"Poustinia" - A Reflection on the Writings of Catherine Doherty

This wonderful piece of Eastern spirituality was written by the late Servant of God, Catherine de Hueck Doherty, in 1974. Catherine was a humble worker in the Lord's vineyard, as she worked diligently in the arena of social justice in both Canada and the United States, which lead to the founding of the first Friendship House Apostolate, which later transformed into the Madonna House Apostolate, currently located in Combermere, Ontario, Canada. Catherine Doherty was a woman on fire with the love of God, and held nothing back in her pursuit of holiness, and in her efforts to assist others along that path. She was a woman of boundless wealth at the ripe young age of 15, as she married Baron Boris de Hueck in her native land of Russia. After surviving the Communist persecution and the revolution of 1917, Catherine and Baron de Hueck escaped to England, where she was introduced to the profound truths of Roman Catholicism, after being raised as a Russian Orthodox, and later converted.

In 1920, Catherine and her husband arrived in Canada virtually penniless, and with a baby son to care for. Unfortunately, the Baron's health suffered greatly after the war, and would later depart from this life only to leave Catherine to fend for herself and her young child. During this time of trial, Catherine served as a maid, a laundress, a waitress, a salesclerk, and therefore became well-acquainted with many people in North America through working with the poor in Montreal, Toronto, and New York. Soon enough Catherine acquired a proficiency in the arena of public speaking and later became an executive of a lecture bureau. Once again she had reclaimed all the wealth she had previously lost, since arriving in North America; she was living the American Dream. However, it wasn't soon enough that the words of Christ in the gospel would come to torment her: "Go sell all you possess, and give it to the poor, and come, follow me." At this point in her life, and with all the success she had secured for herself, surely this idea of selling all of her possessions was pure madness. But the words would simply not go away. Finally, in 1930, after a year of discerning God's call with her spiritual director, Archbishop Neil McNeil of Toronto, and paying for her son's education she realized that indeed she had a vocation to live and serve amongst the poor. Catherine thus sold all of her possessions and went to live and serve the poor in Toronto during the Great Depression. Catherine served the poor as only she knew Christ would have her do - simply, quietly, humbly, becoming their friend. In many ways she became the Mother Teresa of North America. Her personality was inevitably contagious for some, and her boldness would "[scandalize] others, and, after a few years, misunderstanding and calumny drove her out of Toronto" (Poustinia: Encountering God in Silence, Solitude and Prayer, 9). Catherine, nonetheless, strove along with her dear friend, Dorothy Day, to take the social teachings of the Catholic Church out text books, and insert them into the hearts of the men and women around her. Unfortunately, for Catherine, her first attempt at establishing a Friendship House proved to be unsuccessful.

In 1943, after her first husband had long since passed away, Catherine married Eddie Doherty, a well-renowned journalist. In 1947, Catherine and Eddie took one of the Friendship House staff to Combermere - northeast of Toronto - where the Bishop of Pembroke invited her to continue her apostolate. Upon arriving at the small village, something tugged at the Doherty's hearts, and somehow they knew this was where they would continue to live out their service to the Lord. Eventually, the apostolate, now called Madonna House, gradually grew and took root in the hearts of the lay men, women, and priests who came to visit. Many left, but more stayed. In 1955, Catherine and Eddie took vows of celibacy and Eddie was ordained a priest of the Melkite Rite in 1969, as the Madonna House community decided to establish itself more formally as an apostolate of the Church, though keeping with its lay character.

