I guess I tend to think of the
crisis in the Church as a recent problem, largely brought on by a watering-down
of the teaching of the faith in the post-Vatican II era. Yes, I do know that there have been problems
and issues in the Church always and ever, because of our fallen human nature, and because satan roams around seeking to exploit our weaknesses. But consider this, from The Life and Revelations of Anne Catherine Emmerich:
We
are shocked at the small number of those who then comprehended these words of
St. Peter: “Scientes quod non
corruptibilibus auro vel argento redempti estis, sed pretioso sanguine quasi
agni immaculate Christi.”[1] It
was a period in which perfect silence was kept, both in the pulpit and schools
of theology, on the mystery of Redemption, sacrifice and satisfaction, merit
and sin; a period in which good works and miracles had to yield to hollow
“theories of revelation”; a period in which the Man-God, to be at all
endurable, had to be presented as the “Friend of men, the Friend of sinners,
the children’s Friend.” His life was, as they said, “a lesson”; His Passion, “an
example of fortitude”; His death, “fruitless
love.” The catechism was taken from the hands of the faithful and replaced
by “Bible Histories,” in which the absolute want of doctrine was veiled under “simple language adapted to the understanding
of all.” The books of piety, the ancient formulas of prayer, the
time-honored canticles of praise, were exchanged for modern productions as
miserable and impious as were those by which the Missal, the Breviary, and the
Ritual were replaced.
This
intellectual debasement might pass at first sight for a transient aberration, a
false direction of the spirit of the age; but before God it was a direct attack
on the Fatih, imperiling the salvation of numberless souls, an expression of
the deepest contempt for His love and justice. All this had to be expieated by
an innocent victim who was to be treated not otherwise than Jesus Himself and
His work of redemption.
The startling grandeur of His bloody sacrifice and His
rigorous satisfaction for sin are a stumbling block to many; in like manner Sister
Emmerich was a cause of offense by reason of her mysterious signs and, even for
her nearest friends, she was an insupportable burden [largely having do with the supernatural implications
of her stigmata and the reactions of the world to her.]
These words could be written
(and practically have been) about the state of our poor Church today! Yet, Sister
Emmerich died in 1824, so clearly there was a crisis then, as well; I think the
problems underlying and emerging from Vatican II were a culmination of prior
crises. (That is not to say that I don’t think the current crisis is
unprecedented: I do, and that is largely due to the internet and the ready
availability of Church documents, news reports on current papal and episcopal
announcements, etc.)
But today, who do we have
bearing the brunt of the sins of the world as Sister Emmerich did? I think that
in the world today, people would not even believe that a person such as she
could even exist; it would be seen as fraud by most (as it was in Blessed Anne
Catherine’s time).
And so, who will do penance for
the evils of our Church leaders, and for the sins of the laity, and for our own
grievous sins? I guess it is up to each of us to do our best to live our lives
in prayer and penance, to the extent that our state in life allows.
Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.
[1]
“Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things as gold or
silver…but with the Precious Blood of Christ, as of a lamb unspotted and
undefiled.” (1Peter 1:18,19)
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