Getting Lost in Secularized Media

J.M.J

“The serpent asked the woman, ‘Did God really tell you not to eat form any of the trees of the garden?’… ‘You certainly will not die! No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods who know what is good and what is bad.’ The woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took some of it’s fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” (Gn 3:1-7).
You know those subtle lies the devil likes to tell us, the ones which can appear at first glance as good for us and pleasing to the eyes? It is more than clear in our society they surround us each day. The television, the news, and the internet speak a language of lies and deception which often are portrayed as for the benefit of humankind. As loyal Catholics striving to be obedient to God, we are accused of being prejudice or not loving or accepting of all people. If we wish to pray we are faced with a world that does not accept prayer for fear of offending those who do not believe in God. Prayer has been replaced with “moments of silence” and God with the importance of self will. We have removed God from our world, yet we wonder where He has gone when tragedy and terror strike us down. If we view the world through the eyes of Christ and His Church, it becomes clear that the secularized media offers us nothing more than the serpent offered Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden before their fall.
The secularized media has become a powerful vehicle for the anti-Gospel message in which desensitized society has become progressively and perpetually immersed. As Catholics following Christ, it is important we protect our families by filtering out inappropriate messages and media images which distort the Truth, which is Christ Himself. With our fallen nature it is easy to get caught up in the lies that media, the internet, and society tries to feed us. But when we look with open eyes, the eyes of faith, it is not so difficult to see that sin and deception are more accessible now in a technological way. It really is not surprising that the world is in such a state of turmoil, unrest, and confusion when we look at the amount of time spent engaged in the secularized media each day. Adults are no longer filtering out inappropriate content for the sake of their souls and are desensitized to the increasing corruption of the message of our times. The Good News seems to be a thing of the past and the “new” news, a norm to be accepted and enjoyed.
It is true; the message of a feel good society is wreaking havoc on the soul. Children are often left unattended to sit for hours in front of the television screen and many have their own television and internet access in their bedroom. The message they receive is one of a world without God, focused on sex, violence, greed and self importance. Young boys are learning manhood means sexual promiscuity, not purity. Young girls are learning to forgo their purity and true femininity, in hope of becoming as “equals” to their male counterparts. The result leaves us with children who have lost their innocence and are no longer living in the state of grace. We are left with children who kill one another in their own schools, those same schools which no longer offer a time for prayer or the mention of God’s name.
One cannot help but wonder what has caused our children to hate one another so much as to kill? Could it be our society has taught them well? Is not the pro-abortion message itself the message our children are modeling? This message distorting abortion to that of a “choice” and not as the killing of a human being?
My husband, son, and I recently participated in a peaceful rosary procession at a local abortion mill in Connecticut. As I prayed what kept coming into my mind was that we were indeed praying outside of the Children’s hospital. In this place which was dedicated to saving the lives of children, unborn babies lives were being taken away.
Today as we remember and pray for all of the people who died in the attack on September 11th and their families, let us ask God to please open the hearts of all Americans to receiving His grace. We pray to come to understand that a country without God is a country without true freedom, peace, and love. It is a country where our children, which are our future, remain lost. Mary Queen of Peace pray for us and our children. Please take us under your mantle of protection and love. Amen