Family Under Attack
By Marcy Stenstrom
At the beginning of Advent, my husband and I attended our parish mission with speaker Deacon Thomas Kinnick. Through habit, I took an outline of notes. For me, one of the most remarkable and compelling truths that he stated was that the human family is under attack. Deacon Kinnick elaborated on this to say that since we, the human family, are an image of the trinity created in the image of God, we are so close to Him. And if Satan is going to do his best to bring down God, this is one of the best ways to do it; to attack the family. I had never thought of it this way before. If we consciously take a look at the immorality around us, the social and cultural “norms” that are seeping into our homes, our schools, our places of work, this deception might be alarming but certainly not uncontrollable.
For example, I noticed the following “predators” trying to enter our homes and minds. Within the span of a week I recorded various mediums of deception and false truths that are all around us. In the local newspaper, there were articles about the acceptance of both male and female openly homosexual Episcopal bishops and archbishops. This is something that is further splitting their church. Another article made the front page about young pro-choice “Catholics” supporting contraception. I read a national article about same-sex animal behavioral studies that lightly implied that homosexual tendencies are found in nature and therefore natural, even purposeful, which could provide insight to the study of human relations. In television there was a promiscuous primetime “fashion” show, which also has a “PINK” collection of lingerie that targets college age women and (not by accident) attracts teens and tweens. In sitcoms and dramas there is more same-sex intimacy and promiscuity than ever before.
All of these worldly, seemingly acceptable and attractive lifestyles can seep into our homes slowly and silently. Before we even realize it, we’re used to it and it becomes common knowledge, acceptable. This is how the devil attacks the family; slowly,
meticulously, deliberately. Everyone wants protection for their children but what we really need is to protect our entire household from these visuals and from this fast and furious culture of “love as a feeling” rather than an act of commitment and
sacrifice. It affects adults as well as children and as Catholics we should not be okay with allowing such immoral visual stimulation into our homes. This is how we pull away from God and His values for us. We may think we don’t need church or the mass but this is precisely why we need it. For me, the mass is a check-up, a reminder of what I need to work on for the coming week and a look back at the things that I messed up on. If I didn’t have this positive influence in my life, it would be easier and easier for me to succumb to our culture’s morals and not God’s.
To keep Satan out, my husband and I monitor our television programs and movies. Even brief graphic images can be engrained in a young child’s mind for several days or longer. I remember hiding in the kitchen when I was a child whenever Bruce Bixby turned into the Hulk. I also remember sensual images on “Dallas”, an evening soap that we watched with my Mom every Friday night. I think I was about twelve but remember having strange “sensations” that I didn’t exactly understand. Now that I’m married, I know that puberty was in full swing and hormones were beginning to rage. My husband and I also keep our hands on the remote for a quick channel change when an objectionable commercial comes on. We save money and the burden of extra channels to monitor because we don’t have cable. We have a filter on our internet to decrease temptation and accidental viewing of sites that we object to. We also try to preview movies and video games even if they are rated PG. I’ve viewed PG-13 movies that I find objectionable for anyone under 18 but yet there are frequently young children accompanied by their parents for these movies at the theater. Before choosing a movie check out the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website, www.usccb.org. for movie listings and previews. This is an excellent resource to see what will be shown in the movie and you can judge if it compromises your values. Our family and image of God may be under attack, but we are certainly not helpless. God gave us the power of free will to keep Satan out. It’s our choice now.