The time will surely come, when men will grow tired of sound doctrine, always itching to hear something fresh; and so they will provide themselves with a continuous succession of new teachers, as the whim takes them, turning a deaf ear to the truth, bestowing their attention on fables instead (2 Tim 4:3-5 – Knox Version).
The Milieu
Face it – we live in a hedonistic culture. We’re assaulted with messaging from all forms of media selling us happiness and promising avoidance of pain. Whether it’s soda pop, soap or shoes, if you want to be happy, you simply can’t do without certain items, were you to believe the marketing. Ditto if you want to be pain-free—you need to take this drug or supplement, or slather on this salve to secure serenity. Manifestations of the pain and pleasure principle—avoid pain and pursue pleasure—are easy to see if we pay attention to what’s all around us.
Self or God?
To be clear, nothing is wrong with pleasure as long as we keep our priorities properly ordered. Our Christian value system does not reject pleasure. It’s just that pursuing pleasure as the top priority means we’re most likely focusing inward on ourselves, looking at ways to optimize self-gratification. But our lives as Christians should be focused outward on relationship with God, on loving Him and loving others with, in, through and for Him.
Be Perfect
As well, Our Lord told us to “be perfect” as our Heavenly Father is perfect (Cf. Mt 5:48). Of course, we can’t be perfect in the same sense as our all-perfect God is. But we can grow in our spiritual development. This spiritual growth entails building virtues. God made us in His image and likeness. He loves us and wants to give us His transforming, healing grace to allow us to grow and to even more reflect His image and likeness in our lives. We can cooperate with Him in this by eschewing sinful habits and building virtuous habits.
Building Virtues
Building virtuous habits is hard work. Even with God’s grace, it takes effort, and sometimes the effort required can be quite difficult. But with God all things are possible. And as St. Augustine tells us, although God created us without us, He won’t save us without us. Following a hedonistic worldview gets in the way of all this, because doing the hard work of continual conversion and virtue development can be painful.
Examples of Itching Ears
Our Biblical worldview runs counter to the secular worldview of seeking pleasure first. The influence of “the world” may have some individuals looking for a broader “narrow way,” one with a more gradual incline. Indeed, it seems Christians of all stripes presently may be “itching to hear something fresh,” as it relates to their personal lifestyle choices. One need not look far for a smattering of examples:
Rampant killing of the unborn continues. Something like 60% of US adults believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases, and Catholics pretty much mirror the general population in these opinions.
Euthanasia is gaining ground. Gallup reports that overall acceptance of doctor-assisted suicide averages about 53%; 44% of Catholics who claim to attend Mass weekly opine that it is morally acceptable.
Sins against the 6th and 9th Commandments continue. Polls disclose that 64% of US adults say same-sex relations are morally acceptable. Here again, Catholics march with the masses.
Many believe that all will be saved. This concept, “universalism,” holds that nobody really ends up going to hell, in spite of their life lived here—ultimately all will be saved. This is in spite of multiple warnings in Scripture that we are not all automatically saved.
There are more categories and examples that we could consider. It’s sufficient to say that the above illustrate where some may be itching to hear something fresh. But where’s this coming from?
Formation Issues
One topic that most people I know have found to not be covered much in preaching is the right to life from natural conception to natural death. Other than a mention once or twice a year during rallies, it’s rarely, if ever, brought up at Mass.
I’ve heard Catholic radio personalities complain that Catholics just don’t know what they’re voting for when they support, or at least don’t oppose, laws that broaden abortion and euthanasia practices. I would beg to differ. Catholics do know what they’re voting on. It’s just that the “Catholic vote” nowadays looks like the general public’s vote on this issue and many others. After decades of silence and lack of proper formation, this is where it stands.
Promotion of Sin
Although we may be hearing little on abortion and euthanasia, we actually find some Catholic clergy and hierarchy seemingly promoting sins against the sixth and ninth Commandments. Just check out headlines from faithful Catholic media if you need evidence. It doesn’t take much looking to find statements made by high-profile clergy that can tickle the ears of those looking for loopholes for lust.
Recently the bishop’s office, through his rector, denied access to a Catholic men’s group who’d requested permission to pray at the cathedral in reparation for sin during a pride parade in Cincinnati. The reason given? He wanted to “stay neutral,” according to the group’s account. Staying neutral, maintaining silence in this case may not be promoting objectively sinful behavior, but would seem at the least to be morally complicit.
No Worry of Hell
As well, many may be hoping for a get-out-of-jail-free card as it relates to eternal salvation. This at its core may be a desire to avoid accountability. We’ve all heard, or maybe even said, “But I’m a good person.” Nowhere does it say in the Bible that a “good” person will be saved. And besides, who’s to define “good?” Consider what Jesus said in His response to the rich young man:
Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone (Mk 10:18).
In fact, Jesus actually tells us not to fool ourselves. It’s about living our faith and having a relationship with Him:
Not every one who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name? And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers (Emphasis added, Mt 7:21-23).
Christ never said that there is no hell, or that people can’t end up there. Everyone’s entitled to dream and wish, I suppose. But we shouldn’t let that get in the way of a serious assessment of the reality of the four last things and two millennia of established Church teaching based on Scripture. Dr. Ralph Martin’s coverage of this topic is commendable if you’d like a deeper dive.
Living in a Glass House?
Lest we fall into a critical spirit and hypocrisy, it’s good to remind ourselves that we each may have one or more false gods that we’re worshipping. We may have one or more sinful habits we’re hanging onto. In our own way, we may be itching to hear something fresh about our own pet peeve or preferred pleasure. Worth taking to prayer, perhaps?
Do the Hard Work
Holy Scripture doesn’t have an expiration date on it, and it applies to us now, in this time. We each need to make the effort to live according to Scripture. This includes following the Ten Commandments, embracing the Beatitudes and eliminating sin, both mortal and venial, from our lives. Make no mistake about it: there will be difficulties in doing this. Changing behaviors is difficult, and the older we are, the more engrained the behavior is, the harder it is to eliminate or modify the behavior.
This is where the capital sin of sloth, or acedia, comes in. It’s really not laziness, which we often think of when we hear the term, “sloth.” It’s more of a sadness and resentment at the hard work that we must do if we are to embrace a life trending toward increased sanctity, growing closer to Jesus and further from sin. And don’t underestimate the spiritual warfare that you’ll encounter. The closer we grow to Jesus, the more the enemy will tempt us and try to derail or at least slow down the process.
Seek and Live the Truth
No matter how badly we want a free pass, the Lord never promised that to us. Anyone promising a free pass is not doing us any favors, but actually imperiling our souls. Seek out the clerics and teachers who speak the unvarnished truth and want to help you on your path along the narrow way, not those who will soothe your itching ears.
Stand fast in the faith in Jesus Christ; keep an invincible faith in His merits, live in His love…Let no temptation hold you back…Let no senseless joy seduce you…Time is short, and the world passes away (Bl. Columba Marmion, OSB, Christ, the Life of the Soul, II, 13, 3).
