By Jeffrey A. Beer Jr. –
On Monday, we celebrated Columbus Day, a national holiday which reminds us of the brave man who, against all odds and conventional wisdom, discovered the “new world.” But an often untold part of this story is that Christopher Columbus was actually a very religious man, and his faith was both a motivation for his voyage and a support for him during difficult times. In fact, Columbus’ flagship, the Santa Maria (Saint Mary) was named by Columbus himself, and the admiral insisted the entire crew pray and sing for Mary’s intercession every night. And when the weather was threatening, or his crew became rebellious, or Columbus felt doomed and despairing, his diary shows that he continually called out and relied on God to give him strength, guidance and aid. Imagine how much courage it must have taken for him to proceed on this mission with no guarantee that he would ever reach land, or even that he would avoid sailing right off of a flat world! But Columbus did it successfully by relying on God.
Although Columbus’ desire to spread Christianity to the new world and subsequent integrity may be questioned, we too should have a desire to spread our faith to the people around us. In his letter to Timothy in this week’s second reading, St. Paul says “Remain faithful to what you have learned and believed… All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” He is saying that we should make use of the things we hear at mass and read in the bible to teach others, stand up for our beliefs and counsel others. He goes on to say, “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus…: proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching.” We have to be willing to spread what we have learned about God at all times, even when it is not easy or is uncomfortable.
In the Gospel of Luke this Sunday, Jesus tells us that God is quick to come to the aid of the people who reach out to him. Jesus says, “Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them? I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
Columbus risked his life and his reputation to spread the word of God. And when doing so became difficult, he called out to God for help, and God responded and Columbus was able to discover a new world. If we really believe what we hear at mass, then we too should want to bring the faith we have to others in our lives. And it won’t always be easy, or convenient. It will require us to really step out of our comfort zone.
It takes real courage to be outspoken about our faith when we are trying to comfort a friend or stick up for our beliefs in class. It is easy to be afraid that doing so will make us out casted or persecuted. But when Columbus was afraid that proclaiming the word would get him into trouble, he relied on God and was saved. In the same way, when we need courage to share our faith, if we pray to God for help he will give it to us. And, like Columbus, taking those steps might lead us to discover a new world. Who knows, perhaps talking more about our faith will transform our lives, the lives of our friends or families, or even our schools. But to discover our own new world, we need to have the courage to proclaim the word at all times.
As Pope Benedict XVI said, “If we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing. Nothing! Absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great…Do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away, and he gives you everything. When we give ourselves to him, we receive a hundredfold in return. Yes, open, open wide the doors to Christ – and you will find true life.”
Leave a Reply