By JOE SIXPACK
Perhaps the biggest problem in the world today that we can all agree on is the incredibly perverse morality in our culture and society. Some sociologists and moral theologians have given it the moniker New Morality. This New Morality seems to have turned up into down, left into right, and top into bottom. After World War II, Pope Pius XII told us that we have lost our sense of sin. No one really knew what he was talking about then, but I think we can all agree it makes perfect sense to us today.
The saddest thing to me is, Catholics are as adversely affected by this New Morality as anyone…maybe even more. A priest addressed his parishioners at a parish Nativity Vigil Mass in 2017, telling them he is homosexual. Whereas that should have been the kiss of death to his priestly ministry, his parishioners gave him a standing ovation, and his bishop issued a statement of support for the poor, misunderstood man.
This may seem like an extraordinary example of what I’m talking about here, but it’s really not. The proof of this is found in casual conversation with pew-sitting Catholics. I can’t begin to count the number of times when Catholics have told me they don’t agree with the Church’s teaching on one thing or another…especially as regards moral issues.
News Flash: We don’t have the right or privilege of rejecting any of the constant moral teachings of the Catholic Church!
Even before Jesus established the Church in Matt. 16:18-19, He repeatedly told the apostles and disciples of their new authority, such as in Luke 10:16: “He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me, and he who rejects me rejects him who sent me.” The Pope and bishops, who come down to us throughout history in an unbroken line of succession, take the place of the apostles today. So when we reject their magisterial teachings in the constant Tradition of the Church, we reject Jesus and God the Father who sent him. (By the way, if you pick and choose what to accept and reject, stop calling yourself Catholic, because you’re not. At best, your rejection makes you a schismatic; at worst, a material heretic. Either way, you risk an eternity you probably won’t like.)
The bottom line is, if the Church says yea or nay to anything in the moral realm, we must accept it. Well, I don’t guess you have to accept it. There is nothing to force you to accept it, as God gave us all free will, and He’ll never violate that. But you will have to accept the consequences of rejection, which Scripture, Tradition, and the constant teaching of the Catholic Church tell us is an eternity in Hell.
Admittedly, especially while I was a catechumen and a neophyte Catholic, I’ve had my problems with Catholic moral teachings. In fact, the biggie for me was the Church’s two-thousand year ban on contraception. But taking a bit of advice from St. Jerome, I acquiesced with my will to objectively accept the teaching, even if I didn’t accept it subjectively, and hoped that God would make it clear to me later. Sure enough, by my doing that God had an open mind and heart to work with, and I eventually understood it perfectly. In fact, now I’m fully cognizant of how evil and perverse contraception is . . . and why.
Perhaps you might think, “Times change, so surely God understands why we change our views on what’s moral and what’s not.” Firstly, it’s not up to God to change His views to accommodate a fallible and sinful world. It’s both sinful and arrogant to expect that. Secondly, God is perfect, and for a thing to be perfect it is incapable of change. Change would mean that it’s imperfect. In fact, Paul tells us, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb. 13:8). If Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever, His moral teachings must be the same today as they were 2,000 years ago. That’s just the way it is.
So if you’re having trouble accepting a moral teaching of the Church, try what St. Jerome says. Humble yourself enough to pray, “I don’t understand this, and I don’t even like it, God, but I’ll accept it with my will and live according to your will concerning it, expecting you to enlighten my mind when you’re ready.” I assure you that if you’ll do this in all sincerity, God will honor that and eventually answer your prayer — giving you the understanding you ask for.
Don’t become one of those Catholics who pick and choose what to believe and what not to believe. You may want not to offend God and your intentions may be good, but we all know what road such intentions pave. So just accept what God expects of us.
Do you have questions about this article or anything else Catholic? I’ve got three ways to help you. You can visit JoeSixpackAnswers.com and look for your answers, or ask directly via email at Joe@CantankerousCatholic.com. You can also go to JoeSixpackAnswers.com and sign up for a free email course to arrive in your inbox every three days. Finally, by signing up for the course, you’ll be able to get exclusive invitations to weekly free webinars hosted by yours truly where I teach all things Catholic — history, apologetics, patristics, moral law, natural law, catechetics…EVERYTHING! Join us!
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