Pentecost Sunday, the birthday of the Church, marks the end of the Easter season. Leading up to this day we completed the Novena to the Holy Spirit which began on Ascension Thursday; “Come Holy Spirit fill the hearts of Thy faithful and enkindle in them the fire of Thy Love.” Although many dioceses transferred the feast to the following Sunday, most of us began the nine-day prayer on the traditional day. This was a great preparation for the mission ratified when the Holy Spirit came upon Our Lady and the Apostles. It is the time when the Holy Spirit comes upon us and fills us with the gifts needed to carry on our mission as Catholics. On Pentecost the Church was born. The Holy Spirit descended and gave life to this effort. The mystery of the Trinity teaches us that as the Father decreed it, the Son carried out the necessity of the Redemption and the Holy Spirit fulfilled our mission.
The early followers who interacted with Jesus directly as well as those followers of His disciples, understood that they were not signing on to lives of privilege and ease. On the contrary, they signed on to lives of difficulty and persecution. They knew that their efforts must be all out, and their commitment must be to give even their lives if necessary to this cause. The Crucifixion makes it clear to true believers that the rewards that await us come at a cost. Building a Christian society came at great cost, and restoring and maintaining it also comes with a price.
Called to Swim Upstream
We live in times that are anything but ordinary. Ancient teachings and traditions of the Church and of our society are being discarded for new pagan traditions, or more accurately old pagan traditions which have been resuscitated. These are the antithesis of Christian mores. People in authority who claim Catholicism as their faith openly defy Church teachings and label those who call out these inconsistencies as extremists, or worse yet, as violators of civil rights. Have we seen times like this before? The answer is yes. The anti-church has been active and even dominant throughout history. Since the Church is the gate to salvation, the enemy will do anything to block entry or obscure this reality. We must push back as hard in our efforts to diminish this and counter those who use the imperfections of individuals to turn people away from the truth. Christ did not select saints to carry on His work, He selected imperfect people who wished to become perfect for this task.
True believers have always “swam upstream” bucking the current in this secular world. We fail to fully acknowledge our lot as followers of the Truth when we focus only on the established structure and forget the beliefs that are foundational. The height of Catholic influence in the world failed to convert the entire world. This is still our goal; however, we first must get our own house in order. You cannot give what you do not have. Increasing belief and devotion in the Real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament, the source and summit of our Faith is imperative. In this time of the Eucharistic Revival, which we are participating in with the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, we must assert with all our might that Christ is King and that He left Himself with us fully in the Eucharist. This belief is what separates us from the secular world.
The times indeed are anything but ordinary from the 20th and 21st century Western perspective. We must fight to regain our Christian values, but we can never expect perfection to be attained on this earth. That right was forfeited by our first parents. Even after the Resurrection some asked Our Lord if He was then going to restore the rule of Israel. It was not to be, as the kingdom He spoke of is not of this world. Sadly, not only pagans but even many of the chosen people could not or would not understand why this was necessary.
Our Choice: Comfort or the Cross
We face an upcoming election when we will choose once again those who we best identify with to lead our country. Economic considerations have traditionally been the driving force in elections. As we should, we look for just economic policies. The larger picture shows us, however, that basic morality is the foundation of economic prosperity. Any nation that does not adhere to moral truths will never be truly prosperous.
Although perfection on earth is not fully attainable, that is what we must strive to achieve. It is ordinary for a committed Christian is to be a contrarian, one who is in this world but not of this world. Jesus and Mary were the perfect examples of this faithful contrarianism. I think of the children of Fatima, especially Ven. Sr. Lucia who faced skepticism about the authenticity of the Fatima apparitions from many, including her own mother. Carrying this monumental message while living in an uncomfortable situation was a cross that she bore. Our Lady told the children that they would have much to suffer but that the merits of this would save many souls. We must always remember that the adversity that we face as followers has great merit. Our goal is to get people to heaven. Prayer and sacrifice are the means to achieve this.
Many nations reached great heights in the Faith but saw it dwindle as comfort and prestige caused them to change their focus from adherents willing to sacrifice comfort to contented members. As a patriotic American, I want to believe that our nation will right the ship and lead the world with an example of justice forever. But we first must get our own house in order before we can hope for this. Devotion to the fundamentals of our Faith will bring us there so that we can regain greatness and ultimately excel to new heights under the guidance of Our Lady.
God bless you and Mary keep you in her Immaculate Heart.
David M. Carollo is the Executive Director of the World Apostolate of Fatima USA/National Blue Army Shrine. He wrote this for his Voice of Fatima column.
If you would like to comment on this post, please contact him at [email protected].
