St. Catherine certainly is a model for temperance, which is the virtue described as “moderation of needed things and abstinence from things which are not needed.” (here) Unfortunately, it seems that temperance has lost its value in society today, although I imagine people have lamented pop culture similarly throughout the ages.
I wonder if there really is a difference now. After all, I recall stories of older adults who were very upset with the introduction of Rock and Roll music in the 50s. They were sure it was “the devil’s music” and was going to corrupt the young people. In the 60s, it was the “hippie” movement. While they seemed to have the best intentions in a lot of ways, they ushered in the widely accepted idea of “free love,” which as far as I can tell, really just meant a way to rationalize a lack of personal self-control. Of course, older adults were very concerned about those trends.
Certainly, each decade or era has had societal trends that caused concern. Also, the pop culture trends that concern me today aren’t new, but I feel like they are coming together in a troublesome way. At the risk of sounding like an old man shouting for some kids to “get off my lawn,” I want to discuss a few things that worry me.
A few weeks ago I was part of a discussion of some problems we need to address. Related to this lack of temperance, I think we have a bigger problem lately with egoism, which is the idea that all that matters in life is our own feelings. As a person who works with teenagers everyday, I hear their discussions. It is the kind of morality that seems to be taught, although I don’t know who is teaching it. Young people are taught to decide what is right and wrong based on what feels good.
The logical extensions of this approach to morality can be dangerous. It might explain some of the crises we are facing, especially with young people today, like the escalation of drug addiction and suicide. Egoism leads to a desire for instant gratification and a decided lack of temperance. Unfortunately, the search for instant gratification has become deadly as the drug trade is introducing more and more dangerous substances, including drugs so strong they have sent first responders to the hospital just from touching them.
I have been teaching at a suburban school district for 23 years. It is just in the last decade or so that we seem to get bad news a couple times a year about current or recently graduated students who either accidentally overdosed or purposefully took their own lives in one way or another.
Alternately, Christianity teaches us to seek joy that is lasting instead of searching for instant gratification. The lasting joy that God wishes for all of us cannot be found in a morality based on doing what feels good. We are actually happier when we adopt a life of virtue, including temperance. The discipline allows us to appreciate the blessings we have instead of always longing for what everyone else has.
Unfortunately, in large segments of pop culture, Christianity is condemned and ridiculed. In fact, certain strains of modern morality consider Christianity to be the evil. I suppose there are people who behave badly in the name of Christianity who provide fuel to that fire, but it is a bit unnerving sometimes.
Okay, I’m sounding a little too pessimistic for my taste right now, so let’s move quickly to solutions. I don’t think any of this is a lost cause. First, there is this community of Christians that we are building, the small but mighty group of you who actually read what I write each day, and the large community of Christians who share inspiration regularly through the many varied forms of communication available in our modern world. There is a whole genre of Christian music that is “setting the world on fire” as St. Catherine might say. There was even a movie about a Christian recording artist that had huge box-office returns.
I was listening to Matthew Kelly (of Dynamic Catholic) again yesterday, and he spoke about changing the world. His point is that a small group of Christians changed the world a little over 2,000 years ago, so why shouldn’t we have the same aspirations?
As always, I have to throw in my two cents and add that we won’t do it the way a lot of public figures, even some politicians, try to do it. It’s not our job to go out and judge everyone else. I know I just spent a lot of this post being critical of the pop culture trends, but it’s not my job to preach to others and tell them they’re wrong. It’s just my job to lead by example, to be positive and friendly to everyone I meet, to share God’s love in the world, even through my human weakness.
That’s what God’s grace is all about. If we seek to discover and do God’s will, He will guide us. He even gave us the example of the saints, and to our discussion this week, St. Catherine of Siena, in particular. Franciscan Media describes her as intelligent, cheerful, and intensely religious. If we all just strive for that, imagine how we could change the world.
Dear God, thank you for the beautiful example of temperance that we see in St. Catherine. Please help us to spread that trend in our world and reverse some of the downward spiral of addiction and depression that seems to grip so many people, especially young people. Show us how to be your hands and voice where you need us.