Fr. Broom's Blog: FIVE EXTREMELY PREVALENT BUT POISONOUS ERRORS

1. INDEPENDENCE FROM THE CHURCH. How often do we hear far and wide people that say they were baptized Catholics, have received their Sacraments but they have arrived at the conclusion that they love Jesus but they cannot stand the Church. In other words, they can find God outside of the Church. Wrong way of thinking! Jesus said that He would be with us always even until the end of time. However, He is truly present in His Church, which is called His Mystical Body and through the worthy reception of His Sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist which is the Bread of Life.

2. HELL DOES NOT EXIST. Even among older Catholics who were taught by hard-working and prayerful and orthodox nuns, the doctrine of hell is discarded as passé, archaic, a relic of dusty medieval theology. This is their reasoning in a few words: “I cannot believe that an all-loving and merciful God would send anybody to Hell. Remember, that God is love!” Wrong again! It is true that God does not send anybody to hell. However, God gives all of us free choice, freedom, liberty to choose between good and evil. Some willfully choose evil and in grave matters. True, God is love, but Jesus also said: “If you love me keep my Commandments….” Also, not all who say, Lord, Lord, will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but those who do the will of my Heavenly Father.” (Mt. 7:21)

3. I WILL GO UP TO TAKE THE BREAD AND WINE. This all too common erroneous Liturgical jargon unnerves me! In Holy Mass once the ordained priest has consecrated the Bread and Wine, then it is no longer bread and wine—even though the exterior appearances indicate this. No, it is truly and substantially the Body and Blood of Jesus. The theological language (thanks to Saint Thomas Aquinas) is TRANSUBSTANTIATION. Therefore, we should never say as we approach the apex of the Eucharistic celebration, which is the moment of Holy Communion, “I am going to take bread and wine”. Rather, we should say with awe and reverence and adoration, “I am going to receive HOLY COMMUNION”—the Body and Blood of Jesus, the Son of the living God! We must learn how to polish our Eucharistic vocabulary!

4. MATERIALISM, CONSUMERISM, HEDONISM. A constant error that has engulfed huge numbers, especially during the Holiday Seasons, are the above three words MATERIALISM, CONSUMERISM, HEDONISM; these are intimately related; one leads to the other.

Materialism is simply this: material things that can be acquired by money is the end of all and purpose for life. Then once you have money just buy. As the saying goes: “Shop until you drop!” Allow your possessions to possess you! This is Consumerism. Both Materialism and Consumerism produces Hedonism. This is an ancient Greek philosophy which simply means this: Life is meant to have as much pleasure as you possibly can. Saint Paul asserted that if there is no life beyond the grave then we might as well eat, drink and be merry! In modern American jargon: “You deserve a break today at Macdonald’s and it is Miller time!!!” How many people today live to have, to buy and to enjoy! This is the modern god! WRONG! Saint Thomas Aquinas states that all are called to happiness. However, happiness cannot be found in creation, but in the Creator. Happiness cannot be found in having but rather in being. ( Saint Pope John Paul II). The same Pope insists that doing flows from being. Jesus said: “From the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” Our Lady of Lourdes said to Saint Bernadette: “ I cannot promise you true happiness in this world but in the next.”

5. DICTATORSHIP OF MORAL RELATIVISM. This phrase was coined by Cardinal Ratzinger, later to become Pope Benedict XVI. How can this modern error be explained? All too many Catholics today, even though they do not know the theological terminology, indeed are moral relativists! The well-known Professor at Franciscan University (Steubenville) Dr. Scott Hahn calls it “Cafeteria Catholicism”. In other words these types of Catholics are like those who go to eat at a cafeteria. They pick the food they like and avoid buying and consuming the food that is less appealing to their taste-buds. The Moral-Relativist does the same with respect to choice of doctrines. In other words, he rejects what is not appealing to his spiritual taste-buds! A classic example is the Encyclical published by Blessed Pope Paul VI, “Humanae Vitae”—regarding Human Life. The Holy Father states in unequivocal terms that the use of artificial means of avoiding children or contraception is intrinsically evil. In other words, using the pill, condom, Norplant, hormonal injections to avoid the possibility of conception is evil, morally reprehensible, sinful and very displeasing to God. There are huge masses of so called “Catholics” that have simply jettisoned this Magisterial teaching as something inconsequential and insignificant. Wrong! Even though this teaching on Human life is demanding it must be accepted. The Church does not promote birth-control but rather the Church promotes self-control. Human persons must learn to control their sexual appetites by having recourse to the grace of God through prayer, a fervent and assiduous Sacramental life, the practice of penance and filial devotion to Our Lady. Let us be counter-cultural, not to simply go with the flow but to obey the teachings of Jesus through His Mystical Body, the Church. If done you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free.