Of Changes

I have been away from the blog for a while, but felt like I could write something tonight. Preparations for the coming season along with family illnesses have kept me plenty occupied. I've also been spending some time reading, which is a spark for ideas for this blog. I've taken in enough ideas again to come back with a new round of writing dealing with Catholic life, and how we ought to live life.

In my readings I have been seeing again and again the theme of a natural mode of life. I think often of Eden and what life might have been like, and how through Christ we are called again to redeem creation. Our current way of living is so far from creation that it is artificial in its entirety. The way we eat, communicate, educate, work, etc. are all enshrined in the world of technology. In order for culture to exist we must take a step away from nature. In order for civilization to begin we must build houses and begin agriculture. Thus we use shelters beyond that which is provided in nature through caves and canopies and move into the realm of man made structures. We also learn to work with the land to provide food for the community beyond that provided in the wild. This is only the beginning.

A healthy culture and society will not draw too far away from the natural ways of creation. Msgr. Guardini in his book: "Letters From Lake Como" makes the point that a good or natural village where man can thrive in his entirety spirit and body, is one that blends naturally with its surroundings. He also makes the point that the factory cannot of its very nature blend with its surroundings. No amount of gardens on its roof can make it blend harmoniously. It is simply too far from nature to ever be able to blend with it. However the cobbler's shop or the blacksmith shop fit pleasantly within the dynamic of a healthy village. So it is that we search out the healthy median where we move forward, but without stepping too far away from nature. Somewhere in this progress is an invisible line that is most clearly visible only when we step over it, which we have most clearly done in our own age.

Today there seems an almost universal undercurrent that recognizes that something isn't quite right in our modern  mode of living. We have wandered very far from the loving arms of mother nature and ultimately the creation that our loving Creator made for us. Somewhere far back in the last century we leapt across an invisible threshold that left the old behind and ushered in a brave new world: A world that now is going insane. As we begin to feel the isolation that this industrial complex has created we also come to grips with the violence that accompanies such isolation. In a world that does not live by the two great commandments we must live by the sword and the will to power. So it is that we have come to the point we are now at. The question for those of us who do not want to live by these measures is how do we get back to the other side of that line.

Pope Benedict in one of his interviews with Peter Seewald makes the point that during the time of Christendom, both the Church and Society were intimately interwoven. However in our times, as in the times of the early Church, there is growing antipathy between the two. Thus in our own days we may have to seek again to create an alternative culture where the seed of faith can again take root without being poisoned by the flesh, the devil, and the world. We must seek again to find a balance where our lives are rooted not only in the written Word, but also in natural revelation as well. The faith thrives when it is rooted in an environment that is natural to man. It withers in the artificial because it is not good soil.

I believe technology has something to do with this return. We might use it to be rid of it as Chesterton advocated. If we can use the computer to gather others into community so that such technologies are less necessary then so be it. We must evaluate each technology and weigh it in the balance. We must not weigh it merely on personal preference, but what effect has this technology on the family, the community, and the common good. A few families committed to living according to an alternative vision for culture could immensely impact the Church and Society. It might even be advisable to study those groups that have found ways to utilize and limit technology at the same time. The Amish have found ways to create barriers to technology in their communities. The phone is on a pole outside, never in the home, etc. We must begin to look through the glimmer of the poisons of our own day and look for alternatives. The way we are living is not sustainable for any great period of time. We are feeding ourselves on oil that will eventually be depleted. This use of soil has also massively eroded immense areas of once fertile land all while we experience a continued explosion in population growth. There is hope if we dare to change. There is hope that our children will have others to support them in their faith, and have food on their tables. However, we must pray and then act so that we might one day again experience a culture filled with the love of Christ.

Pax,
Kevin