Holy Father the Pope, and the bishops of the world in union with the Pope. Too many of us in the Church put far too much faith in secondary sources: this or that theologian, this or that preacher or writer. If we want to know what Christ is telling us through the Church, then go directly to the Church itself.

PRIMARY SOURCES OF FAITH

It is sad to have to note that there is a bit of gullibility in so many of our Catholic people. They are anxious for knowledge of the faith, but to a great extent they put far too much confidence and trust in people who do not deserve that confidence. Not everyone who says ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven. And not everyone who speaks and writes about the Lord conveys the true meaning of the Gospel and the teaching of Christ.

We would exhort our Catholic people to be considerably more critical of what they hear and read. Religion textbooks are not the infallible word of God. Some of them contain serious errors, in fact, plain heresies. The faith is far too serious a matter to be left to the mercy of those who can’t tell religious fact from religious fiction.

It has been pointed out many times that we are now going through what can only be called an era of a “crisis of faith”. There have been a few of these in past ages. Generally, it was the laity that saved the Church from harm. With the help of God – and a great deal of hard work and common sense – our Catholic people will be able to do it again.