Working parents: Some unintended consequences

The following post is written for those working parents who have the option of having one parent stay home with their children.  There are, however, countless parents who do not enjoy this luxury. Due to financial necessity, there are many households where both parents need to work in order to pay the bills. Yet, there is a real temptation nowadays to define luxuries as “needs” in order to justify two incomes. Whether or not married couples have to finance real or perceived needs, there are unintended consequences of having both parents work full time. Theses consequences, unfortunately, escape most people because they unfold years later.

First, let’s take a look at a trend among today’s parents: In March of 2013 Kim Parker and Wendy from Pew Research wrote an article titled, “Modern Parenthood.” It was based on a study of working parents which shows that there is a trend which favors the office over being at home with the kids. For instance, Pew Research found that in just five years mothers who wanted to work full time have increased by 17 percent. “Among mothers with children under age 18, the share saying they would prefer to work full time has increased from 20% in 2007 to 32% in 2012.”

Even among fathers, the ideal of having a parent stay at home with the children is on the wane. “In 2009,” for instance, “54% of fathers with children under age 17 said the ideal situation for young children was to have a mother who did not work at all outside the home; today only 37% of fathers say that—a drop of 17 percentage points.”

Although the preference for a mother to stay home with the children is on the decline among both mothers and fathers, the difficulty of having both parents work is inescapable. Again, Pew Research found that “56% of mothers and 50% of fathers say juggling work and family life is difficult for them.” This reminded me of Dr. John Gray, author of book Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. He once cited a study that shows that working-married women, more than ever before, are unhappy. Indeed, when the demands of the children greet them upon returning home from a long day at work, their stress is only intensified. This affects the working mother in a peculiar way because, according to Dr. Gray, they are more wired to fulfill the needs of the family. Fathers, on the other hand, are more inclined to fulfill his own needs before they get around to meeting their children’s needs. In other words, a man’s self-preservation skills are better because he is less empathetic to the needs of others.

Be that as it may, what escapes most working parents- especially those who have little time for their children –are the unintended consequences which unfold years after the childhood years. Invariably, when children are young, there needs are many. With this, the sacrifices required of parents are many. This is why the assertion can be made that being a stay-at-home mom (or dad) is the hardest job in the world. Unlike the office, a house of children is an uncontrolled environment.  

All of this is to say that the temperament, the behaviors and the needs of children are much more unpredictable than what we find in a work environment. In many cases, there is a predictable routine at work. Employees are incentivized to listen and cooperate with their supervisors. If they do not, they compromise their employment status. But stay-at-home moms enjoy no such perks. What is more, raising children full time is a thankless job. There are no promotions, no raises and no paid-leave. And to add insult to injury, the reward and the fruits of investing time with their children are not immediately felt. That comes much later. But the fall out of absentee parenting comes much later too. And for this reason, the dots between childhood upbringing and their behavior in the adulthood years are rarely connected.

In a 2006 study in Great Britain, the average time working parents spent with their children was 19 minutes. When a child grows up without seeing their parents throughout most of the day, they get accustomed to it. Sure, they’ll cry in those earlier years when mommy or daddy drives away from the daycare center. But eventually, they learn to cope with their parent’s absence. Soon enough, not being around mommy and daddy feels normal. And what feels normal as a child continues to feel normal when they reach adulthood.

However, as children get older and become less of a sacrifice, it often happens that parents want to spend more time around them. The parent-child relationship in the later years is, after all, more rewarding, more reciprocal and less demanding. And what is more, parents in their older age begin to see that those to whom they can rely on the most for help are their children; their own flesh and blood. It gradually dawns on them a closer relationship with their children is not just desirable, but it is a matter of necessity. But sadly, their children- now adults -are still used to what is normal. They have been trained to adapt to a life that did not involve a lot of time with their parents. Hence, just as their parents are reaching out to them more and more- in an attempt to make up for lost time -they find it exceedingly difficult to reciprocate. Too often, I am afraid, they don’t.

I used to work part time for a senior care service. What I found was that many senior citizens (either in nursing homes or living in their own homes) did not have a lot family members visiting them. And in many cases, the elderly were placed in nursing homes because their children were just too busy to take care of them. I often wondered if the generation of parents who put their children in daycare out of convenience were now being put in nursing homes for the same reason. What goes around, comes around.

Allow me to conclude on a personal note: My wife was given the opportunity to be a stay-at-home mom for several years before our family needed her to work. When that time came there were a few years when we had to rely on daycare services for two of our children. It was a less-than-ideal situation. But the circumstances warranted a second income. We needed the money to keep our older kids in Catholic schools; which was a top priority for us. Still, even given the situation we were in, we knew that having one of us stay at home during the day with our kids was the ideal. However, we did our best to better the situation and accepted the results as God’s will. When the ideal could not be realized due to circumstances beyond our control, we learned that Divine Providence made up for what was lacking. Indeed, when plan A was out of reach, we believed that the Lord could do his work through plan B.

Unfortunately, parents are losing sight of the ideal. They are opting for plan B over plan A. But for those increasing number of parents who prefer to spend more time at the office rather than at home with their children- for those parents who believe this is the ideal –they should know what they are preparing their children for. There may come a time when they, in their time of need, will much rather be cared for by their own children in the warmth of a home than by paid staff at some nursing home. To be sure, nursing homes serve a noble purpose. Quite often, they do good work. But rarely do senior citizens want to live there as their first choice; especially when their children have the capability to care for them.

In any event, it must always be borne in mind that the apple never falls far from the tree.  For some in their old age, this is a consolation. Yet, for others, it is a cause for concern.

The 1974 song by Harry Chapman could not have driven this point home any better. It was a song ahead of its time. Please take time to read it. It may spare many of us from future heartache:  Cat's in the Cradle lyrics

The Marriage Conversation: Getting that and other things right

Below, are sobering statistics from Dr. William May’s book, Getting the Marriage Conversation Right. When the younger generations come of age, the tsunami of support for the legalization of same-sex unions will be significant. Take a look: 

• “The percentage of high school seniors who aspire to marriage has remained unchanged over the years, but the number achieving their dreams has dropped precipitously.” 
• “In just 30 years the marriage rate per 1000 unmarried women declined more than 43 percent. Births to unmarried mothers are now over 41 percent.” 
• “Research shows that 46 percent of eighteen- to twenty-nine-year-olds now believe that the ‘growing variety in types of family arrangements’ is a good thing.”
• “56 percent of high school seniors believe it is OK to have children and not be married. An increasing number of eighteen-to twenty-nine-year-olds think that marriage is obsolete (44 percent).”

Most of the book is geared for public policy and the debates surrounding the redefinition of marriage. The argument Dr. May advances centers on the premise that marriage unites a man and a woman with each other and any children born from their union. Since no other institution fulfills this objective, proponents for the sanctity of marriage cannot afford to omit this critical dimension. Indeed, the public policy debate comes down to two conflicting understandings of marriage (taken almost verbatim from the book):

1. Marriage is the public recognition of a committed relationship between a man and a woman (or two adults) for their fulfillment.

• Increasingly, people have come to think of marriage as a means of pursuing individual happiness.
• But when society severs marriage from the right of children to have a mother and a father, this sacred institution can easily be reduced to a mere instrument of self-fulfillment
• Marriage is much greater than the sum of its parts

2. Marriage unites a man and a woman with each other and any children born from their union.

• Marriage is much more than an institution for adult fulfillment…Marriage between a man and a woman is still the only institution that unites kids with their mom and dad. This expresses the fullness of what marriage is.
• Marriage thus defined, a man and a woman are not only irreplaceable to each other; but as a father and a mother, they are irreplaceable for their children.
• On the other hand, if same-sex unions were to be legally recognized, fathers or mothers would be replaceable. Having two of the same-sex parents for any child would necessarily involve the negation of the other.

Dr. May’s points are very helpful in framing the policy debate along more solid grounds. He is of the opinion that educating the youth will help reverse their widespread support for alternative lifestyles and unions. For instance, he said, “Reversing this trend requires the education of young people on the reality of marriage….”

As with many Catholic scholars and evangelists, he suggests that education is the key in restoring the acceptance of the Christian definition of marriage. In part, I agree with him. However, I am of the belief that ideas alone will not suffice. And because ideas alone will not suffice, education as the instrument of communicating ideas cannot compete against the strong social and political momentum in favoring the redefinition of marriage.

