“All around us there is a constant movement, and ebbing and flowing of currents of opinion, of doctrines, of ideologies, of very distinct interpretations of man and of life….In the midst of all this doctrinal confusion there is a need for a norm of discernment, a clear, steady and profound criterion which allows us to see everything with the unity and consistency of the Christian view of life which knows that everything derives from God and is ordained to God.

The Faith provides us with a stable criterion of guidance and the firmness of the Apostles in putting it into practice.  It gives us a clear vision of the world, of the value of things and of people, of true and false goods.  Without God and without knowledge of the ultimate end of man the world ceases to be intelligible or is seen only from a partial and deformed angles.  ‘Precisely the most pernicious typical aspect of the modern era consists in the absurd attempt to reconstruct a solid and fruitful temporal order divorced from God, the only foundation on which it can endure.’ 1 The Christian should not leave his faith aside in any circumstance.”

1 John XXIII MATER ET MAGISTRA, 1961 cited by Francis Fernandez IN CONVERSATION WITH GOD, Vol II, 58.2.