Heroes

Pope Benedict XVI (then Cardinal Ratzinger) commented in his 1997 book Salt of the Earth,

Maybe we are facing a new and different kind of epoch in the Church's history, where Christianity will again be characterized more by the mustard seed, where it will exist in small, seemingly insignificant groups that nonetheless live an intense struggle against evil and bring good into the world--that let God in.

I have had the sense for some time now that a phenomenon is taking place within the Church.  That sense has emerged over the past year or so, as my wife and I have been drawn deeper and deeper into our faith and have been brought together so many Catholic friends who are engaged in living the "intense struggle against evil" that the Holy Father spoke about.  In every case, an almost instantaneous bond is formed, created by the realization that we are both living for the same end--the coming of God's Kingdom--by hunkering down and refusing to let the culture of death and influence our daily lives or proclamation of the Truth.  We will not, we cannot, allow the subtle lies of its author to undermine our commitment to obedience to the One who gave his life for our salvation, and to teach us how radically we are to obey and love.

Of course none of us is perfect, and the perspective is not meant to be a judgment on those who call themselves Catholic and Christian.  But at the same time, to deny a sentiment that is shared by so many trusted friends who live lives of faithful prayer and frequent, joyful reception of the Sacraments, seems that it would be a denial of the reality that our culture tries its hardest to sweep under the rug.  It has become so real that I find myself asking more and more, what is to come of this separation arising in the Church?  Is the phenomenon of faithful Catholics who seek to worship and evangelize--to live their Catholicism as the identity and center of their lives and not just as a comforting accessory--being shunned by other, selective and "liberal" Catholics, including those in positions of authority in the Church.  Is this the beginning of a new and different kind of "mustard seed" faithfulness?

It is no surprise that Michael Voris, who travels from coast to coast giving retreats and speaking to Catholics, has encountered the same sentiment, which he captured in a Vortex spot this past week.






This program is from RealCatholicTV.com
 
If it is indeed the case, let it be our living prayer that the Church and our culture would be renewed from the inside out, that the salt of our lives would bring the wonderful flavor of life, love and authentic joy that comes from living according to the Father's will, back into our society and into the world.  Let us be instruments of what the Holy Father has called the "New Evangelization," and renew each other and be renewed by the Sacraments to live according to our high calling.  Let us live as we hope to die and spend eternal life, as saints and heroes.