Asking all priests: Why not talk about the hard issues at Mass?

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Patagonia1

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In my 30 years, I can only recall one sermon by a very young priest, probably a year out of seminary, who after the Gospel, said a short personal prayer (I believe because he was afraid), and then proceeded to talk about the horrors of abortion and the reasoning why pre-marital sex is wrong. It was stunning really in this day and age and I applaud that priest for doing so because it took a lot of courage. Since then I have yet to hear a priest actually preach at the pulpit against the hard issues like abortion, pre-marital sex, contraception, and homosexual behavior. It has been at least 15 years since that sermon.

So, I have a very serious question for any priests who roam these forums because I genuinely want to know: Why aren’t these grave sins ever preached against during Mass?

Is it because priests are instructed not to? If so by who? The bishops?
Is it because priests are afraid that they may offend someone?
Is it because priests don’t believe these sins are, in fact, grave?
Is it because priests are afraid that parishioners will stop donating money?
Is it because priests are afraid that they will be on the front pages of liberal news outlets?
Is it for safety?

In my opinion, these issues NEED to be talked about at Mass. Not all the time of course, but once or twice a year should suffice. People need to understand the gravity of these sins. Without preaching against them, the Catholic teaching on the matter becomes watered down. It’s maybe in the back of people’s minds if at all. And many regular Catholics think that the Catholic Church is bluffing on the gravity of these sins.
 
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Patagonia1 said:
Is it because priests are afraid that they may offend someone?
Is it because priests don’t believe these sins are, in fact, grave?
Is it because priests are afraid that parishioners will stop donating money?
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Very likely these three, probably in this order.
Patagonia1 said:
Is it because priests are instructed not to? If so by who? The bishops?
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I’ve wondered that myself.
Patagonia1 said:
Is it because priests are afraid that they will be on the front pages of liberal news outlets?
Is it for safety?
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I tend to doubt it. No one is going to attack a priest physically for teaching moral truths that are not well-received in today’s society. They are just going to go ahead and do whatever the heck they want to, just as they do now. (I won’t attach any speculation to that, such as “a few”, “some”, “many”, or “most”. I invite the reader to use their own common sense and apply the appropriate adjective, if desired.)
Patagonia1 said:
In my opinion, these issues NEED to be talked about at mass. Not all the time of course, but once or twice a year should suffice. People need to understand the gravity of these sins. Without preaching against them, the Catholic teaching on the matter becomes watered down. It’s maybe in the back of people’s minds if at all . And many regular Catholics think that the Catholic Church is bluffing on the gravity of these sins.
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I couldn’t agree more emphatically. And I would go with more than “once or twice a year”. I am perfectly content to sound like a broken record for the sake of the salvation of souls, but Our Lady of Fatima warned us that the sins that send more people to hell than any other sins, are the sins of the flesh. Pre- and extra-marital sex, contraception, self-pleasuring, homosexual acts, unnatural acts, “remarrying” after divorce without an annulment (there are very few Josephite marriages), pornography —suffice it to say that there are people who have problems with some of these. Again, as far as how many people, supply your own adjective.

And then there is abortion. Strictly speaking, not a sin of the flesh, but still…
 
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Maybe and guesses are the wrong way to go. To all concerned: talk to your priest.
 
Cecilia_Dympna said:
Contrary to what you seem to imply, sexual morals are not a topic that is ignored
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Perhaps it is not ignored on these forums. I personally have not heard it spoken at Mass by a priest in many many years.
 
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You don’t have to search far in CAF to realize many people here are totally against discussing any of these issues with their children. They are afraid of the ideas it may expose them to, or it may scandalize them. Since attending Mass as a family is encouraged, it is no mystery to me why preists aren’t discussing these issues from the pulpit.
 
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Patagonia1 said:
and then proceeded to talk about the horrors of abortion
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We had something like that today, but it was more emotional than logical. It was a bit hard for me to get through because of the wording. It’s a bit out of place.
 
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VanitasVanitatum said:
We had something like that today, but it was more emotional than logical. It was a bit hard for me to get through because of the wording. It’s a bit out of place.
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I agree that the issue needs to be discussed with logic and needs to be preached in ways for people to understand. But it was “out of place” how? The topic was out of place or…?
 
He was talking about the readings and then all of a sudden it was this. It has become a bit more frequent lately. I’m just worried that things could get political.
 
