Why are so many Catholics afraid to uphold the Church's moral
doctrine? Based in the Word of God and codified by the Magisterium, the
truths therein are essential to living in true freedom, and are offered
to all.
The Church isn't, as even many Catholics seem to assume, just some
social agency with rituals. "The Church in this world is the sacrament
of salvation, the sign and the instrument of the communion of God and
men." (
CCC, n. 780) "The one mediator,
Christ, established and ever sustains here on earth His holy Church,
the community of faith, hope, and charity, as a visible organization
through which He communicates truth and grace for all men." (
Lumen Gentium, ¶8, §1)
The Church exists in time, but at the same time she transcends it.
Though we know the Church as a real institution, it is through Faith
that we also recognize she is the bearer of divine life -- transcending
time and history, leading her children in every age to eternal life,
until the Lord returns.
This bears remembering especially when Church doctrine conflicts
with the spirit of the age-at that moment when too many Catholics
either don't know what to think or say due to poor formation, or so
badly water down the teaching in order not to offend, that it becomes
incoherent.
"In the formation of their consciences, the Christian faithful
ought carefully to attend to the sacred and certain doctrine of the
Church. For the Church is, by the will of Christ, the teacher of the
truth. It is her duty to give utterance to, and authoritatively to
teach, that truth which is Christ Himself, and also to declare and
confirm by her authority those principles of the moral order which have
their origins in human nature itself." (
Dignitatis Humanae, ¶14)
As disciples of Jesus, we oppose the perverse and toxic agenda of
the Culture of Death, we understand that the answer to life's questions
about truth and reality are solely found in Jesus, the Incarnate Son
of God, who says, "Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my
voice", (John 18:37) and "My sheep hear my voice; I know them and they
follow Me." (John 10:27)
The Church has always emphasized our obligation to seek truth and
give assent to it when found. "All are bound to seek the truth in the
matters which concern God and His Church; when they have found it, then
by divine law they are bound, and they have the right, to embrace and
keep it." (
Code of Canon Law, n. 748)
We believe things because they are true, not merely because
somebody told us we have to believe them. We have to use our own gift
of reason as well, and every day the person with eyes to see will find
evidence of individuals and societies that turn from God and His
teaching.
Here is why I bring all of this up. Did you see this story last week?
