News Item: : Evangelization - Some Helps and Hindrances - (Part 3 of 4) - Libera Nos a Malo
(Category: Torch of The Faith News)
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Friday 13 March 2015 - 11:40:52

It is certainly remarkable that, during the very days of Cardinal Burke's faith-strengthening visit to England, Cardinal Tagle of Manila, Cardinal Nichols of Westminster and Fr. Tim Radcliffe OP - a notorious supporter of homosexual priests, the infamous 'Soho-Gay-Masses' and same-sex civil-unions - were giving keynote presentations at CYMFED's 'Flame 2' youth-event in London's Wembley Arena.

Cardinal Tagle and Pope Francis offering a theologically-compromised

hand signal to young people during the recent visit to the Philippines.

Many Catholic families had boycotted the Flame 2 event, when it emerged that Fr. Radcliffe had been chosen to speak to young Catholics. Readers will likely remember that orthodox Catholics, pro-lifers and pro-family groups protested against Radcliffe's lecture at last year's Divine Mercy Conference in Ireland; which EWTN also refused to broadcast, because of Radcliffe's heterodox ideology. During the lecture, a small group of orthodox young people tried to pray the Rosary in protest, until they were shouted down by the large gathering; which sadly applauded the dissenting Radcliffe instead.

LifeSiteNews has noted the contrast between the recent visits through an article headlined: In England, one cardinal says brace for martyrdom over marriage, while another denounces 'harsh' language. The article goes on to compare Cardinal Burke's warnings, about confusion and error which could compromise the Church's witness to the detriment of the whole of society, with Cardinal Tagle's suggestion that 'harsh words' and 'severe language' should be avoided when describing the sins of adultery and homosexual behaviour. Cardinal Tagle, recently appointed by Pope Francis to head the Catholic Biblical Federation, also suggested that having one 'general rule' for divorced/'re-married' people might be 'counterproductive.'

James Preece, at Catholic and Loving It, and Clare Short, of Faith in Our Families, have provided a number of clear expositions of the problems associated with the Flame 2 event.

Flame 2 is organized by the Catholic Youth Ministry Federation (CYMFED), which is affiliated with the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales. Many Catholic parents are unhappy at the style and content of the event as well as the choice and direction taken by speakers. There are a number of videos on the internet, which show dancing girls whirling streamers and beachballs to pop-music before the large audience of young people, who have been bussed-in from dioceses around the country. James Preece certainly seems close to the mark with these lines: ''The Catholic Bishops of England and Wales must be seen to be doing something. Which is why every now and then, professional Catholics across the country are encouraged to pack their handy captive audiences in to a coach or two and take them off to the latest big noisy musical dancy fun joy day... With Adoration... because it looks really good in the photographs and you can use Our Lord as a human shield if any traddies write any blog-posts. But James! They had Adoration!'' Well, we seem to remember that is exactly what did happen last time.

All of this puts us in mind of the Bergin brothers in Tipperary. These young men gave an interview to Michael Voris, on Church Militant TV, about a year ago (pictured below). They pointed out that, due to loss of faith in the home and disastrous lack of evangelization/catechesis in the parish and school, they had reached young-adulthood without any knowledge of the central truths of the Catholic Faith. And when they did encounter mainstream Catholic youth-work, it was rooted in sentimentalism. It was only when they discovered apologetics, dogma and the Traditional Latin Mass that they realized what they had been denied, and experienced conversion and committment to follow Christ in His True Church. They describe themselves as having been 'children of Hell' prior to their conversion, because they did not know of the seriousness of sin and false beliefs. 

In the last few years, we have met a number of young adults with similar stories to tell. We even spoke with a young lady who had fallen into witchcraft through lack of true teaching. She thankfully received the grace of conversion when watching St. John Paul II's funeral on the telly and made a good Confession at the earliest opportunity. Deo Gratias!

Here we reach the crux of today's article on helps and hindrances to evangelization. I can't help thinking that so much of what has been written above relates to the dreadful loss of the sense of sin which Our Lady of Fatima warned about. And indeed to the grave diabolical disorientation which Sr. Lucia of Fatima spoke of. In relation to the theme of this series, we hinder evangelization by soft-pedalling on sin and doctrine and we help evangelization by giving the full truth in love. 

Canon Michael Culhane was the prayerful and orthodox priest who, in turn, received my Dad, my Mum and I into the Catholic Church between December 1989 and April 1993. He died in 2010 at the age of 89.