The watered down Gospel is a direct result of the gradual acceptance of a new mind set which happened so gradually & imperceptibly over many many decades and generations.
It’s partly due to the selling that teaching the authentic Gospel of Grace filled deliverance is not compassionate but judgmental. It’s partly due to the mindset that Judaeo Christianity is ‘exclusive’ and imperialistic of other religions & cultures gradually infiltrating the Church in many forms.
Outside of The Church, the mindset is more explicit. A new world devoid of differences ‘inclusive’ & tolerant of every religion & culture forming a more peaceful more coexistence more devoid of the differences that divide us. The idea behind this sounds so wonderful. The flowery wonderful language describing it, also sounds so wonderful. Well, they do give you ‘freedom to worship,’ any form of Christianity true or false as long as it doesn’t interfere with their agenda.
~
This is what is behind those who go to colleges to teach a more Laws of Nature or more clear Judaeo Christian ethic at colleges needing police escorts and ushered into back doors for safety. This ‘tolerant’ teaching, because they are so sure of their ‘moral’ high ground; anything else is intolerant or painted as hateful.
The stewards of universities even offer counseling for those harmed by these ‘intolerant’ and ‘hateful’ speakers. You will not learn this from main stream media. Although there is a smattering of some of the hateful things done to peaceful pro lifers who raise awareness; bearing fruit of some transformed hearts & minds & lives saved.
~
And just like the time of Jesus Christ coming as Suffering Servant; there are those who have given over to a gradualism cooperation type of diplomatic attitude toward this new practical ‘oligarchical’ group. How far have we sunk, that we are given ambiguous direction as to grave moral realities when those championing mass atrocity with playing at heartstrings exalting autonomy or situational social justice can rise to power and keep the status quo or make it worse? And these same folk are indoctrinating more and more children at younger and younger ages. We have sunk very far.
~
Peace.
 
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*note: this is not to say hypocritical things have not happened; they have; but they gave fodder used by propagandists of a mostly ‘social justice’ type of Jesus Christ.
 
I would appreciate some recent - last 50 years - sources that back this up.

And some identification of these “same folk.”
 
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QwertyGirl said:
You don’t have to search far in CAF to realize many people here are totally against discussing any of these issues with their children. They are afraid of the ideas it may expose them to, or it may scandalize them. Since attending Mass as a family is encouraged, it is no mystery to me why preists aren’t discussing these issues from the pulpit.
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You HAVE to discuss these issues.

If they are not discussed, children of and beyond a certain age can develop viewpoints and, worse, habits, “secret sins”, vices, without even realizing they are sinful. It may expose them to “ideas”, as you put it, but it is the lesser evil for them to have this knowledge.

Case in point: my cousin ended up “having to get married” at age 17. His girlfriend claimed that he got her pregnant. She had told him that she couldn’t get pregnant. They had unprotected sex. End result: as it turned out, she also had a “side boyfriend”, that boyfriend was the father, my cousin’s parents were wealthy, you do the math. Divorce soon followed.

His parents had never discussed sex with him, and he certainly didn’t know the “nitty-gritty”. I was shocked — both parents were kind of hippies, well-educated, dad was a trust fund baby, crunchy-granola-and-sandals types, Libertarian. I would have thought much better of them than never to have had “the talk”.

My son is 12. He is, ahem, mature for his age. He knows everything he needs to know and then some. He is going overseas in a couple of weeks with his mother. There will be a lot of cute girls where he is going. He will be the handsome young American (he inherited his mom’s looks, thank God he didn’t inherit mine! 😬) Just this morning I told him, repeating myself, if one of those girls gets flirty, just DON’T. I told him to remember his cousin and what happened to him. Strange things can and do happen.
 
https://www.amazon.com/Trojan-Horse-City-God-Explained/dp/0918477182
Here is one source.
“A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing,” airing from time to time on EWTN since autumn of 2016 is another.
" Why is it that so few realize the seriousness of our present crisis? Partly because men do not want to believe their own times are wicked, partly because it involves too much self accusation and principally because they have no standards outside of themselves by which to measure their times. If there is no fixed concept of justice how shall men know it is violated? Only those who live by faith really know what is happening in the world. The great masses without faith are unconscious of the destructive processes going on.The tragedy is not that the hairs of our civilization are gray; it is rather our failure to see that they are. The very day Sodom was destroyed, Scripture describes the sun as bright; Balthasar’s realm came to an end in darkness; people saw Noah preparing for the flood one hundred and twenty years before it came, but men would not believe. In the midst of seeming prosperity, world-unity, the decree to the angels goes forth but the masses go on their sordid routines. As our Lord said: “For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, even till that day in which Noah entered into the ark, and they knew not till the flood came, and took them all away; so also shall the coming of the Son of man be.” (Matthew 24:38, 39) Well may Our Savior say to us what He said to the Saducee and Pharisees in His time: “When it is evening, you say: It will be fair weather, for the sky is red. And in the morning: Today there will be a storm, for the sky is red and lowering. You know then how to discern the face of the sky: and can you not know the signs of the times?” (Matthew 16:2, 3)"
~>Bishop Fulton J. Sheen
 
What makes particular issues hard is that they put us at odds with the immediate culture. While pretty much everybody in contemporary society agrees that helping the less fortunate is important (though, there is much disagreement on HOW we do it), sexual issues are what makes the surrounding culture hostile to Catholicism.

Honestly, I was hoping this post was satire. I am sick of hearing, “yeah, but what about the poor? What about the environment?” We hear that very frequently in our Catholic schools and parishes because it is such a safe topic. But I have yet to hear a homily about sexual morality. Probably out of fear of offending people who don’t think they have to change their lifestyles. They have the rest of the world’s blessing to live how they do.
 
I know a lot (probably the majority) of Catholics who do not believe in the Church’s teachings on sexual morality. They look the other way, and live life the way their conscience allows them to. Perhaps preaching about these issues from the pulpit may push too many out the door. I wouldn’t be surprised if that is the concern.
 
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That is totally wrong. Kids that young don’t need to know that. They are not mentally or emotionally mature enough to truly understand. Birth control is 100% wrong.
 
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