We have to consider how the Church Fathers, the monastics and early Christians overcame a similar tsunami. From the ruins of a decadent Greco-Roman civilization and a fallen Roman Empire, they brought forth a Christian civilization. And that civilization was built upon a solid moral foundation. If truth be told, their challenges in restoring society were more formidable than ours. Like them, we have to draw from Christ’s reserve of supernatural strength and add spiritual sacrifices to education. Ideas and eloquent arguments were not enough then and they are not enough now!

In 1832, a holy priest, Blessed Antonio Rosmini, tried to convince his contemporaries that many Catholic institutions in his day were relying too much on intellectual formation and not enough on spiritual formation. Using the early Church as a model, he said, “That which the Apostles added to their preaching was the Catholic worship, which chiefly consists in sacrifice, sacraments, and the prayers thereto pertaining…The doctrines which they spread abroad by preaching were not so many abstract assertions; but the practical force, the force of action, arose from that worship, whereby man could attain the grace of the Almighty.”

About one hundred years later, Our Lord told St. Faustina essentially the same thing. He said, “You will save more souls through prayer and suffering than will a missionary through his teachings and sermons alone.” But by the early twentieth century it was beginning to be a long forgotten truth.

Therefore, as we press forward with developing ways to communicate the sanctity of marriage, let’s be mindful of what restored it during the early years of the Church. As Pope Leo XIII said, “When a society is perishing, the wholesome advice to give to those who would restore it is to call it to the principles from which it sprang; for the purpose and perfection of an association is to aim at and to attain that for which it is formed, and its efforts should be put in motion and inspired by the end and object which originally gave it being.”

The maturity of spiritual childhood

Revised and reposted:

 “One need not practice evangelical poverty to be saved, but one must deny oneself. It is a law of the spirit that cannot be evaded,” said Fr. Edward Leen. Oddly enough, the Irish priest who authored the book, The True Vine and its Branches (1938), goes on to say that the chief characteristic of childhood is one of self-denial. This is precisely what our Lord calls every adult to: a childlike trust in God.

It is a peculiar assertion to say that self-denial is the mark of childhood. After all, is it not true that a toddler pronounces the word “mine” before he does “mommy?” Children are not known for voluntary sharing their toys. In fact, parents are constantly bidding them to be more generous as they play with their siblings and friends. These objections, no doubt, are true.

However, what Fr. Leen is calling to mind is something more fundamental. The predominant disposition of a child is marked by a trust and dependence on his parents. Because of this, Fr. Leen argued that a child’s trust is far more endearing than the polite considerations of adults. He said,

“Confidingness is the permanent quality of the child spirit. The little one does not fret against, or resent, its dependence…It depends on them [the parents] as naturally as it breathes. There is in the child a complete absence of self-consciousness or reflecting back on itself…Its life is grappled to a life outside its own.”

Due to this self-abandon disposition, the child discovers a happiness that is seldom retained throughout in his adulthood years. Sooner or later the admission that we need God and others for one's happiness is falsely perceived to be a sign of weakness- a kind of a crutch. --------Fr. Leen goes on to say that a child’s happiness derives from the ability to lose himself in a world outside of himself. He continues:

“This transition of the center of gravity of its existence outside of itself is the source of utter confidence and fearlessness…It is in striking contrast to the subjectivity and self-preoccupation that marks the adult. That life is not calculating.”

What is even more charming is that “the choice of the persons to whom they readily give themselves is not determined by riches or by beauty, but by affection.” To be sure, children are not interested in status of the people they love; at least at a very young age. They accept others as they are, especially their parents.

This childhood simplicity and dependence was a quality that our Lord fostered in the hearts of the Apostles. Nevertheless, their adulthood tendencies asserted themselves from time to time. Quite often, they esteemed greatness as the world viewed greatness. When their worldly ambitions were frustrated, it was not uncommon for them to murmur. That’s right. Prior to the decent of the Holy Spirit, being small in the eyes of others was not a top priority for the Apostles.

Fr. Edward Leen reminds us that, “Men are always more alive to the disadvantages from which they suffer than they are to the advantages which they enjoy.” One such disadvantage they abhorred was not “being someone of distinction.” They wanted recognition. They coveted human respect. But it must be borne in mind that our Lord has a way of answering our prayers in unexpected ways. If it is distinction they wanted, it was distinction they received. As Fr. Leen said, “The apostles looked for distinction in Christ’s Kingdom. That distinction would not be denied to them, but the way to it was not self-advertisement, but self-effacement.”

It is a great irony in God’s plan that in order to become great in God’s eyes the disciple must first become small in his own eyes. As St. John the Baptist said, "He must increase while I must decrease."

As each soul is spiritually formed, fallen human nature will rebel against its dependence on God. This is precisely why meditating on the Cross and even death itself are so very important for our salvation. They remind us how limited we are as God’s creatures. The priest goes on to say add this:

“Man, proud of the freedom of his will, is ever tempted to revolt against the natural limitations that are inherent in created freedom…Christ’s teaching strikes at the root of this disorderly tendency in rational creatures. He warns men that their entry in the kingdom of God- their return to the paradise from which they had been expelled -can be effected only through abandoning this independent attitude of the soul. He tells them that they must shed the ‘grown up’ or ‘adult’ attitude in their dealings with God and become as little children with their Heavenly Father.”

“In his riches, man lacks wisdom.” (Psalm 49) Hence, voluntary acts of self-denial keep the wisdom of spiritual childhood alive. This spiritual practice is a palpable reminder that our human lot in life is one of dependence. And if the Christian is ambitious, the author of The True Vine and its Branches maintained that he should not settle for half-measures:

“To vanquish this enemy, the devoted disciples of Christ do not content themselves with refusing him his lawful demands, they push their resistance further. They assume the offensive. They deprive him even of what it would be permissible to grant…Hence, it is that self-denial as a habitual disposition of the soul which is akin to the disposition of spiritual childhood.”

And what if we should fall and give in to sin or the illusion of independence? Answer: we should never lose hope. Fr. Leen continues:

“So superabundant is the grace of Christ that the Christian can fall many times and rise again many times…The Christian can rise from the death of sin, not once, but an incalculable number of times. There is in him a source of vitality, in virtue of which, it is in his power to enjoy innumerable resurrections.”

Indeed, conversion is a series of beginnings. The Saint is always starting over but is never disheartened. He or she knows that spiritual progress is principally a work of the Holy Spirit. And that progress necessarily involves recognizing and embracing the wisdom of spiritual childhood. It is ironic but true that through spiritual childhood a Christ reaches his full maturity in the soul.

Walk to Mary: Part three

The following post is part of a nine-part series of emails being sent out to those who wish to make a 21 mile pilgrimage from the St. Joseph Shrine in De Pere Wisconsin to the Our Lady of Good Help in Champion. It is wonderful opportunity to pray for conversions and for America. 

Click here for details: Walk to Mary

Part three:

The Blessed Virgin Mary asked Adele to do something that most of us Catholics feel uncomfortable with; and that is going out into streets and announcing the Gospel. Our Lady instructed Adele to: “Gather the children in this wild country and teach them what they should know for salvation.” And that is exactly what she did. In fact, when she visited families, she offered to clean their houses in exchange for the opportunity to teach the children the Catholic Faith.

The early Christians and the Fathers of the Church understood that evangelization, by itself, was often not enough to attract souls to Christ. Indeed, the proclamation of God’s Word was coupled with either corporeal works of mercy or some service that was needed other than preaching or teaching. Pagans were willing to listen to anyone who fed them or provided some service for them out.

Dr. Thomas Woods, author of How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization, noted how the early Christians did not rely on preaching or instruction alone in order to be heard. He said, “Even the Church fathers, who bequeathed to Western civilization an enormous corpus of literary and scholarly work, found time to devote themselves to the service of their fellow men. St. Augustine established a hospice for pilgrims, ransomed slaves, and gave away clothing to the poor. (He warned people not to give him expensive garment, since he would only sell them and the proceeds to the poor.) Saint John Chrysostom founded a series of hospitals in Constantinople. Saint Cyprian and Saint Ephrem organized relief efforts for the poor.”

