Trapped in our Own World?

Trapped in our Own World?
By Jerome Placido


I'm 25 years old. And I have reached the point where considering myself part of the youth sector of society becomes daring, if not wishful thinking. And being a part of the "young" generation, I know that the young of today's world - and the few young generations that came before them - have increasingly trended away from God and moved towards things more sensual, more secular. It’s a fact that is not widely disputed. Yet, unfortunately, there is little concern among our society for the morale of the youth.

The young have found themselves in the midst of humanity's greatest and most important battle. And it is neither the war on terror nor the insurgencies that wish to topple governments. Yes, such struggles are important and weigh heavily on what will happen within our lifetimes. But this battle I'm talking about weighs on what will happen to us for the rest of eternity.

It is a “do or die” battle, literally. And if we do not take arms, we will be swept away with the deceits of the enemy who “prowls about the world seeking the ruin of souls.”

Our Youth are Trapped

How and by who? A dramatic decline in moral values has been permeating our society for several generations now. And it's manifesting itself today in un-Christly behavior that today is being actively promoted, even accepted, by our society. In the Philippines - where I currently reside and where the majority of the population is over 80%, are Catholic - the Culture of Death slowly wraps its claws around the very thicket of the country's Catholic roots.

egardless of where you look around the world, the story is similar, the same tragedy is shared. The music videos, TV shows, fashion, mass media, advertising and everything that builds this present culture gives a false image of happiness. We have sunk our teeth so deep into the bait that we can’t, or don’t want, to let go. It’s all too attractive and enticing for most people to renounce. And so we allow ourselves to justify and defend our “stance” that these things are acceptable.

All around us we have examples of people trapped by their own desires, passions, and wants. They do not allow themselves to be guided by the Spirit of God. They, instead, are led by the flesh and the spirit of the world.

But what we have in this world is only temporary. Our very lives are transitory, we are mere pilgrims moving toward eternity. God desires that we rise above the sensual and hold firmly to Him through the spiritual.

Trapped by whom?

Of course we know who. As children of God and of the Blessed Mother , it is "he" whom we have been placed “in enmity” with. His name is Lucifer, satan, the devil. Call him what you want, he leads the rebellion against God and His people.

And he does not act alone. He has with him the other third of the angels who fell with him after their rebellion against God. Who else? There are also those - men and women like you and me - who have knowingly, or even unknowingly, allied themselves with these powers of darkness. It is everyone else among us who promote and flirt with the dangers of the Culture of Death.

Yes we have an enemy. And he is more real than most people would like to believe. In the hierarchy of creation, the devil and those other fallen angels are preternatural beings. And we are merely natural beings. How do we fair against such odds?

Actually our odds are pretty good, in fact they are overwhelmingly great. We may have the losing hand in the hierarchy of creation, but we have our God who is SUPERnatural. “What then shall we say to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom 8:31)

We Have a Recourse

If we are trapped then let us have recourse to God to set us free. For He is the same God who showed His might, power and glory in Egypt to free His Chosen people from bondage. How much more can He do for us if we only allow Him to work those miracles through us and in us?

He has given us all the means to overcome ourselves and all that could stand in the way of our journey to holiness. Holy Mass, Holy Hours of Adoration, the Holy Rosary, 2000 years worth of saints whom examples we can follow, legions of heavenly hosts and much more.

We have no excuses, my young friends. We need only the DESIRE for holiness, the DESIRE to love God.