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Question

Dear Father Angelo,

I would like to begin this letter with my sincere thanks for the immeasurable gift you provide to all of us through this site (and not only), helping us to clarify, strengthening our faith and teaching us how to stay in the world, even if we do not belong to the world.The environment where I work is almost totally atheist, and I frequent a parish where divorce, remarriage, cohabitation, contraception, etc. are perceived as perfectly “normal”, “right” and justifiable. I therefore often feel very alone in living my faith to the fullest, in concrete choices and daily life. I get  misunderstood about the truths of faith, even by believers and this causes me a lot of suffering and consequent  loneliness as I am considered to be  retrograde and borderline even by people very close to me; it  particularly happens  when I end up speaking about  purity, premarital chastity, indissolubility of the marriage bond, homosexuality, etc.

Despite my apparent  good relationships with everybody, I sense that I could never share who I am and all I think, because of the  different views on important issues which prevent the creation of a real and healthy emotional intimacy and truly sincere friendships. Often, I am even afraid to say what I think as I fear some kind of retaliation, as well as being excluded. However, I believe that belongs to the cross that nowadays we Catholics are called to endure.

Furthermore, although I am sure of the Magisterium, I find myself devoid of the required rational means and philosophical formation to argue and demonstrate the truthfulness and perfect reasonableness of what the Church transmits as divine truths.

So, I would like to submit some of the  “provocations” which I occasionally receive and, unfortunately, I cannot  thoroughly and credibly debate despite my efforts. In regard to  the below questions, I kindly ask you  to point out the truth of the Magisterium to those who are far from it , or frequent the Church without fully believing in all its teachings. At the same time, I ask your advice on how to form myself and to learn debating similar issues with charity but also firmly and truthfully.

1st provocation: How can you “trust” the Church in matters of faith and morals, as it is subject to human limitations and it is developing throughout history? How can you be sure that the Word of God had  not already been manipulated in the translation of the sacred texts?

2nd provocation:One of the risks of keeping virginity until marriage,is not to be able to know  whether the couple has physical compatibility, which is an essential aspect of married life. Furthermore, abstinence might hide psychological blocks, neuroses, a fear of sexuality and intimacy disguised by the “excuse” of purity, which will finally generate problems in a marriage.

3rd provocation: Nowadays, the modern way of living makes an authentic and profound life of faith impossible, for example, how to live a successful profession, meaningful relationships, …  as well as attend  the daily Holy Mass,recite the whole Holy Rosary, …? You cannot have everything, you must give up something, and faith must be “restrained” if you want to be in the world as a “normal” person. I am speaking of situations like, for example: I must do a business travel with other people, so it is impossible to go to Mass on Sunday, to pray the Holy Rosary, to observe fasting, etc.; or when, being Catholic, I am invited to a same-sex wedding, or the company I work for promotes initiatives such as Gay Pride, etc.

4th provocation: What is the reason to follow what the Church proposes in moral terms, while every rational person should instead think on one’s own and freely choose?

5th provocation: How can I “trust” the dogmas of faith? Is it not an abdication of one’s own reason?

I thank you in advance for the answer you will give me, and I wish you all the best from my heart. May God bless you and may Holy Mary protect you

Maria Chiara

The answer of the Priest

Dear Maria Chiara,

1. Your many questions deserve a more extensive discussion.

Unfortunately, I must limit myself to an almost skeletal reply, because brevity and sharpness are on the other hand necessary to facilitate the reading of the post.

Now, I will answer  your “provocations”.

2. To the first: It is true that the Magisterium is carried out by men, albeit prepared from an intellectual point of view.

But its authority comes from the Holy Spirit Who guarantees it.

The Major Catechism of Saint Pius X answers the question “What does the Holy Ghost do in the Church?”:

[tr.] “The Holy Spirit communicates four things to the church:

1. Invincible force in persecutions;

2. Victory over enemies;

3. Purity of doctrine;

4. The spirit of holiness that dwells in it, amid the corruption of the world”.

So, here is who guarantees the authority of the magisterium: the Holy Spirit, Who shall remain with us forever as Jesus Christ promised.

