Bless me father for I have sinned.I have been listening to the 80’s channel on Sirius XM and feel quite guilty about it.
I am not sure why I am drawn to this station so much; perhaps it is the original MTV VJs who I watched incessantly (much to my mother’s dismay) in my formative years or perhaps I am living out some “Peter Pan” type issues, but I just cant turn away from the sounds of Cindy Lauper, Tears for Fears, and Simple Minds.One thing is for certain; it certainly takes me back to a time in my life when things were simpler.
The other day I was treated to the sounds of Video Killed the Radio Star by The Buggles.Ironically, Mark Goodman introduced it on the radio. Looking back, the popularity of music videos and MTV certainly changed who could be a pop star; it was no longer good enough to have talent, you also had to have looks.
This was a change in convention, not unlike the change in conventions experienced as a result of Christianity.
In the days before Abraham, the known world was largely polytheistic in that people worshiped many gods.The actions of Abraham and, of course, Moses, would change the convention of polytheism and move civilization towards Monotheism.The changing of conventions, though, did not end with Judaism.
In the days of Christ, the area where He lived was under Roman rule and many were expecting the savior to be a great warrior delivering them from foreign rule.That Christ taught about loving neighbors, “giving Ceaser what is Ceaser’s,” and care for the poor/lowly, confused leaders of the time.That His influence was so strong was a threat to existing conventions.
Changes to convention are of course met with resistance; just like there wereaccomplished musicians who resisted the MTV phenomenon, there were leaders at the time who resisted the message of Christ.Luckily, there were those who embraced this message and who were courageous enough to spread it under fear of imprisonment, torture, and death.
That Christianity and Roman Catholicism have survived over 2,000 years with the odds stacked against them is testament to how powerful the messages of love, charity, generosity, and forgiveness really are.Of course, we would not have made it so far if it were not for those early martyrs who gave their lives for the faith.Likewise, we would not be able to practice our faith in community with others if it were not for the men who answer their calling towards the Priesthood.
In this year for Priests, I ask that each and every one of you reading this post remember to keep not only your parish priests in your prayers but also all those young men who are discerning a vocation towards the priesthood.