The “Old Evangelization,” if you will, not only served the body in order to reach the soul, but it inspired a missionary spirit. Like the early Christians, Adele did not wait for the people to come to her; instead, she went looking for the people. What a daunting task! But remember last words Our Lady spoke to Adele: “Go and fear nothing. I will help you.” Indeed, we are not alone.

Why evil has its hour

Excerpts from Holy Abandonment
By: Fr. Ailbe J. Luddy
1934

The malice of men and the holiness of God are combined in a strange collaboration. The Infinitely Holy cannot cease to hate evil. He tolerates it, nevertheless, in order not to deprive man of the use of his liberty. But his justice will claim its imprescriptible rights and hold all to a strict account at the proper moment: nations and families always in this world, because for them there is no eternity; but individual men either here or hereafter.

In the meantime God wills, for the attainment of His purpose, to make use of the malice and the sins of men, as with their virtues and good works. So the very disorders produced by human agents contribute to the order which Providence has designed.

On the side of men there may be much that is blameworthy. God will be their judge. But on the side of Providence everything is just, everything is wise, everything right and good, everything directed to a laudable end, everything brought to a final result which is always absolutely and infinitely amiable. Nero was a monster, still he made martyrs...The crusades seemed a failure because they did not result in the rescue of Jerusalem, but they were the means of saving Europe. The French Revolution turned everything upside down, but it forced society in self-defense to a renewal of life and vigor.

In the persecution of the present time it is evident that Satan has been unchained and that he has received permission to sift the just. “For what what purpose does this triumph of the impious serve? For what purpose does this apparent defeat of the Church serve? For what purpose does this perversion of the masses serve? For what purpose do these governments that ruin the peoples serve? For what purpose does this cowardice, this lukewarmness of persons who are considered religious serve? For what purpose, in a word, does this dominion of evil over good serve?

For what purpose does this evil serve? It is because God respects that liberty of ours which is the condition for merit and demerit. He gives men their way. But when He judges the time opportune to confound sinners, to awaken the slumberers, to stir up the tepid, and to defend the just, He will bring a universal war upon the guilty world. The scourge appears: there is an impressive silence; the clamor of politics is hushed; faith revives; the churches are filled as before. God had been forgotten. People remember now that He is the Master of all events…

The scourges of God come as trials to some, as chastisements to others; but they bring the grace of spiritual revival to every soul of good will. Happy he who can comprehend them and put them to profit!

His anger has its source in mercy!

Walk to Mary: Part two

The following post is part of a nine-part series of emails being sent out to those who wish to make a 21 mile pilgrimage from the St. Joseph Shrine in De Pere Wisconsin to the Our Lady of Good Help in Champion. It is wonderful opportunity to pray for conversions and for America. 

Click here for details: Walk to Mary

2. In 1859, when the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Adele in North East Wisconsin, times were tough. It wasn’t uncommon for pioneers to die from starvation and from the harsh, cold Wisconsin winters. One could say, without the least bit of exaggeration, that the basic necessities of life were hard to come by. Although heaven is not indifferent to the bodily and material needs of mortals, the help that Our Lady came to provide did not have anything to do with food or clothing. The message she came to deliver to the young immigrant from Belgium was short and to the point: there was work to be done. There were settlers who were in need of conversion.

Nevertheless, history proves that people are most open to the truths of the Gospel in times of crisis; especially when their physical well-being is in question. In fact, twelve years after the apparition in October of 1871, the greatest natural disaster in North American history was to threaten Adele and the Catholic community in Robinsonville, Wisconsin. The disaster was none other than the Peshtigo Fire. In fact, it raged across a 2,400 square mile area and killed anywhere from 1,500 to 2,500 people. According to The Compass News, Fr. Pernin, an eye witness to the fire, wrote about what he saw in his memoir. “The Finger of God Was There,” he said. “I chanced to look either to the right or left, before me or upwards, I saw nothing but flames ... I saw nothing but immense volumes of flames covering the firmament, rolling one over the other with stormy violence ...”(February 17, 2011) But some Catholics had gathered where the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared in October of 1859. Through a rosary procession around the Chapel, they implored her for help.

To make a long story short, help came. The chapel, the convent, the school, the five acres of land and all who gathered there were miraculously spared from the “stormy violence.” But the good help came- the really good help came –twelve years earlier when Our Lady instructed Adele to save souls from a far worse fate, namely, spiritual death. She said, “Gather the children in this wild country and teach them what they should know for salvation.”

Walk to Mary: Part one

The following post is part of a nine-part series of emails being sent out to those who wish to make a 21 mile pilgrimage on May 4th from the St. Joseph Shrine in De Pere Wisconsin to the Our Lady of Good Help in Champion. It is wonderful opportunity to pray for conversions and America. 

Click here for details: Walk to Mary


Part I:

1. Not just a lady and not just a mother, but a queen! Wisconsin has bragging rights it has never capitalized on before. A real queen came to visit a young Wisconsin girl named Adele Brice in October of 1859. Indeed, it was the Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, who appeared to her. But she referred to herself- not the queen of any particular nation –but the “Queen of Heaven.” And if she is queen of heaven, she has to be the queen of all of those who reside on the earth as well. We ask her to accompany us and guide as we draw close to Christ.

For this reason, she has been given the name of “Our Lady of Good Help.” Seeing that her children were malnourished in the Faith in 1859, she sought out Adele and instructed her to do the following: “Gather the children in this wild country and teach them what they should know for salvation…” This is Catholic education at its finest. But more is needed. This is why the Blessed Virgin added, “Make a general confession, and offer Communion for the conversion of sinners.” So that the teachings of her Son would take root in souls, she asked Adele to act as an intercessor. To be sure, Our Lady of Good Help not only made Adele into a teacher but she also made her into a living conduit of God’s grace for others. Like Adele, we are not just called to be a beacon of Christ’s light, but also a vessel of his very life.

The walk to Mary on May 4this a summons to become a better instrument of Christ’s light and life for a world that so desperately needs it.

When the Heart Prevails Against Logic

Excerpts from the book, “Spirituality of the Old Testament,” by Paul Marie de la Croix.


“It would seem that the essential element of great purifications is the night; that is, a spiritual date explicitly willed by God which souls cease to understand the reason for the trials that afflict them and believe they are separated from him forever. Previously they had been following a path which seemed to lead to a goal, so that every step, however painful, was an advance. But now the road seems to have no outlet.

Previously such souls, even in their worst trials, never doubted God’s mercy or His purifying treatment. But henceforth divine conduct is utterly incomprehensible, even extremely arbitrary and unjust. Everything bewilders them, causing uneasiness, anguish, obscurity. They more they seek God, the more deeply hidden he remains; the more they desire him, the more he rejects them. There is complete opposition and discrepancy between God’s word and external events, between God’s promises and the state of desolation in which souls are left.

Sometimes they encounter a failure which he permits even though he has first assured victory; sometimes, for no apparent reason, they experience a reversal of God’s relationship to them. They seem to be permanently abandoned or even rejected, though divine favor and friendship had been theirs before. They have not been guilty of the slightest infidelity, but they must become fit for the final mystery of faith. To reach this state and to gather its fruits, they must give up all human modes of action. Only in the dark night can they receive the revelation of what they could not and would not attain by their own minds.

God wishes to be possessed for his own sake, independent of all justice, all right, all reason. He brings souls to bay as they face scandal and injustice. He seems to act in a capricious, arbitrary way, following only his own good pleasure. Thus does he invite souls to enter the depths of spiritual love. For in his wisdom, he spurns all systems and he achieves his triumph by ways that to us seem utterly disconcerting. 'He writes with crooked lines.' He arouses such generosity and faith that souls must surrender their last self-defenses, and in spite of all struggle, the heart prevails against logic. He obliges them to attain absolute selflessness, to care for nothing but God’s good pleasure, however incomprehensible it may be.”

The Naked Communist

The Naked Communist is a book that wasw written in 1958 by conservative United States author and faith-based political theorist Cleon Skousen [also a former FBI agent].

