I am a number of years removed from being a teenager, but from what I remember about the experience, and what I can cobble together from what
modern day youths tell me, there are two primary social concerns that drive kids in the modern age. The first is the desire to have fun virtually all the time, which, by the way, is exhausting to even think about for me nowadays. The second is an overwhelming desire to fit in. Nobody wants to feel socially isolated by others. There are certainly those who are socially isolated by choice, but that’s another issue entirely.

Our Lord confronts these two deeply human desires head on in this week’s Gospel, and while His words speak to humanity in all ages, I believe there is something very important for us to meditate on in this current age. Jesus warns his disciples that following Him means enduring weeping, poverty, and hunger for the sake of God’s kingdom. Discipleship, in part, means enduring hatred, insults, and exclusion at the hands of the world.
 
America has given her citizens the beautiful freedoms of following God in the manner which their conscience dictates. But none of this stops the increasingly secular world from heaping scorn and derision on those who wear their love for
Jesus Christ and His Church on their sleeve. If you need examples of this, look no further than those who are boxed out of public life in the name of tolerance. Our nation has a long history of rejecting the possibility of public office for
those who proudly adhere to the Catholic faith, or sometimes just for promoting basic Christian beliefs.
 
Among the most prized secular values today is tolerance. To be labeled rigid or a bigot is the pinnacle of public shame in the modern age. It
is certainly true that we as Catholics are especially called to show love, respect, and good will towards all, even those with whom we profoundly and fundamentally disagree.

But this must be balanced with the difficult task of proclaiming the Gospel to the world, both in season and out of season, as St. Paul says.
There is an immense temptation to water down our beliefs for the sake of peace and inclusion in the world around us. Knowing this, we have to combat the inclination to be silent in the face of agendas that destroy the dignity of the human person and even the sanctity of life itself. We pray for the grace of boldness, that we can speak out when the situation calls for it, and for the grace of charity, so that we can do so with love burning in our hearts for our brothers and sisters.
 
I don’t think the world or the Church needs more people to stand on soapboxes in the public square and shout at passers-by about what they’re doing wrong. Anything that makes the world more like an internet comment section is bad news in my book. But looking at today’s Gospel, we also can’t fool ourselves into thinking that following Christ will always be 100%
compatible with what everyone else thinks either. As a parish region and as a people we will be better off if we build our lives on a foundation of prayer and the sacraments and then invest in people’s lives to the point where we love them enough to speak hard truths to them. It’s through a relationship with Jesus Christ and with one another that we will find the strength to remove the beams from our own eyes, and also help our brothers and sisters with the splinters in theirs.
 
Prayers always,
Fr. McCullough