It’s sad to say, but many people think the Church just says no. No, you shouldn’t shack up with your boyfriend. No, you shouldn’t use contraceptives. No, you shouldn’t get drunk or use drugs. And so on. Because they think the Church just says no, little wonder why we’re having a hard time getting our children to stay in the Church. We just sound like a bunch of prudes who don’t want anyone to have fun.
That’s not the message they should be hearing. In today’s Gospel at Mass, Our Lord tells His Apostles, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?” He also tells them, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” He gives them a message of hope and joy; a message that needs to be heard today.
We need to be telling people, “We have a better way.” We need to bring Christ to them, and allow them to develop a real relationship with Him. Then, when they understand the need to follow Him and desire to be His disciple, we present the moral teachings out of love and a desire to help them as they grow deeper in His love. If people don’t know who Jesus is and why it’s so important and life giving to follow Him, why would they care about following His teachings, especially in the area of morality?
This isn’t to say that we should get rid of the moral teachings of the Church. On the contrary, we need to be striving daily to live in conformity with Her teachings, as they have been given to Her by Christ Himself, and should always seek to grow in our observances of His commandments. This also doesn’t mean we need to stop fighting the moral decay of our world, but it does mean we need to find a track that leads people to Christ and not be pushed away by the “no.”
Our job as Christians is to go out and evangelize the world. We won’t be effective if the world just hears “no” from us. It needs to hear that there’s something better than how they’re living now, and allow Our Lord to guide them to following His teachings.
