The second reading at  Sunday’s Mass (the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time:  8/31/2104) was from St. Paul to the Romans: 12:1-2.  The words reverberated in my head, and I think it was not only because of their simplicity and timeliness but primarily because  of the message.  

“I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual  worship.  Do not CONFORM yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the WILL of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.

Offering our bodies as a living sacrifice does not mean jumping into an open volcano.  It does not mean that we are supposed to self-flagellate or harm ourselves in any physical way.  I think it simply means  that we must do our best to follow God as He would have us follow Him, and not to conform to the secular, morally bankrupt world we live in.  The thing of it is,  the secular world  has encapsulated its meistic philosophy into a false narrative of “pretend virtue” suggesting that self-gratification (no matter what that might be) is perfectly permissible.  Some of the  cliches which precede anything self-gratifying are, “You don’t have to do it” or “I’m not bothering you” and “Mind your own business”.   In the world of Meism  (my word) the other person NEVER comes first.

Our Judeo/Catholic/Christian beliefs are under attack around the world.  Not just from ISIS but from people just “like” us.  Many of our  neighbors, friends, colleagues and even family members have been swept up in the phony virtue of meism.  Many Catholics attending  Mass do not even believe in the Real Presence.  Many Catholics believe  abortion is okay and that birth control should not even be discussed because it is just a normal part of life.  It is okay for people to:  live together first as an unmarried “husband and wife”; then have a child; then get engaged, and then, when the child is old enough to be a flower girl or ring-bearer, maybe get married.  Talk about putting the “cart before the horse”.  Belgium, which is supposedly 75% Catholic, has approved euthanasia for children, and that is after the Bishops condemned the entire concept.

So, as St. Paul calls out to us from across the ages,  many do not listen.  They do not want to surrender their secularly approved philosophy of self-gratification.  The term, “Cafeteria Catholic” has become common-place.  Many do, in fact, pick & choose what church teachings fit their lifestyle.  No doubt about it,  secularism has taken a heavy toll.

The two verses quoted above are so profound for all of us, especially today.  Here they are, one more time:

“I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual  worship.  Do not CONFORM yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the WILL of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.

As members of the CWG and/or other Catholic writing groups, we have, in a way, found a comfort zone with each other.  Most of us are traditional minded Catholics doing our best to follow the faith as handed down by Holy Mother Church.  It is kind of a “safe place” to be because most members agree with each other regarding church teachings, especially in regard to faith & morals.  Step outside our comfort zones and roll the dice with the anti’s (I do this quite often) and it can get ugly.  All I know is that I am NOT so smart as to know better than the Church that Christ Himself founded.  I shall listen and do my best to discern what is the WILL of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.  I guess that is all any of us can do.

St. Paul, please pray for all of us.

Larry is a Catholic/Christian author and blogger and posts weekly commentary. His work has appeared in such publications as Zenit from Rome, Aleteia, New Evangelists, Top Catholic Blogs, Big Pulpit, Catholic365.com and others. His first children's picture book, "Slippery Willie's Stupid, Ugly Shoes" was published in 2011. In 2012, his full-length novel, "The Priest and the Peaches" was released. His second novel, "The Demons of Abadon", was released in the spring of 2016. Larry’s latest novel, “Horizon Homeless” was released in ebook format in May of 2017 and the paperback followed on July 27, 2017. Larry belongs to the Catholic Writer’s Guild, The Catholic Writer’s Society, The Knights of Columbus, and the St. Vincent de Paul Society. He has been an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion for over twenty years bringing communion to the homebound and hospitalized. He lives in Pinellas Park, Florida and his kids and six grandchildren all live within three miles of each other. His first wife died of cancer in 2003. He remarried four years later and became the primary caregiver for his wife, Martha who came down with Non-Hodgins Lymphoma in 2011. The cancer was in remission when she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease in October of 2014. Sadly and unexpectedly, Martha passed away on March 27, 2017. The writer says, "God has me where he needs me and I try my best to make Him proud. Larry’s blog site is http://www.slipperywillie.blogspot.com You can find more at www.larrypeterson-author.com

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