I've said before, that Canon Michael reminded his congregation, on a very regular basis, that the Mass is not only a religious meal, but is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. He frequently spoke of the fact that, as the Son's offering to the Father, It is the highest form of prayer on this earth and thus we are obligated as Catholics to attend Mass every Sunday. It is both a duty and a joy. Canon Michael reminded his flock every so often that, to deliberately miss Sunday Mass with no good reason, was a mortal sin requiring sincere Confession before returning to Holy Communion. We do not get to Heaven alone, but are saved as members of the community of the Church, which is the Mystical Body of Christ. About once a year, Canon Michael would focus his preaching on the reality and nature of Hell - and on how to avoid going there.

Another of Canon Michael's regular themes, which impacted deeply on me, was his frequent references to St. Augustine's teaching, in The City of God, that we have here on earth no lasting city. This life is brief and passing. All our temporal property, wealth and even our health, will eventually fail us and be eaten away by moths, rust, sickness and death. Our reputations and even our life will seep away like sand in an hour-glass. It therefore makes little sense to invest our whole purpose in this passing world. We need rather to use the things of this world to help build in love for a city that lasts for all eternity. That is the Kingdom of God in Heaven.

Canon Michael also stressed, on a regular basis, the fact that Jesus Christ became one with us in the Incarnation in all things but sin. This meant that He could reveal the Father to us, reveal us to ourselves and understand us from within, with all of our human frailty. Truly we have a friend in Jesus Who, being one with us yet free from sin, can also redeem us from our sins.

Another of Canon Michael's favourite themes was the notion that the Faith is caught and not only taught. One certainly 'caught' the Faith from him, by his immense love for Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament and in other people, by his reverent offering of Holy Mass, Benediction and by his deep praying of the Divine Office, Rosary and Stations of the Cross.

In the years before I converted, Canon Michael preached a couple of times about Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus. Drawing on Lumen Gentium, and the writings of Bl. Cardinal J.H. Newman, Canon Michael noted: ''Therefore, those could not be saved who refuse either to enter the Church, or to remain in it, while knowing that it was founded by God through Christ as required for salvation' (LG 14).

I have drawn on Canon Michael Culhane here to demonstrate that true evangelization - the type that actually draws people to conversion - is expressed by objectively imparting the truths of the Faith in the 4-dimensions of Liturgy, Doctrine, Prayer and Morals.

We do not give young people - or any one else - a genuine encounter with Christ or the Catholic Church, by substituting these 4-dimensions with pop-music, dancing, mimes, or softly-softly talks by liberals and dissenters.

I am sometimes troubled by the fact that, due to my own personal sinfulness, the worldliness of my thinking and the stubborness of my heart, I still needed around 4 years of encountering orthodox Catholicism, through the ministry of Canon Culhane and the love of my parents, to actually take the plunge of conversion just before my 21st birthday. Even with all the graces I was given and all the things I have described, it took me so long. Mea Culpa. And yet, how patient is God! 

But the point is, how long will it take to reach the hearts of young people, when they are not being given the objective content of the Faith, but a watered-down, worldly and popularized version, which plays down human sinfulness and the need to repent? And more worryingly, how long do we have left?

Anyone with their spiritual eyes open can see that Cardinal Burke is right about the dangers facing the Church from within and without at this time. Anti-Catholic persecution has been a looming possibility for a number of years, and it would appear that, right now, the 'tanks' of the enemy are drawn up on our own front lawn. And then one must factor in the dangerous global situation emerging from Kiev, the spreading threat of Islamic terrorism and the prophecies at Quito, Akita and Fatima. 

We would suggest that the time for soppy speeches, pop music and dancing is past. It is time to repent, get on our knees with the Rosary and implore - without presumption - the mercy of Almighty God. Oh Lord - Libera Nos a Malo!

On a happier, though not unrelated note: If it had not been for God's grace working through Canon Michael and the orthodoxy of his parish, I would not have converted, would not have met Angeline, and we would not be defending and promoting the Sacrament of Marriage today through this apostolate. And for all these things, we are very grateful to God, the Church, my parents and good old Canon Michael Culhane - May he rest in peace.   

Canon Michael, then aged 81, with us and Prof. David Torevell, author of the book Losing the Sacred, at our wedding reception in 2002. 

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This news item is from Torch of The Faith
( http://www.torchofthefaith.com/news.php?extend.898 )