Market Religion

An authentic religion by its very nature is an established religion because God himself reveals it. Once God has revealed himself to mankind, man’s only valid choice is to make that religion, that revelation, his own. To do otherwise is to contradict the very idea of revealed truth. What the English speaking world has inherited via the kindness of William and Mary is a fractured Christianity, a faith which embraces certain aspects of revelation and ignores other features. Thus the Bible is embraced at the expense of the sacraments; preaching is favored to the detriment of sacrifice; the congregation is preferred to the priesthood; the church’s spiritual mediation is forsaken for individual access. Certainly today’s Catholic is not immune to this market place Christianity. Today’s Catholic will go to Mass on Sunday but never go to confession on Saturday. Baptism, First Communion and Confirmation are prized events in Catholic life but contraception, cohabitation and divorce are frequent options. Some parishes are big on social justice; others are renowned for their piety. Angels, vigil lights and the blessing of Rosary beads remain popular while sin, hell and a firm purpose of amendment are forgotten. The American government might not have a legally established religion. But God does. And believers ignore it at their peril. . . . this is the last paragraph of an article entitled, Is God Well Served by ‘Market Religion’? . . read the entire article @ http://thericatholic.com/stories/1344.html.
You may read many other articles by this prolific and Spirit-filled author, Fr. John A. Kiley, which you can find arranged by topic @ http://www.stfranciswarwick.com/The%20Quiet%20Corner%20by%20topic.htm