{"id":49216,"date":"2023-06-14T15:58:54","date_gmt":"2023-06-14T19:58:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/?p=49216"},"modified":"2023-06-14T16:20:10","modified_gmt":"2023-06-14T20:20:10","slug":"the-path-of-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/the-path-of-life\/","title":{"rendered":"The Path of Life","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cWe are now standing in the face of the greatest historical confrontation humanity has gone through\u2026 We are now facing the final confrontation between the Church and the anti-Church, of the Gospel versus the anti-Gospel, of Christ versus the anti-Christ\u2026 <\/i>It is a trial\u2026 of 2,000 years of culture and Christian civilization, with all of its consequences for human dignity, individual rights, human rights and the rights of nations.\u201d \u2014Cardinal Karol Wojtyla (JOHN PAUL II ), at the Eucharistic Congress, Philadelphia, PA; August 13, 1976; cf. Catholic Online<\/a> (confirmed by Deacon Keith Fournier who was in attendance) \u201cWe are now standing in the face of the greatest historical confrontation humanity has gone through\u2026 We are now facing the final confrontation between the Church and the anti-Church, of the Gospel versus the anti-Gospel, of Christ versus the anti-Christ\u2026 <\/i>It is a trial\u2026 of 2,000 years of culture and Christian civilization, with all of its consequences for human dignity, individual rights, human rights and the rights of nations.\u201d \u2014Cardinal Karol Wojtyla (JOHN PAUL II ), at the Eucharistic Congress, Philadelphia, PA; August 13, 1976; cf. Catholic Online<\/a> (confirmed by Deacon Keith Fournier who was in attendance) <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are now facing the final confrontation
between the Church and the anti-Church,
of the Gospel versus the anti-Gospel,
of Christ versus the anti-Christ\u2026
It is a trial\u2026 of 2,000 years of culture
and Christian civilization,
with all of its consequences for human dignity,
individual rights, human rights
and the rights of nations.<\/strong> <\/span>
\u2014Cardinal Karol Wojtyla (JOHN PAUL II ), Eucharistic Congress, Philadelphia, PA, <\/span>
August 13, 1976; cf. Catholic Online<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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WE<\/strong> are living in an hour where nearly the entire Catholic culture of 2000 years is being rejected, not only by the world (which is to be somewhat expected), but by Catholics themselves: bishops, cardinals, and laity who believe the Church needs to “updated”; or that we need a “synod on synodality” in order to rediscover the truth; or that we need to agree with the ideologies of the world in order to “accompany” them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the very heart of this apostasy from Catholicism is a rejection of the Divine Will: God’s order set forth in the natural and moral law. Today, Christian morality is not just shirked and mocked as backwards but is considered unjust and even criminal<\/em>. So-called “wokism” has become a veritable\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2026dictatorship of relativism<\/em> that recognizes nothing as definite, and which leaves as the ultimate measure only one\u2019s ego and desires. Having a clear faith, according to the credo of the Church, is often labeled as fundamentalism. Yet, relativism, that is, letting oneself be tossed and \u2018swept along by every wind of teaching\u2019, appears the sole attitude acceptable to today\u2019s standards.<\/strong> \u2014Cardinal Ratzinger (POPE BENEDICT XVI) pre-conclave Homily, April 18th, 2005<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n

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Cardinal Robert Sarah has rightly framed this “revolt” from Christianity from within <\/em>as akin to the betrayal of Christ by His own apostles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Today the Church is living with Christ through the outrages of the Passion. The sins of her members come back to her like strikes on the face\u2026 The Apostles themselves turned tail in the Garden of Olives. They abandoned Christ in His most difficult hour\u2026 Yes, there are unfaithful priests, bishops, and even cardinals who fail to observe chastity. But also, and this is also very grave, they fail to hold fast to doctrinal truth! They disorient the Christian faithful by their confusing and ambiguous language. They adulterate and falsify the Word of God, willing to twist and bend it to gain the world\u2019s approval. They are the Judas Iscariots of our time.<\/strong> \u2014Catholic Herald<\/a>,\u00a0<\/em>April 5th, 2019; cf. The African Now Word<\/a><\/em><\/span>
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A Barrier… or Bulwark?<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Beneath this cultural revolution is the age-old lie that God’s Word exists to limit and enslave us \u2014 that the teachings of the Church are like a fenceline forbidding humanity to explore the outer regions of “true happiness.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

God said, \u2018You shall not eat it or even touch it, or else you will die.\u2019\u201d But the snake said to the woman: \u201cYou certainly will not die!” (Genesis 3:3-4)<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

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But who would say that the barriers around, say, the Grand Canyon, are meant to enslave and impinge upon human freedom? Or are they there precisely to guide <\/em>and preserve one’s capacity to behold beauty? A bulwark rather than barrier?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even after the fall of Adam and Eve, the goodness of God’s will was so evident, laws were not even necessary at first:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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…during the first times of the history of the world up to Noah, the generations had no need of laws, and there were no idolatries, nor diversity of languages; rather, all recognized their one God and had one language, because they cared more about my Will. But as they kept moving away from It, idolatries arose and evils became worse. This is why God saw the necessity of giving His laws as preservers for the human generations. <\/span><\/em><\/strong>\u2014Jesus to Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta, September 17, 1926 (Vol. 20)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

So even then, the law was not given to impede the freedom of man but precisely to preserve it. As Jesus said, “everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.”[1]<\/sup><\/a>John 8:34<\/span><\/span>