Episode 3162: Western Liberalism Is a Dying Star: The Collapse of Modern Man

Nightly Zoom Coordinates for Rosary:
Meeting ID: 865 8978 0399
Passcode: Wjjv4960!
Speak Lord for your Servant is Listening

Book Recommendation of the Day
“The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius”
• Translated by Louis J. Puhl, S.J.
• Publisher: Loyola Press
• Language: English (classic, faithful translation)
“The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola”
• Translated by George E. Ganss, S.J.
• Publisher: Paulist Press (includes excellent commentary and scholarly notes)
So I finally after 4 years have a website up and running which is really great to tie in all the CR matters I have underway. Every CR episode is now on the site along with direct access to Rumble. I also have tabs for all episodes in date order and a separate tab that provide a sorting by theme. So please check it out, I will have the website address Catholic-Reboot.com in the show notes as well.

Western Liberalism Is a Dying Star: The Collapse of Modern Man
Episode Introduction
We will explore the enduring truths of the Faith in a world crumbling under the weight of its own lies.
We’ll walk through how liberalism, modern psychology, and pharmaceutical giants have reshaped the world in rebellion against Christ the King. But more importantly, we’ll offer hope, rooted in the Cross and the timeless teachings of Holy Mother Church.
Segment 1: What Is Western Liberalism?
Western liberalism did not simply emerge from thin air it was born in rebellion.
Out of the so-called Enlightenment, liberalism declared man autonomous, severed from throne, altar, and especially the confessional. The new god was the “self.” The new creed? “Do what thou wilt.”
Core Tenets of Liberalism:
• Radical Individualism – Man as his own lawgiver
• Moral Relativism – No objective truth, only opinion
• Secularism – God exiled from public life
• “Neutral” Public Square – Truth must stay private
• Rights Without Duties – Freedom without responsibility
The Syllabus of Errors (Pius IX, 1864) condemned these lies, especially the proposition that “every man is free to embrace and profess that religion which...he shall consider true.”
The Church has always taught: Error has no rights. Truth who is Christ Himself must reign over society, not be quarantined from it.
Segment 2: The Catholic Church’s Historic Condemnation
The modern world forgets that the popes have long seen liberalism as a grave spiritual disease.
• Pope Gregory XVI in Mirari Vos (1832):
“This shameful font of indifferentism... leads to the ruin of souls.”
• Félix Sardà y Salvany in Liberalism Is a Sin:
“Liberalism is the root of heresy... Whoever thinks what he pleases will do what he pleases.”

• Pope St. Pius X in Pascendi (1907):
Condemned modernism as the synthesis of all heresies liberalism's theological offspring.
Liberalism is not merely an error in politics or culture it is a diabolical disorientation, a false gospel that dethrones Christ and enthrones the self.
Segment 3: The Dying Star: Cultural Symptoms of Collapse
The fruits of liberalism are now rotting on the vine.
• Family: Torn apart by divorce, contraception, and abortion
• Liturgy: Turned into self-centered celebrations instead of sacrifice
• Education: Inverted feelings over facts, indoctrination over intellect
• Gender: Erased male and female He created them, but society rebels
• Authority: Discredited fathers, priests, and elders are mocked

This is not liberation. This is disintegration.
We are watching a civilization in terminal decline a brilliant, arrogant star burning out in its final glow of decadence and despair.
Segment 4: The Rise of Modern Psychology & the Myth of the Self
Liberal man, having cast off the priest, now turns to the therapist.
1. Freud’s Gospel of the Ego
Freud redefined the soul’s sickness:
• Sin? No, just suppressed desire
• Guilt? A societal construct
• Religion? A childish illusion
Psychoanalysis replaced confession. The confessional became a couch, and grace became talk therapy.
2. Denial of Sin
Modern psychology whispers: “You’re not bad, just broken.” But Christ says:
“Go, and sin no more.” (John 8:11)
Therapeutic culture refuses to name sin, which means it cannot offer salvation. If there’s no sin, there’s no Cross.
3. A Counterfeit Spirituality
Self-help gurus preach “inner peace” through mindfulness and positive thinking. But it is Christ alone who offers peace not as the world gives.
As Venerable Fulton Sheen once said:
“Psychology gives insight. Only Christ gives redemption.”
Segment 5: Big Pharma and the Medicalization of the Soul
With sin rebranded as illness, Big Pharma entered the confessional with a prescription pad.
1. The Commodification of Suffering
Pharmaceutical corporations treat symptoms, not souls.
• Sadness? SSRI
• Anxiety? Benzodiazepine
• Restlessness? Stimulants
• Grief? Pathologized
Rather than turning to the sacraments, modern man is sedated into silence.
2. Grace Replaced with Chemistry
Where once we fasted, now we medicate.
“Man shall not live by Xanax alone, but by every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God.” (cf. Matt. 4:4)
3. Hopelessness as a Business Model
Big Pharma thrives when man forgets he is made for eternity. It cannot sell salvation but it can sell distraction, suppression, and artificial calm.
The Church calls man to penance. Big Pharma calls him to the pharmacy.
Segment 6: A Way Forward: The Return to Christendom
We must not lament the death of liberalism. We must build anew on rock, not sand.
1. Restore the Reign of Christ the King
“Christ must reign over individuals, families, and nations.” – Quas Primas, Pope Pius XI
Faith must inform politics, education, art, economics. We must reject secularism and proclaim Christus Vincit.
2. Return to the Traditional Latin Mass
The Roman Rite forms saints. It lifts the soul toward Heaven through silence, solemnity, and sacrifice.
Liberal liturgy breeds irreverence. The Traditional Mass restores order and awe.
3. Rebuild Catholic Communities
• Start traditional schools that teach truth, not trends
• Build parishes around the sacraments, not programs
• Form families grounded in hierarchy and harmony
• Encourage men to lead and women to inspire through virtue
4. Embrace Redemptive Suffering
As Our Lady told the children at Fatima:
“Sacrifice yourselves for sinners…”
The collapse of the world is the opening for grace. We must fight not as revolutionaries, but as faithful Catholics armed with rosaries, fasts, and the Cross.
Final Reflections
Western liberalism is dying—let it die.
It promised peace, and brought war.
It promised happiness, and delivered despair.
It promised autonomy, and enslaved man to his passions.
But Christ remains. The Church remains. The Cross remains.
We were born for this hour to be the remnant, the seed of a restored Christendom.
Epistle – 2 Timothy 2:8–10; 3:10–12 (Douay-Rheims)
Be mindful that the Lord Jesus Christ is risen again from the dead, of the seed of David, according to my gospel. Wherein I labour even unto bands, as an evildoer: but the word of God is not bound. Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sake: that they also may obtain the salvation, which is in Christ Jesus, with heavenly glory.
But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, persecutions, afflictions: such as came upon me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra: what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord delivered me. And all that will live godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer persecution.

