First I want to share this quote from St. John Henry Newman's The Mystical Rose. He says:
Look at the Protestant countries which threw off all devotion to [Mary] centuries ago, under the notion that to put her from their thoughts would be exalting the praises of her Son. Has that consequence really followed from their profane conduct towards her? Just the reverse - the countries, Germany, Switzerland, England, which so acted, have in great measure ceased to worship him, and have given up their belief in his divinity, while the Catholic Church, wherever she is found, adores Christ, as true God and true man, as firmly as ever she did, and strange indeed would it be if it ever happened otherwise.
Now, let's be real - strange indeed it IS that countries like France and Italy now have also followed in the footsteps of the Protestant countries of Europe in failing to honor God and worship Christ faithfully. And I usually don't like to sound too anti-Protestant, because it's not really the case that all Protestants are heretics just for being Protestants. Having said that, I do think there is a sense in which Protestantism tends to lead to secularism. Now, I invite your comments, and even disagreements on this, but I think that this saint who famously said, To be deep in history is to cease to be Protestant is on to something here. I do think that a post-enlightenment, humanist, Protestant approach to Christianity naturally leads to - first, a kind of "religious but not spiritual" Christianity that turns real devotion into a cultural tradition, which then in the next generation leads to kind of "spiritual but not religious" disillusionment that turns that tradition into a burden which those who see themselves as more enlightened cannot wait to throw off.
What do you think?
Dear friends - Please take 10 minutes to watch this personal update from me:
I'm back, up and running, and ready to go - I should have a new JOURNEY episode within the next week or so - and because you are my loyal peeps, here is an exclusive, just-for-you, behind the scenes SNEAK PEEK into my new office:
I mentioned in The Journey that I wrote a song based on Isaiah 2, which is one of my favorite OT passages:
In days to come, the mountain of the Lord’s house
shall be established as the highest mountain, and raised above the hills.
All nations shall stream toward it. Many peoples shall come and say:
“Come, let us go up to the Lord’s mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, That he may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his paths.” For from Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations, and set terms for many peoples.
They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again. House of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!
I hope you like the song!
St. Albert the Great - teacher and mentor of St. Thomas Aquinas
The Original Church
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The problem with us men is that often we don't have the wisdom to be a father until we're a grandfather.
This may sounds like some ironic statement that makes you nod your head in agreement but shrug your shoulders in resignation, thinking, well there's nothing we can do about that. But the practical application of that is that it demonstrates how important it is for kids to grow up around their grandparents. But as in our culture the family becomes ever more fractured and spread out, that is harder and harder to do.
Lately I've been thinking that part of the problem is the whole concept of college. It used to be that everyone thought a person had to go to college to make a good living. Not only is that not the case (truck drivers make more money than I do) but now college has gone from useless to actually ruining our kids. But when I went to college, what you were supposed to do is figure out what career you wanted (as if anyone knows that at age 18) and then go away to the college ...