After a stroll one day through the Canadian countryside Catherine happened on a large barn that in some way revived in her a childhood memory of the poustinia. Poustinia is a Russian word for "desert" or "hermit" (poustinik/poustinikki). Here then is where the concept of this book takes flight. Though Catherine was now a Catholic, her Russian spirituality was never really completely eradicated. Throughout this book Catherine attempts to introduce to the Western man the notion of a poustinia. Essentially, a poustinia is a place of silence, solitude and prayer, where man goes to listen to the silent voice of God and experience His presence. A poustinia is more precisely a physically isolated location such as a cabin in the woods, yet its meaning can be stretched to describe that interior place - the inner sanctuary - where the soul ventures inward, into the "desert," and there encounters the living Christ who comes to him in the silence. This particular concept was something that intrigued me personally about this book, not because it had introduced something new to my understanding of the spiritual life, but rather it reminded me of the need for an openness of heart, as well as the demand for creating a silence in the life of a Christian pilgrim. Now, what exactly I mean by the "need for an openness of heart," should be understood as a need for a greater capacity to listen to the still voice of God and clear the mind from thoughts of one's daily life, which can often times inhibit and stifle one's spiritual growth. In order to further open one's heart there must be a folding of the intellect, for one does not approach God through reason simply, but the wings of faith assist in bringing the Christian closer to the face of God. In order to accomplish this, it is imperative that one enter into silence. By this I do not mean a silence from worldly noises, as we inevitably cannot escape for very long anyways, but rather the silence of that interior room where Our Lord says that, "your Father who sees in secret will reward you" (Mt. 6:4). In a chapter called The Western Poustinik (a person entering or making a poustinia), Catherine draws a very good point in saying that the Western man, unlike the more contemplative spirituality of the East, thrives on being "productive." If he's not producing or actively doing something, he's doing nothing. Its as though the West has lost the hunger "for the silence of God, this passivity of the silent soul" (Poustinia, 64). Without this "passivity" of soul we cannot be good listeners, and therefore we cannot experience a genuine encounter with the living God, who is silent and speaks to us in silence. I believe Catherine summarizes it best in the following sentence:

In the gospel of the Passion we see how Christ is silent before the authorities. Imagine, God is silent! He asks for nothing, and he gives himself (ibid., 69).

It is the silence and the sacrifice of the Cross that spells out the "essence of the poustinik" (ibid., 69), or what is required to enter the "poustinia of the heart" - the inner sanctuary. God calls every poustinik to a life of total purgation, total self-emptying. Finally, then, the greatest contribution that one can make to His Majesty is oneself - totally and completely empty and naked before the Lord. An act of simple presence is sufficient, and thus necessary in order for God to perform the same miracle as He did in the life of St. Paul. To put it in Catherine's words, "If you want to see what a "contribution" really is, look at the Man on the cross...When you are hanging on a cross you can't do anything because you are crucified" (ibid., 69). St. Paul illustrates this image for us in his letter to the Galations: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me" (Gal. 2:20). This silence, however, is not something that happens immediately without practice, as our thoughts tend to overcomplicate our ability to return to our more primitive state of existence, a more contemplative spirituality.

So far I've spoken on the need for cultivating silence, and until now I have mentioned nothing about prayer. What can we expect to do once we've cultivated this silence in us? We must pray. If silence teaches you anything, it will teach you to pray, perhaps in a way unlike what you're accustomed to. As Christians we know that prayer is the way in which we communicate and enter into union with God, but we often convince ourselves that we don't have time to pray. Where then has been your place of prayer? Have you not interiorized your prayer? Have you enthroned Christ at the center of your heart? Have you left the formality of prayers printed in a book and ventured inward? If we are meant to be temples of the Holy Trinity, then where else should our prayer take place? The greatest thing about this ability to gaze inward is that no words are needed. As two lovers look into one another's eyes, the intensity of their love eventually becomes far too great for words. Such is the union with God through prayer. As St. Paul urges us, we must pray unceasingly, "there should be no break in our prayer" (ibid., 74). Why should our hearts become detached from God when we leave church and enter back into our daily routines? When you are truly in love with someone, it ought to be as though the face of the beloved is always before you. "When you drive, when you type, when you are taking out insurance, and so on." In some way, the lover is able to "encompass these two realities, the face of the beloved and whatever we happen to be doing" (ibid., 74). Love is not divided, but wholly one in everything.

Unfortunately, its here now that I choose to stop discussing the book, and where now I encourage you to pick it up for yourself. The words of Catherine Doherty are truly penetrating and will clearly resonate within you. It might even make you wonder what you've been doing with your time lately, especially when making the poor excuse that you "don't have time to pray." Read this book once, and you'll have no more excuses. With that said, I'll leave you with an outline written by Catherine herself for the individual who sets out to enter the poustinia:

It is to be remembered that you are going to the desert for the following reasons:

To fast
To live in silence
To pray
So that you might die to yourself quicker, so that Christ might grow in you faster.
So that you might give Him to the world faster too...this world that is so hungry for him.
To atone for your sins and those of others
To pray for mankind
To pray for peace
To pray for the missions and unity among Christians in the Catholic Church
To become saints faster (i.e., lovers of Christ in truth and in deed)
To imitate Christ
To save your soul and that of others
To learn total surrender to God quicker
We have made Christ wait long enough.

