The Apocalypse - Letter by Letter: Loss of the Sacred
The Apocalypse - Letter by Letter
Blog to discuss the book "The Apocalypse - Letter by Letter: A Literary Analysis of the Book of Revelation" and current events that point to the events described therein.
Over the last generation there has been a decided loss of the sense of sacredness in the Catholic Church. I attribute it to changes in society but also to changes made in the Church.
When I was young, a Church was a quiet place that lent itself to serene contemplation and prayer. The Mass itself was especially reverent and parents did all they could to keep children attentive and quiet. It was God's house.
I can't help but feel that God's house became the people's house since the Council. Liturgical music was replaced with folk and later rock music often disconnected from the day's liturgy. Applause, once unheard of, is now commonplace at Mass as though we are there to glorify someone other than God. The term "Sunday best" was once used to describe what you wear to Mass. Now shorts, t-shirts and sandals are common. The Priest held the Body of Christ upward as he placed it on your tongue. Now it's handed off like a football or a note in class. The altar service was reserved for young men as a means to initiate them in to the altar and possibly the priesthood. Now its some sort of equal opportunity club that includes girls for whom the priesthood is not a possiblity. As their numbers increased, males disappeared almost entirely.
As discouraging as the loss of sacred in the house of God is, I believe it has led directly to a loss of the sense of the sacredness of life itself. Abortion was once widely held as an great moral evil and rare. Now it's common and enabled by schools and governments without even a thought of notifying a parent. A debate is underway as to whether there is right to die and severely handicapped people have already been "murdered" by the state in this country.
Life was considered so sacred that it's conception was protected by the Church, it's Pope and clergy. You'd be hard pressed now to find a Priest to openly condemn artificial contraception for fear of alienating the 99% of "Catholics" who practice it. Find a Church where a single family takes up an entire pew. Even the majority of people in the so-called pro-life movement average 2 or 3 children and don't see the contradiction.
And somewhere along the way, homosexuals entered the priesthood in large numbers, ascending even to the episcopate where they wield great power, enough power to hide their evil deeds against young men and boys. Their sacrilege continues to this day. Can one claim to be believe in the True Presence while living a contradiction?
I believe that the effect of Vatican II's implementation has been a reduction in the sense of the sacred in the Church. And the loss of sacredness in the Church has led to the belief that man, the temple of the Holy Spirit, is also not sacred. It's hard not to get the feeling that Satan is behind this trend and that the foretold apostasy is upon us.