The list of communist goals contained in the book was read into the Congressional Record by U.S. Congressman Albert S. Herlong, Jr. of Florida, on January 10, 1963. [Source: Wikipedia] I am posting an excerpt of this list of goals not for conspiratorial purposes. That is not my interest here. But rather, Mr. Skousen points to several things Bishop Sheen, Pope Pius XI and Pope Leo XIII warned us about several decades ago. It just so happens that some goals have been realized and others are being realized today. In 1958, when the book was written, Catholics and Americans were very much alive to these dangers. Today, however, apathy is getting the upper hand.

The following is an excerpt of the list of Communist goals contained in The Naked Communist (Note: different order in the original edition of the book.).


Family, Religion and Schools:

• Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity, masturbation and easy divorce.

• Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents.

• Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as "normal, natural, healthy."

• Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with "social" religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity which does not need a "religious crutch."

• Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of "separation of church and state."

• Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers' associations. Put the party line in textbooks.


Media and Standards of Morality:

• Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.

• Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them "censorship" and a violation of free speech and free press.

• Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture—education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc Gain control of all student newspapers.

• Infiltrate the press. Get control of book-review assignments, editorial writing, policymaking positions.

• Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures.


Politics and U.S. History:

• Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.

• Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the "common man."

• Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the "big picture."


Businesses and Law Enforcement:

• Infiltrate and gain control of more unions.

• Infiltrate and gain control of big business.

• Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand or treat.

• Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of the American tradition; that students and special-interest groups should rise up and use "united force" to solve economic, political or social problems.

• Overthrow all colonial governments before native populations are ready for self-government.

• Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination.

• Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one-world government with its own independent armed forces.

• Do away with all loyalty oaths.

______________

“America is like a healthy body and its resistance is threefold: its patriotism, its morality and its spiritual life. If we can undermine these three areas, America will collapse from within.”

-Joseph Stalin

The Fulture of Freedom

Keeping the message alive!

Reposting excerpts from:
The Future of Freedom, 1938
By Douglas Jerrold


Preface:

Douglas Jerrold was a Catholic-political author from England. He maintained that liberty is a stern discipline. As such, when liberty turns to license- when there is no check to our quests for pleasure -it is then that the political power will be is poised to expand indefinitely while true liberty diminishes. He warned long before the Sexual Revolution that preaching unbridled promiscuity is quite effective in ushering in a totalitarian state. After all, who else but a State vested with power can clean up the social debris?


Excerpt: Future of Freedom

The first point, therefore, for Christians to remember about politics is that the Christian civilization, now openly challenged all over the world, is founded on two revolutionary assertions, which have had as their secular consequence a unique series of political experiments. Our civilization is rooted in the teachings of Christ and thus, for practicing Christians, it enjoys peculiar authority, but even if it were not so, we should still be wise to spend a little time in thinking about those characteristics which distinguish the Christian civilization from all other civilizations, in asking ourselves whether we should be doing wisely to change it so as to deprive it of these characteristics. It has changed the face of the world. It is responsible for material progress on a scale unknown to any previous civilization. It has created possibilities of happiness unknown to any previous civilization.

The bases of Christian civilization are the freedom of man within a closed moral order, and the autonomy of secular power, subject to the prior rights of the family. This balance of institutions derives neither from human wisdom nor from the mysteries of religious contemplation, but from specific dogmas of Christianity. The primacy of the spiritual in the world order derives from the teaching that all men are equal before God. Man’s claim to freedom rests, not on his intelligence, as fools believe, nor his claims on the good nature of those more intelligent than himself, as knaves pretend, but on his first duty to serve God with his heart, mind and soul. The doctrine that the rights of the family are absolute as against the rights of the State derives from the second commandment of the Christian dispensation, which imposes on man, as the price of salvation, the fulfillment of social obligations. These obligations cannot be freely fulfilled in a society which places the State above the family, and so removes from man his direct and personal responsibility for the preseveration and well-being, from generation to generation, of the society to which he belongs...

Even if mankind had no soul to save, it would still be true that the Christian civilization had saved his body. The Christian society is not merely a free society, it is the only free society which has ever endured. It is not a coincidence but a consequence that, wherever the basic Christian institutions have been destroyed, so the powers and responsibilities of governments, even in Christian countries, have had to be increased until today the tasks of government, and the funds required to discharge them, are alike so great as to tax their utmost limits the resources of the richest peoples in the world. The end of this process is seen in the final necessity imposed upon Governments which have destroyed all the institutions of a free society, to appropriate all the resources of their country to maintain their organization, and destroy all the rights of personality in order to maintain their authority…

Christian civilization is based on freedom and responsibilities, and having been so based for thousand years, there is, in every heir to that civilization, the urge to express himself in freedom of action. A man free to know, love and serve God; a man taught that he has an immortal soul and is only a little lower than the angels; that it is God’s will that, when he has worked out his salvation, he shall be crowned with honor and glory, such a man will not be content with a political regime which does not allow him say “Bo” to a goose, or even to a Commissar. If we go too far along the road to slavery, one of two things must happen. Either man’s political master must seek to cure him of the belief in his divine destiny, and to reduce him spiritually as well as politically to the animal level, or man will demand from his political mentors a field for the free expression of his personality in action.

The attack on the Church and the free family, on the Church sovereign in its own sphere and the family with rights antecedent to those of the State, is necessary to the positive state, because it is built on the denial of those rights of the human personality which the Christian state holds sacred…

I only wish in this chapter to emphasize that our historic Christian civilization is different in kind, by reason of its obedience to certain commands of Christ, from all the civilizations which have preceded it, and that the challenge of the new, twentieth-century conception of the State must be resisted if this civilization is to be preserved.

How to catch red flags before its too late (part two)

1. Dysfunctional Families:

Coming from a dysfunctional background or suffering from a strained relationship with one or both parents will definitely have its effect in a future marriage. I used to work at a Catholic orphanage which took in children that were physically and sexually abused. Having seen the effects, I can tell you that physical abuse is bad enough; but sexual abuse cuts to the soul and turns it inside out. If sex was just another recreational activity, as secular-liberalism maintains, then the misuse or exploitation of it should not cause the trauma and damage that it does. Many who have yet to marry may have had some experience with sexual abuse. Or perhaps they were deprived of a healthy relationship with a parent. But few appreciate the impact it will have on their future marriage.

God gives us two chances, so to speak: The family we are born into and the one we make for ourselves once when we come of age. As for the former, we have no choice in the matter; the family is just given to us by virtue of our birth. But when it comes to choosing a spouse and making a family, we have the choice to repeat what was given to us in our childhood or we can pursue a better path. As Dr. Scott Hahn said, if you come from a dysfunctional background and you want to continue the dysfunction, all you have to do is…well…nothing! Just go with the flow.

This leads me to point I wish to make: If you come from such a background, I would highly recommend you pray and search for a spiritual director: one who is solid in his or her Catholic faith. This, of course, is in addition to whatever counseling or psychiatric help that may be needed. Ideally, the spiritual director should be a priest or a consecrated in the religious life. The advantage of having a priest as a director is that you can go to him for confession on a regular basis. A lot of the healing that needs to take place is not only psychological or emotional in nature, but spiritual as well. Exposing your wounds and scars through talking things out is a must!! Usually people choose to do this with a counselor; and, to be sure, that may be required. But if counseling is not grounded in solid moral and spiritual principles it will undoubtedly overlook critical aspects which need attention. As such, the root cause of the problem will persist.

For instance, one important contribution Catholic spirituality makes towards the healing of wounds is the insistence that forgiveness is absolutely necessary. Indeed, forgiving the offender is the first step in the healing process. On the other hand, harboring a grudge or hatred towards a family member will adversely affect your relationship with God and with your future spouse.

Another contribution towards healing and making oneself a better candidate for marriage is the knowledge that other person’s (the abuser or perpetrator) sins or misconduct towards you does not define you. Mistreatment, neglect or abuse should not be allowed to define you. To grasp this truth through spiritual direction can make all the difference in the world. It can be refreshingly liberating!

To heal is to make important distinctions. Catholic theology is full of distinctions. However, many fail to make the distinction between the mistreatment they endured growing up and their own dignity as a son or daughter of God. It is quite common to assimilate the mistreatment, the lack of love or the abuse and hence make it apart of their own identity. But through good spiritual direction and an active prayer life, Jesus can salvage what was lost through the sins of others. And through the meditation of the mysteries of Christ- principally that of his suffering and death -a person can discover meaning in his or her own suffering. This is important because for those coming from an abusive or dysfunctional background, it is natural to have felt abandoned by God.

