Is it harder to be holy now?

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Grace_and_Glory

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This was actually a question someone asked me, and I thought it was really interesting.

Do you think it’s harder to be holy now than it was in the past? Why or why not?

By the way, sorry if this post is a duplicate; I tried submitting it before, and I got an error message.
 
You know, sometimes I wonder the same thing. In Church, in RCIA, everything seems so clear, then I leave into the world, and all of a sudden I have to try VERY hard to be the person I want to be. I do believe it can be done, but you have to work at it. The secular society and “do what feels good when you feel like it” mantra really makes it difficult to travel that road. However, at the same time, there are other struggles that people once had the we no longer do, and I believe if there were no struggle, we wouldn’t fully feel the benefit.
 
I think that some people like to think that we live in a culture whose immorality has not been equalled in all of history, but I think those people are just ignorant of history.
 
Hi Grace and Glory, Yes it is very difficult because our flesh is weak and it requires change on our part. We need to die to sin every day and only by the grace of God and the help of the Holy Spirit is it possible to walk in the love of Jesus Christ.Every day is a new beginning for us. The closer we come to Christ the closer we will be like Him.The more we become aware who we are in Christ the easier it will get. 👍 God Bless
 
Sure, it’s hard for me to be holy even though I KNOW I must be!!! I mean, yes, I’ll read my Bible, go to RCIA, etc. etc. and think, sure, I will be nice and holy and at that exact moment when I think it, I’ll feel peace, niceness, etc… But then when I go out into the real world…oops! I lose my temper and forget what I told myself!!! Maybe it’s God testing me, eh?
 
nope the older i get the easier it is and i’m always learning new techniques for staying close to JESUS. Recently i’ve read a book about Practicing HIS presence. the theory is that JESUS is always with us and we can talk with HIM anytime. The more we are aware of HIS presence; the more we talk with HIM the easier it is to be holy.

also i think having society against us makes us more aware and makes being holy easier.

all for JESUS!!
lonnie
 
Speaking of striving for holiness in general, I think it’s about the same. As someone noted, those of other times had their own temptations and however much they were tempted or not tempted was commensurate with their times. People themselves have not changed: whoever and whenever we are, we all have fight our own internal temptations and do quite well without help from whatever culture we happen to live in.

Having said that, I do think we live in one of the most highly *sexualized * cultures of all time. Not only are we bombarded with it through TV, movies, books, magazines and music, but the trashy styles are designed to create a reaction. I don’t care what some clueless feminist apologists say: if a young girl comes to church with skin tight jeans in a low cut blouse and a bare midriff, for normal men at least, it is not cute and just “the style” – it is extremely distracting, if not an occasion of sin.

Let the brickbats fall where they may, that’s my :twocents: …
 
I think it has always been difficlt to approach holliness in our lives. There always has been only a few that are called holy.

I have noticed since my hair has turned white and I can’t run as fast as I used to run I have a short temper with trashy T.V. and dress I see on the younger people. That short temper for sin inducing stimuli makes me turn my head or change the channel. That’s not holliness but it says with age we have learned more than we did when we were young. I thank God for my years, allowing me to learn to avoid the occasion of sin.

Today I think we have many more stimuli available that are pandering to our base than we did in the past.
 
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Fidelis:
Having said that, I do think we live in one of the most highly *sexualized *cultures of all time. Not only are we bombarded with it through TV, movies, books, magazines and music, but the trashy styles are designed to create a reaction. I don’t care what some clueless feminist apologists say: if a young girl comes to church with skin tight jeans in a low cut blouse and a bare midriff, for normal men at least, it is not cute and just “the style” – it is extremely distracting, if not an occasion of sin.
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This is true, but at the same time, there are so many mroe resources availble, like radio and tv shows can be heard or watched on EWTN"s web site, if you don’t receive the station, almost any Catholic book is available for purchase online, so those of us living in the “no Catholic zones” don’t suffer from being far form Catholic stores. Web sites like New Advent have so many documents like to pseudo-gospel of Matthew, form the apocrypha that I have always wanted to read, once I learned of, but could never find.

In sum I suppose it is about the same. Yeah, images in public might be more sexual, which might be problematic for some people. I loathe the amount of violence on tv all the time; so many horrible crimes happen in reality and then so many shows have the gall to conceive worse scenarios - my mom always use to say"great, more ideas for sickos - just what we need." But then at the same time, I believe there are more positive outlets and resources too. And more ways to reach priests for opinions; so many have email and respond quite soon to questions.
 
