Everything is great

Everything is great

Rev. Jerry J. Pokorsky

When the Israelites, at last, entered into the Promised Land – the land of milk and honey – completing their glorious Exodus under Moses, they had it made. Everything was great. The Promised Land not only foreshadowed the place of heaven, it was also a foretaste of heavenly sweetness.

With the consolidation of power under King David, the people had it made. Everything was great. Solomon succeeded David as king of Israel. He was the wisest of men and a composer of many Psalms. He had it made. Everything was great. After the return to Jerusalem from the Babylonian Exile, the Israelites had it made. Everything was great.

After the Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus, with the Descent of the Holy Spirit, everything was great. With the establishment of Christendom during the High Middle Ages, the Church was at the pinnacle of glory. Everything was great. During the post-WWII baby boom years, the Church in America rose as a significant player in America, with the building of thousands of new churches and schools. We were, at last, making it. Everything was great.

But we forget one of the most profound and reliable clichés of the Faith: Pride comes before the Fall. And the Devil in many disguises exploits our pride and confuses our sensibilities. Adam and Eve had a good thing going until they ruined it all by giving in to the temptation, “Ye shall be as gods.” Throughout history, the same temptation seems almost irresistible.

The indolent King David, lethargic in comfort, turned to adultery for excitement, and then to murder to cover up the crime. King Solomon cut deals with his neighbors and permitted the worship of gods, defying the Commandments. The apostasy fractures his kingdom. The prophet Isaiah warned Judah to repent of their wickedness and false worship and announced the coming judgment through Babylonian captivity.

The prophet Jeremiah also warned the Israelites that judgment was certain and coming. “Because the people have forsaken me, and have profaned this place by burning incense in it to other gods whom neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah have known; and because they have filled this place with the blood of innocents, and have built the high places of Ba'al to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Ba'al, which I did not command or decree, nor did it come into my mind; therefore, behold, days are coming, says the LORD, when this place shall no more be called Topheth, or the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of Slaughter.” (Jer. 19: 4-6)

When the Israelites returned to their own land after the Exile, they neglected to rebuild the Temple. The prophet Haggai called them on their irreverence and infidelity. The prophet Malachi indicted the Israelites because of their sloppy and selfish worship: their frequent use of sick and inferior animals for sacrificial offerings.

The high point of Catholic optimism in the last century was perhaps the middle of the 1960s. But the unintended effect of that arguably careless and materialistic optimism began an unraveling of the faith over 50 years. Most of you know the drill. Everything was up for grabs.

In the 1960s and beyond, respect for civil authority broke down; people were shocked to learn that presidents and politicians lied. The sexual revolution not only overran the culture, it seeped into the hierarchy. There were revolutionary priests, Communist priests, protesting priests, and doctrinally dissident priests – and “gay” priest networks, disturbingly and dangerously subversive.

There was a feeding frenzy of dissent. Liturgical disasters not only deformed worship but corrupted the Catholic understanding of Mass. Catholic politicians got away with supporting the murder of unborn babies as a woman’s “right.” Many of the same politicians even received awards from the hands of priests and bishops. The hierarchy’s toleration of the hidden crime of abortion mirrored the toleration of the “gay” priest exploitation of vulnerable youth. Highly symbolical of all of this was the removal of crucifixes from Georgetown classrooms.

Bishops and popes rarely responded with discipline. Increasingly we are hearing the details of “gay” clergy networks in the highest levels of the Church as, at long last, public revelations begin to take place.

Perhaps it is not much of consolation to suggest history is just repeating itself, as it will until the end of time. If the Ten Commandments are not convincing, no number of policies, procedures, and protocols -- or fancy questionnaires -- will provide the promised guarantees.

But as in every generation, we need as many faithful Catholics as possible on the field of battle. The police force may be corrupt, but that doesn't mean we do not need a good police force. A little prophetic outrage in the face of injustice will help. It’s time to demand a thorough investigation of the “gay” network within the Church and fearlessly follow the facts. With God’s grace, it is a time for honesty, resignations, and just punishment. With God’s grace and a sense of mission, let’s drain the swamp.

Peter is confused by the teachings of Jesus. He’s confused by the confusion of the people. But he is not confused as to the answer: “Lord, to whom shall we turn? You have the words of eternal life.” This is why we stick with Jesus and His Church – in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, until death. In the meantime, we can expect chastisements, exile, prophetic indictments, and in all probability in the decades ahead, martyrdom.

Only in heavenly glory will everything truly be great. In the meantime, with God’s grace, keep punching.