“Christ said, “I am the Truth”; he did not say “I am the custom.” (Saint Toribio)
My Midwest upbringing has taught me to see most moral issues as black and white. Before the rationalizations, sophisms and justifications start to kick in; I look at the Gospel criteria, Church teaching, and try to “man up” to my mistake and admit that I was wrong. Confession takes care of the rest.
Fr. Thomas Williams, LC helped me a lot with his example. He would walk into High School parties and simply would not drink alcohol, and people respected him for it. He did not curse, even he was surrounded by it, and his elevated conversations raised the bar significantly. He treated girls with so much respect and chivalry. His focus was on Christ, not on being perceived as “cool”, and this actually made him the most popular and respected kid I knew. Bottom line: As Catholics, we are not called to “blend into culture”, we are called to “transform culture” with the example of our holy lives.