Through spiritual direction, spiritual reading and a Christian social life, a wounded person can begin to see that even most painful memories can be an instrument of resurrection and renewal in God’s hands. To be sure, God does not arbitrarily permit evil and misfortune. In his wise and loving providence, the Lord foresees that some greater good will come from our suffering. But in order for us to benefit from that greater good, we have to resist the temptation to rebel or murmur against him. Instead, like the prophet Job, we should bless the Lord and trust that he has our best interests at heart.


2. Not Knowing What a Christian Is:

Unfortunately the definition of what a Christian or follower of Christ really has not been sufficiently explained in many Catholic parishes for several decades; nor has it been enforced with the Church’s pastoral practices and disciplinary actions. With this in mind, it is understandable, but yet regrettable, that it has become difficult to find a good Catholic husband or wife. People do not even know what is truly consistent or inconsistent with an authentic Catholic identity.

Reading the Catholic catechism or sound Catholic theology books is always helpful. But even these sources can present principles of sexuality and marriage in the abstract. What you need is something concrete and practical. And as far as getting the necessary knowledge of what a Christian really is, there is no better source than the lives or writings of the Saints.

As mentioned earlier, this kind of spiritual reading will not only help us discern what a Christian thinks and how he talks and how he behaves, but in the writings of the Saints you will find virtues and attitudes that make for a good and long marriage. For instance, St. Francis of Assisi once said that being silent when criticized is worth more to God than ten days of fasting. As difficult as it is, this virtue goes a long way in making peace in one’s marriage. And then there is St. Dorotheus. As for keeping peace in one’s heart, he had this to say:

"The man who finds fault with himself accepts all things cheerfully – misfortune, loss, disgrace, dishonor and any other kind of adversity. He believes that he is deserving of all these things and nothing can disturb him. No one could be more at peace than this man.”

There are so many of these gems worth reading about. Truly, the Saints are the continuation of Christ’s life on earth. They shed light on those specific and practical matters in life that can make or break a marriage.


3. Virtues and Vices Exist in Families:

This third obstacle in recognizing red flags has been addressed in the previous post. In it I explained that virtues and vices do not live in isolation but rather in groups. This is to say that one red flag will usually lead to another. Worldly people compartmentalize. As such, they see the different aspects of their life in unrelated and disconnected segments. But as we draw closer to Christ, we compartmentalize less and less. We begin to see values in a larger context; as part of a vast tapestry, if you will. In writing about the soul’s conversion to Christ, Bishop Sheen wrote the following:

“Things which before seemed precious are now considered trivial, and things which before seemed inconsequential, have now become the essence of real life. Without the Divine sense of values, which conversion brings, the soul is like a department store where the wrong price tags are on everything hairpins sell for a thousand dollars, and diamond rings for a nickel. Conversion hangs the right price tags on the right things and restores a true sense of values. That is why the outlook of a convert is entirely changed on subjects such as marriage, death, education, wealth, pain and suffering...He now sees why religious education is essential– for unless the soul is saved, nothing is saved.”

Conversion not only helps us to see the hierarchy of values and truth, but it also helps us to see- as if from a bird’s eye view –the unity of values and truth. The same applies to vices and virtues. Indeed, they are so interrelated that one leads to another. This is why St. Peter encouraged his flock to build one virtue upon another. He said,

“[M]ake every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, virtue with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with devotion, devotion with mutual affection, mutual affection with love. If these are yours and increase in abundance, they will keep you from being idle or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Anyone who lacks them is blind and shortsighted, forgetful of the cleansing of his past sins. (II Peter 1:5-9)

Anyone who lacks them is blind and shortsighted. They not only forget what Christ did for them, they forfeit what Christ can do on their behalf. And one of the most useful gifts he bestows for those who are called to the married life, is to discern red flags in prospective spouses.

Israel's lessons and America's future (repost)

"Israel's lessons and America's future" is a repost and was renamed from "Judges, Kings and America." The Old Testament not only tells the story of God's relationship with his people, but it also lays out important historical lessons for nations, especially America.

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America can learn something from the nation of Israel. In the Old Testament we see that when the Israelites drifted away from God and hence fell into idolatry, loose living was but the sad result. As such, liberty under God’s law turned into license in the absence of his law. Historian, William Durant, once said that when liberty turns to license, dictatorship is near. In fact, the last verse of the book of Judges indicates that the Hebrews grew weary of God’s law and authority. Indeed, they wanted a change. The concluding verse in the book of Judges is as follows: “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what he thought best.” (Judges 21:25)

After Moses had led the Israelites to the frontiers of the Promised Land, Joshua, his successor, took the reins, ushered them in and had the Twelve Tribes settle in their respective regions. For the next several years God chose to govern his people through the Twelve Judges. Their names were Othniel, Ehud, Shamger, Deborah and Barak, Gideon, Tola, Jair, Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon, Abdon, and Samson. It was God who chose each judge and through the anointing of the Spirit, they exercised a judicial oversight over the new nation. However, they did not enjoy the power of a king. To be sure, the power of the judges was modest and intermittent. By no means did they possess unlimited power under God. By and large, people were free to govern themselves.

Years later our Lord Jesus would remind the Jews that to sin is to be a slave of sin. And slavery to sin eventually translates into political slavery. When the first-century Jews rejected their Messiah in favor of Caesar, it was Caesar, the Roman emperor, who sent his general Titus to destroy Jerusalem and the Temple. Due to their own sin, they could not discern their deliverer.

True and enduring liberty can only be had within the observance and protection of God’s law. But when sin and lawlessness increases, feelings of insecurity will increase just the same. And when people forfeit the protection of Almighty God they will soon seek the protection of an all-powerful State. After all, Scripture says that a distressed conscience magnifies misfortunes. After the twelfth Judge of Israel, the Israelites “did what they thought best.” In other words, they followed their own desires instead of God's laws. Sure enough, Israel had looked to their neighbors for inspiration. Seeing that other nations had kings, they too wanted their own king.

Enter Samuel: In the First Book of Samuel this prophet makes an appearance. Some say he was the last of the Judges but the first of a long line of prophets. In any case, he was favored by God. Through him the Lord would speak to his people. The Israelites knew this. So they approached Samuel and requested a king. When Samuel heard their request, he was upset. He knew that by them requesting a king they were, at the same time, rejecting God’s rule through the Judges. Samuel took the matter to God. In response, the Lord replied, "Grant the people's every request. It is not you they reject, they are rejecting me as their king. As they have treated me constantly from the day I brought them up from Egypt to this day, deserting me and worshiping strange gods, so do they treat you too.”

Samuel then gave them their wish. But they would have to pay a price by loaning their land and children to the State. He told the Israelites: The rights of the king who will rule you will be as follows:

1. He will take your sons and assign them to his chariots and horses, and they will run before his chariot.

2. He will also appoint from among them his commanders of groups of a thousand and of a hundred soldiers. He will set them to do his plowing and his harvesting, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots.

3. He will use your daughters as ointment-makers, as cooks, and as bakers.

4. He will take the best of your fields, vineyards, and olive groves, and give them to his officials.

5. He will tithe your crops and your vineyards, and give the revenue to his eunuchs and his slaves.

6. He will take your male and female servants, as well as your best oxen and your asses, and use them to do his work.

7. He will tithe your flocks and you yourselves will become his slaves.

Strangely enough, when people are given a choice between liberty and security, they will choose security. This is especially the case when people feel deprived of Divine Providence through a life of sin. Israel would have to learn this lesson time and time again.

To make a long story short, they got their king. The first King of Israel was Saul. He was anointed by the prophet Samuel. But Saul proved to be a disappointment. By default, the Lord told Samuel to anoint David. He then became king and his son, Solomon succeeded him. From 1050 BC to 930 BC these three kings ruled over the kingdom of Israel. Happily, Israel was one nation during this time. But that was to change after Solomon died. Under his son, Rehoboam (grandson of King David), Israel was divided into two different kingdoms through conflict in the year 930 BC. Ten tribes formed the northern kingdom, better known as Israel. Two of the tribes established the southern kingdom, which was given the name of Judah.

