Idolatry in the 21st century
Throughout history, humanity has repeatedly succumbed to idolatry. Even today, we encounter statues blending human and animal forms, venerated for their perceived supernatural power. Such objects are kept in homes, alongside amulets and lucky charms, reflecting a modern reinvention of the same temptation that existed in the first century. For instance, while scientific knowledge and space exploration have long discredited astrology—a practice even Saint Augustine once followed in his misguided youth around the year 400—many still find comfort in attributing their sins to planetary alignments or interpreting general predictions as personal guidance.
Book: Confessions (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) by Augustine of Hippo
Contemporary cults centered on UFOs and crop circles—phenomena that remain unexplained and are often venerated—effectively draw people away from Christianity. Saint Thomas Aquinas noted in 1250:
Demons when summoned through certain constellations, come ... in order to lead man into the error of believing that there is some Divine power in the stars.
In the Old Testament, God sought to free His people from the grip of idolatry by instructing the Israelites to sacrifice the very animals they had once worshiped in Egypt, guiding them toward a nation devoted solely to Him. By the time of Jesus, Roman and Greek deities were prominently featured in theatrical performances, where actors and poets encouraged lives of self-indulgence, irrational behavior, and even self-mutilation. With a god or demon assigned to every aspect of human life, these practices mocked and diverted souls from the worship of the one true God, as explained by Saint Augustine (420ac), Books 1-4,
Book: City of God by Augustine of Hippo
Christians of other denominations, or those who do not believe in Mary and the saints, may regard statues as idolatrous. However, as Catholics, we view these statues similarly to photographs. When I wish to remember my grandmother, I look at her old photographs and feel love and memories stir, even though she has passed away. Likewise, when I pray before a statue, painting, or photograph of a saint, I direct my prayer to that saint because I know of their life and their close relationship with God. As a loving conversation, asking for his help as an intercession for us, to that soul in heaven. We pray to a sainted soul for his prayers to the Father. His or her human form is represented by a photo, painting, or statue. We keep these reminders to keep that holy person present in our hearts as much as possible by glancing at his human image. They are real souls that existed on Earth in human history, now in heaven. Mary of Agreda's books best describe Mary's intercession for the Church in the first century and our inability to understand her role because of rampant idolatry at the time. Saints have appeared, miraculously healing people even after their deaths (saint Gemma's intercessions), and I am sure Saint Gemma would be very upset if we treated her image as an idol over God the Father or the Holy Trinity. Saints are our brothers and sisters in heaven, holier than we are. So, when I pray to Saint Gemma, I pray with love as her brother, a sinner in need of her help and prayers to the Father.
Book: Seeking Jesus in the Old Testament Silvano O.C.V., Dr. Renu Rita
If you comprehend the statement I am about to quote below, you are on the right path to heaven,
"If we may rely on the disclosures of the Saints, it is an immense increase of devotion to our Blessed Lady; but, remember, nothing short of an immense one [to obtain an answer to our prayers]. In England, Mary is not half enough preached. Devotion to her is low and thin and poor. It is frightened out of its wits by the sneers of heresy. It is always invoking human respect and carnal prudence, wishing to make Mary so little of a Mary that Protestants may feel at ease about her. Its ignorance of theology makes it unsubstantial and unworthy. It is not the prominent characteristic of our religion which it ought to be. It has no faith in itself. Hence it is that Jesus is not loved, that heretics are not converted, that the Church is not exalted; that souls, which might be saints, wither and dwindle; that the Sacraments are not rightly frequented, or souls enthusiastically evangelised. Jesus is obscured because Mary is kept in the background. Thousands of souls perish because Mary is withheld from them. It is the miserable unworthy shadow which we call our devotion to the Blessed Virgin that is the cause of all these wants and blights, these evils and omissions and declines." (Father Frederick Faber, 1863)
For Christians that hide Mary in their churches, I only have one picture for them, of Pamplona's Cathedral, one of the sweetest cities as Zaragoza's Lady of the Pillar,
Saint Bridget of Sweden (1303–1373) was canonised in 1391 by Pope Boniface IX, which was confirmed by the Council of Constance in 1415. Because of new discussions about her works, the Council of Basel confirmed the orthodoxy of her revelations in 1436. These revelations are a restatement of this whole website. And all this happened before protestantism! Saint Bridget wrote:
