For many, the quest itself becomes the goal. As long as we get the process right, then we have done the best that could be expected. We've even gone so far to say that sex between adults and children could have beneficial effects as long as it is not coerced, [thank you American Psychological Society]. The process was OK becomes the battle cry.

We are entering a phase of human history that desires to make everyone feel comfortable with their decisions. Society deems it permissible to allow homosexual pairs to adopt children. This practice gives an imprimatur to a pair deciding intentionally to raise a child without a father or mother. Virtually every scientific study shows that a child does better with a mother and a father, we decided for the sake of political correctness that a child's best interests are not the paramount concern.

We spend so much time working and achieving career success that we have little time to spend with our children so we get them involved in extra activities to make up for our lack of involvement. Thus there is even less time to be with them.

We add more and more stress to our lives and then wonder why we are so uptight. Under the guise of tolerance, we abandon common sense and take on the so called wisdom of the world. We talk of truth for them or truth for me and make the point that there are no absolutes. The desire to fit in makes us soft and malleable in the wrong way.

"But, Father Bill, as long as we have love, that's all we really need!" Baloney.
LOVE IS NOT ENOUGH!

One major mistake we make is thinking that love is enough or that love can conquer all. What must be added to the above is love needs the tools to make it work. Love is the great fuel which is absolutely essential to a life of Christian service and witness. But it is the fuel.

We need right judgment to make our decisions in accordance with God's perfect plan. We need courage to face the difficulties which this life places in our path. We need wisdom to seek the supreme goal of life. We need piety to establish the correct hierarchy of values. We reverence and awe to appreciate the creation of God. We need humility to see the goodness of others and ourselves. We need guilt to remind us of our failures and spur us on to greater goodness. We need faith to order our love and desires to the final end of all human life, God's eternal life in the fullness of heaven.

We need a lot more than love. In fact, without the above and more, love becomes not much more than a warm emotion which changes from day to day. Rather than the binding agent of the covenant, it is something which makes me feel good and close.

If we say, "All I need is love," and by love mean God, we can get away with it. But if all I need is God, I will be very intolerant of sin - prejudice, apathy, sexual misconduct, homosexual activity, hatred, stealing, gossip, superiority, et al. - in my life. If all I need is God I will do all in my power to practice, forgiveness, patience, understanding, submission, et al., i.e. the virtues.