There was a man who lived in the Fujian province of China. There are some places in China that you can practice your faith, however in the Fujian province, it is illegal to be Christian or Catholic. To hold mass, they would go underground and constantly change times and venues to evade the government. This man hosted a mass in his home at three o’clock in the morning. Guards stood out front to alert everyone if the police came. As mass was coming to a close that night, the warning alarm sounded and everyone scattered. This man couldn’t go anywhere since it was his house, so he sent his wife and children with the others and waited for the police to come.
The authorities arrested him, and for the next several weeks, every day and every night, they tortured him. The question they kept asking was, “Where is the priest? Tell us where he is and we will let you go back to your family.” The police knew that if they could get the priest, there would be no mass, no confession, no Eucharist. But the man knew that as well. He knew that if his priest was taken away, it would be years before his village, his friends, his family would be able to receive Christ. They stripped him naked, pulled his arms and legs apart, and used a 9 million volt cattle prod on the most sensitive parts of his body to try and break him. After almost a month, the police were unsuccessful and sent him home.
It’s amazing to think of the strength of this simple, catholic man. He wasn’t famous or a known hero. He was just a regular guy who made a choice - "As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.” I hear that story and think, "Wow, this guy is a living saint." Imagine having a man like that in our parish. I was reading the book of Joshua today. It told the story of Moses' people marching toward the promise land. After 40 years of wandering, when they finally reached Israel they knew they had a fight in front of them. They were warned that they needed to be "strong and steadfast" if they were going to succeed. Having faith is not just believing, but living like you believe. What I found interesting in that story is after they won, they were faced with another decision. They would be living among people who don’t believe what they believed. Would they chose to live like those around them? Would they stand out like those who have been chosen by God to live differently? I can relate to that battle.
Sam Adams said during the birth of our country, “If virtue and knowledge are diffused among the people, they will never be enslaved. This is their great security. But once they have lost their virtue, they will be ready to surrender their liberties to the first external or internal invader.” Those words seem more relevant now then when they were said 200 years ago.
The man from China I mentioned above, escaped with his family and moved to the United States a few years ago. He opened a small retail store, and began a new life of hope and prosperity. He enjoys taking his family to daily mass. He is free. He can live out his faith in public, no longer sneaking around in fear, hiding in basements with a look-out patrol. He discovered fairly quickly, that if you work hard in the United States, you will achieve more success. The harder he worked, the more money he made. He thought, “If I show up early to work, if I put in the time, I can give more things to my kids, I can offer a better life to my family.” So his wife and kids went to daily mass in the morning, and he went to work. Then the Sunday came when he was too busy with work to go to Sunday mass. After a few years, he found himself only going to mass on Christmas and Easter. This last Easter, he had too much going on to get to church.
This man, who was willing to be tortured, day and night for weeks, to protect his priest and his ability to receive the Eucharist, now has the freedom to enjoy the sacrament every day, yet willingly chooses not to. What communism and torture and cattle prods couldn’t do this man, our culture was able to do without even having to try. This man, who in the Fujian province of China was a hero and a saint, in this country is a failure. When we lose our virtue, we gladly give away our liberties.
Is it possible that it is harder here, in Ballwin Missouri, to become a saint then in some of the most oppressed areas of the world? Could bringing your family to God today, amongst all of this freedom and abundance, be more challenging than the times of intense persecution?
Don't get me wrong. I’m a capitalist and a patriot. I still believe that we are blessed beyond measure to live in the United States in 2016. But I also know that the Devil is a master strategist. So my challenge to you, my brothers, is not to fall asleep. Do not lose focus on why we are here and what our mission is. As part of my lenten promise, I’m going to go to a Jesuit retreat house that is based on the spiritual exercises of Saint Ignatius. As I’m there, I will think of the man in this story, and pledge to learn from his example. I will meditate on these words of Ignatius: "Whether I have a long life or a short life; whether I am healthy or ill; whether I am wealthy or impoverished - it doesn't matter, as long as I am serving the Lord."
No comments:
Post a Comment