A call to Repentance and Renewal | Logos

A call to repentance and renewal - From my great-grandmother's prayer book (1900) from Einsiedeln. The 90-year-old father of Christianity (Pope Leo) announces with his mighty word.

But nevertheless, the dear God, as a helper in all salvific plans, will also give our beginning a happy progress; it has him and his honor as its purpose. For what is our thinking, what is our intention? But really only one thing: We want to bring eternal happiness to everyone, as far as our strength allows, and therefore try those means to heal the soul damage that Jesus Christ himself entrusted to us.

And that seems to be required of us not only by our apostolic office, but also by the current situation. This is not to say, however, that the century was poor in glorious deeds and glorious Christian works. No, on the contrary, brightly shining examples of virtue thrive under God's protection, and one hardly finds any exercise of virtue so difficult and noble that a large number have not distinguished themselves in it.

The Christian Religion - Repentance

The Christian religion possesses that inexhaustible, indestructible heavenly power to constantly produce and increase virtues. But looking a little further and turning especially to the dark side of the picture: what darkness, what aberration, what countless multitudes of unfortunates running towards eternal ruin! In particular, we are gripped by the deepest pain when we think of the large number of Christians who, seduced by the licentiousness of their thoughts and feelings, greedily devour the poison of false teachings and thus corrupt and destroy the priceless good of divine faith within themselves.

That's where the weariness with religious Christian life comes from, and that rampant immorality, that insatiable striving and chasing after sensual pleasure, and that people's thinking and concerns that turn away from God and only focus on earthly things.

Words can scarcely express the magnitude of the ruin which, coming from such a filthy source, has had a devastating effect on the foundations of states. For that widespread spirit of rebelliousness, that tumult of passions in the lower classes, the menacing dangers, the dreadful crimes; all of this is - got to the bottom of the matter - nothing other than the irrepressible competition for the possession and enjoyment of the vain earthly goods - a fight that does not care about any laws.

This is how the Pope characterizes the damage of today (1900), this is how he uncovers its wounds, but only to heal them. The century of enlightenment and progress has turned away from the light of eternal truth in so many points and has been chasing the will-o'-the-wisp of false science proclaimed by unbelieving professors of modern times, and that is why today's time has gotten into such bleak social conditions that - where only return to God can bring salvation.

Return to God - Logos

And it is precisely this return to God that Father Reding proclaims today, as have all hermits, saints and sages in East and West. If it was already so bleak around 1900, how is it today (2023)?

Everything has intensified and worsened again. Our fatherless society, which only celebrates unbridled passion, is already taken for granted. Immorality and untruth are regarded as the highest value. An inverted world where the children command the parents. (Father Reding)