Where have all the good men (of God) gone?

On December 6th the church catholic commemorated St. Nicholas. Known for his generosity and his love of children, Nicholas is said to have saved a poor family’s daughters from slavery by tossing into their window enough gold for a rich dowry, a present that landed in some shoes or, in some accounts, stockings that were hung up to dry. Thus arose the custom of hanging up stockings for St. Nicholas to fill. But there is more to the story of Nicholas of Myra. He was also a delegate to the Council of Nicea in a.d. 325, which battled the heretics who denied the deity of Christ. He was thus one of the authors of the Nicene Creed, which affirms that Jesus Christ is both true God and true man. And unlike his later manifestation, Nicholas was particularly zealous in standing up for Christ.

During the Council of Nicea, jolly old St. Nicholas got so fed up with Arius, who taught that Jesus was just a man, that he walked up and slapped him! That unbishoplike behavior got him in trouble. The council almost stripped him of his office, but Nicholas said he was sorry, so he was forgiven.

On December 7th the church catholic commemorated St. Ambrose. St. Ambrose is a towering figure in the history of the Early Church. Famous for his powerful preaching, he was one of the most influential persons in the conversion of St. Augustine. He was a powerful theologian, and a courageous pastor of souls. If ever the phrase, “speaking truth to power” was true, it is epitomized by how Ambrose confronted the Roman Emperor Theodosius with his sin and demanded a public repentance, and refused to give the Emperor the Sacrament for a number of months. But, equally a pastor, he was at the Emperor’s side when he died. He refused to back down even when threatened with arrest and execution. He was, as Augustine would later write, “One of those who speak the truth, and speak it well, judiciously, pointedly, and with beauty and power of expression” (Christian Doctrine IV.21). Augustine went to listen to Ambrose to preach, for the sheer pleasure of hearing powerful rhetoric, but was drawn into the message.

On December 9th the Roman church remembered the 30th anniversary of the passing of the great teacher, Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, a man who as far as I am concerned, is a great American saint. He preached the word of God unwaveringly and in a simple yet eloquent way. While preaching Christ to the common man, both Roman Catholic and Protestant, he also preached against the great evils of his time, communism - racism - the Vietnam war. During the 1950's his television show was watched by more people than watched Lucille Ball or Milton Burle, whose shows appeared opposite of his. His voice was the voice for orthodox Christianity in our country.

I can't help but mourn the fact that Bishop Sheen has no successor in our time. Sure, there are men and women preaching Christ, but is the Christ that they are preaching the Christ of scripture? Is there a public figure in America who preaches not only Christ crucified but also that right is right and wrong is wrong? Too often, the "big names" in preaching right now, and I will let you pick your favorite one, preach a Christ that is concerned primarily with you feeling good about yourself and your being financially well off. Sin, why that is a thing of the past. Go pray for some money so you can buy my latest book.

You have a purpose in life, and that is to be happy. And to make me rich.

Really? They must be reading from a different translation than I do.

There is no "me" in Christian. Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God, saved us from eternal damnation by his precious blood on the cross. This is his free gift to us. We, as Christians, are called to love and serve God and our fellow human beings. That's it. Christianity in a nutshell.

"Freedom is the right to do what you ought to do." Bishop Fulton J. Sheen (1895-1979).