Secular society is very frightening to the Church. Especially in turbulent times like these, it is increasingly hard to be a Christian in a world that, to be frank, hates you. Some people may scoff at this remark because, in America, we still have many freedoms other countries don't have. Although Christians living in America aren't being beheaded or facing imprisonment for our beliefs, sometimes the Church still gets hit by a sharp elbow out of nowhere.
Now, this article is not going to be one of those that confusingly mixes religion and politics. I've had enough of those. Rather, I'm going to share a story showing that even in a heavily secular society where Cardinal Francis George said, "I expected to die in bed, my successor will die in prison and his successor will die a martyr in the public square," there can be light found in the darkness.
Even though I've worked a lot of odd jobs throughout the years, they have given me life experience in different ways. This summer, I'm working part-time for housekeeping at my university. For those of you who know me well, you're probably chuckling at this point because you can't picture me, at the very least, without a button down shirt on. Don't worry, it's a surprise to me, too.
Recently, I've been pondering how the Lord will use me in this given vocation for the summer. I wasn't too sure how scrubbing bathrooms and emptying trash cans would help in expanding His kingdom. That is -- until I met Mark. Now, Mark isn't his actual name, but for the sake of anonymity, this will have to do.
One day, while I was cleaning, I had to find Mark, so he could show me a cleaning closet in another building. While walking from one building to the next, Mark started to tell me his life story. He was a 60-something-year-old man who had grown up in Mexico and was economically successful. He had a copious amount of wealth, a substantial amount of power and a nice dash of fame. He married a German-Irish woman and moved to the States, where they raised two daughters, one who became a doctor, and the other, a succeeding entrepreneur.
After rounding out his story, he asked me what I was doing up in Chicago if I lived in St. Louis. I told him that I was at Concordia because I was studying to become a pastor. He instantly became amazed and told me that if I loved what I was going to do with the rest of my life, that's all that matters.
Our conversation ended, and we went back to our respective duties. After dinner break, we intersected again and had a brief dialogue.
"Hey, friend! How are you doing?" I said while juggling a basket of clean laundry.
"I'm doing fine, Mason. Hey, listen, I just wanted to tell you that I really admire the work that you are going into. In fact, you have something that I don't have. I've had money, power and fame and it's all been great, but there's something that I don't have that you do. Frankly, Mason, it pisses me off."
I started to nervously chuckle, not really knowing if he was being serious or not. It turns out, he was dead serious.
"Well, Mark, what is it that I have that you don't?"
"Mason, you have peace in your heart."
I tried shrugging this comment off, knowing that I've faced a lot of heartaches in my lifetime. I tried to interject, but Mark quickly cut me off.
"No, shut the f*** up and listen to me. You have peace in your heart, Mason. You've known from such a young age that you were being called to become a pastor. A man has to have peace in their heart to do such a great thing."
In that moment, I clearly saw what work the Lord had planned for me this summer. I was able to gently question Mark about how long it had been since he darkened the door of a Church. He admitted that it had been too long and questioned whether I thought that was the reason he didn't have this peace in his heart. I explained to him that people go to Church in order to become fully human. In this secular world we live in, we fall into many temptations and become broken individuals. It is only in the Church where we find Christ's forgiveness, His body and blood and a strengthening of the spirit.
The point of this story is to show that, even in a heavily secular world, Christians can still be a light in the darkness. While most of the world hates us, there are those who still find comfort in the love we give to them, the love we were first shown in our baptism and are continued to be shown through the Eucharist. We have peace, which the outside world so desperately craves. So, let us go and witness to the world through our vocations. Let us witness through our love and actions that Jesus gives peace where the world produces hate.
