The twentieth century saw a focus on Catholicism in Action. Dorothy Day, Peter Maurin and the Catholic Worker movement brought to light Catholic social teaching spreading from Pope Leo’s Rerum Novarum at the end of the 19th century.

I am seeing the Twentieth First Century shape up as the century where the clash between the wisdom that comes from our relationship with God and that wisdom shaped by the world will define our century. It will be a time where Catholics learn more and more what it means to not only act as Catholics but to think as Catholics. It will become clear to good Catholics that our faith has a wisdom that goes deeper than simple education will ever take us. It will be our strength in a time where many will grow hostile to people of faith especially Catholics. Many of our faith believe and state openly that we are the only group against whom one can legally discriminate. This is the symptom of that dynamic. It will get worse, but in the process we will grow closer to Christ as those who reject Christ will walk deeper into darkness.

In fact, one of the resources of those who work to silence our voice comes from a book taught locally in the university world. Written by an atheist, it preaches how to make political gains through selfishness and actions of hate, lies and cheating. The book begins, unsurprisingly with an ode to the Devil and has a special teaching on how to destroy Christianity. It is a strange combination for students who pay huge tuitions to attend a school of those who brag of their intelligence that they would embrace such an absurd book that also praises the Devil. The truly wise would see using that book as the resource of a fool that will destroy those who use it if not physically, clearly emotionally and spiritually. Unfortunately, those who have embraced that book have already suffered great damage to themselves and many have done great damage to others.

Those who embrace the self-destructive teachings in such literature reject true wisdom and are incapable of understanding the issue here. This highlights what I feel will be the future of our decade. There will be a growth of the separation of those who reject God and those who embrace Him and that growth will be defined by those who act in wisdom supplemented by human education and those who act by education that rejects such wisdom.The former path takes us to a profound sense of holiness in humility and to a true service to others and the latter takes us to a profound sense of pride and arrogance. One path leads to life and the other to death.

It is time for us to choose where we will go during this time and what choices we will make. It is not really any longer the time to stand and fight, that time has past. Our time is to turn to Christ to spread His word and live the faith as the people of light we are called to be. However, we must act in a way that goes beyond following rules, but living the wisdom that is the base of those rules at a profoundly deep level. Those who turn to walk in darkness must see us walking in light to understand that they are in darkness. That I believe will be the theme for Catholicism during this upcoming decades. It will not be easy.

It is time to understand that during this century, we have been invited to make a strong decision for Christ, to turn toward him and allow His light to infuse our whole being and to act within it. We have a choice to seek the ways of the world in darkness or the ways of Christ which is the light. The latter road is the more difficult road. When I ask people why did God destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, they will say because of the sin of the people. That is actually incorrect. The Genesis account says it is because of the lack of righteous. You have a choice, you can seek the light and be a light in the darkness or you can embrace the darkness and meld in with others. The latter is easy, the former is not. During this Lent may we all humbly reflect daily on which choice is ours.

God Bless You,

Fr. Robert J Carr

Fr. Carr is the editor of this blog.

This homily continues on Sunday

photocredit:

Top: Author
Middle: Solarseven
Bottom: argus456
Middle and Bottom via bigstockphoto.com