In a very politically correct and sensitive day and age, I think many of us feel like we are walking on eggshells, trying not to offend or hurt other people. When there are so many movements to have greater respect for others, we, in turn, want to make sure that we do not seem to be insensitive to others. Nonetheless, I think so many people have been caught up in the whole overly sensitive mentality that we come to our own identity crisis of faith! Faith of our forefathers and salvation history is being rewritten in order to accommodate a greater audience because we want to please everyone… but, if I dare to ask, to what costs?!? Have we come to the point that we are ashamed of our faith, our history, and what great heroes have done in the past in order to comply with a secularistic, hypocritical, and toxic culture of blame?
Nonetheless, the same temptation to abandon the truth is not something new. It happened to God’s chosen people throughout salvation history. It even happened to the early Christian communities, too. Hence, in his second letter to St. Timothy, St. Paul reminded his beloved disciple not to be ashamed of giving testimony to the Lord but willingly bear his share of hardship for the Gospel. (Cf. 2 Timothy 1:6-14) Furthermore, he encouraged his own disciple to not give in to cowardice but rather rely on His power, be faithful in love, and practice self-control.
I am not saying that we have to be inconsiderate and uncaring in order to be staunch “faithful” defenders of the truth. We can be both respectful and faithful in how we choose to share the love of Christ with others! Both cowardice and arrogance make us become untruthful and false to ourselves and who we are called to be as Christians. No one — nothing — in this world should ever make us be ashamed and lose our Christocentric identity and mission. We really have nothing to offer to others if we have to compromise and let go of what makes us unique and stand out as believers in order to please others or be accepted and fit into a hostile, atheistic, hedonistic, and secularistic society.
I have lived under communism, and I am living in a very secular world; and if we do not avoid the extremists’ desire to silence faith and religion, especially to dismiss people’s sincerely held beliefs, I believe we fall into the dangers of forgetting who we are as Americans. Our First Amendment guarantees the free practice of religion first and foremost – even before freedom of speech, the press, and other essential rights. It states that Congress shall make no law to prohibit free religious exercise. I believe that speaks volumes about how our founding fathers believed and prioritized the essential protection of different rights.
Nonetheless, I believe we need to be more genuine and committed in a day and age when many people think that religion has no value, especially in public forums, because it represents something archaic, oppressive, unenlightened, and against progress according to postmodern standards. In order for us to be genuinely courageous, we need to humbly find our power in Him, knowing that we are called to be His servants instead of making Him serve us. Too many times, I believe, many people have weaponized faith in order to serve their needs or to justify themselves before others.
If we use faith to attack others or to make ourselves look justified and better than others, we end up lacking the humility and genuineness to truly serve the Lord. Even though we might justify our motives on the outside, and perhaps many people will believe us, our hearts know deep from within that we are not serving Him — simply ourselves. I have seen many people who have used the Word of God for their own advantage instead of humbly loving Him and following His will. There are plenty of self-righteous people who love to attack others or lift themselves up on a pedestal in order to feel better about themselves; hence, at times, they like to use His Word and twist it for their own advantage, too.
Therefore, let us not just listen to what people are saying, but allow time to manifest the fruits of their words and actions. We should be prudent and careful, especially to make sure to avoid people who are leading us away from God or making us dependent on them. Let us especially be aware and leery of anyone who is unwilling to bear his or her share of hardship or tribulation for the Gospel. One can speak well and eloquently using the Word of God, but if he or she is not humbly willing to conform his or her life to His will, especially bearing the trials and challenges of life out of joy, that would definitely be a great red flag to tell us that he or she is not a genuine disciple. Furthermore, if a person is living in luxury and a lavish lifestyle, that is also perhaps another dubious sign of the contradiction of what it truly means to be free in Christ Jesus.
After using the prudential judgment and prayerful discernment to see whether we and others are genuinely desiring the will of God and to be conformed by His power, we need to ask ourselves whether we are willing to love others and practice self-control. It is, indeed, very hard to genuinely love others and learn to control ourselves! Without the desire to die to ourselves and learn to be modest, moderate, and control our wants and desires, we will definitely not be able to love Him with everything that we have. The hardest thing to let go of is our very own self, and without that, we can never be genuine, life-giving, and humble disciples who are willing to bear all things for His sake.
One of my Vietnamese role models of faith was Cardinal Joseph Mary Trinh Nhu Khue. He was the Archbishop of Ha Noi. When the communists took over the north, he was put under house arrest for many years. Even today, people can still find the imprints of his footsteps on the rooftop of the archdiocesan rectory. For years, he would walk and pray daily for his people, even though he could not be with them! It brought him a lot of pain being away from his people, but the faithful shepherd never gave up on his duty to pray for his flock. Multiple times a day, he would identify and lovingly look at each parish’s steeple from the rooftop and pray for his people. He never gave in or gave up on his mission, even though he was mistreated by the communists. Hence, he is a role model for me as a Vietnamese, a Catholic, and a priest.
We have perhaps become so comfortable in our own life of faith that it has become a choice, convenient, and afterthought for us. Instead of putting our faith first, we tend to allow other things to take higher priority. I have heard so many examples of people making excuses when other events or priorities seem to be more important than giving Him a mere hour out of the week. It is so easy to give up on faith and worship and give in to worldly, vain, temporary, and shallow worries, occupations, and standards. Even though we might never admit it, too many of our people have — by their words and actions — act like the life of faith is a burden and unnecessary to their everyday life! Hence, if that is the case, are we truly proud of who we are, or are we too ashamed of our faith?
When I was a civilian parish priest, I had people who called in to ask for a dispensation from Mass when it rained too much or the weather was not favorable for them! It still boggles my mind hearing that coming from my own parishioners when there are so many people who do not have the freedom and opportunity to go to Mass as we do here in America. As a matter of fact, there are many of our deployers who cannot attend Mass due to the remoteness of their locations or the unavailability of priests to be present at those posts! Simply put, we should never be ashamed or forgetful of who we are as Catholics, as His disciples, and as people of faith. No matter how hard life can be at times, let us never forget the awesome opportunity we have to come to Mass and bring those who are unable to attend with us, too.