While “Cafeteria Catholic” is a somewhat new term, it is not an entirely new phenomenon; its roots are found in Renaissance humanism, Enlightenment philosophies and some of the subsequent errors of Modernism. Although some people today think that a self-guided moral autonomy is the intelligent way to live, it is not the path leading to human fulfillment but its opposite.
Catholic Church
How You Can Help Retard the Exodus
It’s no secret that large numbers of Catholics have drifted from the Church, which can happen slowly and progressively over time due to indifference, lack of piety and tepid devotion, or take the form of a more rapid departure. The heart of the lukewarm soon cools. If there is little love for what is true, there is little love for truth in its fullness.
Spiritual But Not Religious?
Everyone searches. Not everyone knows why; not everyone understands what to look for; not everyone recognizes who they seek. Some are on a spiritual quest for the divine and they know it; others do not. Some fail to discern who alone is capable of satiating their thirst and thus wrongly seek to quench it with creatures, poisons and pain. Still others are indifferent to the search itself; so long as they feel satisfied along the way, they remain blindly convinced of progress. Nevertheless, everyone searches.
The Catholic Church: Not an Endeavor of Human Origin
The plan of God cannot be undone. The words of Gamaliel in reference to the apostles, their successors and their mission in the Church, continue to echo throughout the centuries: “For if this endeavor or this activity is of human origin, it will destroy itself. But if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them; you may even find yourselves fighting against God” (Acts 5:38-39). The continuity and permanency of the Church cannot be explained in any other way but by her origin in her divine and human founder: Jesus Christ.
Walk the Road of Penance and Reconciliation Leading Back to the Father
God’s love is no ordinary love, but truly extraordinary, burning, intense and unceasing. It is the love of a compassionate Father; it is the Love that exceeds every human desire.