Heroes

There is one idea that I hope that all Christians should always consider as they live their lives each day. Our lives can inspire others to believe in God, to believe his teachings, to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. As Catholic we can be heroes to those around us by simply sharing our faith; by simply praying; by helping those in need, the poor, the homeless; by simply living lives of hope, mercy, compassion, and love.

It is easy to assign this duty, this responsibility to the clergy, to the rectory staff, to the archdiocese staff, to the volunteers of the various parish ministries, to anyone but ourselves.

But, we share this responsibility to live lives that bear witness to God’s love and mercy. We share the duty to do God’s work, to spread his Word, to help those in need. All of this is to be done freely, without thought or desire of earthly reward or payment. It all needs to be done simply, beautifully for the love of God.

Altruism is good for the soul. Our culture encourages us to be selfish, to think of our comfort and well being first, to put ourselves first. This thought is in direct conflict with the teachings of Jesus Christ. There has to be something more to our lives than simply being the first in line, the first to be seated at dinner. Our lives are enriched when we are able to serve another, when we allow ourselves to assist someone who needs our help, when we put aside our prejudices and act according to the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Each of us can be a Christian hero if we allow ourselves to try and if we allow ourselves to believe in ourselves and in the glory and the power of God. When we our actions are selfless, they embody the humble, compassionate mannerisms of Christ. There is a robustness in being selfless. Being selfless introduces another way of living and behaving to us. Being selfless is a “correct” way of living and reacting to our culture.

Our dominant culture promotes the idioms of insecurity and provincialism and perverts the ideas of innocence, simplicity, spirituality. Fear is now the vigorous common denominator guiding the American culture. Many of our laws were enacted because of fear. Fifty years ago we were afraid of nuclear annihilation. Now we are afraid of dirty bombs and terrorists. God has left the building. God is only on the periphery of our culture. The dominant culture is violent, decadent, selfish, distrusts authority, desiring only instant gratification.

Our dominant culture does not offer hope, does not offer faith. It offers rhetoric, stump speeches, all types of pills with all types of side effects, all types of commercials to improve everything which can be seen by the eye. Faith, hope, love, and mercy do receive airplay in sappy love songs and in connection to the latest crime in the news.

As Christians our lives must offer an antidote to every moral and ethical argument created by our culture. We must live our lives for God. We must be willing to sacrifice our lives in service of him. The goodness in our lives which we share with each other in God’s names will make us heroes.