A Case for the question; What has happened?

A Case for the Question;  What has happened to Faith?

Of course we can recall what Jesus asked; “But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”  (Lk 18: 8).  Already while he is still ministering to the flock Jesus sees the lack of faith even with the apostles.   

We can ponder this very problem at any period of history and see that even when the children of God were brought out of Egypt it didn’t take very long for them to become dissatisfied with what God sent them.  As much as Moses continued relating God’s message of hope to them, they responded with accusations and tried to create their own secular god.  

I took a personal review of what is occurring in our present agnostic attitude that is pulling many believers away from their once solid attachment to church.  They are slowly drifting aimlessly towards an unknown reason to leave their connection to God and his church.  Looking deeper into the personal lives of many I am connected with, each one appears to have a found a different path to connect with God and seem to feel they haven’t left their faith, just grappling with their own ideas of being spiritual without a church building.

One woman says she is too busy because of family and work requirements to get up on Sunday for Mass.  There is a quandary with one of her boys, past teen years, who says he doesn’t believe in Jesus.  For that reason he does not regard church as necessary.  Because he still lives at home, his reluctance has had an influence on his mother’s decision.  

Another couple who quit attending church have had a definite decline of Mass attendance. It goes back to the pedaphilia period and they just cannot come to grips with the Church’s position, even though the Church had nothing to do with it.   They fully believe in God and the church as well, but going to Mass is not one of their criteria.  

There may very well be a multitude of reasons, or excuses, to stay away from Mass attendance.  More people than myself are in a quandary as to why so many have drifted away from Mass.  However, the common denominator to this occurrence may not be a lack of faith, but it certainly creates the obvious sign of what Jesus asked; “when he returns will he find any faith on earth?”  

Are we, as believers in Christ, the Sacraments, and promises of God, living in a moment of complete falling away from faith in a way that may predict a turning away from the Truth that Jesus promised to us?  Has that premise of truth that will take us home be enough to keep our own faith and hold onto the very beliefs we were raised with?

Attempting to redirect their choices has not been successful.  Most times their argument is they believe in God and that seems to satisfy each one.  They all have been evangelized and are not without a background in Catholicism.  Without making any judgments on their faith we can only pray and ask God to be merciful with them.  The path they have chosen is not new to almost any family that is experiencing similar results.  

Moving to another entity that will, in the future, have a devastating effect on Christianity in our country is the promotion of schools for youngsters called Satan education.  Already there are examples of the teachers making the students pray to the Devil, tear up bibles and stomp on them and give praise to Satan and his cohorts.  This is going on right now and will become a way to give Satan a clear-cut opportunity to enter into the most vulnerable minds of children who are at the most crucial age to be indoctrinated.  If this exists where you live with small school-age children, take time to search and remove your children to a Catholic school.  

When Jesus spoke of signs regarding the end, it surely was not the environmental actions of weather upheaval, but actions like these Satan schools that will usher in the end.

Ralph B. H