New Encyclical: "Caritas in Veritate"

Here is the link to the Holy Father, Benedict XVI's, latest encyclical letter, Caritas in Veritate, released on June 29th, 2009 A.D. I hope to write a review on it once I'm able to read it. Until then here is the link to the Vatican website where you can read it yourself.

Caritas in Veritate (click here)

Comrade Obama and The People's Socialist Republic of America

"We cannot expect the Americans to jump from capitalism to Communism, but we can assist their elected leaders in giving Americans a small dose of socialism until they awake to find they have Communism." - Soviet Leader Nikita Khrushchev, 1959.


It’s no surprise to me that America is heading in the direction that it is with President (or Comrade) Obama at the helm. As the frontrunner of the American Progressive Movement, along with Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and the GOP left scurrying to regain its composure and identity after a severe blow in the 2008 election, and with the task of appointing a new leading representative for its party, it looks like we’re in for quite a ride in the next four (maybe eight) years as the Dems have successfully acquired all the seats in the House to secure a Filibuster-proof majority. Ladies and Gentlemen, hold on to your seats, as we have left liberal democracy behind, and have entered a new era for America: socialism.

Although I’m not of the belief that Obama is the Anointed Savior of America (or the world for that matter), nor do I think he will maintain his plush seat in the Oval Office after his first term; however, I do think there is a lot of work to be done, in order to ensure that no community organizing companies such as ACORN intimidate our voters into fraudulently electing another candidate that is so optimally pro-abortion, pro-homosexual, anti-family, apologetically American and unpatriotic in so many ways. But, as someone told me once, “sometimes you need a Jimmy Carter before you get a Ronald Reagan.” However, it is my belief and opinion that Obama is incomparable to a Jimmy Carter. Jimmy Carter was not very self-confident and often times overly self-reflective (which is not often times a bad thing, but at his time it proved to be ineffective), and was not very good at delegating tasks to his cabinet and getting things done, which is why Ronald Reagan, with his great charm, caused Carter to be perceived by the American people as a weak and indecisive president, with his final approval rating dipping down into the 34% range. At the opposite end of the spectrum we have President Obama, who today holds a 61% approval rating (Gallup Poll), as the State of the Nation holds a 63% dissatisfaction rating, 44% of Americans are struggling to make ends meet, and the economic condition of the nation at a poor 52%. It doesn’t make a bit of sense for Obama to have such a high approval rating while the rest of the country and economy lies in shambles. Mr. Obama seems to enjoy spending his late nights sharing a stage with David Letterman, rather than accomplishing what he was elected to do: bring the “Change” that everyone can believe in. Well, it doesn’t look like this administration has made any significant accomplishments for the American people to really believe in, as we sit at home and watch Obama sign bill after bill, but never without extreme opposition from the Right. Do we have a president, or a buffoon in the White House? As we watch this imbecile squander away everything that America has been since its founding over 200 years ago, our constitutional rights are quickly being lifted out from under us, and only more is to be expected with the recent election of Senator Al Franken (D) of Minnesota, thus giving the Democrats the filibuster-proof majority they had been hoping to achieve in the House. Essentially, the system of checks and balances established by our Founding Fathers as a way to ensure that no particular branch of government would obtain absolute power has been thrown out the window. There's a reason why our first president and father of our nation, George Washington, believed that the political party system would spell doom for America, and here we have arrived at the threshold of this prophetic utterance. Our whole existence as a liberal democratic society is at the mercy of the Democratic Party, with people like house speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, as the frontrunners for this administration. They’ve become a pack of wild dogs, each in it for themselves, and on the hunt to kill the goose that lays the golden egg, yet in the end all we’re left with is a dead goose, and the opportunities for a prosperous America slipping through our finger tips. Washington gets richer as the nation gets poorer. Soon we’ll be sitting on our front porches, drinking ourselves away, singing dirges and reminiscing about the good ol’ days. Welcome to Socialist America everyone!