Reflection on the Epistle:
St. Paul’s letter to St. Timothy is filled with a holy realism yes, the resurrection of Christ is our glory and hope, but that hope is not without cost. “The Word of God is not bound,” Paul says, even as he writes in chains. This is the paradox of true Christian life: freedom through fidelity, victory through suffering.
Paul endured trials not just for himself, but “for the elect's sake,” that others may be saved. This is a direct call to us today: Are we willing to suffer for the sake of others' salvation? Do we love souls enough to bear the reproach of the world?
Notice the warning at the end: “All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” In a time where modernity tells us to blend in, to compromise, this passage is a stark reminder that persecution is a mark of fidelity, not failure. If you are not hated by the world for the Faith, it may be time to ask whether you're truly living it.

Gospel – Luke 9:1–6 (Douay-Rheims)
Then calling together the twelve apostles, he gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.
And he said to them: Take nothing for your journey, neither staff, nor scrip, nor bread, nor money; neither have two coats. And whatsoever house you shall enter into, abide there, and depart not from thence. And whosoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off even the dust of your feet for a testimony against them.
And going out, they went about through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing every where.
Reflection on the Gospel:
Here we see Our Lord forming His Apostles not merely as preachers, but as instruments of grace—He gives them authority over demons and the power to heal the sick. This is not symbolic. Christ was literally establishing a visible, hierarchical Church to carry out His mission.
And yet, what does He instruct them to bring? Nothing. No provisions, no security, no backup plans. Just trust. How foreign this is to our modern sensibilities where security, comfort, and control dominate our priorities!
The apostolic model is one of radical reliance on Divine Providence. This Gospel is not merely a historical narrative; it is a blueprint for evangelization, especially in these darkened times. Preach the Kingdom. Trust in God. Accept rejection, and move forward.
We, too, are called to be “apostles” in our own spheres our homes, parishes, workplaces. The question is, do we speak with the boldness and authority that comes from Truth? Or do we cower before the world’s rejection?
Saint of the Day – St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491–1556)
Though often remembered as the founder of the Jesuits, we must recall St. Ignatius from a traditional lens: a man of penance, spiritual discipline, and obedience to the Pope, who tirelessly worked for the restoration of the Faith in the 16th century a time not unlike our own in confusion and corruption.
His masterpiece, the “Spiritual Exercises,” is not a self-help program. It is a manual for spiritual warfare. St. Ignatius teaches us that we are soldiers in a real battle. The soul is the prize. The enemy is cunning. But God is our King and Mary our Queen.
As he wrote in the Exercises: “Man is created to praise, reverence, and serve God our Lord, and by this means to save his soul.” May we imitate his clarity and courage in these days of compromise.
Conclusion and Prayer:
we continue through this penitential and purifying journey of life, let us be reminded by today’s Epistle that persecution is not a punishment but a promise to the faithful. And the Gospel urges us to go forth with nothing but trust, wielding the authority of Truth.
Let us turn now to Our Lord in prayer.
Closing Prayer:
O Lord Jesus Christ, who didst give Thy holy Apostle Paul the strength to suffer chains for Thy Gospel, and who didst send forth Thy Apostles with no earthly security but the power of Thy Name—grant us, we beseech Thee, the grace to bear all trials with patient endurance, to proclaim Thy Truth with holy boldness, and to live not for the world, but for Thee.
Through the intercession of St. Ignatius of Loyola, grant us discernment to know Thy will and the courage to carry it out, no matter the cost.
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.
St. Ignatius of Loyola, pray for us.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Thank you for joining us on “Tradition and Truth.” May you walk in courage, speak with fidelity, and live for the greater glory of God. Until next time—Deo gratias.