In case you hadn’t noticed, another bi-annual election is taking place here in the United States today. If we listen to the “pundits” on both sides, you’d think this election will determine the fate of democracy itself. For all I know, we could indeed be living though the end of the American experiment. I think everyone will agree that, for the most part, it was good while it lasted. Of course, there are some who will take exception to that last sentence but that’s not the point of my blog today…
Rather, what I am writing about today is “my plan” to change the world. Yes, you read that correctly: I have a plan to change the world. I don’t have some grand scheme and I am not running for any political office now or in the future. In fact, it has absolutely nothing to do with politics, at least not directly. What “my plan” does involve is following the instructions given to all of us by the King of the Universe. Those instructions are simple:
“Be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48)
To put it another way, the way to change the world is to become a saint.
It goes without saying: I’m not even close to that ideal yet. But I do know that saints change the world. Saintly people have an affect on their world that many times, causes those around them or those they meet to aspire to heavenly greatness, too. I readily admit, this task is a daunting one and I doubt I am currently inspiring anyone to saintliness. But just because I am currently falling short doesn’t mean that I should give up or give in.
You see, my sin causes a ripple effect in the world and separates me, spiritually, from the Body of Christ. Thankfully, the Church (via Jesus) has followed the apostolic instruction regarding reconciliation (Matthew 18:18) and confession (James 5:16) so that I can be reunified with the universal Church and receive the grace available through the Sacrament to become a better disciple of our Lord Jesus.
Nearly everyone agrees that our world today is a mess. And here’s the kicker: It’s my fault. My sins have led or caused others to sin and perpetuated a culture that has forgotten its roots. I know that I am not the only one who has fallen short but there is only one person I can “control” and it begins with me.
I recently read that NASA is trying to send manned spacecraft to the moon. One would think it to be an easy task. Just pull out the old playbook and get to work. Unfortunately, it seems that the practical knowledge of completing such a mission has been lost. NASA has to start from scratch.
Luckily, we don’t have to start from scratch to re-build a civilized culture. Everything we need is found in Scripture and the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. Lest we forget, it was Christianity that built and then eventually saved Western civilization. Countless, unnamed saints and martyrs laid the foundations to get us to this point. Unlike NASA, their examples are well-documented and provide a pathway to repair our broken world.
Don’t rely on politicians. Don’t rely on technology. Return to Jesus. He is The Way, The Truth, and The Light. If you’ll dedicate yourself to joining me in this project, I am sure we can all change the world faster than anyone thinks possible.
“Any sinner is capable of being a great saint. And any saint is also capable of being a great sinner. The secret, therefore, of character development is the realization of this power that there is in each one of us for good and for evil…Do not think that people who have virtue and kindness and other great talents just came by these things naturally; they had to work at them very hard.” –Venerable Fulton J. Sheen