Rock 'n Roll and the Closing of the American Mind

Over the course of the past few months I have researched – though not extensively – the effects of contemporary music on society and how it has affected the liberal social ideology that we are so often confronted with today, both in our older and younger generations. I began my research by watching a documentary series titled, “Hells Bells: The Dangers of Rock ‘n Roll,” produced in 1989 by Eric Holmberg an evangelical Christian, who attempts to expose the dangers of music from the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Though a bit outdated, and quite evangelical in its presentation, it holds nothing back in speaking about the twisted perversion of contemporary music. Now, when speaking of “contemporary music,” I am referring primarily to the musical eras ranging between the 1960s to the early-90’s. Though much of our music today is corrupt and perverted enough, many of its influences derive from this particular period in music history (i.e., The Beatles, Madonna, Michael Jackson, AC/DC, George Michael, Prince, KISS, etc). Throughout the documentary, Holmberg introduces the viewer to several examples of musical artists through the decades who have ravaged our youth and robbed them of their innocence by exploiting their pubescent, and heavily hormone-driven sexuality. Therefore, I am determined to expose the dangers of our music industry by its roots, and how it has been so successful in the current demise of our youth.

Sex sells

To give you an example of what exactly I’m talking about, in Hells Bells (a name derived from a song by the acclaimed rock band, AC/DC) one of the many samples of music gone awry is seen in Billy Idol’s music video, “Hot in the City.” In the video we watch as Billy Idol dons a silver cross around his neck (I could only imagine as a mockery of Christianity and its salvific hope for man, a “hope” in which Mr. Idol views solely in releasing the tension of his uncontrollable sexual urge), gazing through a punched-in hole in a wall, only to catch a glimpse of a hyper-sensual peepshow of sexual domination, and quickly gazing back at the camera to remind us all that “we’re still young on a hot summer night,” and implicitly, as well as explicitly, seeing to it that we live a similarly sensual lifestyle. Not to mention, in the end Mr. Idol also finds it appropriate to crucify his girlfriend on an iron cross, which makes no sense whatsoever in the grand scheme of the video, but is meant to serve as a mockery of Christ, and ultimately attacks what he sees as the underlying “suppressive” force against a new age view of human sexuality: primarily the Christian perspective on human love and sexuality. What else could possibly be so oppressing to a culture that defines its freedom from the waist down?

Dr. Allan Bloom, one of America’s most notable political philosophers at the University of Chicago, wrote a book entitled, The Closing of the American Mind, which served as a litmus test during another significant transformation of a culture and a generation. In a chapter properly titled, Music, Dr. Bloom captures almost perfectly the effects of contemporary music on society and our youth. In it he states:

Picture a thirteen year old boy sitting in the living room of his family home doing his math assignment while wearing his Walkman [or iPod] headphones or watching MTV. He enjoys the liberties hard won over centuries by the alliance of philosophic genius and political heroism, consecrated by the blood of martyrs; he is provided with comfort and leisure by the most productive economy ever known to mankind; science has penetrated the secrets of nature in order to provide him with the marvelous, lifelike electronic sound and image reproduction he is enjoying. And in what does progress culminate? A pubescent child whose body throbs with orgasmic rhythms; whose feelings are made articulate in hymns to the joys of onanism or the killing of parents; whose ambition is to win fame and wealth in imitating the drag-queen who makes the music. In short, life is made into a nonstop, commercially packaged masturbational fantasy.