3. To the second provocation: For millennia (and still today in different parts of the world), when marriages were arranged by the parents and the spouses saw each other for the first time only on their wedding day, no one raised the problem of physical compatibility, because generally there isn’t any. It is in the order of nature.

You could say: but today things have changed. Physical compatibility is also important. Yes, I do not deny it, and yet the ancient scholastics would say that this apparent good motivation hides a specious objection. It glitters, it looks attractive but a pitfall hides behind it.

First, we must recognize that some realities are so immediate and so primitive that they cannot be proved. Can you try, for example, to start living? Obviously not.

Can a newborn baby try to start eating? His very first feeding is already eating.

Can you give yourself totally in a sexual intimacy, which is in itself an irrevocable donation, only as a trial and then retract that same offering in case you reject the person you gave yourself to?

If there is true love, you take that person as he or she is and then you try to intervene.

Is that not so when a married couple discovers some difficulties in that area?

 Either of them never occurs to reject the other because of some physical defect. Love pushes to seek any help, except separation.

It should not be forgotten that also by experiencing  sexual intimacy beforehands, which inevitably spreads in the repetition of acts, one loses that invaluable talent constituted by chastity for marriage, which is a “spiritual energy capable of defending love from the perils of selfishness and aggressiveness.”

A marriage prepared without chastity is fragile. Too fragile. And this only just for the sake   of physical compatibility.

4. To the third provocation: I admit that, given the working hours and the Mass celebration times, the daily Eucharist is impossible for some.

For those who live in a city on a human scale (I am not speaking therefore of those who live in a metropolis or in the countryside) to find celebrations of the Eucharist is still quite easy in the early morning, during the lunch break or even in the evening (I am thinking, for example, in churches managed by religious communities).

Quite often, it is a matter of goodwill.

Just yesterday evening a young mother, who has four children and who for some time forced herself to participate in the daily Eucharist, told me she had noticed, among other things, how many problems had been often self-solved or quickly resolved.

John Paul II rightly said  not to be  afraid to give one’s own time to Christ, because He always gives it back, full of blessings.

The same thing must be said for the Rosary. I am not speaking of the whole Rosary, that is the fifteen mysteries. In Fatima, Our Lady asked to continue saying the daily Rosary. She implied a third part of the entire Rosary, i.e., a crown of 5 mysteries.

The words spoken by Jesus, who knew perfectly the living conditions of men of all times, must also be applied to the various situations of life: “the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent are taking it by force” (Mt 11:12).

Of course, situations can arise and make a solid project of spiritual life impossible, even in those who have it. But, while one thing is the exoneration, once or sometimes or even often, another is never entering a circle of life where everything focuses towards Christ.

5. About participation in events that are blatantly offensive to God’s law, a Christian must know how to abstain from them. Faith is not necessary to understand that certain things are beyond every logic.

However, in any case: one thing is the respect of others’ beliefs, even if they are wrong; another is their approval.

Perhaps, we soon forget that Christ asks to be His witnesses, up to shed one’s own blood: “And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna” (Mt 10:28).

6. To the fourth provocation: We are not just speaking of following what the Church says, but of following what God says, what Jesus Christ says.

Only He knows perfectly what is good for us for the present and for the future life.

It should be specified at once that everything He teaches is most reasonable. Nothing of His magisterium constitutes an abdication of the reason, but rather it helps comprehending further the truth of all things.

What we read in Sacred Scriptures also applies to His teaching: “I have seen the limits of all perfection (of science too, Ed.), but your command is without bounds” (Ps 119:96).

7. To the fifth provocation: Before saying a priori that ‘certain dogmas of faith are an abdication of reason’, try instead to ask yourself: ‘what is wrong with this dogma?’

If you find something wrong, then you are right. It would be an abdication of reason. Rather, that would be contrary to the very will of God who gave us the reason to use it.

I am sure that, if you try hard to understand, you will soon say: ‘there is nothing more reasonable; everything is perfect.’

On the other hand, to challenge your objection, Christ asks everyone to say openly: “Can any of you charge me with sin?” (Jn 8:46) and immediately after he adds: “If I am telling the truth, why do you not believe me?” (Ib.).

I assure you of my prayer and I bless you.

Father Angelo