The Crisis
The world and the Church are in crisis. I don't think any sane person can deny this now. We should consider what the solution to this crisis might be, but in order to do that, we must first consider the root of the crisis.
While one can argue that there are many root causes to our current
predicament, there is one that is clear and paramount. This also happens to
be something everyone can help resolve. You don't need to be
a president or a pope to solve the crisis. We can all do our part.
What then is the root of our modern crisis? Sin. Which is
ultimately the result of a lack of holiness on our part. As I explain
here in much greater detail we can sum this up in these two quotes from Pope
Saint Pius V and Pope Saint Pius X: "All the evils of the world are due to lukewarm Catholics.” and “All the strength of Satan’s reign is due to the easygoing weakness of
Catholics.”
Thus if we find ourselves in evil times we know that it is ultimately our
own fault. WE have failed to pray as we ought. WE have failed to
fast and do penance. WE have failed to be witnesses to the
faith. WE have failed to raise our children to be saints. And so
on and so forth. Now it's easy for us to become angry when we hear
this because sadly we are all infected with pride. Don't take my word
for it, rather consider the words of the great Saint John Eudes, apostles of
the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts:
“The most evident mark of God’s anger, and the most terrible castigation He can inflict upon the world, is manifest when He permits His people to fall into the hands of a clergy who are more in name than in deed, priests who practice the cruelty of ravening wolves rather than the charity and affection of devoted shepherds. They abandon the things of God to devote themselves to the things of the world and, in their saintly calling of holiness, they spend their time in profane and worldly pursuits. When God permits such things, it is a very positive proof that He is thoroughly angry with His people and is visiting His most dreadful wrath upon them.”
The Solution
If we are able to be humble for just a minute then we might stop blaming everyone around us for all the terrible things happening and instead turn to ourselves. If we are part of the problem then we can just as easily be part of the solution. The single most powerful impact we can make on the Church and the entire world is to become holy and to help all those souls under your care to become holy as well, i.e. children, spiritual children, parishioners, spouse, etc.
Yet many of us are striving for holiness already, but we are making little or no
progress. Why is that? The reasons can vary but generally, it's
once again because of pride. We don't have a good spiritual director
to help us, we don't read challenging books and listen to challenging
sermons, and deep down we are simply too attached to our lukewarmness to
make a radical break and embrace the cross.
Therefore, I propose that if you are really serious about a solution to the
current crisis, really serious about becoming holy, and ultimately really
serious about loving and serving God with all your heart then you will
consider the following resources as food for meditation and
reflection. Allow yourself to be challenged, and then with God's grace
take up the challenge and begin to advance toward our heavenly homeland with
all fervor and intensity.
Three Books that Will Change Your Life
