Your Light, However Bright Or Dim, Could Help Lead Others To Christ
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, if you have read one or more of my articles in the Message, you may find that there seems to be a theme of calling each of us to Catholic action.
I am not sure what compels me to do so. Each writer, I suppose, has their own distinct and unique personality that must find its way to the page.
Whether it is my love of God (who deserves much more than I offer), my loathing of evil (which deserves much less) or the simple fact that I do not know what the rising of tomorrow’s sun shall bring for me, I find it imperative that I cry out as one in the desert that we should not only fortify our own souls and the souls of those we love, but also evangelize those around us in the most simple and intricate of ways.
What good does it do us to beg if we receive no coin? What good does it do us to see a beggar if we offer none? Have we looked in our closets lately to see how many pairs of sandals we have? How many tunics can we wear at one time?
If it makes you feel better, then replenish that which you have given to another and help the economy to boot!
How much time do we have, my dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, to have an impact on this humanity of which we are a part? We speak of carbon footprints (I drive a truck, sorry) but what of our Christian footprints?
We speak of global warming (did I mention I drive a truck?), but what of the warming of the Gospel of Hope to those whose souls have grown cold? What of warming the backs of those who have no coat? What of the warming of children’s feet who have no socks and no shoes?
My dear friends, I am no Robin Hood. I do not believe that those who have worked hard and made good money should have it stripped from them. I do believe, however, with the firmest of conviction, that we who have been given much in the areas of time, talent and treasure, should be willing to share these gifts for the sake of others who have not been as fortunate.
I do not believe that government should take the place of parents in the raising of our children, and yet to the deepest cavern of my soul I believe that we as children of God should of our own accord offer to the children of this great nation an alternative to the modern theme of what it means to be successful.
I do not believe in moral relativity; the old notion that you are okay, I am okay and we are okay if we just all live in some type of gray, societal oatmeal where there is nothing left to stand for except for the rule that we should stand for nothing.
And I do believe that the atrocities we see in our society have less to do with God-fearing citizens exercising their 2nd Amendment rights and everything to do with the fact that Christ continues to be beaten, bludgeoned, bruised and crucified in our schools, the media and in the entertainment industry while the very sickest of our human ills are lifted up as the golden calf of modern man.
The point is that I wish to hear and see in all of us the deepest convictions and most wondrous examples of the Christian life in every newspaper, tweet, blog, radio station, news editorial and on the desk of each congressmen, governor and president this side of the Pacific Ocean.
I guess that one reason driving me to call for Christian action, in addition to what I have already written above, is that I know in my heart that there are millions of lights out there burning with the most beautiful and unique flames and I wish that the bushel baskets were pulled from them so that I might delight in their warmth and so that their example might provide us all with a bit of light along this path, for at times the stars are covered by clouds and the path becomes narrow and filled with peril.
You never know, it may just be your light, however grand or slight, that keeps another safe along this path to Jesus Christ.
