"Behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Ba'al, and go after other gods that you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, 'We are delivered!' - only to go on doing all these abominations?" Jeremiah 7: 8-10
Basically, it is only hypocrisy if one does all the things that Jeremiah lists above, and then go to the House of the Lord, say the proper words and then go out and keep doing the stuff we're not supposed to do. The modern solution for that is to justify the sinful behavior so that we don't even have to seek forgiveness for it. Basically, modern sensibilities seek to nullify the concept of sin, therefore obviating the need for confession or redemption.
Whether we want to admit it or not, there is a right and a wrong. History has proved, and personal experience has confirmed, that we are capable of justifying almost anything.
In The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglass Adams describes a method for escaping the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal, the most voracious and dangerous creature in the known universe. If confronted by the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal, one must immediately cover one's head with one's towel (read the book to understand the importance of the towel to an intergalactic hitchhiker). The Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal will then assume that since you cannot see it, it cannot see you, and it will go away. Wouldn't it be great if things really worked that way.
Fr. Michael+
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