The true Christian faith does not pander to the emotional instability of modern society. It does not reshape itself to suit the lusts of fallen man. Christianity, when it is authentic, is not designed to make men comfortable in their sin, but to call them to repentance. “Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matt. 7:14) The gate is narrow. The way is hard. There is no room on this path for compromise with the world’s passions. We do not have the authority to dilute the Gospel to match the decaying standards of a morally bankrupt culture. Christ did not say, “Be nice and inclusive,” He said: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23)
The denial of self is not a suggestion; it is a command. This self includes the ego, the feelings, the unstable emotions, and the carnal appetites of the flesh. Modernity encourages indulgence. The Church calls for crucifixion of the flesh. “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (1 John 2:15) Christ’s words are absolute. The love of the world is incompatible with the love of God. There is no third option. The delusion that religion must evolve to stay “relevant” is satanic. It is not relevance we seek—it is obedience. “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.” (John 15:14)
The modern approach to religion is soft, passive, and often feminised. It pretends to honour Christ while denying His words. When the Church begins to echo society, she ceases to be the Church and becomes a harlot of convenience. “Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” (James 4:4; 1 Cor. 6:9-10) This is not a time for clergy to accommodate the whims of the people. It is a time to speak with fire, clarity, and the fear of God. The priest is not called to be a therapist. He is not an entertainer. He is not a public relations officer smoothing over the Gospel for mass appeal. He is a watchman (Ezek. 3:17), and if he fails to warn the wicked, their blood is required at his hand. Many clergy today fear offending their parishioners more than offending God. That is apostasy, because they are preaching what the parishioners want to hear, not what Christ and the Apostles taught.
Let the world rage. Let the unrepentant gnash their teeth. The Gospel does not belong to them to twist. The truth is not shaped by popular opinion. No council, no patriarch or pope, no synod has authority to nullify what Christ and the Apostles handed down. The Faith is not up for revision. “Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven.” (Ps. 119:89)
When clergy attempt to make Christianity more “palatable” by watering down repentance, by tolerating unnatural passions, or by avoiding doctrine for the sake of harmony, they cease to be shepherds and become hirelings. “But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.” (John 10:12)
The true Church stands as a pillar of truth. She does not bend to the storm. She does not soften the commandments to attract a crowd. She does not lower the altar to make it more accessible to the irreverent. She does not negotiate with demons. She does not entertain novelty. The novelty of today becomes the heresy of tomorrow. The Church has nothing to learn from the fallen world, and she has no need to mimic it. “Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.” (2 Tim. 1:13) The deposit of faith entrusted to her is not hers to alter. It is to be preserved, guarded, proclaimed, and lived. The Church is the Ark. Outside of her is the flood. We do not follow trends. We follow Christ. And Christ does not change. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines.” (Hebrews 13:8–9)
Let the world pursue novelty. Let it enthrone perversion. Let it silence the prophets and canonise its own depravity. The Church remains unmoved. And woe to the priest who dares to move with the world, for he will be judged not by the applause of the crowd, but by the eyes of the Righteous Judge.
May God bless you +
Fr. Charles
5 April 2025
