Men will surrender to the spirit of the age. They will say that if they had lived in our day, faith would be simple and easy. But in their day, they will say, things are complex; the Church must be brought up to date and made meaningful to the day's problems.
Interpretation
This quote speaks to the tendency of people to believe that faith and morals are easier to uphold in different times than their own.
Anthony Of Padua reflects on how individuals often perceive past eras with nostalgia, believing that faith was more straightforward and uncomplicated then. He suggests that in every age, people rationalize their struggles with faith and push for adaptations to meet contemporary challenges, implying that this tendency can lead to a disconnect between timeless truths and modern interpretations.
In practice
During a sermon about adapting beliefs to modern issues, one might refer to this quote to highlight historical perspectives on faith.
The creator of the heavens obeys a carpenter; the God of eternal glory listens to a poor virgin. Has anyone ever witnessed anything comparable to this? Let the philosopher no longer disdain from listening to the common laborer; the wise, to the simple; the educated, to the illiterate; a child of a prince, to a peasant.
Damned money! Alas! How many religious did it blind! How many cloistered religious did it deceive! Money is the 'droppings of birds' that blinded the eyes of Tobit.
The spirit of humility is sweeter than honey, and those who nourish themselves with this honey produce sweet fruit.
Christians must lean on the Cross of Christ just as travelers lean on a staff when they begin a long journey.
The life of the body is the soul; the life of the soul is God.
Earthly riches are like the reed. Its roots are sunk in the swamp, and its exterior is fair to behold; but inside it is hollow. If a man leans on such a reed, it will snap off and pierce his soul.
An en is a karmic bond lasting a lifetime. Nowadays many people seem to believe their lives are entirely a matter of choice; but in my day we viewed ourselves as pieces of clay that forever show the fingerprints of everyone who has touched them.
The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it.
Occasionally in life there are those moments of unutterable fulfillment which cannot be completely explained by those symbols called words. Their meanings can only be articulated by the inaudible language of the heart.
You only have to look at the Medusa straight on to see her. And she's not deadly. She's beautiful and she's laughing.
If you are not prepared to use force to defend civilization, then be prepared to accept barbarism.
When people talk, they lay lines on each other, do a lot of role playing, sidestep, shilly-shally and engage in all manner of vagueness and innuendo. We do this and expect others to do it, yet at the same time we profess to long for the plain truth, for people to say what they mean, simple as that. Such hypocrisy is a human universal.
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