Robin of Berkeley - 'It's the End of the World As We Know It'

It's the end of the world as we know it

It's the end of the world as we know it

It's the end of the world as we know it

And I feel fine. . .

(from REM)

Every day, on my ride to work, I listen to Catholic Radio. Of course, I didn't know there was such a thing until a few months ago.

I was driving along one day, when I saw a car with a bumper sticker that read: Catholic Radio 1260 am. I decided to tune in and didn't like what I heard, which was a woman talking about sin and hell. I wasn't ready to hear anything like that.

But a couple of months later, I gave the station another try, and now I'm hooked. I love the masses, the recitation of the Rosary, and the thought-provoking sermons and talks.

Now when I tune in, it's as though the priests and others are talking directly to me, stimulating my insights and touching my heart. For instance, this past week, a priest recounted a story of a lapsed Catholic, now seriously ill, coming to him for healing of his disease. The Father told the man that what he needed was a spiritual healing; he counseled him, "You need to right your relationship with God."

Wow; a light went on in my head, as I realized that this is what we are all called to do, at this very moment in time. Not later, not after the basketball game, but right now, before it is too late.

For reasons I'll never know, an invisible Hand shook me awake from my lifelong trance; now I've been able to right my relationship with God. And there is not a day that goes by that I don't shake my head in wonderment at how blessed I am.

Perhaps those of us who have seen the light are here to try to wake up as many sleeping souls as we can: to help them to right their relationship with God. I can tell you from a personal viewpoint that life on earth is so much sweeter with God by my side. But there's also the no-small matter of the afterlife.

Which reminds me of another show I heard on the radio; a priest related the story of a fiery gay rights protest in 1989 when Cardinal O'Connor was conducting a mass. The activists unleashed a torrent of rage as they protested outside; and several stormed the church and were arrested.

Cardinal O'Connor responded in the most heartfelt and loving way, without anger or malice. Instead, he experienced sorrow.

The Cardinal's sorrow was about the activists' salvation. As the priest on the radio put it, "They were endangering their salvation." And the priest talked about his own sense of sorrow when people put their redemption, their salvation, of all things, on the line.

What a Godly way of perceiving the nastiness in our midst. The angry mobs, for instance, in Wisconsin, are not just threatening the stability of this country. But they may be endangering their own salvation!

Which brings me to a final thought, one that disturbs me to my core. Put bluntly: Are we coming to the end of time, at least the end of humankind? Of course, there are many disturbing signs.

The chaos and uproar in the Middle East is the most notable one, because of Biblical prophecy. The world economy is also in great peril. This nation has faced crises before, and fought two World Wars. However, we are in uncharted territory with Obama at the helm.

For the first time in our history, we have a president apparently more sympathetic towards them, than towards us. When I say them, I mean the anti-people -- the anti-Americans, the anti-Christians, anti-Free Market, and so on. The Brothers of the World, whether it's the Muslim Brotherhood or Obama's fist-bumping brothers, Daniel Ortega, Chavez, or Castro.

So this is a powerful keg of dynamite, the Middle East imploding with a leader of dubious love for country. So I ask again: are we in the End Times? Given that I am new to all of this and had never even heard this phrase until recently, the prospect fills me with fear and dread.

I've asked a few believers what they think; some have said yes, a couple said no, and a few said they don't know, that it's not possible to know. I was bowled over last Sunday at a new church I attended, when the pastor stated quite casually, "We're an End Times church." So, obviously, that minister is on board!

Although I am hardly a theological scholar, it appears to me that we, as mere mortals, cannot know these things for certain. However, only someone in deep denial would unilaterally dismiss the prospect.

Maybe the point is, regardless of what direction this world goes in, whether towards sanity or a deeper descent into madness, we are all called, at this moment in time, to do what that priest suggests: to right our relationship with God.

Maybe the most important question we should be asking ourselves and others is this: Have you made right your relationship with God? If not, what are you waiting for?

Robin of Berkeley

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Robin is a recovering liberal, and a licensed psychotherapist who lives in Berkeley, California. The above information is intended for entertainment and educational purposes, rather than to offer any kind of definitive diagnoses.
Visit Robin’s blog.

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