The Heart of the Matter: Legitimizing Sin

Part 10 of 14 – This series of columns is based on the work of Fr. Chad Ripperger that analyzes the spirits of the past six generations and how those spirits have affected the Church.  We only ask that you consider whether his descriptions are true in a general sense, even if they do not describe you or people you know.

In tracing the generational spirits of the 20th, and now the 21st century, Fr. Ripperger identifies the spirit of the Baby Boomer/Hippie generation as “indocility and intemperance.” Indocility is the unwillingness to learn from or be led by those who are wiser than we are, and intemperance is a lack of moral restraint through self-denial which leads one to “think that what is, in fact, sinful is morally acceptable.”  Thus, they unleashed the “Sexual Revolution,” an attempt to legitimize lust and licentiousness, to make “morally acceptable” what God said is not good for us.  This led to a well-cloaked hatred for God, as Fr. Ripperger explains.   

Saint Thomas observes that one of the effects of lust is hatred of God because He forbids the use of the generative faculty in a disordered way. Hatred of God is simply the extreme [lack of docility] in which one must put away what one wants in order to do what is right. But the indocility led to a profound impiety within this generation. . . The Baby Boomers simply unpacked the impiety of the rejection of Tradition of the “Greatest” Generation who. . . failed to realize is that by not embracing their cross, one of the greatest crosses they would have is to watch their children who would be undisciplined, disrespectful to authority, and licentious.

The virtue of piety “in which one not only honors one’s superiors but also one takes due solicitude toward those under his care” was lost.

The Baby Boomers are hallmarked by an inability to be led, a disrespect for authority, a clamoring for power under the guise of “democracy,” or by the ruse of accusing an authority of being dictatorial. However, once they manage to gain the position of authority. . . they either are ruthless, disregard the good of their subjects, are selfish and overly demanding, or they simply do not care about the state of affairs under their purview or the people under them.

(all quotes taken from Latin Mass magazine, summer 2012)

His observations are particularly relevant as the Boomers sought to democratize the Church. 

For the grace of God has appeared, saving all and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age. (Titus 2:11–12)