Our experience of contemporary society reveals that people are no longer moved to socio-moral comportment based on their fear of God or belief in the beatific rewards he gives. Many who go to Church do so only because of their quest for material well-being, and even then, many people in the Church are not fully conscious of the Divine presence, hence they don't genuflect before the Blessed Sacrament, nor bow when passing in front of the crucifix; some gist away inside the Church while the Eucharistic celebration is going on, some others busy themselves with answering their calls or exchanging text messages, some chew bubble gum all through the period, while many others are there only to dance to the choruses or get entertained by the 'showy' sermon of the preacher.
This phenomenon mirrors the depth of spiritual insensibilities which are prevalent in today's world in contradistinction with the spiritual mentality of past times where the Divine Essence was everywhere and at all times perceived. The magnitude of awe and reverence with which people approached Divine realities (things of God) in times past has continued to wane in our own day, prompting deeper reflections on the mystery of life and the destiny of man.
A vehement wind has blown and has supplanted the high-sounding spiritual and human values of the past with the unfortunate triplets of Secularism, Consumerism and Commercialism, thereby instigating an acute shift of attention from the spiritual to the secular, from the sacred to the profane, from religious adherence to scientifico-technological enthusiasm, from rhapsodic meditations to superficial “busy-cissitudes”, and from personal immanence to gross “sociotainment” (the quality of being engaged with social and entertainment activities, e.g. dance, sports, music, and other sensual exercises.
The tremendous progressive “super-run” of the society today in its overall evolution from the past religio-cultural non-materialistic superstructure of the world to the present scientifico-technological and socio-developmental ascent is a welcome development brought about by the indomitable 'wind' of change. But it does leave a large chunk of sour salt for the human society to contend with. This portent of distastefulness is made concrete in the gradual erosion of the sense of the sacred, and by extension, the diffusion of those eternal and human values which accord invaluable measures of security to our existence.
Is this force which is symptomatic of the replacement of immanent values with a materialistic consciousness that occurs with the passage of time supposed to be a malevolent wind or a benevolent spirit? In other words, is this wind of change that is bringing about rapid global development and at the same time the gradual erosion of the sense of the sacred, for bad or for good?
It is pertinent to note, and forcefully I state and resound it, that, 'although times and tides change, the infant changes into a full-grown man, the monolithic culture of primitive society to the technological flight of the contemporary scientific society, everything changes; it may be change from order to order, from form to form, from process to process, maybe in kinds and styles, in varying structures and degrees, GOD DOES NOT CHANGE'. He is Changeless, Immutable, Omnipotent and Eternal. He is the Lord of History and the Controller of time, who gave everything its being and quality. He directs the movement of the cosmos and the course of change yet He remains unchanging.
It is therefore, an absolute misplacement of ideals and a tragic mistake to sideline God and His divinely inspired activities while inordinately embracing the gifts of nature and human progress which God himself has given.
The mistaken understanding that the progress of the contemporary scientific culture is solely the result of modern man's intelligence and ingenuity constitutes the bedrock for the erosion of the sense of the sacred. The effect of this is also seen in the loss of respect and value for human life, and the violation of human rights and dignity. This is a horrific situation, in fact, a 'time-bomb' that could lead to an ultimate human tragedy if not checked appropriately and soon enough. The sooner modern man realizes that God is the author, sustainer and summit of his being and progress, and live according to religio-ethical parameters established in the natural order, the better for the whole human race.
Let us all listen and hear the profound call, beckoning us all to make a U-turn from the directionless drift on the sea of life's abundance back to the purposeful guidance and will of the Almighty God, who will ensure that the superabundant gifts he has given are sustained in measureless plenitudes. It is all-too-important that we re-embrace the sense of the sacred. By “we”, I mean every human being, whether male or female, rich or poor, European or African, Asian or American, scientist or traditionalist everyone.
To recapture in all wholeness, and to develop healthily, a true and noble sense of the sacred, implies absolute consciousness of God, and unreserved adherence to His Divine Will, enriched with profound respect and honour for anything that has to do with God and Divine Mysteries.
In Biblical times, the Israelites trembled with fear and bowed down their heads in worship at the appearance of the Ark of the covenant which symbolized God's presence (cf. 25:22; Num 10: 33-36; 1Sam 4:4-11); they approached God's temple with awe and reverence (cf. 2Sam 6:1-23; 2Chr. 5:1-14), and observed the commandments of God accordingly. From their historical experiences, we discover that in the moments of adherence and worship, the people flourished in every way. But at those unfortunate times when their sense of fidelity departed them, they experienced disasters and faced fatal penalties. “The past”, they say, “exists and must be recalled to help better the present and improve the future”. Can modern society not learn from the experiences of these people?
