“An idealist in an age of pragmatists, a romantic in an age of realism…”

Can we use these words to describe us as Catholic Christians? These words appeared in a “San Francisco Examiner” article describing a man about to retire, a man who sought the public good. This particular man shaped his life and his work based on the example set by others and on goals and values he personally espoused.

As Christians we are called to shape our lives by the example given to us by Jesus Christ. This model, imitated throughout history by the saints, is as alive and pressing today as it has ever been. The goals and values we should be pursuing are those set by God.

When we read the Bible, God’s Word, which our Church considers a Sacrament, a means by which grace is given, we tend to think of it as a historical document. Too often it becomes a story of long ago. We fail to grasp the fact that the Gospel is a living document. More than a document it is a living fire given to guide us through the power of the Holy Spirit. How do we apply this power?

Life in today’s world is marked by our unfortunate connection to materialism. It is a materialism that is more than a desire for things. Wants and desires, an “I can have it all” attitude surely exists. It is best evidenced in our children. Ask a child the meaning of Christmas and you will be shocked by the answer. The common response is toys, Santa, gifts, food, a party, time off from school. “Why do we give and get gifts?” “To be nice.” “What if we’re not nice?” “Santa won’t be happy.” “Why do we try to be nice to each other?” “Santa.” It becomes a round robin conversation where nice is equal to Santa and Santa is the reason for the season.

If materialism were only desire we could fight it through repentance, prayer, fasting, teaching, and the traditional methods of overcoming the sin of selfishness.

Unfortunately, this is not enough. Materialism is founded in society’s ever increasing push to secularization. Secularization is at its root realism. Realism is commonly defined as ‘a concern for fact or reality and rejection of the impractical and visionary.’ If we can define it, it is. If we can produce it, it exists. If we can see, touch, smell, and taste it we can know it.

According to the Rev. Mark H. Creech, a commentator for the Christian News, “Secular humanism is that philosophy of life that emphasizes a worldview based on naturalism: the belief that the physical world is all that is real. It rejects theistic morality and supposedly defers to scientific inquiry. To a secular humanist, there is no divine purpose being worked out in the universe by Deity. Life has value and meaning only as we create and develop it. Being free from supernaturalism, the secular humanist opposes any absolute standards.”

In secular society materialism is more than simple desire; it is the way of life. This way of life has no moral basis. Life is “in the eye of the beholder.” Everything becomes subjective. Ethics, morality, law, humanity, and life itself are entirely situational and individualistic.

A good example of this trend toward secularization is the contrived distancing of “religious values” from public life.

In William Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England, Blackstone wrote: “Man, considered as a creature, must necessarily be subject to the laws of his Creator, for he is an entirely dependent being.”

This legal tradition that acted as the foundation for the United States, its Constitution, and the interpretation of our laws since 1793 is now regularly ruled to be inappropriate, improper, and not worthy of discussion. The new secularization would rather have a make-it-up as you go along basis for law. God did not create us, we are not headed toward God, and all we have is the here and now, so “do it if it feels good.”

Are our modern lifestyle, global view, and personal beliefs nothing more than pragmatism? Do we say: “If I see it, or it is proven by science, I will believe?” Do we sow the seeds of unbelief in our everyday decisions at work or in the home?

The answer for us as Christians is to be witnesses. We must join ourselves to Christ ever more closely and to take on a Christian spiritual attitude. Making THE choice and placing our complete faith and trust in Jesus Christ is exceedingly difficult. It is a giant leap-of-faith that the world does not want you or me to take. It is the exact opposite of believing in luck, the quick fix or the fast buck. When we take this chance – a chance on God —“ we immediately mark ourselves as outcasts.

Once we become regenerated we become true believers and yes, we are in but apart from the world. We recognize our position in Jesus Christ as our Savior. We can no longer compromise or “blend in” with the world. Instead, we must be in the world, declaring repentance and through repentance salvation according to God’s Word. We must actively challenge the secular world view.

St. Peter tells us that we as Christians belong to God and that belonging to God carries a responsibility. “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9).

The Gospel according to St. John tells of Jesus’ prayer on the night before he died. Jesus himself states that we are not of or for the world: “I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.” (John 17:14-15).

Nothing, including ourselves, is a being onto itself. We are part of the Body of Christ. We are required to do those things that energize us spiritually and prepare us to take on secular society. We desperately need those traditional forms of fighting sin: repentance, prayer, fasting, and the Eucharist. Above that we need to engage and witness our faith. We need to take the fruit of that repentance, prayer, fasting, and the Eucharist and engage the world. We must burn with the fire of the Gospel and with the power of the Holy Spirit. We must witness actively to our friends, family, children, neighbors, and especially to those who despise Christian faith.

“An idealist in an age of pragmatists, a romantic in an age of realism…”

Are we idealists and romantics for Christ? Can we be more than Thomas and believe not by seeing? Can we be impractical and visionary? This is what the saints did. This is what we are called to do.