St. Elizebeth Ann Seton the great educator and canonized Catholic saint lived between 1774-1821 yet she had a dream one night were she saw a black box and with it the devil had a conduit into people own homes. As she put it, ““Every American would have a black box in their home and the devil would enter.” Since this was the early 1800s the dream puzzled everyone.
Then in 1928 the dream became a little clearer with the invention of the Television set. As the popularity and improved production of the Television improved more people could afford it and it soon became a fixture in everyones living room. People in the black box could disrupt family life with the turn of the knob. By the 1950 it even caught the attention of Saint Padre Pio. He realized it would destroy family life and told everyone not to buy one. He found it revolting and called it cinema or “sin” ema stating that“The devil is in it.” My mother always called it the idiot box.
We all know that the devil never sits still so as society progresses so does Satan. The black box was extended to the computer screen and the internet. We have now moved from merely disrupting family life to destroying it. Pornography on demand to destroy marriage relations even worse than the free love movement of the 60s hippies. Pornography has no love. Its all about using people for their own pleasure. The fact that most Catholic and bishops are now of that age should disturb you. Fr. Ripperger said with the revision of the Littany of the Saints the passage “From the spirit of Fornication deliver us oh Lord”. Was removed from the litany of the saints. That appears at time mark 1:40.
Again the Devil is a go getter and goes on to bigger and better things. The Smart phone. Now that he has managed to destroy or at the very least, cripple the family he moved on to society in general. Now people really don’t have human contact any more. There is a difference being with a person as opposed to communicating with a person. In the old days instead of texting you went to the neighborhood tavern. You exchange ideas with people sitting up at the bar with you. You knew who they were, what they looked like, and what kind of personality they have. Texting and chat rooms sterilize and neuter the lines. What you think might be a fellow schoolmate on line might turn out to be a 40 year pervert. In a bar you can tell, in a smartphone or pc you can’t.
My pet peeve is when I pass people on my morning walk 80% are out walking staring at their cell phones like zombies too engrossed to return a good morning back. Then in stores they are constantly chatting on the phone. I think its just plain rude.
Ya, ok, the electronic trilogy can be used for some good. Social networks like Twitter and Substack help bring fellow traditional Catholics together and becomes a great news source. Ai research is great and quick. Shopping on line much more efficient. TV if you can get around the seedy soap operas, Viagra and Total T commercials, you know, “And she’ll like it too”, wink, wink and foul mouth woke comedians its tolerable. In fact I am a weekly regular to Kitchen nightmares, just have to tune out the F bombs.
Our Lady talked about 3 days of darkness where the earth would be totally immersed in darkness and the only light would be from blessed Beeswax candles. It just seems that the aftermath for those who survive the world will be a much kinder, compassionate, and smarter place. Image 3 days without the internet, smart phones or TV. Only a lit candle and reading real books and praying the rosary. Might be an opportunity to get the head back screwed on right.
One of the ICKSP conons would look up blessings on his smart phone. I have mixed emotions there. What is wrong with looking up prayers in a paper missal. If the smart phone is so great that why are people told not to bring it into the confessional. Mixed signals here. Oh well just part of the Synodal new church I suppose.