Music, as experienced by many, can become an extension of what is found deep in the subconscious realm of the mind, and can even act as an extension of particular human emotions and passions. Nietzsche believed that music was the soul’s primitive form of expression, irrational and without the need for articulated speech. Now whether this is true or not, even when articulate speech is added to it, the rhythm always remains the driving, inspirational force behind it all – thus influencing and stimulating the passions, which are later revealed in the song’s lyrics. As we’ve all been able to witness at one time or another, either through the pulsations of the bass, the ecstatic high-pitch solos of an electric guitar, or the erotic lyrics of a Twisted Sister, Def Leppard or “material girl” Madonna, each element has assisted in promoting “not love, not eros, but sexual desire undeveloped and untutored” (Closing of the American Mind, 73) in the lives of the youth then and now. It is believed that music possesses such a profound ability to influence youngsters more so than pornography, that there is no longer a need for the voyeuristic perspective, but rather the answer can be found in performing such acts on themselves or even experimented with in the misguided, sexually active encounters of our pre-teens and teenagers today. So much can be transmitted, especially to our youth, when words are accompanied by the swaying power of music. This becomes ever more apparent when artists both “implicitly and explicitly describe bodily acts that satisfy sexual desire and [are then treated] as…only natural and routine [for] children who do not yet have the slightest imagination of love, marriage, or family” (CAM, 74). By simply listening to the rhythmic tones of our contemporary music, as produced by artists in their Hollywood studios, disconnected from any notion of genuine love or family life, one is able to perceive carefully the deceptiveness of the harmony, as it enchants and elicits the desire for sexual intercourse without the utterance of a single word. It should therefore be no surprise to us all that “rock ‘n roll” got its name from a term suggesting pre-marital sex in the back seat of a car. Sex becomes one of the over-arching themes of the rock ‘n roll lifestyle, to the point where, as Prince would have it, “Sex related fantasy is all my mind can see.” Its because of the influence of artists such as these that many young people today find date rape, pre-marital sex, and the sexual exploitation of women justifiable.

Looking for inspiration – Drug abuse & the occult

Sex, though one element among many in the rock ‘n roll world, sadly sells itself at a discounted price. However, the search for pleasure and escape does not stop here though, but is intricately linked to drug abuse, and even suicide. Drug abuse was and is a popular theme with bands such as The Beatles in the 60s, as they alluded to and sang about the magical, stimulating effects of LSD, to the lawless behavior of the Beastie Boys in the 90s, and the “90 references to alcohol and drug abuse,” in their best selling album, “Licensed to Ill” (Hells Bells). As it seems, the most common reason for the use of drugs and its association with rock ‘n roll music is the desire for a profound "spiritual" experience. However, little attention is given to the potential dangers that linger when combining sense altering substances and dabbling in the realm of the occult and satanic rituals, as was common practice among many of the well-known past and present artists (i.e., Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, John Lennon, Jimmy Page, Ozzy Osbourne, Marilyn Manson). It is in these ecstatic experiences that many receive the inspiration to write their songs, which obviously obtain their perverted lyrical prowess from a realm other than our own, if you know what I mean. Jimi Hendrix, one of the world's leading guitar sensations of all time, often spoke about being tormented by certain unknown spirits, that would take possession of him while on stage, and transform him into someone he hardly knew. This was also accounted for by his recording manager. Some of the most well-known bands, such as Alice Cooper and Cheaptrick, received their names after nights spent dallying around with the cultic Ouija board. In their earlier days, the members of Ozzy Osbourne’s group Black Sabbath, while in the studio preparing to write what would become their next multi-platinum album, would often joke about the “fifth member" of the band. Black Sabbath was certainly well-endowed with inspirations from the Evil One, so much so that they even produced a song titled, Crowley, as a homage to the founder of the Satanic Cult, Aleister Crowley. Their music eventually became so inspiring that it soon after resulted in the death of a 14-year old boy. In the late-80s, as Mr. Osbourne was de-boarding a plane, he was approached and caught by surprise by a member of the paparazzi, who asked him how he felt about the lawsuits being filed against him for the suicide of a 14-year old boy, who was found shot dead in his room with his headphones still on his head and listening to his song, "Suicide Solution." Mr. Osbourne had no idea what he was talking about. In a special interview Gene Simmons, frontman for the world-renowned group KISS, admitted that often times while on stage there would be this aura that would pervade the audience in such a way that if he would have said to the crowd, "Kill!", they would have done so.

Drugs, unfortunately, are only the beginning for such deviant behavior; and often times the end of the road for some. It would be virtually impossible to separate rock ‘n roll and drugs, as one feeds and gives life to the other. Rock ‘n roll created drugs, and therefore loses its power and cannot survive without them. As Jesus said to the Pharisees, when accused of being a devil and casting out demons by his own power, “if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand” (Mark 3:24). Moreover, its unfortunate that all that is associated with the rock 'n roll lifestyle usually attains its fulfillment in the notion that life is meaningless, a void yet to be filled with as much carnal pleasure until one is literally "bored to death," tired of life, seeking to escape the daily grind of a 9-5 job, the heartaches of a bad relationship, the "oppressiveness" of one's parents, something to soothe the boredom that lingers after its all said and done. What then is the suggested response of a generation such as this?

