Dauntless

Spring Retreat for the youth group is two weeks from yesterday, and as usual, I am speaking.

I also haven’t prepared a single word.

Hence, this blog post. I am hoping some good, old-fashioned free-style writing will spark some ideas or inspiration on the chosen topic…the movie, Divergent. Based upon the popular book series, the film tells the story of a futuristic society divided between five “factions:” Abnegation (the selfless), Amity (the peaceful), Candor (the honest), Dauntless (the brave), and Erudite (the intelligent). Upon their sixteenth birthday, each person must undergo a series of psychological tests to determine which faction best suits them. Those unsuitable for any of the factions have no status of privilege in society, while those possessing qualities of all the factions are deemed “divergent…”

And are the most dangerous to the established order.

We chose Divergent for the retreat theme not only to appeal to the teens’ interest (the film is a hit among young and old alike), but also to demonstrate how a holy existence requires all the virtues…“divergence” from the norm of society, which (speaking modernly) does not value virtue very much. Our fearless leader (a.k.a. the Youth Minister) chose to divide us adults via the various factions, which we will attempt to present to the teens as entertainingly as possible. For some reason, out of all the factions, she chose to make me “dauntless.”

“dauntless.” Merriam-Webster Dictionary: very brave (adjective).

Yeah.

The movie depicts the “dauntless” as wild, fearless fighters dressed in black and constantly on search for the next adrenaline rush. Jumping from building to building, chasing choo-choo trains, and running through the streets (often to the terror of lesser, weaker factions) comprises much of the dauntless day. When not reaping havoc, the faction can be found training to reap more havoc – punching punching bags, throwing knives, and kicking each other’s butts while fellow dauntless cheer ringside.

And I am to depict these qualities.

God has quite the sense of humor.

I suppose there is a smidge of dauntless within me, though. While I never once threw or received a punch (well maybe once, when I was seven), I had to be brave in other ways. When I was in grade school, I remember walking the halls on Ash Wednesday – forehead smudged with black – amidst the revilements of my peers, and I refused to wash the mark off. While nothing compared to the courage of the martyrs, the social suicide was akin to life-or-death to my twelve-year-old ego.

Now I am older, wiser, and seeing a bit clearer. The blissful ignorance of youth has faded with the past, and the future stares me dead in the face. While I am no clairvoyant, I see darkness for the Church…a darkness which is nearer than we think. I see religious persecution comparable to the persecution of early Christians, and which is already reared and ready for takeover. I see a slow and steady regression back to the upper room, where the Apostles hid for fear of execution, and for one reason alone…

The Apostles were Christian.

We celebrate Mass openly and freely…for now. Once upon a time, Christians were made to celebrate secretly, as being openly Christian was considered a direct threat to the established order, a grotesque violation of Jewish law, and punishable by death. Through the Holy Spirit, however, the Church enjoyed centuries as the cornerstone of a healthy society. God was the center, and anyone who rejected Him was considered a threat.

Nowadays, the opposite is true.

Atheism is rising, and along with Atheism, evil. Selfishness (the dogma of Satan) reigns while selflessness (the dogma of love, a.k.a. God) suffers…and people wonder why God “doesn’t seem to care.” We argue “if God exists, why does He allow such suffering?” Perhaps He would ask you the same question? Perhaps He does care…

We just kicked Him out.

And where God goes, the Church goes, for as the Lord said, “The servant cannot be greater than the master.” We live in a world which embraces promiscuity, rejects life, and praises self. Christians are forced to violate conscience via laws passed down through government, which once vowed to never interfere with citizens’ religions. Over one million babies – made in the image and likeness of God – are slaughtered per year to cater to the ever-rising human desire to “do as thou wilt…” the mantra of Satanism. “Spirituality” has replaced religion, and hatred of Christianity (especially the Catholic Church) has become the last acceptable prejudice.

Yes, dear reader…we are not far from celebrating Mass in hiding again.

Whenever I see a child at Mass, I see a tribulation saint, and I pray he or she receives the strength – the dauntlessness – to stand strong against whatever threats await. I sound dark and dreary, I know, but ladies and gentlemen, no longer can we exist with our heads buried in the sand. Take off the rose-colored glasses, and see the world around you, what the populous embraces (and rejects), and pray God graces you with the wisdom necessary to navigate these rough waters.

Everyone is hungry for purpose, but no one so much as the youth. I want these teens to understand the threats which await them along the road of life, and I want to equip them with them tools to fight. I want each to grasp how vitally important he or she is to the Kingdom, and how the world desperately needs the power God placed within them. No longer am I satisfied sugar coating life, for forewarned is forearmed. Where the saints and martyrs laid down their swords, these teens must pick them up. The fight which faces them is no work of fiction, and the reality stark.