Be Bold

A few days ago, a supervisor from my job in college passed away at the age of 41, after some health problems.  When I learned of this news, I was deeply saddened.  She positively impacted so many students, myself included, and staff at the university.  If I were to describe her with one word, it would be ‘bold.’  I think her boldness is one reason I haven’t been able to stop thinking about her and how grateful I am to have known her.  Her boldness is a trait I admired.  As Catholics and Christians, we are all called to be bold in our faith.

Boldness might not be naturally part of all of our personalities but it is something we need to choose and strive for each day.  Otherwise, how can we expect to hold onto our faith and stand up for what we believe in a world that is actively working against us?  It is easy to sit back and go along with the flow for fear of offending people or being insulted.  Hiding our beliefs or remaining indifferent can lead to adopting the viewpoints of our society and it sends the message that our faith and its teachings really aren’t that important.  When it comes to our faith, we cannot hold back!

If we are truly disciples of Jesus, we should be sharing our faith with others.  This means sharing the Gospel message, the teachings of the church, and letting others know how Jesus has and continues to work in our lives.  It doesn’t have to be in front of a crowd or in big ways.  It can be in the conversations with coworkers, family, and friends and in various everyday situations.  These opportunities arise all of the time but we just need to be open to them.  It should be in the words we say, the things we do, and the overall way we live our lives.  We need to be sharing our faith, no matter what people might say or what they might think of us.  In this weekend’s Gospel, we heard Jesus telling his disciples to “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations…” (Matthew 28:19).  This applies to us today too.

What if we lived without hesitation and fear?  What if we shared our faith like it was more important than anything else in our lives?  What if we chose to be bold?  Our country needs Jesus and needs the message of our faith, especially now more than ever.  May we all rise up as disciples of Jesus and choose boldness.