We are living in perilous times when the hearts and souls of men are sorely tried. Never before has the future been so utterly unpredictable; we are not so much in a period of transition with belief in progress to push us on, rather we seem to be entering the realm of the unknown, joylessly, disillusioned, and without hope. The whole world seems to be in a state of spiritual widowhood, possessed of the harrowing devastation of one who set out on life’s course joyously in intimate companionship with another, and then is bereft of that companion forever.
And in all this confusion and bewilderment our modern prophets say that our economics have failed us. No! It is not our economics which have failed; it is man who has failed – man who has forgotten God. Hence no manner of economic or political readjustment can possibly save our civilization; we can be saved only by a renovation of the inner man, only by a purging of our heart and souls; for only by seeking first the Kingdom of God and His Justice with all these other things be added unto us. That is the way the world twenty centuries ago was saved from paganism and selfishness. And that is the way it will be saved again. In order to bring home this truth, recall briefly how Our Lord saved the world once before, and thus learn how it can be saved once again.
That’s Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, from December 1935. Sounds quite apt for today. Puts our current agonies in some perspective. Wednesday, December 9, 2020, is the 41st anniversary of his death, and I’ll be in conversation with Fr. Roger J. Landry, a priest of Fall River, Massachusetts, currently assigned to the Holy See Mission to the United Nations in New York for the Sheen Center for Thought and Culture in New York, for their annual event on this day. Fr. Landry is a friend, whose wisdom I’m always grateful for. He has a love for Sheen and I look forward to talking with him about some of Sheen’s Gospel insights from his day and how we could learn from them during these challenging times, and going forward. Join us at 3 p.m. on the Sheen Center’s YouTube channel here. More information here.
