FR Kearney’s revolutionary clarion call to the Church (Have Your Say, CL 8/10/06) could be applied to and would benefit each and every Christian denomination that is labouring in God’s vineyard.
Many of the Christian denominations or trajectories emerged as a result of unhappiness with the Church hierarchy’s ethos, priorities and administration.
At different times throughout Church history, many Church leaders and believers acted in less than exemplary fashion.
Their scandals gave rise to unholy practices, misunderstandings and turmoil.
In every instance, God sent saints with a reforming zeal who restored true faith.
Perhaps the present buffeting of the Church by divisions within and attacks from outside could be compared to Jesus asleep in the boat lashed by savage stormy seas, until those within the boat entreated Jesus to wake up and save them.
In the middle of the 20th century after World War II, there was a brief period of Christian spiritual revival worldwide. It appeared to continue until Vatican II.
The Vatican introduced timely and bold reforms.
However their implementation appears to have lacked the rigour and discipline only the Holy Spirit can bestow. Somehow Church reforms became infected with the taint of laxity and permissiveness unleashed by the forces of revolutionary sexual and women’s liberation, and the hedonistic abandonment of a combination of entertainment, sports, financial, industrial, media and political entrepreneurs.
Only Jesus can say, “I am the Light, the Way and the Truth”.
Jesus became man to cure the ills of his time and all time. Jesus did not abandon the Ten Commandments.
The Church appears to have forgotten these baby steps to God.
A Christian child needs to take the Ten Commandments baby steps to God; to learn the Christian adolescent virtues of Faith-Knowledge, Hope-Vision and Charity-Love; so as to reach Christian adulthood enabling eucharistic marriage with the Holy Trinity.
A.A. DESOUZA
Hervey Bay, Qld
