Maybe It's Too Late

For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains [will do so] until he is taken out of the way.  Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth . . . the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders,  and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.  For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false,  in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness (bold my emphasis) – 2 Thessalonians 2:7-10

Spiritual blindness. Descending from God upon us. A hardening of our conscience so we can no longer discern truth from lies because we chose not to believe truth when it was all around us. How else can we explain the way we dismiss, or make excuses for, the moral changes sweeping over us? How else can we explain our acceptance of what we used to call depravity and sin?

Even within the Church. Of all places.

I’m old enough to remember America of the 1950s and 60s. Our concept of morality today is nothing like it was then. For example, since 1973 we have killed – sliced apart piece by piece fifty-five million babies in the womb, sucked their body parts into vacuum containers, and not only are the majority of Americans – including those in the Church – silent about this horrific, description-defying holocaust, but we actually elect politicians who support and promote the mass killing.

What about marriage? For millennia upon millennia, as long as civilizations have existed there has never been such an assault on the sanctity (and what Catholics call the ‘Sacrament’) of marriage as we see overtaking us today.

And the Church’s response? Beyond some hand-wringing and statements of ‘disappointment’ to the press and to congregations, essentially nothing is done or said to lead the flock of God through the small gate and along the narrow way.

We look – okay, I look – for courageous and Christ-like leadership from our clergy, for guidance to the sheep how to meet these challenges in November. But again, silence. Compliance. Acquiescence to evil while precious few dare any longer to call it evil.  And so the hearts and conscience of sheep who follow their clergy walk through the wide gate and along the broad road. And the ears of those who call themselves after the Crucified Savior become dull of hearing.

It is not surprising to watch such things occur with non-believers. As St. Paul remarked, they are ‘dead in their trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). But for the grace of God, how can they act otherwise?

But how can such things happen in the Church? How can it be, as St. Paul wrote, that “[T]he time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but [wanting] to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths (2 Timothy 4:3-4)?

As for me, I believe we have just about turned the corner. Maybe it’s too late. But unless the Church – laity and clergy – take seriously our call from God to live as holy examples of Christ, to serve God on His terms and not on ours, to serve Him even when it is inconvenient to do so, I fear the prophecy of St. Peter will be fulfilled in my lifetime. Perhaps in the not so distant future:  “For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?(1 Peter 4:17).

Oh, God. Have mercy on us.