THE ATMOSPHERE FOR A REFORMATION - Part I

[How the Catholic Church nurtured the seed of her destruction within her own womb.] 

The reformation took place because of several factors that were fertile ground for it. Maybe if one or two factors were lacking, the Reformation would never have taken place. But, it seems, everything was in place: Christendom was doomed to be divided: one part, Catholic; the other, Protestant. 

The same factor exists today. And all the other factors are also in place. For all you know, a Reformation has taken place without ourselves knowing it.  After all, when the Reformation took place in the 1500, how many among the common man were really conscious of it.

It is a pity that, in spite of voluminous information about that age, few among the Catholics and the Protestants know what really happened. In fact, even the Catholics and Protestants at that time were ignorant of what was happening. Because of this, some Catholics, like the powerful Cardinal Richelieu, were, in fact, protecting, defending and propagating Protestantism, while most Protestants did not realize it but they were going far away from the teachings of Martin Luther.

History is meaningful, only if we can learn from the mistakes of the past. If not, it is futile to think of the past: we might just as well think of the present and the future. And the history of the Reformation is a study on how Catholics committed blunders left and right and how the Protestants effectively deceived themselves into believing that they were reforming the Church when Martin Luther, himself, thought it was all a big mistake. What happened was not a Reformation: it was the destruction and dismemberment of Catholic Europe.

The problem in analyzing the history of the Reformation is that it is surrounded by historical, political, social and financial factors. . .but, most of all, by a spiritual factor. . .which both Catholic and Protestant historians fail to consider. Without this spiritual factor, the events of that era are completely impossible to understand, making it easy for the devious to toss blame at whoever they want.

From the very beginning, let me point out, the dynamics of what happened during the Reformation is so simple, i.e. what happened from the ascetical point of view is so simple, the simplest of minds could easily understand the happenings and the simple-minded could have easily prevented it. But there were few simple-minded men at that time. All were complex-minded, just as we are today. There were too many things in their minds. If they merely thought of God's will, everything could have been solved so easily. But they were like us today--we never judge things from purely God's point of view. We judge things from many considerations, most of which have nothing to do with God.

The first and main factor that prompted the Reformation is spiritual: as from earliest time, but more so at the coming of Christ, the Evil One who had always attacked Christ again attacked Christ's true religion. And his singular trademark, as we know from Scriptures, is HATRED. . .hatred of things Catholic. And every Protestant sect today, with rare exemptions, nurses this hatred for things Catholic. Immediately obvious to us is their hatred of Catholic doctrine on the veneration of images and devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. They can hate their own images; but why do they have to hate our images. For some reason, they can hate their wives; but I do not see why they have to hate other people's wives, too. Their hatred is  evidently devilish.

The devil hates the Catholic Church: his existence is vowed to attacking the Church. . .he is just waiting for willing instruments.  And the Catholic Church has inadvertently provided the instrument . . .by her neglect. She neglected her primary role of instructing and leading her faithful to sanctity being immersed in the wealth, luxury and worldliness that have swarmed her. 

(12-05-02)