I think that in one sense it is universally the same today yesterday and tomorrow. That didn’t roll like it was supposed too. Anyway, I see a holy life as one that is lived in a way that whatever circumstances it finds it’s self in, it uses them to become the best version of it’self as revealed by faith in God. I think I got a 10 % or so yeild there. Ok maybe 7.5% but I know at least 5% of my circumstances get used well.

That and the Sacraments and BAM that’ll take it up a noch…lol

Then there’s suffering for those God chooses to be more perfect.
It seems like some Christian lives unfold like a roadmap to Christ.
It seems like some seem to get all the suffering handed to them on a silver platter and of course their gonna be big stars with their name in lights. Some people just get all the breaks. lolol I hope you all don’t mind if I just keep that there…

I notice Holiness now that I’m older. I think it’s because I finally figured out that we can best, if not only, see it in others…
 
I think that human nature is basically the same as it’s always been. Our current culture offers of special challanges, especially in the area of materialist and sexual temptations. In days of yore there were different challanges.

Any student of history will tell you that things weren’t all that peachy in the olden days. Actually, humanity has really made quite a bit of progress if you ask me…
 
Yes it is harder to be holy.

In the “good old days” of the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, people could get a job, stay there 30 years as long as they worked hard and were honest. If for some reason someone lost their job due to factors not their fault, they could always find another.

Today, people get unemployed and can’t find work again.
 
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third_servant:
Yes it is harder to be holy.

In the “good old days” of the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, people could get a job, stay there 30 years as long as they worked hard and were honest. If for some reason someone lost their job due to factors not their fault, they could always find another.

Today, people get unemployed and can’t find work again.
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As long as you were White, you mean…

No, there good ol’ days weren’t good to everyone, I’m afraid. And since when is having a keeping a good job a precussor to holiness?
 
Quite possibly given the greater temptations we now face. But, look at it this way, if it is indeed harder that means that God will bestow more graces upon us to be able to resist those temptations. All you have to do is embrace the grace!
 
I think living in a close community with lots of examples of what it means to be a Catholic (or whatever type of Christian) is helpful to everyday holiness. There used to be many such communities. It helps to know what a Cathlic Grandfather is when it comes time to be one yourself.
 
Dear All

It’s always been hard to be a Christian and be Holy and it always will be…that’s the Cross

God Bless
 
I think it is harder to be holy now because life is full of more distractions. We are bombarded every waking moment by radio, television, newspapers, magazines, billboards, alarms, computers, cell phones, telephones – noise noise noise, visuals visuals visuals.

There is little stillness in life any more, and I believe it is easier to find God in the stillness.

'thann
 
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WhiteDove:
Actually, humanity has really made quite a bit of progress if you ask me…
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Yeah, in some respects, but at the same time, there is so much nastiness in the world these days. I wonder if people from the Middle Ages cut each other off on their horses. With technology the way it is, the temptation to do or look at something inappropriate is so great (well, at least for us teenagers). It would be easier if from birth, kids aren’t beaten over the head from birth with violence, the idea that guys have to act like jerks and drool whenever a good-looking female walks by, etc etc.

Eamon
 
Grace and Glory:
Do you think it’s harder to be holy now than it was in the past? Why or why not?
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I have a mixed opinion. Holiness has always been a struggle. I’d wager that people from every generation have probably posed the same question, but I can’t think of a time when people would have thought it was easier to control lust, anger, sloth, etc. We have a natural inclination to think it was easier in “the good old days.” A lot of people have an unrealistic view of the past.

That said, it is certainly easier to turn away from the Church today, because you’ll get more support from modern society. I guess what I’m saying is it’s much easier to be sinful these days. Few believe in shame anymore, so almost anything goes.

God Bless,

Robert.
 
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Timidity:
I think that some people like to think that we live in a culture whose immorality has not been equalled in all of history, but I think those people are just ignorant of history.
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Isn’t this the truth? I am in a bible study and we read the Old Testament and are shocked at how sin back in the day is sooo much like sin today. Abortion, murder, gluttony, you name it. I think what has accelerated is the age at which a child is exposed to the world. Maybe I am wrong about this too. Children try to become adult like too early- sin and all.
 
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