Suppose that the whole world, or at least a significant proportion of it, decided that in order to curb the excesses of the human senses, it was necessary to go around blindfold, and with stoppers in one’s ears. Before too long there would be a papal encyclical abhorring this unnatural practice, and proclaiming that the ear was made for hearing, and the eye for seeing.
And then the terribly well-intentioned exponents of hearing and sight control would denounce the Church for being opposed to their programme, declaring everyone’s right to suppress their senses. ‘Who are they to tell me not to wear a blindfold?’ they would self-righteously proclaim. ‘They’re my eyes, and I’ll gouge them out if I want to!’
After a period of normalisation, hearing and sight control would become almost universal, with the Church alone maintaining the natural law, the necessity of using the senses that were given to us. And the practice of gouging out one’s eyes or slicing off one’s ears would become increasingly widespread, with the procedure being provided by the NHS. Any doctor or nurse who refused to become involved in the mutilation would find it increasingly difficult to work in this culture, with many cases of unfair dismissal for those who were pro-sight and hearing.
How many years of this madness would it take before humanity returned to the natural use of the bodies which God gave them?
(I am indebted for this idea to the late Archbishop Sheen. You can find twenty-four wonderful hours of his talks here).
Posted by Anthony Radice (A Tiny Son of Mary)
And then the terribly well-intentioned exponents of hearing and sight control would denounce the Church for being opposed to their programme, declaring everyone’s right to suppress their senses. ‘Who are they to tell me not to wear a blindfold?’ they would self-righteously proclaim. ‘They’re my eyes, and I’ll gouge them out if I want to!’
After a period of normalisation, hearing and sight control would become almost universal, with the Church alone maintaining the natural law, the necessity of using the senses that were given to us. And the practice of gouging out one’s eyes or slicing off one’s ears would become increasingly widespread, with the procedure being provided by the NHS. Any doctor or nurse who refused to become involved in the mutilation would find it increasingly difficult to work in this culture, with many cases of unfair dismissal for those who were pro-sight and hearing.
How many years of this madness would it take before humanity returned to the natural use of the bodies which God gave them?
(I am indebted for this idea to the late Archbishop Sheen. You can find twenty-four wonderful hours of his talks here).
Posted by Anthony Radice (A Tiny Son of Mary)
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