![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Authenticity.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
It is often said nowadays that the present century thirsts for authenticity. \u2014POPE ST. PAUL VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi<\/em>, n. 76<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n TODAY<\/strong>, there is so much mud-slinging toward the hierarchy regarding the state of the Church. To be certain, they bear a great responsibility and accountability for their flocks, and many of us are frustrated with their overwhelming silence, if not cooperation<\/a>, in the face of this godless global revolution<\/a> under the banner of the “Great Reset\u201d<\/a>. But this is not the first time in salvation history that the flock has been all but abandoned<\/a> \u2014 this time, to the wolves of “progressiveness<\/a>” and “political correctness<\/a>\u201d. It’s precisely in such times, however, that God looks to the laity, to raise up within them saints\u00a0<\/em>who become like shining stars in the darkest nights. When people want to flog the clergy these days, I reply, “Well, God is looking to you and me. So let’s get with it!”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Yes, we need to get with it, and by this I mean\u00a0be authentic. <\/em>Today, there is so much confusion over what this looks like. On the one hand, progressives believe that Christians today must be “tolerant” and “inclusive”, and hence, they go along with any and every thing that is proposed to them, whether or not it defies logic, good science, or even Catholic teaching. As long as the world applauds and the mainstream media approves, then all is well. But virtue and virtue-signalling are two very different things.<\/p>\n On the other hand, there are those who believe that what is really needed to fix the state of things is a return to the traditional (ie. Latin) Mass, Communion rails, Who can fail to see that society is at the present time, more than in any past age, suffering from a terrible and deep-rooted malady which, developing every day and eating into its inmost being, is dragging it to destruction? You understand, Venerable Brethren, what this disease is\u2014apostasy from God\u2026 <\/strong>\u2014POPE ST. PIUS X,\u00a0E Supremi<\/em>, Encyclical On the Restoration of All Things in Christ, n. 3, October 4th, 1903<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The crisis at its heart, I believe, comes down to individual witness and authenticity. The witness to the world that is most powerful, most effective, most transformative is neither virtue-signalling nor external piety. Rather, it is a true interior conversion that is expressed in a life conformed to the Gospel. Let me repeat that: it is a heart so converted, so abandoned to the Lord, so desirous to be faithful, that they become, as it were, the living Word. Such souls are “living wells<\/a>” who by their very presence move others to want to drink from their example, draw from their wisdom and knowledge, and satiate their thirst for love by seeking the very Source of these living waters within them.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Today, the world can smell a hypocrite from a mile away, especially the youth.[1]<\/sup><\/a>“It is often said nowadays that the present century thirsts for authenticity. Especially in regard to young people it is said that they have a horror of the artificial or false and that they are searching above all for truth and honesty.” [Evangelii Nuntiandi, n. 76]<\/span><\/span>
\nEspecially in regard to young people, it is said that
\nthey have a horror of the artificial or false
\nand that they are searching above all for truth and honesty.<\/strong><\/span>
\nThese “signs of the times” should find us vigilant. <\/strong><\/span>
\nEither tacitly or aloud \u2014 but always forcefully \u2014 we are being asked: <\/strong><\/span>
\nDo you really believe what you are proclaiming? <\/strong><\/span>
\nDo you live what you believe? <\/strong><\/span>
\nDo you really preach what you live? <\/strong><\/span>
\nThe witness of life has become more than ever an essential condition <\/strong><\/span>
\nfor real effectiveness in preaching. <\/strong><\/span>
\nPrecisely because of this we are, to a certain extent, <\/strong><\/span>
\nresponsible for the progress of the Gospel that we proclaim.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nGet With It!<\/h5>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/churchscandal.jpg\")
<\/a> and the like. But listen, it was precisely when<\/em> we had these very beautiful rites and practices that St. Piux X declared:<\/p>\n\n
Your Witness is Key!<\/h5>\n