John the Baptist appeared to her and said: "The crown signifies that she is the Queen and Lady and Mother of the King of angels; the hair hanging down signifies that she is an unstained and pure virgin; the sky colored mantle signifies that all worldly things were as dead in her heart and will; the golden tunic signifies that she was fervent and burning in the love of God, both inwardly and outwardly. Her Son, Jesus Christ, placed seven lilies in her crown, and between the lilies he placed seven gems. The first lily is her humility; the second lily is her fear; the third, her obedience; the fourth, her patience; the fifth, her steadfastness; the sixth, her kindness, for she is kind and gives to all who beg of her with love and a will to amend; the seventh, her mercy in difficulties, for in whatever difficulty a man may be in, if he calls on her with all his heart, he will receive mercy and help from her because she is full of compassion and mercy. Between these shining lilies her Son placed seven precious gem stones. The first gem is her incomparable virtue, for there is no virtue in any other spirit or in any other body, which she does not have in a higher fashion. The second gem is her perfect purity, for the Queen of the kingdom of Heaven was so pure that from her first entrance into the world up to the final day of her death, not a single stain of sin was ever to be found in her; and none of all the devils could ever find enough impurity in her to fit on the head of a needle point. She was truly the most pure, for it was not fitting for the King of glory to lie in any vessel but the purest, chosen before all angels and men and more pure than they. The third gem was her beauty, for God is praised constantly by his saints for his Mother's beauty, and all the holy angels and holy souls are filled with joy over her beauty. The fourth precious gem in the crown is the Virgin Mother's wisdom, for she is filled with all divine wisdom in God and all wisdom is fulfilled and perfected through her. The fifth gem is her power and might, for she is so powerful and strong with God in her that she can subdue anything that has been created. The sixth gem is her clarity, for she shines so clear that she even illuminates the angels, whose eyes are clearer than light, and the devils do not dare to look upon her clarity. The seventh gem is the fullness of every delight and joy and all spiritual sweetness, for her fullness is such that there is no joy that she does not increase, no delight that is not made fuller and more perfect by her and through the blessed vision of her, for she is filled with grace and mercy above all the holy saints. She is the most pure vessel in which the Bread of angels laid and in which all sweetness and all beauty is found. Between the seven lilies in her crown, her Son placed these seven gemstones. Therefore may you, her Son's bride, honor and praise her with all your heart, for she is in truth worthy of all praise and all honor with her Son!"
Book: The Prophecies and Revelations of Saint Bridget (Birgitta) of Sweden: Volume 1, Volume2, Volume3, Volume 4 by Saint Bridget (Author)
When we love God with all our hearts, love for our neighbor naturally follows. Practices such as enslaving others, restricting resources to inflate prices, or underpaying employees reveal a love for money that surpasses concern for human welfare—an unmistakable sign that God does not hold first place in our hearts. When money takes priority over our neighbor and God, it becomes an idol. The same principle applies to other attachments: when we place God second to anything in this world—be it relationships, accolades, desires, or even family—those things become idols, reflecting dependence and a false sense of security. Saint Catherine of Genoa wrote in 1500,
When I see man fix his affections on creatures, even, as he sometimes does, on a dog or a cat, or any other created thing, delighting greatly in it, doing all that he can to serve it, unable to admit into his heart any other love, and as it were, breathing by it, I long to exterminate these things which hold him thus employed and cause him to lose the great reward of the love of God which alone can satisfy and make him happy.
Book: Life and Doctrine of Saint Catherine of Genoa by St. Catherine of Genoa
The prophet Jeremiah (51:17, Douay-Rheims Bible, 600 BC), said,
Every man is become foolish by his knowledge: every founder is confounded by his idol, for what he hath cast is a lie, and there is no breath in them. They are vain works, and worthy to be laughed at, in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
Place unwavering trust in God’s providence, for He always has our best interests at heart. Even in seemingly hopeless situations, when we have already done our utmost, God can accomplish the impossible. This, however, is not an invitation to rely on Him for trivial matters—a caution Saint Thomas Aquinas emphasized in 1250:
Hence presumption whereby a man relies on God inordinately, is a more grievous sin than the presumption of trusting in one's own power, since to rely on the Divine power for obtaining what is unbecoming to God, is to depreciate the Divine power, and it is evident that it is a graver sin to detract from the Divine power than to exaggerate one's own.