I know a lot of people don’t like the M-word that I used above. Some people who don’t like said word sometimes express this opinion via social media on a smartphone.
The hesitance to the word “modern” comes from Pope Pius X’s 1907 encyclical letter Pascendi Dominici Gregis (“Feeding the Lord’s Flock”) and subtitled “On the Doctrines of the Modernists”.
Modernism (big M) was and is a heresy.
If I can borrow from Catholic Answers (CA) for a moment, Modernism was “inspired by tendencies prevalent in liberal Protestantism and secular philosophy. It was influenced by nineteenth-century studies by Kant and Hegel, by liberal Protestant theologians and biblical critics . . . by the evolutionary theories of Darwin, and by certain liberal political movements in Europe. The centers of Modernism were in France, England, Italy, and Germany.”
CA goes on to say “Pope Pius X dubbed Modernism ‘the synthesis of all heresies.’ Modernists viewed doctrine not as a means of obtaining supernatural knowledge, but as a symbol of an unknowable ultimate reality or as a symbol of human religious expression. Because they do not contain genuine knowledge of the supernatural, theological dogmas are relative and may [be] adopted or rejected based on whether they exercise power over people’s imaginations. Those dogmas which are found productive to people’s religious sentiments are to be accepted, then abandoned when they are no longer found satisfying. Dogmas may thus change over time, either being completely rejected or re-interpreted and given a meaning different than what they originally had.”
OK, Modernism in this sense, bad. No argument there. However, anything considered “modern,” not always bad, sometimes good.
The good of the modern
Prior to 1455, there had not been a printed Bible. Since then, there are many. Having one or many printed Bibles is good. Having the means to print many Bibles and get them to people is good. The printing press was a modern invention used for good.
Radio and TV can spew many bad things through their channels, but they are also incredible evangelization tools.
We could certainly use a Bishop Sheen on the air today, but in lieu of that, we do have the Internet, apps, websites, etc. Clergy like Fr. Mike Schmitz and Bishop Robert Barron have their names and faces out there connected with materials that help people read the Bible and learn about the greater Church.
Times and technology do move forward. Sometimes they bring about bad things, but sometimes they can bring so much good. It’s OK and good to embrace what’s new when it is used for good.
In Jesus’ time, he used parables to get his points across. I’m sure not every spoken word in Jerusalem by others was good, but our Lord and Savior used them for good.
He wore sneakers
Blessed Carlo Acutis has become a famous figure in the Church.
He died at the age of 15 in 2006 and was beatified in 2020.
Even at his young age, he received the sacraments often, had a devotion to St. Francis of Assisi and the three young people at Fatima, and served as a catechist at his home parish.
He also played video games, played the saxophone, and had a lot of pets.
A recent book about him calls him a “saint in sneakers”.
Granted his Playstation and his choice of footwear isn’t what (God-willing) will get him canonized as a saint, but they are good examples that one can embrace “new” things and still be a faithful Catholic.
Be a saint, today
We can look at the examples of St. Augustine, St. Teresa of Avila, and St. Ignatius, but we don’t have the advantage of being able to live exactly like them.
Depending upon how you look at time, we are living in a “modern” age.
Let’s be modern saints.
Let’s be a part of the world that God has blessed us with, but show others that there’s more than what’s in front of us and what human hands and science have made and discovered.
Let’s show that technology can be a blessing and used for good.
Let’s be examples of the best that 2023 and beyond could produce.
We don’t have to be totally taken over by the modern world, but we can live in it, be a part of it, and know Him, love Him, and serve Him.
Thank you for reading.
I’m praying for you.