Striking a balance between Idealism and Reality

    "The world is ruled by its ideals, those who create the higher ideals lift all mankind."  The same author who wrote the above words has been a big influence in my life after reading a small book he wrote called "can we be saints." In this book, Frank Duff, who is the founder of one of the largest lay organization in the Catholic Church called the Legion of Mary invites the reader to ponder that question. He presents the ideal of Christian perfection and how we are all called to become saints. The first time I read that book, I was ready to get on a plane and go somewhere in the world where they were persecuting Christians and lay my life down as a martyr. The voice of reason persuaded me otherwise, but a few years later, I still realize the importance of subscribing to the ideals that will lead us to fulfillment and bring us to our end which  is union with God.  I have also come to realize the imminent danger of the Church not taking seriously its mission to spread the Gospel.
    In my late teens when most people are looking hard for an identity, I was presented with the ideology of self-help and materialism. Although I am not downing self-help, there lies within it great dangers. Being a nominal "malformed" Catholic who hadn't subscribed to the identity of Christ, I followed suit and that became my identity. Instead of stating that "I can do anything through Christ who strengthens me," I would claim that "I can do anything I set my mind to." The statements are close but while the first attributes its abilities to Christ, the later attributes them to self. Such is the condition of our society today. The bookstores are filled with books that seek to help us become the best we can be even at the expense of our souls. While some have a spiritual component to them, and they are written on the right foundation of becoming what God has destined for us, many if not most of them pull us away from this ideal and lead us on a path that while it promises self-actualization, it leads us to selfish ambitions that bring us to ruins. All was not lost on my part since at the same time, the Lord was penetrating my heart with His grace and started showing me a new set of ideals and heroes. While the wheat and the weed continue to grow together, today I toil on a field whose fruits I pray are eternal.

   Now to come back to our topic, I continue to quote Frank Duff who in the handbook he wrote for the organization he started. "If the young once form the habit of looking for purely worldly or even irreligious systems for the active idealism for which generous natures crave, a terrible harm has been done, for which future generations will pay." Anybody with eyes to see can see that we are already paying for the harm that has been done by the ideology of generations that preceded us and not in the distant past either. The "sexual revolution" of the 60s has yielded the "culture of death" whose influences are a threat to civilization as we know it. This is only one example but not the only one. We must not dwell on the evil since we know that God works out the best in everything for those who love Him, but that does not mean that we close our eyes to the reality and assume everything is okay. 

    The first step is to realize the reality of the opening statement that "the world is ruled by its ideals."  This means that as Christians, we must evangelize the world since we know that the Gospel is the only ideal that will bring about peace. To go even further, we must own to the fact that we are called to become saints, to grow in holiness is not for a chosen few, it's the universal call of all. Like saint Paul put it "This is the will of God, that you may be holy."  

         In my early 20s, I was introduced to this idea of becoming a saint after reading "can we be saints" and my search for something noble which so many young people are looking for came to an end. Like the knights of old who would traverse the lands looking for a worthy king to fight for, and when they found one they would bow down before them and pledge their loyalty, I found a noble King who is our Lord Jesus Christ. Many young people today are searching for an authentic cause and something noble to commit to. I wish to tell them that the answer lies in Christ and should they commit to follow him, they will have found the highest ideal that will transcend both time and space and bring them to everlasting happiness. The practical means of living this ideal is laid our in the doctrines and practices of the Church. 

      Now that we have established this, the reality is that our world today is in dire need of evangelization. The late pope Blessed John Paul II said that this is the time for a "new evangelization".  This presents the young and old alike a great work to engage in. May it be in the home as a mother to her kids, or in the social media, or in the pulpit, "if today you hear God's voice, harden not your hearts."  Our faith constantly calls us to let our actions prove our faith and answering this call is a great opportunity.

    From my restless search of something noble, God has presented to me an answer; in the organization of the Legion of Mary, he has helped me strike a balance between "idealism" and "action"  and I invite the young especially to find a way they can serve the Lord in their neighbor. In the vineyard of the Lord, there is plenty of harvest but the laborers are few. May the love of Christ bring us to peace.

Oh Lord, give us more generous souls who will answer your call.