Item for blog of Dcn. Thomas
Tortorella (XXI Sun. in O.T.) 8/21/22 © All Rights Reserved by Fr. Arthur Rojas ©
I suppose that in these days of
August – with days and hours of opportunity not only for outdoor sports and
travel but also for catching up on reading of all kinds, for
pleasure and for our edification in body, mind, and soul – that many readers
have heard of George Orwell’s science fiction book, 1984, and its
dystopian presentation of technologically sustained totalitarianism. Fewer readers may have heard of – but
should take the time to read – another science fiction book written almost
20 years earlier by Aldous Huxley, another Britisher, that is Brave
New World. If 1984 presents a
“hard” totalitarian future for mankind with economic scarcity, relentless
propaganda, insertion of a one-party state into family life, brute force, and
perpetual warfare by the technologically sustained and omnipresent State, then Brave
New World describes a comparatively “soft” totalitarian future in
which people are encouraged to revel in fornication and drug use at the expense
of normal family life in order to maintain a global government’s control over
the lives of the Earth’s inhabitants. Does any of this sound familiar to you, dear
reader?
As the sacredness of marital
intimacy is denigrated and distorted by powerful sectors, as the basis of
family life is undermined, and as the innocence and even physical integrity of
our youth and children is targeted both in “soft” and “hard” ways by our
exaltation of comfort and convenience, by repeated messages by mass media,
academia, and popular culture, and the growing coercion exerted professionally,
economically, culturally, as well as politically, the readings of today in the
Ordinary Form remind us that the freedom of the children of God, that is
of Christians is based paradoxically, it seems on the “discipline
of the Lord” (Hb 12:5, from our second reading). It may be difficult for some of us,
especially if our experience with fathers or families has been disappointing or
worse, to imagine God as Father, or more precisely, as the good
Father and His loving wish to teach us how to live and to live well. Yet, God would like each of us to have a
personal relationship with Him in this life as a prelude – if we choose
to accept His offer – to eternal union with God, which we call “Heaven.” Compared to the future written by Messrs.
Huxley and Orwell, in which the libido, the narcotic high, or the Party usurps
the place of God in human life, in which one’s hopes for life are limited to the
present, we hear Jn 14:6 sung before the Gospel is proclaimed today, “I am
the way, the truth, and the life, says the Lord; no one comes to the Father, except
through Me.” No wonder so many leaders
and forces have tried to replace, control, or sideline Christianity in
history, in current events, and in the arts!
By pointing to a purpose for living beyond this life as well as in
this life, by showing that true freedom is saying “no” to mindless
consumption, error, lies, and sin while choosing instead the
good, the true, and the beautiful as coming ultimately from God’s plan for
life and love, we committed Christians move towards the narrow gate (Lk
13, the source of today’s Gospel), that is the gate of holiness. We may be considered “last” in this
society for our commitment to Christ and His ways, but God has sent us to
the world now to spread the Good News (cf. Ps 117) so that at least some
people may be saved from slavery to sin and eternal separation from God
(a.k.a. “Hell”) and thereby be brought to holiness in this life and
Heaven in the hereafter.
To
borrow from the rock music bands Led Zeppelin and AC/DC, while
there may be a “stairway to Heaven,” there is also a “highway to Hell.” Let us support each other with prayer,
good example, teaching, and charity towards the narrow gate that Jesus points
out to us in Lk 13. May our words and
deeds as Catholics invite and inspire others to move towards Our Lord through
His Catholic Church.
From Arlene B. Muller:
ReplyDeleteYES, your descriptions of the societies depicted in the books 1984 and BRAVE NEW WORLD have many similarities to our life in the USA in 2022.
It is a definite paradox that since the 1960s people have been clamoring for greater "freedom", especially in the areas of sex & drugs, but they fail to realize that true freedom is found in living under GOD'S rule, while experimentation with various kinds of sexual behavior & drugs results in addictions and slavery. And while people were fighting for freedom of speech & freedom from censorship, they are now censoring speech, not because of morality as in the past, but because speech is now required to be "politically correct" & "woke", even to the use of pronouns! "Tolerance" is the virtue most sought after, while they are most "intolerant" toward the Christian values they consider "intolerant".
YES, we need to respond to the discipline of the LORD & allow Him to teach us. It is when we follow Him that we will experience true freedom & the ultimate joy of heaven.