Heroes
by Fr.Gus Carter
1/15/06

Humans have a fierce need for their lives to make sense, to have meaning. A modern author claimed that one of the things that ails present society is the shallowness of our heroes. Fame and fortune as a standard of success are something outside a person, and thus do not give genuine satisfaction. A recent commentator on human behavior expressed the opinion that humans are made for heroic lives. The awesome complexity of human nature demands a special way of living.
The Messiah was to give ultimate meaning to Jewish life. Yet the messiahship of Jesus was rejected because people were expecting to receive, in some way, wealth and power through the Messiah. John the Baptist pointed out Jesus as the Messiah. The first disciples of Jesus believed John's Message and tentatively followed Jesus. He turned to them and challenged, "What are you looking for?" As nearly all of the questions in John's gospel, the questions Jesus asks are aimed at those who profess to follow him. Jesus is asking each of us today, "What are you looking for?"

Two modern heroes by their lives have issued a call to follow Jesus. St. Therese of Lisieux wrote the story of her life as a favor to her blood sister, Sister Agnes. Therese explained her "Little Way" of serving God. She felt herself very insignificant in the world. She wrote that she wanted to do something for God with her life. Yet she knew that she was not fitted to be a great missionary or a theological giant. She said to herself, "I will be the heart of the Church. I will be love." She set about to be loving on every occasion of her life. By her own way of living, she demonstrated that every "ordinary life" in every ordinary situation could be heroic. When the story of her life, "The Story of a Soul" was published, it inspired tens of thousands of people to imitate her. Even a hundred years after her death, by request, her relics traveled through many parts of the world. At each stop on the tour, thousands flocked to churches where her remains rested for a few days. St. Therese still has the power to inspire people.
The other modern hero, as you may have guessed, is Mother Teresa. She had sensed a persistent call to do something beautiful for God. She began by doing something that seemed insignificant or trivial to many: that is, she give comfort to the dying poor of Calcutta. Her initial call grew into an example of God's desire that those who follow Jesus should have special concern for the poor and oppressed. She became a worldwide symbol of caring for those who are generally neglected by society. By her example she has inspired many to be attentive to those who seem least important to the general population.

One of the oldest stories of the Church are about John, "'the Beloved Disciple" saying at the end of his life, "Little children, love one another, that is all that matters." As I think about the primacy of love in Jesus life and message, I recall a statement about how to tell when a scientific discovery is valid: answers to questions we put to nature, when true, are simple and elegant. We all know to some degree the real solution to life's problems, "Love one another."

We also know that this is not a simplistic solution. Because of our selfishness and blindness, we find it very difficult to love always. Meditation on the life of Jesus is the key to following him.

We, who come to church regularly, are constantly invited to come and see where Jesus lives. At every Mass we are reminded of Jesus sacrificial love. We are invited to commune with him in a personal relationship. We are contacting the source and power of all love. We are given the inspiration and strength to be heroes of love. The two Teresas are examples of the valiant effort required to be truly loving. They lived difficult but satisfying lives. In the providence of God, their hidden lives were revealed to allow all humankind to be inspired by them and to imitate them. I think that one of the joys of heaven will be the satisfaction and happiness that will come from knowing all the good we have done.