"We will do all you have commanded us and we will go wherever you send us. We will obey you as completely as we obeyed Moses. But may the Lord, your God, be with you as he was with Moses. If anyone rebels against your orders and does not obey every command you give him, he shall be put to death. But be firm and steadfast."
These men speak with such trust and incredible faith. The only leader of men they've ever known was dead, and yet immediately they agree to follow Joshua -- and what's more! They are willing to stand up for him and defend the legitimacy of his command under God. They encourage their leader the same way that God Himself did, "Be firm and steadfast." This encouraged me, knowing that God will provide me with a community of men, and as I act as a new leader to them, drawing them into a spiritual battle with the powers of hell, as long as I follow God without moving an inch to the left or an inch to the right, as long as I am firm and steadfast, I may inherit the same sort of confidence in my men.
Along the same principle of "firm and steadfast," Bishop Higi preached about the Tunisian martyrs of the early Church in his homily on Sunday. I had heard the story before, but was again enthralled by their faith and devotion in the face of adversity. For those of you unfamiliar with the story, here is a summary: In the fourth century, a Roman governor in a province of Africa (what is now Tunisia) issued a command that all Sacred Texts be burned, all Basilicas be torn down, and all Sacraments and rites be prohibited. 49 Christians were found celebrating a mass and after being tortured were brought in for questioning. When one man was asked why he disobeyed the commands issued by the governor he responded, "Sine dominico non possumus" which translates to, "We cannot live without Sunday." The bishop embellished this quote as a tagline for Catholics of the modern world, "Without the Sunday Mass, we cannot survive."
While Jesus prescribed Abstinence, Penance, Fasting, Love, and Patience, our culture preaches a "gospel" of minimalism, hedonism, gratification (immediately!), sloth, and lust. Everything must be faster, better, stronger. How else can a man stay firm without receiving the Grace afforded to us by Jesus Christ through the Holy Eucharist received at Sunday mass? The Catholic community comes together to celebrate joyfully the climax, the source and summit of our faith -- the physical essence of Christ.
I pray today that we may all stand firm and steadfast before the enemy and like the Tunisian martyrs speak confidently, "Without the Sunday mass, we cannot survive." In times of doubt I pray that we can echo the words of St. Peter, our first Pope, "Lord, to whom shall we go..?"
God is good all the time. All the time God is good.
May God grant us a restful night, and a peaceful death...
I promise I'll post a more direct blog about my life sometime!