Suicide – the answer to a generation’s boredom

If sex, drugs and rock 'n roll aren't enough, its no wonder that these elements have all served as catalysts in the lives of so many youngsters - devoted to the "spirit of rock" - to seek a swift escape from the world's troubles. As alluded to in the previous paragraph, contemporary music has had a significant impact on our current culture's worldview, and has even played the devil's advocate in such a way that it has "effectively short circuit[ed] [the] primary human instinct: self-preservation" (Hells Bells). To accomplish this, it has had to subvert some fundamental metaphysical principles; mainly, that there is a transcendent purpose to man's life, and that life on earth is merely the beginning of something good. Its unfortunate that young people today pay more credence to their pop icons, rather than the parents who have nurtured them along, and have sought their well-being from the beginning. Another significant element that contemporary music has subverted is the meaning of human suffering. In his Apostolic Letter, Salvifici Doloris, the late Pope John Paul II writes, "suffering seems to belong to man's transcendence: it is one of those points in which man is in a certain sense "destined" to go beyond himself, and he is called to this in a mysterious way" (Salvifici Doloris, 2). Suffering is indeed an objective reality which contemporary music has taught all to abhor, and to ultimately escape, because if it doesn't feel good, then it can't be good. It is undeniable that "physical suffering" becomes deeply manifest in man's "spiritual/psychological" suffering, and vice versa. Man, in his psychosomatic persona, is a perfect whole; he is not one without the other. Here, then, is where contemporary music has been successful, by separating the two, and throwing away the other; namely, the spiritual. With this, the modern culture has redefined man as a babbling beast, one who devours the countless pleasures before him, without a single hesitating thought. Indeed, the current culture sees no need for young people to "go beyond [themselves]," as there is nothing waiting for them on the other side - "God is dead."

What I find to be so ironic about the "suicide solution" of our teens today, is that so many deliberately anesthetize themselves to the world prior to any surfacing thoughts of ending their lives. They walk around like wobbling corpses, plugged into their psychosomatic drip (i.e., iPods) and swaying to the enchanting rhythm and lyrics, as words such as, "where to hide, suicide is the only way," are injected into their psychological bloodstreams, dissolving any hope of a stimulated response to a potential life filled with meaning or purpose.

Much to our own demise, we have become and are becoming with each passing generation, the products of our own musical and lyrical misconstructions. In his book entitled Laws, Plato expresses his displeasure with the musical revolution of his time, as the people of his society were “[deceiving] themselves into thinking that there was no right or wrong in music – that it was to be judged good or bad by the pleasure it gave. By their work and their theories they infected the masses with the presumption to think themselves adequate judges… As it was, the criterion was not music, but a reputation for promiscuous behavior and a spirit of lawlessness” (The Secret Power of Music, 189). Need I say more? Can’t we already perceive the direction of our youth in contemporary music’s quest to captivate its audience, in order to contaminate the youthful soul with its “loose love” dead-end propaganda?

To avoid furthering the effects of generations gone wild, parenting in the 21st century and beyond must take a new approach against the powers of the music and entertainment industry as a whole, by being observant and using discretion when choosing what their children listen to or watch. It’s unfortunate that the parenting of today has become resonant with Plato’s quote above, as many simply deny the real effects of modern music on their children, while in their stupor they watch as another generation concedes to the same lies and false dreams promised long ago. In their day they became the equivalents of the chained prisoners in Plato’s allegory of the cave. Rock ‘n roll and its "trusty companions" were the shadowy images projected on the cave wall, as they remained captives of the puppeteers of a culture that was simultaneously transforming and cannibalizing itself through the sexual revolution of the 60s, the rise of the free-spirited hippie generation, the burgeoning feminist movement, and the "let me be me" hoopla of the 70s, to the establishment of the MTV entertainment empire of the 80s. Their forlorn attempt to escape music's effects on their generation has since proven in many instances to be unsuccessful, and few who have managed to escape did not emerge unscathed. My question to this generation of young people and mine is, are we able to make a courageous attempt to rise from the ashes of generations of cultural deconstruction, and open our eyes to see and spurn the deceivors of this age, and reclaim from them our “sacred traditions,” which since have become a thing of the past?