The royal line of David was to be preserved in the kingdom of Judah (Just as the successors of St. Peter, the first pope, was preserved in Western Christianity after it split from Eastern Christianity. Western Christianity became known as the Roman Catholic Church. Eastern Christianity became known as the Orthodox Church. Both sides can trace their lineage back to the Apostles).

Unfortunately, the northern kingdom of Israel fell into the worst kind of paganism. Israel lasted from 930 BC to 723 BC. In 723 BC it was destroyed by Assyria. Approximately 19 kings ruled and every single one of them were bad. But the kingdom of Judah was not much better. It lasted from 930 BC to 586 BC. Like Israel, the kingdom of Judah was destroyed by a superpower known as the Babylonian Empire. Approximately 25 kings ruled Judah but only a handful were good.

These were the sad results of a people who rejected the dominion of God. For centuries the Jews would be dominated by one mighty empire after another. By the time the Roman Empire came along (when Jesus was born), the suppressed nation of Israel was so desperate to be free from oppression that they misinterpreted the Messianic prophecies to mean that their political liberation was at hand. According to them, their Messiah would be a political warrior. But God had better plans. Instead, he proposed to save their souls through his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.

The same proposal is held out to America. To be sure, it is only by freeing the soul from sin that any nation can be liberated from political tyranny. If the soul is not saved, nothing is saved! Unfortunately, Israel had to learn this the hard way. Let's pray that America will not repeat the same mistake.

Catching Red Flags: A preventative measure for divorce

For a number of reasons, looking for a wife or husband is more complicated today than it used to be. For one, there are more broken families today than fifty years ago. A person carries whatever dysfunction or baggage comes from that broken family into what is hoped to be a lifelong marriage.

Second, although it is better now than it was before, Catholics (at least in America) have not done the best job of defining what a Christian or disciple of Christ really is. Frankly, from the late 1960’s up until this last decade, the definition of a Christian has been pretty watered down. Couples who cohabitate, who use contraception and who regularly miss Mass, refer to themselves as “Catholics.” Unfortunately, many practicing Catholics go along this custom and give nominal Catholics who live by their own rules the courtesy of calling them what they are not, namely, a "Catholic." This makes the discerning process all the more difficult. As a result, when someone says that he or she is "Catholic," we can no longer take it at face value. Unfortunately, the title of being a "Catholic" no longer means what it once did. We have to look beyond the cover of the book, so to speak.

To use a book as an analogy, when it comes to dating and finding a spouse, it might happen that the title of a book suggests that it is a Christian book. It might even happen that the first few chapters are Christian in every sense of the word. But as you continue to read- especially towards the end of the book –the material begins to show inconsistencies with what the book claims to be. Upon discovering this, instead of ignoring it, you have to ask yourself: “Is this book really a Christian book? And should I buy it?”

The point of this analogy is that it is of the utmost importance to get to know the person, with all of his or her dark corners- as much as possible -before committing yourself to a lifelong relationship. It just may be that their more enduring attitudes and habits- not apparent in the initial phases of dating -are inconsistent with their claim to be a Christian. If you think that “your new found love can do no wrong,” then you do not know your prospective spouse enough!! Remember, love is based on knowledge. You cannot love someone you do not know. And if you think you do love that special someone without knowing him, then, in reality, you are only attracted to him; love has yet to enter the picture.

There is no better test of finding out a person's character as when he is under the crucible of trials and contradictions. It really is true that adversity builds character! However, it is equally true that adversity reveals character; that is, you often get to know the deeper, more hidden attributes of a person when his will is contradicted. Indeed, it is always good to know how your girlfriend or boyfriend responds when you are the cause of that contradiction. I cannot say it enough, virtue acts quietly but the disagreeable circumstances reveals the real character of a person.

One more consideration before we venture into the third point: Christians can often make the mistake of spiritualizing their problems and their own wounds. That is, some are led to believe that because they found Christ or because they participate in a prayer group or even attend daily Mass, that their problems automatically go away. Keep in mind that grace builds on human nature, it does not replace human nature. Therefore, even though you or your significant other is praying more, reading Scripture more or attending religious events, this does not absolve them from working through their problems.

To be sure, there can be a temptation, after having a profound experience with God, to presume that we are instantaneously healed when in fact we have some work ahead of us; the work of dealing with bad habits of thinking, feeling and doing. No doubt, self-conquest is the hardest conquest in the world. But with God’s help, it is within reach.

This leads me to the third about why looking for a husband or wife is difficult these days. We do not readily see that vices and virtues exist in groups or families. I am amazed at how many people overlook the most blatant of red flags while they are dating; the time when they are supposed to be vigilant and actively discerning the suitability of their lifelong mate. The following general principle might help in the discernment:

Keep in mind that both virtues and vices do not exist alone or in isolation; they exist in families. If you read the Catholic Catechism or a good book on Catholic moral theology, you will find that the cardinal virtues, the theological virtues and the seven deadly sins are grouped together. And the reason why they are grouped together is due to the similarity and affinity they have with one another. As such, they tend to conglomerate and reproduce other virtues and vices very similar to themselves. And when they are reproduced, they tend to cling to one another. Just as every person is not only an individual but a social being, virtues and vices do not like to be alone.

 If a man, for instance, is addicted to pornography, chances are he struggles with bearing false witness. After all, what man wants to tell his wife or mom what he was just doing (i.e. viewing immodest pictures of women). Also, any man who depersonalizes women through the pleasure of viewing porn will also depersonalize a woman in his anger. In many cases (but not all cases), pornography can lead to some kind of spouse-abuse.

Another example is that if a man does not get along with his mother, treats her with disrespect, he will undoubtedly carry this over into his marriage. Quite often, the parent-child relationship serves as a template for future marriage relationships. On the other hand, if a man loves and respects his mother, he has a solid foundation from which to love and respect his wife.

As for a man’s suitability to a prospective wife, it is always good to know that the quicker she gives of herself emotionally in saying “I love you” and sexually in terms of giving too much of herself physically, she will be just as quick to leave the relationship when sacrifice and perseverance are required. I would be remiss if I didn’t add this: In worst case scenarios, we instinctively know that porn stars and prostitutes do not make good mothers. Similarly, any woman who overly sexualizes herself or puts a great deal of emphasis on her sexual appeal will be deficient in those virtues that make for a good mother. After all, a virtuous mother is a vocation of sacrifice and self-forgetfulness. In such a vocation, the accent is on the giving! But women who focus too much on their sexual appeal to men, they are being groomed to covet attention; that is, in receiving and not giving.

Men have to realize their attraction to pretty women is often immediate and superficial. He is visual and as such he can be drawn towards a woman’s beauty in an instant. However, this power of attraction can go just as quickly as it came, especially when an attractive woman begins to impose demands or simply annoys him.

If feminine beauty were sufficient to guarantee a man’s unconditional love for a woman, then the divorce rate in Hollywood would not be so astronomically high.

In closing, the benefit of drawing close to Christ is that he reveals- not only himself to you –but you to yourself. In other words, with Christ, we begin to see ourselves as we really are. And in seeing ourselves as we really are, that is, sinful and imperfect human beings, then we begin to learn more about how human nature and relationships work. By living his life and following his precepts, we are less likely to believe in false promises and overlook critical red flags in discerning who are future spouse is going to be.

Read the sequel: How to catch red flags before its too late

Eternity for Skeptics and Unbelievers

Preface:

Eternity for Skeptics and Unbelievers is a repost. It also happens to be a longer read than most Sky View posts, but it is my hope that you can read a few paragraphs nevertheless. Whatever you decide to read, perhaps the points that are raised can help you understand a little better the mystery of salvation as it relates to your non-Catholic friends and relatives. And just as important, it may even help you to communicate your faith to them. Fulton Sheen gives some very helpful advice down towards the bottom of the post.

Here are eight essential points about what the Catholic Church teaches with regard to the salvation of skeptics and unbelievers:

I. According to Romans 2, Gentiles or unevangelized people are a law unto themselves; that is, they will be judged by their own conscience on Judgment Day.

II. God speaks to us in two ways: Through our conscience and/or through the prophetic voice of the Catholic Church.

III. Non-Christians and skeptics rely, to an extent, on their inner-voice of conscience. Jesus can still save souls even without them knowing it. As we will see, it is not absolutely necessary to know the Source of our salvation in order to be saved.

