Two boys committed a similar mistake while serving Mass. Both were around 8 years of age; they dropped a wine cruet. One of the boys was berated by the priest. He went on to become Tito, a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman known for brutal policies to control his country. The other one was treated more mercifully. The bishop who was celebrating the Mass turned to him and said, “One day you will be as I am now.” That boy grew up to be Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, recently beatified by the Catholic Church.
A dictator and a disciple, both men had a tremendous impact on the world, and they were both masters of communication. Fulton Sheen saw the power of the new media and became a radio and TV personality who used the airwaves to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They both faced failure and correction, but went in two very different ways.
Difference Between Word and Action
The two sons of today’s Gospel give a verbal answer that is different from what they actually do. It is not enough to say yes; we have to also act according to what we promise to do. While many people tend to criticize new media and see only a tendency to ruin communication, Archbishop Sheen saw a tremendous opportunity to spread the faith.
Fulton Sheen is a man who spoke and wrote profusely, and lived up to his words with his life. This is why the Church recognizes his heroic virtue, and he is in the process of becoming a saint. For someone to become a saint, normally his cause is introduced in a diocese before going on to Rome. Then, at some point he is beatified and we call him or her “Blessed.” This is the case for Archbishop Sheen now. Finally, the Church gives her final approval and the person is canonized, receiving the title of “Saint.”
Many times, when we want to get to know a saint, we are going to look for biographies. For Fulton Sheen, he has written enough for us to get a good sense of the man. Furthermore, many of his videos are online and give a window into the soul of this great evangelizer.
Love for Christ
The range of his writing is impressive. His Life of Christ is one of the great books to get to know the life of Jesus if you want to go beyond reading the Gospels. He brings a lot of knowledge and experience to his re-telling of the history of Jesus Christ. For those wanting to grow in devotion to Mary, The World’s First Love is one of my favorite books of Marian devotion. He has such a gentle way of presenting Mary that it seems like our hearts melt into hers. In my own journey to the priesthood, A Priest Is Not His Own was an important book. It is a great reminder to priests from a solid spiritual father that his priesthood is not a source of glory but rather a call to service.
Heroic Life
Finally, it is uplifting to read his autobiography Treasure in Clay, which I read again this year. It can serve as an exercise in seeing your own life through the prism of Christ’s eyes.
We can sympathize with the two sons from today’s Gospel. We often don’t feel like doing our duty. We might protest that we don’t want to do it, or we might shirk the work. But we are called to hop up and get it done, as Fulton Sheen did throughout his life. A saint isn’t someone who naturally does what is right. It is the one who keeps getting up. This is what Christ calls us to do. The Gospel gives us hope because Christ is not asking whether we have always said yes. Rather, he is asking what we will do now.
If you watch the videos of his talks, you will discover a witty, humorous man with a deep love and devotion to Jesus Christ. We need more of this in our world. Whenever we discover another saintly life, it is an invitation to look at ourselves and see how we can respond more faithfully to the invitation that Christ extends to us.
What attitude are you going to bring into this week? We can be tempted to lie around in protest to life’s problems. Or, we can get up and begin finding solutions. This is the Christian way to live. This is the way Fulton Sheen lived. Blessed Fulton Sheen, pray for us!