“The troubles of this world are nothing more than play battles that children have,” St. Joseph Cupertino once said. If we can believe the hundreds of witnesses who saw this saint levitate, surely we can get on board with his frank optimism.
When we feel ourselves nearing our tipping point, when we just can’t stomach one more ounce of fear-mongering, virtue signalling, or hypocrisy; when we can no longer fight the temptation to join the millions of other ranting, crazed voices online; we need only remember one thing: this is not our home.
Be weary of anyone who tramples on the poor and vulnerable in order to build a “better world.” If anyone promises abundance and equality but simultaneously silences all dissenting voices, snuffs out millions of unborn lives, ridicules and belittles any differing worldviews all in the name of prosperity and peace, the time has come to fast and pray and teach your children to do the same.
No one can more succinctly and eloquently spit in the face of these deceptions like the venerable Fulton Sheen, so, without further ado:
“Satan may appear in many disguises like Christ, and at the end of the world will appear as a benefactor and philanthropist – but Satan never has and never will appear with scars […] actually, there are only two philosophies of life: one is first the feast and then the headache; the other is first the fast and then the feast. Deferred joys purchased by sacrifice are always sweetest and most enduring.”
The “long game” approach to life, complete with tried and tested friendships forged in hardship, delayed gratification and heroic sacrifice is the allure of all classic adventure novels; especially Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia.
“Christianity, unlike any other religion in the world, begins with catastrophe and defeat,” Fulton Sheen writes. “Sunshine religions and psychological inspirations collapse in calamity and wither in adversity. But the Life of the Founder of Christianity, having begun with the Cross, ends with the empty tomb and victory.”
In his book, The Silver Chair (Book 6 in the Narnia series), Lewis’ character Puddleglum stands up to an evil sorceress of the underworld with a show-stopping monologue that we may want to transcribe for future reference, you know, for the next time we meet any evil queens. The sorceress is attempting to brainwash Puddleglum and his company and convince them that what they know is not real (Narnia). He’s not having it:
“Suppose this black pit of a kingdom of yours is the only world. Well, it strikes me as a pretty poor one. And that’s a funny thing when you come to think of it. We’re just babies making up a game, if you’re right. But four babies playing a game can make a play world which licks your world hollow. That’s why I’m going to stand by the play-world. I’m on Aslan’s side even if there isn’t any Aslan to lead it. I’m going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn’t any Narnia. […]we’re leaving your court at once and setting out in the dark to spend our lives looking for Overland. Not that our lives will be very long, I should think; but that’s a small loss if the world’s as dull a place as you say.”
Who’s with Puddleglum!? When we were children, we dreamt of our adult lives with reverence. We dreamt about righting wrongs we’d encounter, finding true love and standing up for important things. We imagined our life’s potential was full of beauty and goodness. In our lives with God, there is still so much ahead of us, even if we feel that our life is over or that it is without hope.
“It is Jesus you seek when you dream of happiness,” St. John Paul II said. “He is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you. He is the beauty to which you are so attracted. It is He who provokes you with that thirst for fullness that will not let you settle for compromise …”
In these days, we get the privilege of living out our faith concretely; we must not be afraid. We hear the world’s elite and “enlightened” proclaim that this is the opportune moment for a “great reset.”
Let’s take them up on that as only Christians can: let us turn our lives over to Christ; completely and wholeheartedly. Truly, this is the moment where we can let the good news radiate through us and into the underworld around us. There is a great need for good news right now. We have a reason for our hope and that reason is the person of Jesus Christ.
