Not of the World

“The Person of Jesus Christ was persecuted from the cradle…”

These are the words of Saint Claude La Colombiere in a compilation of his sermons and writings in Not of the World: 20 Lessons on Following Christ without Compromise. St. Claude was a 17^th-century priest in France, best known for his devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and his clear, uncompromising call to holiness.

Persecuted from the cradle.

Sometimes I soften Christmas, and the manger feels tender and familiar. But from the beginning, God entered the world He had made not into praise and regalia, but to poverty and rejection. Even as a helpless baby, His presence provoked fear in kings. There is something deeply sobering in this: holiness doesn’t have to wait to be opposed; it is opposed immediately, simply by being what it is. That’s an unsettling truth every time I sit with it.

“…The Church, who is His mystical body, has been [persecuted] from her birth…”

From its earliest days, too, the Church has known what it is to be misunderstood by the world she seeks to serve. Born at Pentecost (which we celebrate on May 24 this year), she went forth in love and faith, and immediately encountered opposition. Martyrdom, misunderstanding on her teachings, and cultural resistance did not end with the death of St. Peter, who was crucified upside down. In many ways, little has changed. Christians in parts of Africa and Asia still face violent persecution, but closer to home, our faith is often caricatured or reduced to something it is not.

The pattern continues in us, personally.

“…and the good people who are His images are still so [opposed] in our days, from the moment they declare themselves for Him.”

From the moment. From the beginning. Not only after certain criteria has been met or after we’ve been on this spiritual journey for some time, but immediately. The very act of belonging to Christ introduces a kind of resistance in the world.

And it’s supposed to.

It may not look like open hostility, but today it is often felt in more subtle ways. For many of us, these clashes can be felt in daily life at work, in friendships, even in families or in our quiet, hidden decisions.

Last month, the Diocese of Owensboro welcomed its largest group in recent history into full communion with the Catholic Church. This mirrors a nationwide rise in conversions and renewed interest in faith among young people. I find this so encouraging, and I pray St. Claude’s observation encourages them as they experience, perhaps from the beginning, any opposition to their faith.

How are we to respond? We answer as Christ did. As His Church does.

Be holy.

St. Peter urged new believers in his first letter to live in a way that reflects their new identity in Christ: “But as He who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct,” (1:15). 

Be holy.

Most likely, as a mom in rural Kentucky, my opportunities to practice holiness will be seemingly ordinary. Amongst the piles of laundry that need to folded and lots of Little League baseball games, I’m learning. I’m learning there will be moments of silence when the world expects agreement, moments of tension when love requires truth, and moments of loneliness when conviction costs something. Ordinary, everyday moments. Like around a poor cradle in Bethlehem. Opportunities for extraordinary grace.

This should not discourage us, but remind us of Who we follow. The path is well worn from the Divine Infant’s first steps and the countless saints who followed after Him in trust. They’re cheering for you, for me. Let us be not of the world, but remain in Him. Be holy.