Dear FrancisBenedict,
Cordial greetings and a very good day. A very warm welcome to the world of CAF and I do hope that you will find your time here informative and spiritually enriching.
It rejoices my heart, dear friend, to hear about the Plain Catholic movement, the existence of which I was completely unaware of until reference was made to it on these boards. Bless God that it takes seriously the call to pursue holiness, which is a call to every Catholic and not only some thoroughgoing spiritual types (
Catechism of the Catholic Church, paras. 2013 - 2015) - “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which
no man shall see the Lord” (Heb. 12: 14, added emphasis mine). As Catholics we may be separated unto God by Holy Baptism, but that does not dispense with the requirement to live the life that befits those who are so separated. Living a holy and separate life from the godless culture which surrounds us is preparation for the presence of God and is something which concerns us all, or at least should do. Thus the emphasis this splendid movement places upon separation from the world, purity and modesty in attire is surely to be warmly welcomed in these days of worldly conformity by multitudes of contemporary Catholics. Christians properly belong to the high mountain land above and so must refuse to descend to the level of those whose minds are blinded by the god of this world and whose outlook is consequently circumscribed by that which is temporal and passing - “Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Rom. 12: 2).
Modesty and separation from the godless culture are essential requirements, dear friend, if a man is in earnest about living up to the arduous demands of our most holy religion. Unfortunately, Western Catholicism is populated by multitudes of cultural Catholics who have adopted a hand in hand with the world type of religious practice, what one might term a ‘Catholicism Lite’, which makes little or no demand in terms of self-denial or the pursuit of personal sanctity. Certainly our religion was not intended to make us melancholic and no man would stop to deny that there is a place for innocent merriment and
wholesome leisure activities, but this can never be an excuse for engaging in worldly indulgences that simply do not comport with the call to holiness. After all, how can we cultivate holiness if we are enthusiastically embracing godless secular culture, rather than renouncing it and doing spiritual battle (cf. CCC. para. 2015)?
As Catholics, dear friend, we supposedly declare that “here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come” (Heb. 13: 14), but that wonderful expression of faith is in complete contrast to the earthbound outlook of so many of the faithful today, who apparently seem to dote upon worldly comforts and pleasures as much as their pagan neighbours, who one expects to walk according to the course of this world. Growth in holiness, depth in prayer, fruitfulness in good works and cultivating a more intimate communion with our Blessed Saviour, these ought to be the noble aims which fill our horizon, not listening to debased sensory material like rock/pop music or watching unwholesome films/TV programmes, which only, at length, desensitize us to sin and pollute our minds. Let us hear what St. Paul says: “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God” (Col. 3: 1-3).
Alas, dear friend, even just raising the issues of modesty and godly separation from the world will likely elicit a frosty response and one will probably be accused of being a ‘Puritan prude’, or at the very least it may be suggested that you have a problem with ‘overscrupulosity’. However, there is no escaping the incontrovertible fact that multitudes of Western cultural Catholics no longer earnestly pursue holiness and are virtually indistinguishable from their non-Christian friends and neighbours. They may fulfil their Sunday obligation, be involved charitable good works and even be jolly orthodox at touching faith and morals, but their lives are still marked by a worldly conformity and they plainly do not keep themselves “unspotted from the world”, which St. James says is “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father” (see Jam. 1: 27). Sadly, they have fallen into a lukewarm religious practice that is tepid, flabby, half-hearted, limp, always wanting to compromise and indifferent. This is shameful and unbefitting of those who profess religion and, more importantly, tarnishes the Church’s credibility in the eyes of the watching world. An obligation is laid upon Catholics to dare to be different and to provide a vibrant Christian counter-culture that will truly impact the godless age in which our lot is cast.
God bless.
Warmest good wishes,
Portrait
Pax
