We are not ‘masters of the universe’: Derry Bishop

Dr Donal McKeown issued the advice during a homily in which he spoke of modern culture being “torn in two directions”.

He said: “We are told that we can control nearly everything. We can see into space and communicate around the world. We can choose how we want to identify – and that can change. We are told we have the right to act as if every choice in life is good, because it is my right to choose. We get the message that suffering is outrageous and that we should be entitled to live an easy life.

“And, on the other hand, so many people teeter on the end of the abyss of despair, unable to give sense to their lives and angry when the promised bliss does not materialise.

“We keep discovering that we are anything but masters of the universe.”

The Bishop added that society sells us the idea that, the more choices we have, the happier we will be.

“The market demands that choice is the most important feature of our lives,” he added. “But, for many people, the multiplicity of choices is bewildering – and so many people do not have the financial wherewithal to make many choices.”

Growing in freedom to make good choices is a life-long journey, he said.

“That means learning to choose to do the right thing, because it is the right thing to do and not merely because it suits me at the time.”