Borrowing this graph from two other blogs, I want to show readers what is absolutely necessary in the training of Catholic minds.
The centuries of teaching children how to think ended abruptly in the 19th century with the purposeful destruction of the Trivium and Quadrivium. Pure technological knowledge replaced the liberal arts in education, creating entire nations of non-thinking technocrats. I have written many posts on this before.
But, another, more serious problem, in fact tragedy, occurred with the passing of teaching children how to think--we lost the battle to Satan in the Church, a creature who is brilliant beyond all our imaginations and who hates God, His Church, and us.
The result is the chaos we are seeing in the Synod, in our national governments, and in our homes.
Foundational truths, such as the definitions of justification, the reason for the Incarnation, grace, the nature of sin, the meaning of the sacraments, especially baptism and other key doctrines of the Church are being LOST in the minds of the vast majority of Catholics, including priests, bishops and cardinals.
Satan has forged a new battle-line while we were still in headquarters looking at maps of skirmishes.
We have been focusing on the wrong things.
Yes, it is extremely important that Cardinal Dolan scandalized the Church by being Grand Master of the St. Patrick's Day parade, but can Catholics really explain to others WHY this is so important?
Should the world care that a Prince of the Church walks with sinners who have no intention of repenting? And, why care, if one does not understand what it means to be a human being body and soul, whose goal is God, and so on?
To repeat that Christ taught this or that is not enough for the unbeliever...only those who love Christ listen to His words and believe them.
To get a person, or a parish, or a diocese to fall in love with Christ, and love in is the will, not the emotions, is to lead people to the basic questions of life and to understand the whys, not just the whats.
Can you explain why same-sex marriage is so evil to those who are outside the Church? Can you explain why receiving Communion when in an adulterous relationship is so evil? Can you explain what the Eucharist really is and how receiving Christ changes each one of us? Can you explain why men and women were created in the first place? Can you explain what a human being actually is?
Can you tell people caught up in passion that love is in the will, the most sanctified part of our beings, so holy that God does not interfere with our free will? Can you explain to someone how to overcome the passions, mortal sin, and avoid eternal damnation?
The Synod chaos is owing to the fact that many of these questions have either not been asked, or that no one really wants to ask these questions.
To keep reading about Church politics, factions, and sound bites does not help one come to learn how to battle the great war against the Church at this time.
Imagine ALL the heretics attacking the Church at the same time-Arius, Montanus, Pelagius, Nestorius, Luther, Zwingli, Knox, Jansenius. , . Then, imagine a Church without an Athanasius, Augustine, Aquinas, Bellarmine, Suarez, Garrigou-Lagrange, Pius X and so on.
This is the current state of the Church. While people write long essays, blogs and commentaries on trivia, Satan is winning the field for the lack of great minds who are willing to fight him.
The future of the Church is at stake. The war is not won through the emotions, but through reason.
Without leaders who can address the battle of the basics, the war will be lost, which means a very, very, very small remnant.
Before the Protestant Revolt, most people understood their own personhood with regard to nature and the supernatural. Basic questions had been discussed since the flowering of the Middle Ages, with the teaching of rational discourse and the deep mystical theology which grew up side-by-side in Europe.
There is no mysticism without Aquinas, and no thinking without the great mystics. Prayer and reason go together.
That is why I am starting over again with how we think, how we learn, how we know God. I cannot do much on this blog but highlight some writings which will jump-start the process of learning.
Faith and Reason are at stake....The Church is not facing schism. She is facing an enemy which wants to destroy her. And, to say, "Well, God promised the Church will be here until He comes again" ignores the enormous loss of souls which will occur unless we take our roles as thinking Catholics seriously.
Millions of people will go to hell simply because they have not been taught how to think, or refuse to think, and continually choose the passions over the intellect, confusing comfort for love and self for God.
The questions of being, existence and reality have been answered by the Church. It is our duty to revive the discussion in order to save the Church on earth.
Christ said this,
Luke 18:8Douay-Rheims
8 ... But yet the Son of man, when he cometh, shall he find, think you, faith on earth?