IV. To be guilty of sin is to know the right and know the wrong- and then do the wrong. This is how St. James defines sin. Christ is the way, not one way among many, by which souls are saved from sin.

V. Christ is inseparably united to his Church. Through this union the Church is mystically present in all that is good in the world; even outside of her walls.

VI. Even though non-Catholics and even non-Christians can be saved, there is, nevertheless, a distinct disadvantage of not being Catholic.

VII. Advice on how to reach non-Catholics by Fulton Sheen (see below).

VIII. The mystery of God's justice and mercy in a nutshell.

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Romans 2:12-16

“All who sin outside the law will also perish without reference to it, and all who sin under the law will be judged in accordance with it. For it is not those who hear the law who are just in the sight of God; rather, those who observe the law will be justified. For when the Gentiles who do not have the law by nature observe the prescriptions of the law, they are a law for themselves even though they do not have the law. They show that the demands of the law are written in their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even defend them on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge people's hidden works through Christ Jesus.”



I. A Law unto Themselves:

Have you ever wondered about where your unbelieving relative passed on to when he or she died? I mean did you ever speculate as to what awaiting them in eternity? What about the neighbor who just couldn’t bring himself to Catholic Faith just before he passed away? What about him? Is he going to hell? Finally, what happens to people who never had a chance to accept or reject the Gospel such a miscarried or an aborted child or even those people in distant lands? Perhaps you watched a documentary on the History Channel about the Native American Indians of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Did they have an opportunity to be saved before the European explorers reached their shores with the preaching of the Gospel? After all, Christianity makes it clear that salvation is through Jesus Christ. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans chapter 2 is an excellent place to begin with all the abovementioned questions. In the passage from Romans 2, St. Paul is making a distinction between those who know God’s law, such as the Jews and the early Christians, and those who do not. As for those who do not, he calls them as “Gentiles.” Notice that there is an unmistakable suggestion that a person can be saved or perish without knowing God’s law. St. Paul says, “All who sin outside the law will also perish without reference to it.” This is to say that a person can go to hell if even if he was never exposed to or learned of God’s law.

But in all fairness, how can that be? Answer: Those who have never benefited from hearing the Gospel or hearing an undistorted version of it will be judged in accordance to the dictates of their conscience. This also means that a person can be saved without reference to the law of God as well. Again, the Apostle said that their conscience, or their conflicting thoughts, will accuse or even defend them when God will judge all people. Yes, for those people of good will who never heard of the Gospel nor had the chance to accept Christ as their savior, their conscience will defend them. Why is that? Because they followed the law of God that was written on their hearts.


II. Conscience and Church:
Just as God can reveal himself either indirectly through the design and beauty of his creation or directly by personally revealing himself, let’s say, in a vision or apparition, he can likewise make his law known through the human conscience or through the prophetic and infallible voice of the Catholic Church.

Our conscience is that inner-voice from God (however faint) or that interior sense of right and wrong. It gives us peace when we do right and guilt when we do wrong. But it has one advantage and one disadvantage: The advantage is that it is immediate; it is always ready to be used. When we are forced to make a moral decision in the moment, obviously we don’t always have time to consult the Catholic Catechism. We must, therefore, in times of uncertainty, use the lights of our conscience. The disadvantage is that our conscience is fallible. It is prone to error because it can be diminished or deadened through sin, emotions or personal bias.

As stated, the prophetic voice of the Catholic Church is infallible. We can always rely on it to be the truth coming from God. Jesus said to his Apostles, the first bishops, that those who hear you hear me and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven etc. But the disadvantage is, as mentioned, that access to the truth of Divine Revelation as taught by the Church is not always immediately available. If a Catholic simply does not know what the Church teaches when faced with a moral dilemma or if a person was never told that premarital sex, cohabitation, contraception or homosexuality was a sin, then he would have to rely on his conscience, however uninformed it might be. But being in the state of ignorance he would be less guilty when he comes to meet God face-to-face. After all, St. James says, “So for one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, it is a sin.” (James 4:17) To repeat, being guilty of sin presupposes that you know what the right thing to do is and you know what the wrong thing to do is- and then you do the wrong.


Non-Christians and Skeptics:

Take, for instance, the American Native Indians who never knew Christ. Did they have an opportunity at salvation? St. Paul, as we've seen, would answer in the affirmative. That is, if such an Indian followed his conscience and was a person of good will there was certainly an opportunity for salvation at the moment of death. Taking what St. Paul said in Romans 2 a little deeper, each human being is given a conscience because each human being, when created at the moment of conception, had some contact with God. Pope Benedict calls this the "memory of God." At this defining moment of creation, the Lord impresses his image and likeness upon the soul. Hence, contact is made between God and the soul but unfortunately this impression or memory of God (however direct or indirect it is) fades without the light of the Gospel and sacramental grace. As for the Gentiles or those Indians as a people- they who never knew Christ -may, if not most, filled that spiritual longing for the One True God with false gods. This is how paganism developed over the centuries.

In any case, the way in which Christians truly recover the memory of God’s goodness is through being born-again through the waters of baptism, having faith in Christ and fulfilling his law of love.

Even for those people who, like the recently deceased Christopher Hitchens, were rabidly anti-religious, it possible they may have never known an undiluted version of the Faith or have benefited from (for a long enough period of time) an authentic Christian witness. Perhaps Jesus Christ, as we know Him, was never known to a person like Hitchens (but then again maybe he was). Catholic historian Christopher Dawson, in his book, Religion and the Modern State, puts it this way:

“If the light is hidden, we cannot blame the world outside of ignoring it. It is, of course, possible that men may know Christianity and still reject it, but in the great majority of cases the men who follow the new Secularist ideals of life and regard Christianity as discredited are men who have never known it as a living reality, but have been acquainted with it only at secondhand or in distorted forms.”

So the relative who never went to Church or the neighbor who just couldn’t bring himself to embrace the fullness of the Faith may have been exposed to false and distorted versions of Christianity. Perhaps they had a hard time shaking off an act of transgression committed against them by a Catholic priest or lay person.

Again, to reiterate for the sake of clarity: When St. Paul says that the “Gentiles who do not have the law by nature observe the prescriptions of the law, they are a law for themselves even though they do not have the law,” what he means by this is that their conscience can defend them on Judgment Day. Here is where a lot of Christians get confused. Yes, a person can be saved even though they do not know the Source of their salvation. Just as a miscarried or an aborted baby can be saved without the knowledge of and the faith in Jesus Christ, so too can they be saved who never heard the Gospel or who are ignorant of its truth.


IV. Christ: The Only Way

The Catholic doctrine on the salvation of the unbeliever or skeptic is, in my opinion, the most reasonable of all the Christian explanations. Other Christians might tell you that a person- such as Native American Indians before the Gospel was preached on their lands -will go to hell simply because they did not have faith in Christ...even if some were men and women of good will. However, if God created them knowing that they would never have the opportunity to hear the Gospel and as such, never have the chance to put their faith in Christ, then can this really be counted as justice? I don’t think so. It is like a father making a rule for his child, a rule that was never communicated, only to punish the child for not observing it. If those who have never heard the Gospel automatically go to hell, like some Christian fundamentalists believe, then it seems to me that St. Paul could not say the following: God “wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth.” (I Timothy 2:4) If God wills everyone to be saved then he must at least provide an opportunity of salvation for every single person he created.

Given this, it is important to remember that all good things- supernatural or natural -come to us in this world through Jesus Christ. But because all good things come from him, they are also destined to return to him as well. Just as rivers flow into the sea, so too does all goodness flow back to him. God the Father even made this promise to his only begotten Son: “You are my son; today I have begotten you. Ask it of me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, and, as your possession, the ends of the earth." (Psalm 2:7-8)

It can therefore be said that just as every soul longs for its fulfillment in Christ, the whole history of mankind will find its completion in him as well. As then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger wrote in the year 2000, “The Lord is the goal of human history, the focal point of the desires of history and civilization, the centre of mankind, the joy of all hearts, and the fulfilment of all aspirations” (Dominus Iesus, 2000).

