This Is No Time to Water Down the Truths and Precepts of Jesus Christ

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

I enjoy using In Conversations with God as a resource and tool to facilitate my understanding of, and reflection on, the daily Scriptures. Rarely is there a day that I do not gain something of value from this work. Today was no exception.

In our current culture, we are urged to extraordinary (and often absurd) extremes not to offend anyone with our words - verbal or written. "Better not to offend someone's feelings," the monitors of political correctness urge, "than to share the full and unabridged Truth." 

In their upside down world, there is no Absolute or Moral Truth and no concern for the salvation of souls. 

The pressure to conform to this cultural demand is ever increasing. The number of individuals who have surrendered to this evil (even within our Church) expands daily. Those who refuse to abandon the teachings of Jesus and His Church have been and will be increasingly singled out and persecuted, much like St. Paul in centuries past and the Christians in the Middle East today. We are witnessing the beginnings of such persecution here in our own country, . 

As these attacks mount, how many Catholics will have the Faith and courage to persevere in their defense of the Truth?

Now more than ever, the Truths of Jesus Christ and His Church must be proclaimed from our pulpits in their entirety and lived out fully in the lives of all bishops, priests, religious and laity There is no room for "political correctness" in Christ's Church. We have  got to be about the salvation of souls.

It is not too late to heed the admonitions offered by Pope Benedict XV as cited in today's reflection from In Conversation with God :

“What St Paul taught was all the truths and precepts of Christ, even the most demanding ones, without silencing or watering down any. He spoke of humility, of self-denial of chastity, of detachment from earthly goods, of obedience... And he did not fear to stress that one had to choose between serving God and serving Belial, because it is not possible to serve the two together. He taught that after death all had to undergo a woeful judgment; that no one can bargain with God; that one can only expect eternal life if one has kept God's laws; that seeking pleasures by breaking these laws one can only expect eternal damnation... Never did the Preacher of the truth think he had to omit these things because they might seem harsh to his listeners, espe­cially in view of the corruption of the times…Since when does a doctor give useless medicine to his patients, being afraid to prescribe useful ones?"

(Pope Benedict XV, Encyclical - Humanum genus)