Wealth is the problem. I have lived in the Midwest
since November 11th or so and I have wondered how so many Americans
can be asleep, blind, as to the signs of the times. I have wondered at the
pursuit of nonsense, trivia, worthless things and worthless entertainment.
I have wondered at the too-busy lives which cause people to
not reflect or pray. Noise and distractions keep people running about, going
here and there, not stopping to look, to listen to what God is trying to say.
He is saying, “Stop, repent, become perfect.” Few care and
fewer listen.
The problem is wealth. After living in Europe
for three years, 2011, 2012, and 2013, I was shocked when I returned to see the
mad pursuit of things which have no lasting value.
What is necessary is not longer even seen by the vast
majority of Catholics.
I have referred to the movie, Lawrence of Arabia on this blog before and the poignant cry of the
British soldier, yelling at Lawrence
Who are you? Are you an animal seeking pleasure of the
senses only? Are you a materialist, forgetting that you have an immortal soul
which will live forever either in happiness or in grief?
The signs of the times seem obvious to me. Most of my close
friends have adult children living with them either because they are
unemployed, underemployed, or paying back huge university debts.
Most of my son’s generation are not choosing marriage or
children.
Older people spend their days seeking small pleasures not
realizing that these supposedly innocent “perqs” strip the soul of purity and
reduce the body to a mere machine.
The seeking of small pleasures is just as deadly as the
seeking of big ones. Too many people think they have a right to daily deserts,
daily entertainment, daily “down time” without praying, without meditating,
without reading Scripture.
Do not pass up opportunities to become holy. Do not fall
into habits of selfishness. Do not forget to fast, do penance, pray.
Without mortifications, no one can be holy.
Without seeing the signs of the times, one is heading for
perdition and not for glory.
Simply put, most people here have too many things and too
much food; they have too much wealth.
To be a Catholic means doing things on purpose which hurt.
Wealth ruins that view with the darkness of deceit.
Do not miss the signs of the times or the chances to be who
God created you to be.
