We are blessed

[sw85]

Some thoughts about how blessed (good) modern Catholics are, and why we ought to rejoice:

1. We are alive in an age in which the sacraments, the ordinary means of salvation, are readily available to us. We have an assurance of salvation that previous ages (i.e., ages before Christ) lacked. We were not born in the forests of Saxony, or killed in our infancy during the Crusades, without the grace of Baptism and without ever so much as having heard the name of Christ. Even in earlier Christian ages, many would go without for want of a priest either nearby or competent to affect the sacraments.
2. Where early Christians struggled in ignorance and darkness to work out the logical implications of their faith, we stand on the shoulders of infallible giants, with the fullness of over two millennia of theological tradition to guide us. Never before has it been as clear what is expected of us.
3. Technology has made both the sacraments and the fullness of theological truth readily available to us.
4. The Enemy still rules the world, yes, but this fact has never been more obvious and his intentions have never been clearer. Previous ages may have been seduced by his sweet promises of utopia, but we have all the perspective needed to see the emptiness of his lies and the rottenness of his fruits.
5. The declining state of the world and the wickedness of the age combine make it very easy for us not to put our trust in worldly things but in God alone, and so give us added opportunities for holiness. We are forcibly confronted with ugliness, falsehood, and sin everywhere we go, making it easier for us to keep our eyes fixed on Him who is Truth, Beauty, and Virtue.

 

[RPRPsych]

Some thoughts about how blessed (good) modern Catholics are, and why we ought to rejoice:

1. We are alive in an age in which the sacraments, the ordinary means of salvation, are readily available to us. We have an assurance of salvation that previous ages (i.e., ages before Christ) lacked. We were not born in the forests of Saxony, or killed in our infancy during the Crusades, without the grace of Baptism and without ever so much as having heard the name of Christ. Even in earlier Christian ages, many would go without for want of a priest either nearby or competent to affect the sacraments.
2. Where early Christians struggled in ignorance and darkness to work out the logical implications of their faith, we stand on the shoulders of infallible giants, with the fullness of over two millennia of theological tradition to guide us. Never before has it been as clear what is expected of us.
3. Technology has made both the sacraments and the fullness of theological truth readily available to us.
4. The Enemy still rules the world, yes, but this fact has never been more obvious and his intentions have never been clearer. Previous ages may have been seduced by his sweet promises of utopia, but we have all the perspective needed to see the emptiness of his lies and the rottenness of his fruits.
5. The declining state of the world and the wickedness of the age combine make it very easy for us not to put our trust in worldly things but in God alone, and so give us added opportunities for holiness. We are forcibly confronted with ugliness, falsehood, and sin everywhere we go, making it easier for us to keep our eyes fixed on Him who is Truth, Beauty, and Virtue.

Excellent list, Sw85. Thanks for posting this.

Despite all the troubles, failings and evils of the modern age, it’s also an age in which none of us needs to be ignorant about the truth; it’s an age where, of our own free will, we can choose as much clarity as we want to.

We have also seen the reductio ad absurdam of Utopian principles, and know that they can never deliver what they claim. In a way, our situation is similar to that of the early Christians in the Roman Empire; they were surrounded by evils, but took it as a chance to grow in the Faith. And so should we.

 

[MarcoPolo]

1. Technology has made both the sacraments and the fullness of theological truth readily available to us.

I’m curious - why did you say technology has made the sacraments readily available? Do you mean something like we are better able to travel to where we can receive sacraments, perhaps?

 

[JimR-OCDS]

I’m curious - why did you say technology has made the sacraments readily available? Do you mean something like we are better able to travel to where we can receive sacraments, perhaps?

Travel was my thought.

In the horse and buggy days, the area I live in, it would take half a day to make it to the center of town where our parish church is, using horse and buggy.

My guess is that people made it to church on Sundays and holidays at best, where I attend Mass daily.

Jim

 

[AlanFromWichita]

We on CAF are blessed, in that we can share heartfelt fellowship, conversation, and spiritual acts of mercy, all over the planet, around the clock. What do you suppose St. Paul could have done, if he had CAF? Since St. Paul was big on bringing them in from the outside, he might go fishing in Facebook with friends of all sorts, then when he caught one, he could set the hook by inviting them to CAF for Christian fellowship, learning, and spiritual development.

Alan

 

[michalpolak]

Thanks for the thoughtful post, I needed to read something like this today.
As an engineering student, I always am in awe of how profoundly (and often, very quickly) technology can change the world.