Brilliant analysis weaving together spirituality, theology, philosophy, history and even sociology!

I would like to add just a footnote to this from the point of view of psychology. Several years ago, broadcast journalist Tom Brokaw penned a book entitled “The Greatest Generation,” a homage to the history of people who demonstrated heroic self-sacrifice. I am from the generation after that and I hope no one ever writes a book entitled “The Most Self-Absorbed Generation.”

It is the hallmark of selfishness to always see everything through the lens of “what’s that got to do with me?” Or “what’s in it for me?” The blatant selfishness of the most crude hedonists often hides the more pervasive selfishness of the respectable and gentile who have mastered the art of being self-centered while appearing completely benevolent. I do not want to over-generalize here about my entire generation including me. But there is definitely at least some truth in what I say, don’t you think?

Interest in the Most Holy Trinity and in the the truth about the inner reality of Jesus are things that take one out of oneself. It is good to care about things other than oneself. And it is blessed to care about God and to want to know Him better. The cliche used by teenagers today is true: “Why does it always have to be about you?” Or me? Or us?

Several modern trends in theology have led to an imbalance in our understanding. One trend stated that nothing in Sacred Scripture was recorded to satisfy human curiosity. Every single passage of the Bible has salvation significance “for us.” This is not necessarily wrong. Once I heard a debate between a Catholic and and Evangelical on the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Catholic used the notion that everything in Sacred Scripture has a salvic significance for us to show why the enormous sections of St. Luke’s Gospel dealing with the Blessed Virgin must mean something. And that Evangelicals who ignore this are losing saving truths . . . because God does not just reveal things for no reason.

But this idea that everything in Sacred Scripture is for us has had some very sad repercussions. While readily admitting that the great Trinitarian and Christological controversies were necessary for our very salvation; I think that looking at them only in a “what’s in it for me” attitude demeans us, makes us small in the bad sense.

This is all part of the common modern prejudice that causes women contemplating abortion to say: “Why should I have my baby? What’s in it for me?” It causes politicians to say: “Those embryos can’t vote for me, so what good are they?” It causes contemporary lawmakers of the liberal stripe to say: “If I give people goodies now I get votes now. What do I care if I ruin the lives of future American children and grandchildren by giving them an inheritance of debt. Those future generations cannot vote for me now, so what in it for me?” The Most Selfish Generation!

The current modern Catholic idea of stressing the Second Great Commandment over the First is part of the same problem. Yes, we will be judged on the Last Day by how we treated the least of our brethren. But what about loving God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength and all your mind.? We love God because He is infinitely deserving of it and not just because we get something out of it “for us.” It’s not me me me. It’s God God God.

This self-centeredness also helps explain why many Catholic churches today look like barns and meeting halls and why everyone forgets that the Mass is God’s not ours. A few days ago a young person told me that he doesn’t like the Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament. When I asked him why, he said: “It just doesn’t do anything for me.” Those words are the whole problem with the modern world.