FAMINE AND THIRST

February 2022 


"Behold the days are coming, says the Lord God, when I will send a famine on the land; not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east, they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the Lord, but they shall not find it" (Amos 8:11-12).

There are certain Scripture passages that "chill my soul," that is to say, they are able penetrate my inner being and make a greater than usual impact within me. This is one of those passages.

FR. THOMAS DUBAY, SM

I was introduced to this passage from the prophet Amos in the mid-sixties at Notre Dame Seminary by Fr. Thomas Dubay, SM. I remember that he referred to it more than once in his preaching, and it had a definite "now word" ring to it. When I heard Fr. Dubay proclaim this word, it seemed to me to sound as prophetic as when Amos first delivered it! Fr. Dubay actually applied these verses to the time period immediately following Vatican II. His point, as I recall, was that the Church was being inundated  with secularism and humanistic philosophies, and that people searching for the authentic word of God were having a difficult time finding it. And that was over 50 years ago!

RALPH MARTIN

I first met Ralph Martin in 1969 at a Catholic Charismatic Conference at the University of Notre Dame. In listening to him, I sensed the same prophetic quality that I remembered from Fr. Dubay. It has been a while, but I'm pretty sure Ralph used this same passage from Amos 8, especially in some of his "Crisis of Truth" talks in the eighties. The fact is, Ralph has been a prophetic voice in the Church for over five decades, and continuing to this present day, especially with his recent book:  A Church in Crisis: Pathways  Forward. Everyone who loves the Church should read it.

A WORD FOR OUR DAY
 
As I have continued to reflect on the signs of the times and the state of the Church today, I have been led more and more to the above passage from Amos. It seems to me that the universal Church is experiencing something like a famine of the word of God. And at the same time, many faithful Catholics are suffering a hunger and thirst for the pure word of God. They are seeking it, begging for it, but not finding that which satisfies their hunger and thirst. What we have been experiencing, rather, has been a great deal of confusion and division in the Church. I will give just a couple of examples here; for a much more complete treatment, I refer you to  A Church in Crisis: Pathways Forward.

CONFUSION AND DIVISION

I recall that when  Amoris Laetitia was issued in 2016, a number of those among the hierarchy, clergy, and laity had concerns about it. Quite a few wrote letters requesting an explanation of some items in the document which caused some questions and confusion. Four cardinals, distinguished for their age and service to the Church,  also made a formal request for a theological clarification, but received no response. 


All of this calls to mind the quote from Amos: "They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east, they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the Lord, but they shall not find it."

And there is obvious division among the US bishops on the issue of how to apply Church law to those in public office who support and promote efforts to deny legal protection to unborn human persons. Some bishops have publicly declared that such public officials should be denied Holy Communion. Other bishops have just as publicly declared that such public officials should  not be denied Holy Communion. Such an uneven method of applying canon law from bishop to bishop seems to be, in itself, something of a scandal.

A DIFFICULT SITUATION 

It is no secret, then, that a great deal of confusion and division exists in the Church today and this makes for a very difficult situation. As difficult as it may be, however, the Lord has not left us totally without resources. We have the word of God, the truth, in the Scriptures. We have Sacred Tradition and the perennial teaching of the Church for 2000 years. We do have many people today, both clergy and laity, who are dedicated to faithfully transmitting the word of God. Thanks be to God that we are not totally without resources in this time! 

I think it is true, however, that we are definitely in a desert place where we might have to search harder for the bread of God's word and the water of truth. May the Lord reward all who search with a sincere heart, and give them their heart's desire!