A voice crying in the desert
In the eyes of many, the Church is now bankrupt! It has become a desert… What can we say? Yes, there is a growing split between the Church and secular society, coming even to the point of divorce. Old pagan values are taking over, as though they were something new… A society based on economy, shallow “usefulness”, worldly pleasure, and “insurance”. Society wants the Church to confirm to all this, to accompany and support this process of change, but as the Church doesn’t join in, the world reminds her of her “bankruptcy”.
We hear that the Ten Commandments and the true Gospel are not compatible with our times. We hear stories all around us which, we are told, prove that our will is “enslaved” in bondage (this is Luther’s teaching). We are told that Catholicism was never able to truly permeate souls, that this was always an impossible task, and that now things have to change. In reality we see a different problem. We see moral sickness and depravity inside the Church, and many who are intellectually frightened. So many members in the Church who are making it difficult for her to generate life. Many reject even the idea of a contrite heart, of God’s calling us to penance, to restoration. Instead of good fruits, we see many rotten fruits, like the open rejection of the fundamentals of our faith and our morality.
We know, though, that ultimately God does not allow a false Gospel to be spread in His Name. He Himself will always intervene, and so we pray for the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. We need our Mother to save the situation as soon as possible, to set straight the paths, to level out all these problems, to bring penance and conversion like John the Baptist, but with all her motherly gentleness. In this desert, we have to prepare the way for Christ!
Fr Stan