Even though the non-Catholic can be saved, even though they who have never known Christ can be saved, and even though God’s grace is mysteriously at work outside the parameters of the Catholic Church, still, this saving and active grace comes from Jesus Christ and his Body, the Church. As St. Paul wrote to St. Timothy: “For there is one God. There is also one mediator between God and the human race, Christ Jesus…” (I Timothy 2:5)


Outside the Church Walls: Grace at Work

You may have heard about the Catholic doctrine which holds that "no one can be saved outside the Catholic Church." Over the years this has been understood and communicated in various ways. To be sure, just as scientist comes to know the laws of nature with more depth over the years, so too does the Church absorb the truth of God’s revelation little by little over the centuries. With that said, this doctrine is still an article of Faith that cannot be changed. It remains binding on the Catholic conscience. But as stated, the understanding of this mystery- while the truth of it remains the same -have developed over the years.

The Church, in union with Christ, is present wherever God's grace is at work. Please keep in mind that the Church does not possess a human soul but a Divine Spirit as her soul. Whereas the soul of any human being is confined within his or her body, the Holy Spirit, as the soul and animating principle of the Church, is present everywhere (i.e. omnipresent). As such, just as the Lord can be present and active outside the visible walls of the Church (i.e. Sacraments, Church Hierarchy, the sanctuary etc.), so too is her soul, by virtue of the Holy Spirit, can be active outsider of her visible body. Why is this important? Because no one is saved, no good is accomplished, and no grace is given- no matter how far they are from being a member of the Church as an institution -without it being in some way connected to the Church.

This is why the Church teaches that “outside of her structure, many elements can be found of sanctification and truth...For the spirit of Christ has not refrained from using them as means of salvation which derive their efficacy from the very fullness of grace and truth entrusted to the Catholic Church”(Dominus Iesus, 2000). This same document goes even further: “Church of Christ is present and operative also in these Churches, even though they lack full communion with the Catholic Church.” Therefore, it is not just our Lord but the Church too who is mystically present and active wherever good is found outside her visible structure. This is why the Catholic Church recognizes baptisms in Protestant churches or the real presence of the Eucharist in Orthodox churches or the spoken Word (from the Old Testament) in Jewish synagogues. Indeed, all of these elements of goodness and holiness come from (or through) this Christ-Church relationship. And, if we can use the river analogy again, these graces are oriented or programmed, if you will, towards the fullness of Christ which is to be found in the Catholic Church.

Cardinal Charles Journet gave a good example of how Christ touches souls who are near (within the Church) and those who are far (outside the Church). He said, “It thus appears that in the days of His mortal life Jesus acted in two ways: He scattered His graces far and wide, and that is action from a distance; and He communicated them in a more intimate manner to those whom He could touch, and that is action by contact.” For instance, there were times when Jesus touched the person he healed, such as the deaf man, and there were times when he healed people from afar, such as the Centurion's servant. In any event, the two ways in which he healed people during his public ministry signify how he touches souls today. In the Gospels, his "healing touch by contact" foretold the way people would be saved within his Church. On the other hand, when he healed people from afar he foretold, ever so indirectly, how people would be saved outside of his Church. This example given by Cardinal Journet is instructive.


VI. The Disadvantage:

With all that has been said, however, I would be remiss if I gave the impression that all is well and good with unbaptized, unevangelized, or uncatechized souls. Such people are saved only with difficulty. “If it is true that the followers of other religions can receive divine grace, it is also certain that objectively speaking they are in a gravely deficient situation in comparison with those who, in the Church, have the fullness of the means of salvation.” ( Dominus Iesus, 2000). It is important to remember that Christ came into this world not only to be known in heaven but also to be known on earth.

A lot of Christians ask, “Well, if you can be saved without faith, then why bother preaching the Gospel at all?” It is a good question but it misses the point. Our Lord did not die on the Cross just so that he could hand out tickets for heaven. For sure, eternal happiness is the most import fruit of his coming. Nevertheless, he desires that fellowship with him be had by people while living in this world. In the absence of the faith, grace, Scripture, the Sacraments and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, life is less happy, less stable and life's demands are much less conducive to one’s salvation. So there is an incentive to reach out to non-Christians even though they still have an opportunity to be saved in their ignorance.


Evangelizing Non-Catholics:

What to do? In other words, how are we to approach an unbelieving relative or skeptical neighbor or a friend who happens to belong to another religion with the Good News? Bishop Fulton Sheen provides a short and concise suggestion. I believe this will be helpful in your quest to win over your loved one to Christ. In his book, Lift Up Your Heart, he said the following:

“First, we should realize that all religions, all sects, all ethical systems have a small or large arc of the circle of truth…Those who know the full truth and reject it are in a special category; we do not discuss the intellectual aspects of truth with them, for that is not where their difficulties lies. But those who are ignorant of the truth or misinformed about it may well be shown how the whole truth completes the portion of it they already have and love. We can always accept the known good as a starting point for the completion of the circle. It is not meet [i.e. advisable] to prove that members of the sects are wrong- for they are partly right –but rather to suggest that they find the truth in its fullness. When a man is hungry, we need not prove to him that he is better off without poisons; we need only give him bread, and he will relish it and gain strength from it. When souls are starving, too, it is unnecessary to discuss wrong notions of Divinity; we need only, by kindness and mercy, bring them the Bread of Truth. Divine Grace will do the rest.”

With that said, we can never be dishonest about error or the differences we might have with people of other persuasions or religions. After all, unity is based on truth. What Bishop Sheen was recommending was precisely the method of evangelization that the Second Vatican Council taught. Evangelization does not have to begin with where Catholics disagree with others. It is probably most effective when we can add to the truths other people hold. As the Church document, Dominus Iesus, says: "Those who obey the promptings of the Spirit of truth are already on the way of salvation. But the Church, to whom this truth has been entrusted, must go out to meet their desire, so as to bring them the truth. Because she believes in God's universal plan of salvation, the Church must be missionary”.

The problem or the snag over these last fifty years has been that many Catholics, in their attempts to reach out to others, have left those difficult Gospel truths behind or failed to mention them. As a result, many who were in search of God or in search of his Church did not benefit from the fullness of Christ that the Church contains within her. This incomplete witness, therefore, has less powerful and less appealing than it could be.

Pope Benedict reminds us that we have to bring Christ and all that he commanded to the table. We cannot wince even from those doctrines which our culture finds offensive. Indeed, if our Lord Jesus was a "Sign of Contradiction," we must be that too if the circumstances require it. Even still, we must go out into the world and "meet their desire, so as to bring them the truth." And as the great evangelist Fulton Sheen pointed out, we can start with those morsels of truth that are in their possession.


VIII. The Mystery in a Nutshell:

The mystery of salvation and how it applies to the skeptic or unbeliever can be summed up as follows: Both God’s justice and his mercy are far beyond what we can comprehend. What we consider to be minor offenses against God may in fact be much greater in reality. After all, our Lord Jesus did say we will have to account for every idle word and pay back every last penny. St. Francis de Sales adds to this by saying, "If we presume his mercy, will provoke his justice."
But it is equally true to say that the slightest spark of repentance from a person who lived a life of evil is enough to make one a candidate for Divine Mercy. We are never to believe- even under the worst conditions -that our sins are greater than God's infinte mercy.

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1. Dominus Iesus. Translation: On the Unicity and Salvific Universality of Jesus Christ and the Church, by the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith 2000

The Real Criterion of Success

“Excerpts” is a feature of Sky View which takes passages from old and dusty books because of some insight they offer or light they shed on current events.

Christopher Dawson, The Kingdom of God and History 1938

“The liberal optimism which has been so characteristic of Anglo-Saxon religious thought the last half century [i.e. second half of the 19th century] led men to believe that the days of persecution were over and that all men of good will would agree to set aside their differences of opinion and unite to combat the evils that were universally condemned- vice, squalor and ignorance.

But from the standpoint of the Christian interpretation of history there is no ground for such hopes. Christ came not to bring peace but a sword and that the Kingdom of God comes not by the elimination of conflict but through an increasing opposition and tension between the church and the world. The conflict between the two cities is as old as humanity and must endure until the end of time. And though the church may meet with ages of prosperity, and her enemies may fail and the powers of the world may submit to her sway, these things are no criterion of success. She wins not by majorities but by martyrs and the cross is her victory.

Viewing history from this standpoint, the Christian will not be confident in success or despondent in failure...She [the Church] has been the guest and the exile, the mistress and the martyr, of nations and civilizations and has survived them all.”