The early Christian era and Middle Ages were a Divinocentric (God-centred) world where human life and values were upheld and made to flourish. There was a clear-cut demarcation between the sacred and the profane, with the former enjoying esteemed priority in the life-structure of the people. Within this ambience, life, peace and progress flourish in superabundance.
For the contemporary man of the critico-intellectual civilization, here is an urgent message: God is as present and active in world development and human progress, as he was in the beginning when he created the world, through the passage of time in the ancient past, and in the medieval age; so he rightly is in all traditions and cultures of the world, and so he will continue to be, because he remains changeless while he directs the course of change. Therefore, all mankind must adhere to him and worship him.
Let us be filled with reverence for the house of the Lord with a proper sense of decorum and order when we are in the Church, as well as in our approach to Liturgy. The Psalmist per-empted us in declaring: “I rejoiced when I heard them say, let us go to God's house … for love of the house of the Lord, we shall be filled with blessings” (Ps 122:1, 9). The Church is a sacred place, and within the Catholic setting, is the “Holy of holies” the Most Blessed Sacrament where the Most High God dwells, inviting us all day and night to come to him, to acknowledge his special gifts and to be good brothers and sisters of one another. Our attitude and carriage inside the Church matter a lot. We are supposed to genuflect before the Blessed Sacrament and reverence other Sacramentals within the Church with appropriate gestures, like making a profound bow before the Crucifix. The liturgical rites and prayers within the Christian assembly are also sacred entities which must be embraced with a responsible sense of devotion and submissiveness to the Divine Will.
When we give God the chance to rule over our lives and control our everyday activities, all other fundamental human values will be restored and channelled through the carriageway of resourcefulness. By this, we would actually come to realize the evil of homo homini lupus (man's inhumanity to man), and with purified consciences, we are to fully discover the import of the “Golden Rule” “Do to others as you would want done to you” (Sir. 4:15; Matt 7:12). This realization and the consequent affirmative action by all and sundry can prop up the reversal of the present degeneration into an embrace of worthy ideals the fear of God, the upholdance of human rights and the promotion of life to the fullest.
In the midst of change and progress, mankind can, and ought to, remain focused with an appropriate sense of the sacred. And while trying to yield up to this commitment, we are also urged to guard against the two extremes of Nihilism and Religious Fanaticism also called Fundamentalism. In his 2006 World Day of Peace message to the world, Pope Benedict XVI hinted so much on this task assuring us that it is a veritable road through which the world can pull out of its present social ills. Nihilism gives rise to the evil triplets of secularism, consumerism and commercialism, all of which serve the egotistic desires of some privileged few in the society presided over by the neglect of God, the disintegration of the dignity of personhood and the abuse of human rights, both in disguised and undisguised forms. Religious fanaticism or fundamentalism is the other extreme of misguidedly over-feeling God and over-reacting beyond the limit of reason all in the name of God. The effect of this is a deeper plunge into the murky waters of mischief and fatality. Alongside this effort, we must guard against being blown or tossed about by the wind of uncertainties and despair.
By this therefore, and as a matter of urgency, we are summoned to authentic faith, firm hope, and true love, all established on rocky foundations. “By faith, we understand that the universe was ordered by the Word of God, so that what is visible came into being through the invisible” (cf. Heb 13: 3). By faith also, our understanding would help us to use all of God's provisions at his service and for the good of humankind. By firm hope, we can trust in God's furtherance of his blessings over us, and we can draw comfort, peace and joy. Let us reflect, then, with Fyodor Dostoyevsky and take it as a point of duty every moment of our lives that we must: “Love all God's creation, both the whole and every grain of sand; love every leaf, every ray of light; love the animals, love the plants, love each separate thing; if you love each thing you will perceive the mystery of God in all; and when once you perceive this, you will henceforth grow everyday to a fuller understanding of it; until you come at last to love the whole world with a love that will then be all-embracing and universal”.
As Pope John Paul the Great of Blessed Memory rightly proclaimed with all strength and vigour all through his life and Petrine ministry, we must promote truth, not trash, and we must live for the truth at all times. The principal word that needs to be spoken through all media, whether new or old, is that of the Word Himself. And so, despite whatever problems arise, the “rapid development of new technologies rank among the marvellous things which God has placed at our disposal to discover, to use and to make known the truth, also the truth about our dignity and about our destiny as his children, heirs of his eternal Kingdom”.
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