Dear Censor Librorum Imprimatur, Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades, concerning ‘Faith and Common Sense’:
The pamphlet titled ‘Faith and Common Sense’ does make sense.
Do not go to work or church when you have an uncontrollable cough or the flu. Don’t kiss your wife or kids, stay home, take a handful of vitamin ‘C’ and sleep it off. In short, ‘Common Sense’ always suggests that we do what is good for ourselves and others in a reasonable, sensible fashion.
It was the title of this pamphlet that immediately caught my eye, because long has it seemed that ‘Common Sense’ is, by nature, part of the incredible power of reasoning, which our Creator has inherently provided within us. For this reason, it is easy for different peoples, even widely separated geographically and culturally, to develop a ‘common’ understanding for types of knowledge. Thereby, common sense guidelines are inherently aligned with practical Truths and can be independently developed to be incredibly similar despite otherwise vast cultural differences to result in a common moral understanding, sometimes referred to as ‘Common Law’. Was this concept not recognized by the Apostle Paul when he spoke of peoples who not yet knowing Christ still behaved as though they did?
So then, if this is true, the common contemporary “What would Jesus do?” consideration would be found to directly align with most, if not all, cultural common law guidelines — or, in short, “Do what is good for life.” It is designed within all of us. So, then, to vary from this guideline, even without seeing it written, is a direct violation of ‘Truth’ or what we Christians specifically know as ‘The Word’ and which, by design, triggers a mechanism we consider as ‘our conscience’. Additionally, being braced by common faith, it seems safe to believe that we might, most likely, agree at this point and possibly pitch a common cultural consideration toward the Catholic Censor who has much influence on what Roman Catholics read.
Our world is on fire… and it is very likely that in all corners of Earth can be found common concerns and apprehensions of the future. Young adults are standing with mouths agape and confounded….Why?
Well, let’s start again with ‘common sense’. It seems well to consider a deeper and broader meaning to mechanisms, which we by nature have been provided with by our Creator but which we fail to understand and present in a manner helpful for common people. Where is the Wisdom necessary for young adults to climb back out of the hole that we old farts have dragged everyone into? Actually we were not alone and the hole began long ago. Did not our Lord and the prophets warn us? So what is it exactly that we have missed…? Truth perhaps?
“I pray you be one.” We have definitely dropped this ball. Because we dropped something important enough to be explicitly requested by our Lord, as He prepared Himself for the Cross, just what else have we missed, dropped or not cared enough to consider? Why is the world on fire…?
Your position as a bishop of The Church includes teaching. It is well that all teachers understand what this means. God is not happy and He is getting ready to toss us a ball. Common sense tells us this even if He does not inform us through rocks and donkeys…
A letter more specific as to how our Creator has ingrained our gift of common sense: to work alongside the taking hold of Truth and Wisdom, especially in regard to children, desires to be heard, but there is the big, smoldering, long-grieving of our Lord. Concern to first contend…listen to God…bishops could Shine… Listen to God…listen to God…listen to God…
Most sincerely,
a farmer’s donkey
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