The Spirit of Boldness
By Sarah Kozak
“Bold”. Adjective. Definition: fearless before danger; showing or requiring a fearless and daring spirit.
Why is this word so attractive? Is it because it seems to embody something that we have relatively lost within our culture? Is it because we long to embody it ourselves, but it seems so unattainable?
Or is it because, at our core, it is what each of us were created to be?
In the early days of the Church, the disciples knew that boldness was a gift they would need in order to live out the Gospel. The book of Acts tells us that when they prayed for it, “...the place in which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:31).
And it showed! These men and women were willing to give up their land, families, and social status for their faith. The endless shouts and threats they received were drowned out by the words of Christ’s love ringing through their hearts, grounding them and giving them hope. Knowing that they had been gifted with the truth, how could they remain silent? Their joy and passion spilled over into every aspect of their lives; as a result, many of them faced martyrdom rather than denying Christ. Talk about boldness!
It is sad to say, but I think that today, in many ways, we have retreated back into that Upper Room where the disciples hid pre-Pentecost. We have become timid, afraid, and only willing to speak the Gospel to those with whom we know it is safe to share it. The primary message that is being preached today is “the gospel of political correctness”...and anyone who opposes it is immediately criticized.
It’s impressive really. Satan has certainly planned his attack well, since he has been able to commandeer the area where he knew he would gain the most control: our emotions. Truth and morals have now been replaced by “feelings.” Which is why if you offend someone by speaking the truth, you are now labeled as a hater and are told that you know nothing of love.
So we must ask ourselves, what is love? According to pop culture, “love” is now defined as being the equivalent of “tolerance” - of condoning what another person desires because it makes them feel good. We have allowed society to water down the very essence of what we were created for: true, authentic, sacrificial love. St. Thomas Aquinas said that, “To love is to will the good of the other.” Contrary to popular opinion, “to will the good” does not mean merely making the other person happy; instead, it asks, “How do I best help this person get to Heaven?”
Due to our human nature, we naturally desire to be liked, praised, and accepted by others. It is far easier for us to jump on the bandwagon of popular opinion rather than pursuing truth. A perfect example of this is found in examining the recent popular endorsement of the “Black Lives Matter” organization. Almost overnight, those who did not openly join in supporting this radical group were suddenly labeled as racist and many people openly endorsed this organization without taking the time to research and understand that it opposes many Catholic values. If you go to the BLM website, you can read that this is a group that uses Marxist language like “comrades”, seeks to “dismantle cisgender privilege”, and to “disrupt the Western prescribed nuclear family.”
Mother Teresa once said, “Bring love into your home, for this is where our love for each other must start.” Rather than seeking to “disrupt the family” the leaders of BLM must recognize that it is through the love of the family, the domestic Church, that we will be able to build a society that exhibits true compassion and love. This is the same love which Christ founded His Church upon over 2,000 years ago, and has been lived out by millions of saints since that time. St. John writes in the book of Revelation, “After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb” (Rev 7:9). From its foundation, the Church has been charged with preaching the Gospel to all nations. Are there people who don’t live that out perfectly? Of course. We will never create Heaven on earth, but, at its core, the Church has always been at the forefront of championing the dignity of every human life, regardless of race.
I think we must ask ourselves - if we are truly seeking to abolish racism, why aren’t we talking about the millions of black babies who have been killed by abortion? According to Students for Life of America, “Almost 80% of Planned Parenthood’s abortion facilities are located in minority neighborhoods.” They also report that black babies are three times more likely to be killed by abortion than white babies. If this isn’t real racism, I don’t know what is!
So why aren’t we talking about this? We spend our days treading on eggshells and are terrified of discussing “politically incorrect” issues like abortion, pornography, or the war on marriage. The majority of us today are advocates of “safe Christianity” - the kind where we talk about Jesus only when it is comfortable, in ways that will garner followings and likes on social media. We desire Heaven, but only if we are able to achieve it without having to give up the things we hold dear on this earth. Most of us aren’t even willing to stand up and challenge an Instagram post, much less face martyrdom within the Colosseum.
When we remain silent, we condone the lie that truth does not exist. As Catholics, we have the privilege of knowing that truth is not some fragmented idea that has been formulated by social constructs or is based upon emotion. We spell truth with a capital “T” because we know that Truth is an unchanging person: Jesus Christ.
Jesus tells us, “Whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him will the son of man be ashamed when He comes in His glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels” (Luke 9:26). At the end of our lives, each of us will stand before God and give an account of our lives. Will we be able to say that we lived our lives boldly proclaiming the Gospel? Or will we have to admit that we chose to hide and be ashamed of the One who willingly gave His life for us? There is still time to choose. So let us choose now and let us choose boldly.
DISCLAIMER:
The Catholic Church supports the fight for racial justice and the struggles of the African American community but does not support the political organization Black Lives Matter due to its marxist and anti-family agenda. Please visit HERE for more resources, and join the conversation. Email us at hello@theycw.com to learn about getting your voice published.
